The City of Houston sponsors a program called Flex in the City that encourages employers to try flexible work options for their employees during a two-week period. The employer can then measure the difference in productivity while the city measures the difference in traffic.

This program has been very successful in getting employers to experiment with variations in scheduling such as compressed work weeks, telecommuting, and staggered daily start and end times. The city aims to awaken employers to the advantages in terms of productive employees while, for itself, taking some employees out of peak commuting times improves the flow of traffic.

Employees respond positively when given the opportunity to choose an option that best suits their scheduling needs. Telecommuting, as an example, was studied by the Kenexa Research Institute, part of Kenexa Corp., a recruitment and retention consulting firm. Teleworkers scored higher levels of satisfaction and loyalty than office workers.

You can find out more about this trial program at www.houstontx.gov/flexworks.