Flexible Work Schedules

Abstract

More than 27% of the U.S. workforce now reports having an ability to alter their daily starting and ending times of work. Yet, provision of flexibility in the timing of work is not keeping pace with demand. Moreover, there is much disparity in access to schedule flexibility by workers' demographic, work, and job characteristics. Probit estimation finds that the probability that a worker has such flexibility is reduced by being female, non-White, and less educated. The likelihood is increased by being self-employed, in college, married, part-time, in certain occupations and industries, and working 50 or more hours per week. Flexibility is reduced for those working a standard day shift or 40-hour workweek. Workers thus sacrifice either leisure time or income to gain better access to flexibility in the scheduling of work, or they endure the costs of job mobility. Public policy should focus on delivering more flexible schedules to the excluded 73%.