A flexible work schedule has become popular during the covid-19 pandemic as employees had to deal with increased responsibilities. But even with the pandemic subsiding, its popularity keeps rising. Flexible schedules can be implemented as work from home, hybrid work culture, or scheduling employees’ hours according to their preferences.

But while there’s no harm in offering flexible work hours to the employees, offering it to employees working in the HR department of your organization can be disadvantageous. HR employees and the organization can experience as many, if not more, disadvantages of preferred schedules for HR professionals as it brings advantages.

Let’s take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of flexible work hours for HR professionals to see if you should allow flexible schedules for your HR employees or not:

Advantages of Flexible Work Schedule of HR Professionals

HR professionals can experience the following benefits:

• Increased work output and efficiency– Like all other employees, HR employees can also receive the benefits of preferred schedules.
• Reduced overtime and absenteeism– Flexible work hours make it easy for HR professionals to complete their work, encouraging them to complete it even on days that might be difficult.
• Enhanced motivation and loyalty toward the organization– Provided with work hours of their choice, any employee will become loyal to the organization. Their motivation to stay with the organization will keep rising in the long run.

Disadvantages of Flexible Work Schedule of HR Professionals

The disadvantages experienced by HR employees can include:

• Lack of communication– Communication is one of the most important responsibilities of HR professionals, and flexible work hours can make it difficult. Firstly, HR personnel may not be available to resolve the issues faced by other employees at the workplace. Secondly, their changing schedules can make it difficult for HR personnel to observe other employees for signs of burnout or personal issues.
• Bad impression on other teams and employees– The absence of HR employees from the workplace can create a negative impression about the organization on employees from other departments.
• Recruitment difficulties– Recruitment interviews can be difficult to arrange with HR personnel working from home or odd hours. Scheduling recruitment interviews on zoom due to flexible work hours of HR employees can result in the candidates’ loss of interest in working with the organization.
• Difficulty in employee management– HR professionals’ primary role is to manage employees in the best way for the organization they serve. However, HR personnel cannot perform this duty efficiently if they’re not present at the right hours at the workplace. In short, other employees must be aware that they can approach HR personnel anytime in their office.

While HR professionals also deserve equal employee benefits as other employees, granting them flexible work schedules can become a hurdle in efficient HR operations. As an employer, you can provide other, better benefits to your HR department by denying them flexible work hours. The compensatory benefits can include paid transport to and from work, increased overtime pay, and greater increments.