Flextime

What is flextime?

Flextime (or flexible working hours) is a work organization method that allows employees to choose their arrival and departure times within a range defined by thecompany. Instead of fixed working hours (e.g. 9 a.m.-5 p.m.), the contract provides for "mobile slots": everyone can start earlier or later, as long as the weekly working hours and minimum attendance periods (often called core hours) are respected. The main aim is to adapt working hours to lifestyle rhythms, while maintaining continuity of service and collective performance.

Origin and evolution

First introduced in English-speaking countries in the 1970s, flextime was a response to the growing need to reconcile work and family life. The rise of digital technology, followed by the spread of hybrid working, has given this practice a new lease of life: thanks to project management and asynchronous communication tools, teams can now collaborate without all being in the office at the same time. As a result, flextime has become a key element of workplace well-being and talent attraction policies.

How it works in practice

A flextime agreement is structured around three parameters:

1. Fixed shifts: times when presence is required (e.g. 10 a.m.-12 p.m. and 2-4 p.m. for shift points).
2. Flextime: slots during which people choose their own hours (e.g. 7-10 a.m. in the morning and 4-8 p.m. in the evening).
3. Hour counter: individual monitoring to ensure compliance with legal or contractual working hours (generally via an HR tool).

The manager 's responsibility then consists in setting clear objectives, checking the distribution of the workload and ensuring the coordination of collective moments (meetings, decision-making).

Major benefits of flextime for companies and employees

For employees, flextime offers better management of personal obligations (transport, childcare, training), reduces the stress associated with commuting at peak times and enables work to be carried out at times when concentration is at its best. For theorganization, it means greater commitment, lower absenteeism and a wider recruitment pool, particularly for profiles that are geographically remote or subject to specific time constraints.

The limits of flextime

However, the success of a flextime program depends on a number of factors. Insufficient monitoring can lead to overloaded working hours or to teams getting out of sync. Fixed time slots that are too long negate the benefits of the program, while those that are too short complicate real-time cooperation. Finally, the "face-to-face" culture needs to evolve: evaluation should be based on results, rather than simply on visibility in the office or online.

Flextime and technologies

A shared scheduling tool - a collaborative calendar, a time clock application or a module integrated into the office suite - simplifies the tracking of mobile slots. Visibility into everyone's availability reduces the need for multiple exchanges to schedule a meeting. Automated timekeeping ensures legal compliance, while dashboards help management analyze the impact on productivity and team satisfaction.

In a nutshell

Flextime is an advanced form of flexible working: it gives employees control over their working hours, while preserving the needs of the collective. Properly managed, it is a lever forwork-life balance, motivation and performance. Its implementation requires a precise definition of time slots, reliable monitoring tools and management based on trust and objectives. By reconciling autonomy and framework, flextime transforms working time into an agile resource, adapted to the contemporary realities of companies and individuals.