Posted on: Monday, April 12, 2004

Companies grapple with flex-time issue

By Allan Drury
Westchester (N.Y.) Journal News

Fenton Soliz drove by the offices of his company, Mortgage Experts Inc., one recent Sunday night and noticed the lights were on.

Soliz, the president and chief executive, called the company's number to find out what was happening. He reached an employee who told him workers were underwriting mortgages.

Soliz said it's typical for some of his employees to work at odd times because they often take time off during the week to tend to family and other personal responsibilities. "We've struck a balance with our employees where we want them to make it to the soccer game or the dance recital," Soliz said. "We'll give you everything your family needs," as long as employees finish their work, he said.

In an era in which people are so crunched for time, companies from Fortune 500 elites to mom-and-pop shops wrestle with the question of how much flexibility to give their workers.

Michael Sammarco, vice president for sales and marketing at All-Tech Electronics in Elmsford, N.Y., said his company struggles with the issue of flexibility. "I'm constantly asked by employees, 'Can I leave at 3 today?' We (the partners in the business) have kids, so we're sensitive to that. But ... we have a business to run."

The family responsibilities that many younger and middle-aged employees have are prompting some companies to place extra value on older workers who are less likely to have young children at home, some employers said.

It can mean savings for companies because the older workers tend to be financially secure, and less demanding when it comes time to negotiate a salary. "Older workers will say, 'I don't have to make six figures. I'm interested in working in a place where I'm comfortable,' " Sammarco said.