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n an effort to offer further flexibility and promote healthier Work/Life balance, Nxtbook Media has instituted the PowerFlex program. PowerFlex works just like regular flextime (the same rules apply); however with PowerFlex the time does not have to be made up. Rather than a traditional 40-hour workweek, your hours (but not your pay) will be reduced by available PowerFlex time.
We’ll be phasing into a total of 4 hours of PowerFlex time per week based on the following schedule.
Like regular flextime, PowerFlex is designed to give employees the ability to adjust their work schedules as needed each week to balance the demands of life outside of work.
The main difference between the two is that regular Flextime has to be made up during the same week it was used by starting early, staying late, or shortening your lunch break (to a minimum of a ½ hour). PowerFlex time does not have to be made up.
Combined PowerFlex and Flextime is limited to a maximum of 4 hours per week.
Whenever possible, you should give at least 24 hours notice to request either Flextime or PowerFlex. In situations where it’s not possible to give 24 hours notice, you have a couple of options. For regular Flextime, you can either make up the time the same day it was used or apply PTO to any time you’re not able to make up in the same day (PTO can only be used in 2 hour increments). For PowerFlex you must get approval from your Team Leader to take PowerFlex time within 24 hours.
You should be consulting the Time Off Calendar before scheduling any time off to ensure that there is at least 50% departmental coverage. If other team members are already scheduled to be out at that time then you should talk to your team to discuss a plan to ensure necessary coverage or adjust your plans accordingly. You should also be considering client needs (peak support times, client calls, etc), project deadlines, and team/company commitments when scheduling.
You may not use Flextime and/or PowerFlex time during any team meetings, company meetings, training meetings, 1:1 coaching sessions, or any other pre-arranged meetings unless it’s an emergency. If you are looking to schedule Flextime or PowerFlex time during a regularly scheduled meeting time you should consult with your team in advance to determine if the meeting should be rescheduled to include you.
If the addition of PowerFlex hours (bonus time) to your timesheet would create overtime then those hours will not be added and your time away will be considered regular flextime. If you have overtime at the end of any week based on the entry of PowerFlex time then your bonus hours entry will be reduced accordingly.
Once you’ve discussed it as a team, you should share this information in the “Schedule” Slack channel so it can be added to the Time Off Calendar and your timesheet. It’s important to note regular flextime versus PowerFlex so it can be recorded correctly. Additionally, you should set an out-of-office message on your email and voicemail when you’re not available and set expectations for a follow up time.
Each employee must work a minimum of 4 hours per day during Regular Business Hours in order to be eligible to use flextime or PowerFlex. So yes - you can effectively use 2 hours of PTO and 2 hours of PowerFlex to leave at noon (if starting at 8:00 am) or to start at 1 p.m (if working until at least 5:00 pm).
We recognize that Fridays will probably be a popular day for PowerFlex time. There is no problem with using PowerFlex on Fridays but please consult with your teammates and the Time Off Calendar to ensure there is adequate coverage.
We don’t want to get to a point where we have to police who can take off when, or have to restrict eligible hours. We are all professionals so please be considerate and collaborative when scheduling. That means talk amongst your teammates about a rotation for Fridays if that’s the most popular day, rather than trying to schedule before your teammate does and taking every Friday of the month.