Schedule flexibility is increasingly important to every worker, including those in the hospitality industry. As an industry, the hospitality field offers many benefits for workers to take advantage of, and just one of them is the ability to have flexibility in scheduling.
This article looks at the pros and cons of schedule flexibility in the hospitality industry.
Flexible Scheduling? Welcome to Hospitality
Many traditional jobs fail to offer flexible scheduling. But the hospitality industry has provided this benefit to workers for years. In a recent FlexJobs survey:
- 69% of the workers polled said having a flexible schedule was one of the most important things they looked at when considering a job.
- 30% reported they’ve left a job when the schedule wasn’t flexible enough.
- 80% said they’d be more loyal to the employer if they had more schedule flexibility.
Larry Freshler, a 30-year veteran of the hotel industry, wrote an opinion piece last year saying that he still considers the scheduling flexibility a top benefit. He suggests that flexible scheduling also has the added benefit of bringing teams together to collaborate on scheduling challenges.
Allowing things like shift swapping can let workers accommodate changes in their schedules. It’s something that hospitality workers have been doing.
Having schedule flexibility can improve employee work/life balance. It lets parents with children schedule around sporting events or other activities. It can improve productivity and help workers feel less pressure when trying to balance home commitments against work. It can even build loyalty and trust between employers and workers. Caterer.com puts it this way:
“Many hotels encourage flexible working as a way of retaining staff. After all, no company would want to lose you if you’re, say, a valued manager who knows the business and the brand inside out, just because you wanted to work a slightly different pattern, would they?”
The Balance Careers reports that there are myriad benefits of allowing scheduling flexibility in any field—not just the hospitality industry—and for both employees and their employers. They include:
For Employees
- Feelings of personal control over scheduling and the work environment.
- Greater job satisfaction.
- The ability to work when they are potentially more productive. (Some workers may prefer an overnight or early am shift, for example.)
For Employers
- Reduced turnover. One study showed a 3% reduction in employee absences after instigating a “just ask” policy for time off. Another study showed 48% of workers say they’re more likely to say in their current job because they have scheduling flexibility.
- Ability to attract talent.
- The ability to solve staffing problems by engaging the team in a solution.
Longer hours in the hospitality field can lend themselves to scheduling flexibility. There are also a variety of positions available in the hotel industry, which allows workers to shift flexibility. This flexibility is a perfect benefit, whether you are a stay at home parent looking to add additional income, a college student, or seeking a full-time position.
Gecko Hospitality understands the importance of having the best staff to ensure a high-quality customer experience. We can help your organization succeed. Contact us today to get started.
