City of Los Altos finds success with its flexible work schedules

“The pandemic response, which required a lot of the workforce to be virtual, demonstrated that employers could be more flexible in how, when and where employees worked, without reducing services to residents and customers,” he said.

Employees could choose between a four-day workweek with 10-hour shifts, 80 hours of work completed over nine days in a two-week period with alternating Fridays off, or a traditional five-day, 40-hour work-week.

Engeland noted that the alternative schedules were offered after city officials realized they could provide greater flexibility to employees without sacrificing service to customers and residents.

“As an employer, the city learned that flexible and remote schedules increase employee satisfaction with their jobs and improve the morale of the workforce, while still allowing us to be a high-performing organization,” he said.

Work-life balance

Anthony Carnesecca, assistant to the city manager, opted to work 80 hours every two weeks, meaning he works nine hours Mondays through Thursdays and eight hours every other Friday, with the alternating Friday being a day off. He said his schedule has helped his work-life balance.

“This schedule gives me an extended weekend, allowing for more uninterrupted time with my 2-year-old son and my wife,” he said.

Transitioning to the new routine, though it adds an extra hour to his workdays, has made areas of Carnesecca’s life, like commuting, easier.

“With this schedule, I have more of an opportunity to decompress and unplug from work, work on home and personal projects, and spend valuable time with my family,” he added. “All of these things combined have helped increase my productivity through the week and shaped a better work-life balance.”

City officials have not observed a decrease in employee performance or efficiency since the flexible schedules were instituted, according to Engeland, and employees are working the same number of hours as before, just distributed differently.

“In fact, we are able to open city hall five days a week to residents with the implementation of ‘choose your own schedule,’ where previously we were only open to the public four days a week,” he said.

While the schedules are offered across all departments, not all employees can work remotely because their schedules don’t allow flexibility, including employees in public safety and recreation positions that require them to be physically present at a location at specific times.

Employees who choose a four-day workweek have varying schedules, Engeland said, which are staggered to ensure prompt and efficient service to residents.

“As an example, if we have two employees on a 4-10 schedule, one may work Monday to Thursday, with the second working Tuesday to Friday,” he said. “This would allow residents to have service available Monday through Friday.”

Carnesecca said he’s grateful the city offers staff flexible schedules that meet both the city’s and employees’ needs, and he “absolutely” encourages employers to explore nontraditional schedules for employees.

“This added flexibility within the traditional workweek has changed my work-life balance, and I think any organization that is able to should consider looking into more flexible work schedules,” he said.