Flexible Working Time - Possibilities for use in the Current Socio-Economic Circumstances

Abstract

Flexible working conditions are becoming one of the main factors of organizational success in organizations which aim at attracting and retaining the best employees. A flexible work place is usually connected with working time organization, even though the scope of solutions aimed at achieving work flexibility is much larger (for example teleworking, job rotation). What is more, the reasons for increasing flexibility are both social, such as aiming at reducing unemployment by making it easier to create and keep jobs, and adjusting work to the preferences of the employees; and economic. The experiences of the latest economic crisis show that employers are interested in maintaining overemployment during slowdowns to make sure they have the necessary qualified staff to deal with subsequent growth. The measures that are used to achieve this aim include shortening the working time together with decreasing the wages, or postponing some working hours until the economy picks up. The aim of this article is to present the opportunities that flexible working time offers in the new organizational perspective, which includes the legal, social and economic aspects. The article refers to the literature on the subject in order to show the essence and meaning of flexible working time, and also the current legal requirements regarding the use of flexible working time in organizations. The article also presents the findings of research which was aimed at identifying the attitudes of employers towards working time flexibility.