"Cheryl" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 27 Mar 2007 09:33:54 +1000, eggs
wrote:

What's wrong with shifting hours (where possible) so that people can
pick up their kids? There are plenty of jobs out there where it would
be completely feasible for folks to start work at 7am and stop at 3pm so
they can go pick their kids up from school. In fact, I wouldn't be
surprised if people got more work done if the working day was staggered
so everyone didn't start and finish at the same time. I bet there'd be
a lot of people (including those who don't have kids) who would like a
staggered start/end time option for their jobs.

You're right. I have some friends who don't have kids (and never will
have kids), who like to start work at 7.30am so they can knock off
around 4-4.30pm and miss all the traffic. A boss I used to have would
start work at 9.30-10am and work through to 6pm so she could miss the
traffic. Before I had children I used to work from 7.30am to 3.30pm
at a defence force base and it was perfect, plus since we had flex
time I could work to 4pm, leave earlier than most people and take a
day off once a month. Flex time with set core hours is a great idea
if the company can swing it.

Cheryl

I have flex time with core hours and it is so fantastic. Before kids, I
used to do 7:30 - 3:30 with shorter lunch break so I could have the
occasional flexi day (I accumulated much more flexi time than I took
though) - gave you heaps of time to do a full day's work and do lots of
other things in the afternoon. When Angus was in childcare which didnt open
until 8:00, I started at 8:30 so I could drop him off and be there by 8:30.
Now they are both at school, I am mostly starting at 8:00 and knocking off
at 4:00. All flexible though so if we need to meet a deadline or jobs get
moved due to rain or something, then I can rearrange, stay later, start
earlier or whatever. Flexitime works out great for me and my employer but
my particular kind of job allows that flexibility. More employers should
consider it though as it could be win-win for everyone.

cheers
Leah