Flexible Work Practices

Flexible work patterns and Practices further assist individuals managing both family and work expectations. With flexible work patterns and practices businesses are able to maintain and attract new skilled staff. Flexible working patterns include: flexible start and finish times, rostered days off, flexible rostering, flexible and negotiable leave arrangements, regular but quality part time work, working remotely, job sharing, career breaks and the ability to make up hours in the case of an emergency.

Flexible work place structures assist individual managing work expectations by allowing flexible start and end times. This can increase emotional wellbeing as they can fit more in, in one day e.g. a parent may have drop children off at school
If an individual can work from home, this can assist with child care. A parent who works at home can still provide child care and be working therefore enhancing economic wellbeing as this can save money. This can also enhance emotional wellbeing as a parent is still able to be there for their children and be creating a bond. Economic wellbeing is also further enhanced by saving money on travel expenses e.g. petrol or public transport. With flexible and negotiable leave arrangements an individual is able to take time off work when need be to meet family needs e.g. taking a child to the doctors or attending an awards ceremony at school. Regular quality part time work can assist in providing stability for a family so an individual can have the needed money to get by each week e.g. to pay rent, bills and buy food. Part time work also means that an individual can have more flexibility in work hours and easily get time off to assist with family expectations e.g. a mother can easily get time off to look after her children if the fall ill. Career breaks are also an important part of flexible work patterns as this can allow a parent to take a few years out of their career to look after children and help build a family before returning to work. Job share can also enhance family expectations as an individual can be at home more to look after children enhancing emotional wellbeing of individual and children or can give an individual time to recover from injury or illness enhancing physical wellbeing. Staying at home to look after children instead of sending them to school, can also save money, enhance financial wellbeing of a