Flex Time

For about 7 years my daily work schedule was 8:30am to 5:30pm. Then when we switched Amelia to a toddler bed, she began waking up at 5:15/5:30am, so I decided that since I was already up, I may as well go to work, and get out earlier so I can have a bit more time with Amelia in the evenings. So now, I currently work from 7:30am to 4pm with 30 minutes for lunch instead of an hour. I love getting out at 4pm. It’s daylight for one, no matter what time of year. I can pick Amelia up and be home by 5pm, even when I have to stop and get groceries. This means I can have dinner ready well before 7pm. With her new bedtime of 8pm, it means I’m not super crunched to get dinner on the table and get her a bath before she goes to bed. Getting off work at 4pm gives me plenty of time to do everything I need to do.

But my question is, is flex time really as good as all the hype? I’ve been reading Working Mother magazine, and have been seeing all these corporate women who seem to do everything in a day, but I wonder how well they manage it all. I guess when you are a corporate junkie, you can do your paperwork at home in the evenings after the kids go to sleep, or in the morning while drinking that cup of coffee, but there is some sacrifice, no matter what.

With flextime, sure you control which hours you clock at the office, but you are still required to clock the allotted 8 hours a day, no matter what shift you choose. So you are either sacrificing the morning routine (in which your spouse gets the kid(s) ready long after you have left for work) or you are sacrificing quality time in the afternoon.

My flex schedule works for now, but once Amelia starts kindergarten and is in school til a mere 2:30pm, I’ll still be sacrificing. I still won’t spending as much time as I want with her, being there when she gets home from school (or being there to see her off to school), so no matter what flex time they offer me, it still means I’m missing out some time with her during the day.

You could argue that’s just the way it is for a working parent, and I agree. But I just wish they wouldn’t hype up flex time to make it sound better than it really is. You still (in most companies) have to put in 8 consecutive hours a day, so really how flexible is it?

I guess they should just change the terminology of it. Don’t call it flex schedule, because it’s not all that flexible. I’m not good at coming up with names. But they could call it something more appropriate. Variable schedule, maybe. Because at most, you have about 3 or 4 different starting/ending times to choose from. Which you choose depends on what you are willing to sacrifice.