It's another busy morning for David Loudon. So far he has completed server software maintenance, taken care of server and backup management, and fixed a few minor bugs. He has poured through log files, responded to e-mails, and made five business calls from his IP phone. At 10:15 a.m. he puts the finishing touches on some software designs he has been developing. The morning has also seen him provide remote desktop support to 26 users. Wait, make that 27. Now, having nimbly avoided rush hour, Loudon puts his pants and shoes over his boxers and socks, grabs his third cup of coffee, and heads for the office.
IT job flexibility is no longer an oxymoron. With technological advancements and the realization by companies that 50- and 60-plus-hour schedules can burn out even the best of the best, employers and employees are gradually redefining the workweek.
"It's a delicate dance," says Loudon, owner and principal consultant for Shadow Services, an independent IT consultancy based in Philadelphia. With years of experience as both a business worker and owner, Loudon can relate to the need for flexibility on both sides. "Workers need to understand their strengths and limitations," Loudon says. "Employers need to provide well-defined roles and responsibilities. And everyone needs to be realistic about what can be done."
The IT community is a bit different from others — not just because IT workers are sun-deprived and physically pale, but because many IT workers are rarely, truly off duty. When they're not in the office, they're still on call. Glitches, bugs, and crashes happen. Tweaking on time and under budget requires long hours.
"The biggest issue with IT arrangements is the hours," says William DiMase, a computer support analyst who works for a company with more than 100 locations in the New York City metro area. DiMase reports that when he was an intern using the System i platform, "the need for support was on an on-call basis for network, server, and AS/400 issues."
Corey Burger, a former network tech and computer marketing director, points out that most intensive IT work needs to be done after business hours. "Things tend to break at 3 a.m., not 3 p.m.," he says.
At the Wyoming Valley Health Care System, James E. Rakshys, the senior manager in advanced technology, agrees. "Network crashes at 4 a.m. require immediate resolution. If staff members on site cannot resolve them or if there are no staff members on site, someone needs to be called. If a switch is down and it can't be fixed remotely, then someone must come in."
Dave Pernot, senior applications developer for Masters Management Information Systems, says technological advances such as high-speed Internet access, Voice over IP, and other software solutions justify flexible work arrangements. Thus, the employee called to action in the middle of the night can sleep in before putting out the next fire.
Depending on the nature of the business, flexible IT scheduling can offer employees such perks as part-time work, job sharing, compressed or non-restricted workweeks, and telecommuting.
"[Part-time employment] works well in places that need continuous coverage," says DiMase, "yet the commitment of employees may not be there. I started out with an internship that led to part-time work," he adds, "and it gave me valuable IT experience on my résumé. From that perspective, part-time jobs are good for people to get their feet wet."
Loudon points out that part-time employment also gives workers time to pursue educational opportunities while earning an income. In turn, employees gaining outside knowledge can then bring it back to the job at hand and benefit both themselves and the company. He points out that part-time work can also give employees the opportunity to pursue other interests or "test-drive" different possibilities that could make them more valuable workers. Loudon notes, however, that scheduling the hours of part-timers requires careful planning. Because such employees are not present all the time, they can't always offer input into important decisions that must be made in their absence.
Job sharing can offer employees flexibility in some IT fields. "Job sharing is usually important in a support environment because if you are out sick or on vacation, the company is not without vital support," DiMase says. He adds, however, that sharing positions might prove difficult in project-management efforts. "Project management is usually set to goals and/or a timeline. Support is all about coverage, redundancy, and making sure things work," he explains.
Loudon says job sharing presents the same benefits and drawbacks as part-time work. It's desirable for employees with children or dependent family members. However, Loudon points out, potential friction can arise with co-workers who aren't job sharing if they perceive it as a "special" perk that they can't have. The opportunity requires a great deal of self-organization and motivation, especially if the back-and-forth arrangements are ill-defined by the employer.
Job sharing also requires good communication and a tight working relationship with the "other half." Operating as a team is a must. If one worker underperforms or tries to make the other look bad, a company might cut both positions. The same could happen if customers receive mixed messages and become dissatisfied.
For IT pros who want to work full time but not necessarily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, non-constricted workweeks are the answer.
Employees in a non-constricted situation can be available for meetings and cooperative ventures and can then complete the rest of their hours early in the morning, late at night, or on the weekends, often saving money on day care. They can work an hour and then take an hour off, depending on their style and the nature of their duties.
Not all companies offer such unlimited flexibility, but many let staff members work, for example, four 10-hour days instead of five 8-hour days each week. "Compressed scheduling is ideal for project-related work where additional contiguous time can make the job more productive and rewarding," says Loudon. "It also leaves open the possibility of longer weekend schedules."
Keith Budurka, the infrastructure manager for Benco Dental Company, notes, "Offering [employees four] 10-hour work days saves them one additional day of paying for gas and affords them one less day of wear and tear on their vehicles."
Redundancies, downsizing, and outsourcing, oh my! Can flexible scheduling affect job security and benefits? "When we must respond with minimal delays to the business cycle, unscheduled or self-scheduled [employees] may be out of step and thus endanger their job security," says Rakshys. However, he adds, as long as IT employees attend promptly to customers' needs and fulfill all their other duties, the schedules and types of staffing at an enterprise should have "little or no impact" on job security. Maintaining a position usually depends on individual and company performance.
DiMase points out that due to economic woes and a tough job market, this might not be the best time to ask for flexible scheduling. "Historically, IT is a cost center, not a profit center, so it is where you would first see job cuts — compared to profit centers such as sales."
Part-time employees with home offices and folks who share jobs may not qualify for health insurance, profit-sharing, vacations, and other benefits. They may be regarded as statutory staffers. Some companies offer off-site part-timers the opportunity to purchase insurance at the company price. The reality, though, is that only full-time workers are likely to receive full-time benefits.
Thus, depending on the company, a part-time employee may not be able to earn paid vacation time. Burdurka says he prefers to pro-rate days off but would also let staff members take the same amount of vacation time as that offered to full-timers. "I believe in 'sharpening the saw,'" he says. "However, I would only pay them for time earned."
Loudon says if a worker isn't meeting the minimum hour requirement, he or she likely won't be eligible for benefits such as health insurance, profit sharing, paid time off, or retirement income. Budurka would pro-rate retirement funds, reasoning that 20-hour-per-week employees should only accumulate retirement benefits half as fast as full-timers. Meanwhile, Rakshys notes that part-timers and job-sharers have a tendency to delay retirement anyway to make up for years of half-time wages.
With technological advances such as high-speed Internet access and other advancements in connectivity, telecommuting is becoming more prevalent. One advancement is the IP phone. By using an IP phone from home that is connected to the company, an IT worker can contact a client and the call will appear to be coming from the office.
Telecommuting is ideal for self-motivated, self-disciplined, and organized individuals and works well for information- or support-related jobs that don't require an on-site presence. Budurka points out, though, that the network administration necessary for moves, adds, and changes (MACS) cannot be accomplished from home. This applies to local area networks (servers, switches, clients, and so on) as well as telephone networks (phones and PBXs.) "There are certain upgrades and updates, such as firmware updates, that I am not comfortable working on from home either," he says.
Pernot notes that although there are many software solutions to assist off-site IT staffers, "it is sometimes very difficult to fully engage these employees in collaborations, ideas, and creative solutions in a remote environment." To keep everyone involved, he adds, "routine face-to-face time is recommended to balance the trade-offs."
Despite that IT pros are constantly on call, Pernot says those given flexible work arrangements would most likely show higher morale, suffer less stress, save travel time to and from work, be less likely to job search, and enjoy an improved overall work-life balance. Companies benefit as well with lower energy costs and satisfied customers who receive round-the-clock attention.
Budurka adds, "People who can manage projects and tasks with little supervision are worth premium wages and flexible schedules."
As companies slowly awake to the fact that extended workweeks can lead to frazzled IT employees and that flexible scheduling can ease the pain, the employees, in turn, can start awakening from something they long thought foreign — sleep.
Josh Barr is a freelance writer who runs his own public relations firm in Plymouth, Pennsylvania.
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