Hours Set To Suit

Sydney Morning Herald
25 April 2008
Valerie Khoo

These days, working for a bank can mean having flexible arrangements, writes Valerie Khoo.

IF YOU'RE at an age when you remember what banking used to be like, you might recall that banks were open for restricted hours and had inflexible systems.

While consumers are now used to a much more flexible banking experience, bank employees are reaping benefits as well.

Triathlete Emma Brown, 32, manages a team of business analysts at the Commonwealth Bank. Although this is a demanding job, she also manages to squeeze in intense training - swimming, running and cycling every day. The bank says that Brown can work flexible hours as long as she gets the work done. "My training routine involves doing something every day," she says. "Sometimes I train in both the morning and evening."

Brown aims to do two long training sessions a week, which means she gets to work two hours later than normal, starting at 10am instead of 8am. "If I have a session at lunch time - which I might do once or twice a week - I put in some extra time at the end of the day. The bank has been doing a drive on flexible working processes. When you work in a place like this, culturally there's an expectation that you work 8am to 6pm. People's hours are usually very concrete."

When Brown has to go to triathlon events she has been able to take time away from work "as long as the job gets done". While sport is a passion for many Australians, she says flexible arrangements could accommodate other passions as well.

"It doesn't matter what somebody wants to do. They may want to go shopping or sit on the beach," she says. "The bank is advocating that if that is what somebody wants to do, then that's their lifestyle choice. We can do that and still meet the needs of the business."

Flexible working arrangements have also allowed Jenny Best to care for her granddaughter. Best, in her 50s, looks after complaints and compliments from customers at St George Bank. Although she is in a full-time position, she works only Monday to Thursday, so she can babysit on Friday.

To do this her hours have changed to accommodate extra time each day. They used to be 9am to 5.15pm. Now she works 7.30am to 5.30pm. "It was difficult to adjust to the longer hours at first," she says. "But you just need to organise yourself well for the four days you are at work. You can't let things overlap into the fifth day.

"Working the longer hours works quite well for four days but I don't think I could do it for five days. You are pushing your body - but it's achievable."

Best says she was overjoyed when her manager approved the reallocation of her hours.

"I hadn't thought of doing anything like this before," she says. "But when my daughter needed help, my manager was quite helpful in considering all the opportunities."

Although Best says she is constantly busy during her time in the office, she doesn't need to bring any work home.

"I do write myself notes in the middle of the night though but that hasn't changed from when I worked five days a week," she says. "It's a compromise but it all works together."

Back to News Index | Back to Home