The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development achieved a remarkable leap by launching the policy for flexible work. This represents a first step in supporting the competitiveness of institutions and companies, as well as providing various job opportunities for job seekers. This trend, which is part of the mechanisms for achieving the vision of the 2030 Kingdom, represents one of the tributaries of the success and dynamism of the global labor markets, especially in the retail and restaurant sectors, as in the United States and the United Kingdom.

What is the flexible work system?

The traditional work system determines the daily working hours that the employee performs throughout the working days, which may not be commensurate with the pressure of work and the urgent need of additional hours during some occasions. This is why a different work system is adopted, one that enables the entrepreneur and employee to determine the number of working hours that suit both parties. This innovative method enables an agreement on an hourly wage that enables the worker to work more hours that suit his abilities and diligence, and protects the employer from a long-term contract that may not actually be commensurate with his needs in different seasons. This flexible method is called “Flextime” and is one of the most popular methods of increasing productivity and providing more job opportunities with greater efficiency.

According to a Forbes report, the data for working system preferences in the UK showed that:

• 92% of Millennials (people born after 1980) consider the flexible work system a top priority for choosing any job.
• 80% of women and 52% of men prefer a flexible work system.
• 30% of employees prefer a flexible work system over an increase in wages.

These details that show the value of hourly work are not limited to the United Kingdom society, but it is rather a comprehensive belief everywhere, especially that this system guarantees the rights of the worker and the employer.

Pros of the hourly work system

The flexible work system has several advantages that interest job seekers or companies and CEOs:

 A. The advantages of Flexible work system for employees

The hourly work system offers employees a set of benefits, the most important of which are:

1. 1. Space for diligence and increasing income

Employees and workers can increase their income and gain an additional space for diligence by choosing the flexible work system.

This way of organizing work enables employees to work in more than one company, improve their careers, as well as increase their income.

1. 1. A special work schedule for each case

Many employees find it difficult to deal with the classic work schedule, as it imposes long working hours, without a sufficient leave (vacation) system.

This is why many men, and especially women, choose an hourly work system to avoid sacrificing family obligations at the expense of work.

1. 1. Serious and positive work

Many employees find it difficult to adapt to their job that makes them spend long hours without real production, which disrupts their careers and suppresses their ability to learn and develop.

Therefore, an hourly working system represents the best way to enable employees to leave their mark in their work without losing the sense of loyalty to the company.

1. 1. More happiness and less stress

In an IBM survey of 42,000 employees in 79 countries, researchers found that stress was significantly lower in employees that work hourly.

In contrast, the employees who worked under the traditional system were less happy and more stressed because of routine work schedules [2].

B. The advantages of Flexible work system for companies

The flexible work system provides a set of basic characteristics for the success of every project, such as:

1. 1. Attracting qualified employees

Most of the time, companies are not able to hire qualified employees for a long time, so CEOs choose an hourly work system as a way to contract with talented people and professional specialists.

On the other hand, qualified employees find in this hourly system an opportunity to increase their resources and improve their experiences by working in more than one company.

1. 1. Increasing productivity

Many administrators find it difficult to deal with wasted time for employees, especially at times when the company is less active, so contracting with workers and employees hourly is a great way to increase productivity and improve profitability.

And in cases where the company needs to increase the number of employees on a large scale, the CEOs will not worry about the difficulty of organizing new work teams and employing more manpower, as working by the hour gives them a lot of freedom.

1. 1. Improving service quality

To provide 7/7 and 24/24 services, companies find it difficult to evaluate the performance and costs of employees.

Therefore, choosing the hourly work system is an excellent way to improve the quality of services provided to clients without worrying about the additional costs that may be caused by increasing working hours or raising the expectations of goals.

1. 1. Increasing the loyalty of employees

80% of employees who work hourly at Irish Accenture said that their ability to manage work and their private life affects their career choices, and that they want to stay in the company thanks to its flexible work system.

Certainly, the greater the employee’s loyalty to the company, the more (s)he feels committed to work and the more (s)he raises his/her profitability to increase its competitiveness.

Flexible work system in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom was proactive, as usual, in creating appropriate legislation and laws to provide a flexible work platform that guarantees the rights of both parties. Indeed, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development developed the flexible work system in response to a set of royal decrees regulating work.

Among the most important details included in the flexible work system, we mention:

• The employer is not obligated to compensate annual leave, special events or end of service benefits.
• Workers are not subjected to a probationary period.
• Calculating hourly work, and paying wages monthly accordingly.
• The working hours of a single employer may not exceed 95 hours per month.
• The worker has the right to agree or refuse when requested to work.

These simple details will increase the dynamism of the labor market in the Kingdom, and leave more space for effort for workers and employees who wish to develop their incomes and improve their careers in a distinct and unconventional way. Here are the details of this flexible system.

The rules of the Flexible work system

To further understand the specificities of this system of work for some time, the following details have been defined:

1. Flexible work is the work performed by an employee who is not affiliated with the employer, and the wage of this employer is calculated hourly. And it is required that the working hours under one employer be less than half of the approved working hours in the company per month.

2. Hourly work is restricted to Saudis only.

3. The percentage of workers employed by the employer is determined according to the sectors determined by the ministry through its online portal.

4. The employer does not compensate the workers for paid leave, such as annual leave, sick leave, or special events.

5. The employer is not obliged to provide the end of service benefits to the hourly workers who worked with him.

6. The employer cannot impose a trial period on workers who work with the flexible work system.

7. Flexible work contracts are referred to the Annuities Branch of the Social Insurance System, according to the rules set by the Corporation.

8. The worker on a flexible contract system counts as one-third (1/3) of the Saudization percentage in the establishments incentive program. However, it is required that the worker accumulate at least 168 hours in flexible work.

In 1940, the 40-hour workweek became US law.  This law was passed to regulate the length of the working day preventing excesses and abuses.  This has constituted the formal classical employer-employee relationship for centuries.  Nowadays, with the varying market demand and with the amounts of uncertainties businesses have to forecast demand, the need arose for a more flexible model for businesses to bring in needed capacities.  This triggered the on-demand hourly basis model that enables businesses to hire just-enough capacities based on the need removing all opportunities for organizational slack.

In essence, hourly based employees are, unlike salaried employees who are paid a flat salary regardless of how many hours worked, paid an hourly wage for each hour worked. Hourly workers may often be found in service and manufacturing occupations, but are common across a variety of fields.

At Saudi Arabia, this model is offering jobs to thousands of Saudis at their early career, which equip them with the needed skills for the market. Retail, food and beverage, events, and every business that suffer demand fluctuating due to seasonality need flexible supply of work force to meet this fluctuated demand. Flexible work model helps businesses to reduce their cost by increasing utilization, and to generate more sales by increasing their capacity.

Tackling the concept from the employee side, with the rise of gig economy we found that more people prefer to work on their own schedule instead of sticking to normal day job. They do it to complement their income, gain more experience, and to make a better use of their time.

Governments also come into the picture.  This new trend encouraged governments, corporate, investors, and entrepreneurs to look for new solutions which gave birth to many startups in different domains in gig economy and on demand economy.

“The gig economy workforce is currently growing three times faster than the traditional U.S. workforce, and businesses should not expect this trend to slow down anytime soon. By 2027, half of U.S. workers are expected to be freelancers.”

If you are interested, here is nice article by Mckinsey&Co about the future of work, you can read it here.

The model will help to create job opportunities for individuals of both genders  and help people who are looking to increase their income. Also, it can guarantee all employees rights throughout a flexible contractual regulation, in which the employees get paid on an hourly basis. It aims at enhancing the economic participation of all segments of the society, and making the work environment more open to new entrepreneurial opportunities.

So, what are the rising use cases for hourly work?

As for those workers who join the university to complete their studies, hourly work is considered a lifeline for them to be able to balance work and study requirements, so they allocate certain hours to each, without failing any of them.

Hourly work also comes in favor of woman, who may find herself surrounded by a lot of responsibilities that prevent her to catch up with her passion for career and to fully realize herself, by enabling her to work according to a schedule with a certain number of hours that guarantees her a balance between her private life and work.

That said, we still have to mention that this new work paradigm lacks regulations and governance to ensure the intended efficiency to be delivered.  Otherwise, we will see a truck going 20-40 kilometers per hour under the speed limit because the driver is being paid hourly and not per job!!!