Business benefits:
• Solved night shift attrition problem.
• Effective tool to meet daily laboratory deadlines.
• Reduced overtime costs.
• Increased internal support hours.
• Improved administrative work flow, efficiency.
• Enhanced employee satisfaction.

Statistics:
• Compressed workweeks introduced: 1992
• Staff working compressed weeks: 17%
• Staff working non-traditional schedules: 60%

"A big part of why I came back to work here was the 4/10s, even though I took a cut in pay."
– Deb West, Medical Technologist

Work options meet business need
To meet its clients' expectations and achieve its goal of becoming the top laboratory provider in the region, Pathology Associates must analyze 95% of its 5,500 samples each day and have the results ready for doctors' offices and medical centers by 8 a.m. the next morning. Work options are helping the laboratory technicians and employees in a variety of other positions to meet the laboratory's goal and business needs.

Addressing night shift attrition, daily deadlines
Because the majority of testing must be performed in the evening or night after the samples are received, the laboratory operates Sunday night through Friday night. In 1992, Laboratory Director Gary Gemar was having an attrition problem with laboratory technical staff on the night shift. Because of needing a full day of recovery time after working an evening or night shift, technical staff complained that two days off were not enough. Between the difficult schedule and a shortage of available technical staff, Gemar was constantly looking for new staff. “I proposed to Human Resources and our CEO that we try compressed workweeks to help retain night shift workers,” Gemar says. He worked out a new schedule of four 10-hour days. To cover gaps in coverage, he determined he would need two more full-time employees than the 10 he currently had. The board of directors approved the plan.

“The 8s were killing them,” says Human Resources Director Rosalee Allan. “On night shift, people need an extra day to catch up because of their sleep pattern. Compressed workweeks slowed the turnover on night shift to a crawl.” Now Gemar says half of the laboratory staff have been with the company for 10 years or longer. Night shift technical staff appreciate their three days off so much it is rare for them to apply when day positions are posted.

As the laboratory's volume of work has grown, the longer days ensure the laboratory can meet its guaranteed overnight turn-around with less overtime. Reduced overtime costs more than balance out the expense of two additional staff.

Technologist returns for 4/10s
Medical Technologist Deb West works midnight to 10 a.m., unless it is her turn to run the two batches of five-hour hepatitis tests. Then she works 2 a.m. to 12 noon, to ensure she can complete both batches after the last samples of the day are received. In 1996, due to a purchase and consolidation, Pathology's hematology work, along with West, moved to a medical center site where she continued to work nights but on a 5/8 schedule for eight months. “A big part of why I came back to work here was the 4/10s, even though I took a cut in pay,” West says.

Work options fill niche needs
“Work options are in popular demand. If a company can't compete on pay or other benefits, then it has to understand what's important to people,” Allan says. “At our company, our selling point has been the flexibility we allow employees. The more flexible work schedules you offer, the more people you can attract.”

Since 1994, compressed workweeks have been available to other departments and positions based on business needs and supervisory approval. Overall, 100 of Pathology's 580 staff work a compressed week. In addition to laboratory technical staff, some members of the billing, office, processing, toxicology, human resources and secretarial departments work compressed weeks for a variety of reasons. They report benefits including space sharing, overlapping hours of support with evening and night shifts, improved administrative work flow, and increased employee satisfaction.

Employee choice plus business benefits
Human Resources Representative Margaret Kissler works 4/10s Tuesday through Friday. “I always wanted to have an extra day off, but this schedule also works for the company. “When I was promoted to this job, Rosalee gave me some schedule choices. Plus there weren't enough desks to go around in Human Resources. So on my Monday off, our part-time payroll clerk used my work station to do payroll.”

Kissler's hours are 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. She is able to work more efficiently in the quiet time before 8 a.m. and after 5 p.m. Seldom does she panic about completing a project or have to work overtime because she has longer periods of uninterrupted work. She can also copy paperwork that is confidential with no risk of it being read over her shoulder in the normally crowded copy machine room. When Allan and Human Resources Administrator Kim Troyer arrive at 8 a.m., their mail is already sorted and waiting along with paperwork from Kissler that needs their attention. Evening and night shift employees value having access to a Human Resources staff member at the beginning or end of their shifts to ask questions or pick up forms. “Previously, Human Resources would have a pile of notes and requests from night shift. Now I can take care of their needs in person and on the spot,” Kissler says.

“Even though we're not here to see it, it is obvious that Margaret gets more done between 7 and 8 a.m. than any other hour of the day,” Troyer says. “When I leave Monday, her basket is stacked six inches high, and it's down to nothing by the time I arrive Tuesday morning.”

Teamwork essential for coverage
Maintaining coverage in a very small department requires more thought than in a large department, but if carefully planned, staggered workweeks can actually increase the hours of coverage. Cross-training to cover for each other's days off also benefits both the company and employees. “Effective managers and departments that have developed a strong sense of teamwork and a commitment to meeting business needs have the most success with work options,” notes Allan.

Work options part of company's culture
While Pathology Associates has never had written policies on work options, they have been in use for so long that they are part of the company's culture. “We've had compressed workweeks and other variations on the traditional workweek, such as flextime and reduced schedules, so long that it's just second nature around here,” Troyer says. “You have to make sure there is coverage when needed and that the work is getting done, but it's not a hassle.”

Telework meets unique business needs
Pathology also has used telework in certain instances to meet deadlines, retain employees and recruit new ones. When Laboratory Information Systems staff have a large amount of programming to do or supervisors have evaluations to write, they are encouraged to work at home in order to meet their deadline. When a part-time Information Systems employee informed her supervisor she was moving to Missouri, the supervisor requested she telework from her new home to help finish a project. After the project is completed, plans are for her to continue working for Pathology.

© 1999 Washington State University Cooperative Extension Energy Program. This publication contains material written and produced for public distribution. You may reprint this written material, provided you do not use it to endorse a commercial product. Please reference by title and credit Washington State University Cooperative Extension Energy Program and Commuter Challenge. Published April 1999.

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