• You are in your current position;
• You want to make a life change which means that you will only be able to come into the office three days a week for a period of twelve months; and
• Having reviewed your finances and other commitments, you realise that you can afford to work part-time during that 12 month period.

What are your options?

• Negotiate this with a member of your group, using the following questions to trigger possible solutions:
  • What are the critical components of your job? Could it be split into two distinct part-time jobs?
  • Could your job be job-shared?
  • Could you work from home for two days, thus continuing full-time employment?
  • If you determine that your job could not be done on a flexible basis, could you rotate jobs with someone else for the next year, enabling you to do a different job which could be more flexible? and
  • Can you think of any other possible solutions?

Once you have come up with a solution, address the following issues:

• Performance Management:
  1. How is your effectiveness currently measured?
  2. Will these measures still work in your new situation?
  3. What new performance agreements might help to better measure your effectiveness?
• Your Opportunities to Contribute to the Business:
  • How can you ensure that you continue to have opportunities to contribute to business developments?
  • Will you be perceived as less committed and as contributing less to your organisation? How can you manage this situation?
• Cost/Benefit:
  What are the costs and benefits of this solution in both financial and non-financial terms?
• Managing those who Report to You:
  • How could you go about managing at a distance?
  • What extra skills and resources might you need?
• Managing Relationships with Others:
  • What adjustments will others have to make as a result of your new arrangement? Will it cause more work or inconvenience? Do you anticipate any resentment from others? How should this be addressed?
  • How can you ensure that communication needs are met?
  • How can you gain acceptance and support from:
    • Your peers;
    • Your clients/customers; and
    • Those who report to you?

For more information please see the Step By Step Flexibility Tool Guide...