Better timing? Work schedule flexibility among US workers and policy directions

This chapter describes many of the current patterns and problems concerning work hours and work schedules. It explores a nomenclature and framework to analyze the various dimensions of working time and their impacts. The chapter describes the current distribution and differential access to flexible daily work scheduling by workers’ various demographic characteristics and by industry and occupational sector, using 1997 US Census data, and discusses the implications for policy. While there are virtually no national policy initiatives designed to directly promote more flexibility in hours or schedules in the USA, there are intriguing labor law reforms proposed that will impact on working time. Many workers report a desire for greater flexibility in work hours at their job, to reduce their work hours even for reduced pay, on a temporary or indefinite basis. The ultimate solution lies in a fundamental restructuring of workplace practices and labor markets to deliver more temporal flexibility in ways preferred by workers.