Flexible Work Options

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What you need to know

Sandia recognizes that you have a life outside of work and sometimes need flexible work schedules  to help balance the two. In addition to alternate work schedules, Sandians may be eligible to telecommute from home or work virtually from a remote location.

Flexible Work Schedules

While there are certain core work hours that need to be covered, eligible employees can arrange work time outside of the typical workday schedule.

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Schedule Types

A 9/80 work schedule gives eligible employees the opportunity to take every other Friday off.

With this schedule, you will work 80 hours over nine business days (nine hours on eight days and eight hours on one day) and take every other Friday off.

Certain rules apply if you want to alternate or switch your schedule.

The 4/10 work schedule option requires management approval and is for:

  • Non-represented exempt and non-exempt employees
  • OPEIU-represented employees
  • Student interns

With this schedule, you’ll work four 10-hour days each week. You can take any day of the week as your day off. Your chosen day off should be consistent week to week.

Your designated day off is subject to your manager’s approval and is based on business needs.

A part-time schedule is working a minimum of 20 hours to a maximum of 36 hours per week.

Only regular, non-represented employees (including limited-term employees), and postdoctoral employees can work part-time.

A part-time schedule covers specific circumstances and can be used during a limited time period. For example, you can work part-time if you need time for:

  • Caring for a sick dependent
  • Continuing your education
  • Taking care of personal and family needs
  • Phasing into retirement
  • Other circumstances (subject to manager’s approval)

Working part-time affects your benefits, pay, vacation and holiday accrual, and medical plan coverage costs. Before you make the change, be sure you understand what switching to a part-time schedule will mean for you. Contact HR Solutions if you have questions.

Flextime is approved to be used in support of short-term business needs (4 weeks or less) requiring additional hours worked to balance workload shifts.

Exempt employees below the director level may be eligible to earn Flextime pay if you work five hours over your regularly scheduled hours for the week.

Flextime is not an automatic benefit for additional hours worked – it’s subject to your manager’s pre-approval.

Extended Work Week (EWW) is approved to be used in support of high-priority projects requiring multi-month, multi-year efforts as approved by the Center Director.

An Extended Work Week (EWW) may be authorized if warranted by Sandia’s business needs. EWW is offered to full-time, exempt employees below the director level.

You must be on a standard schedule before EWW is considered*. EWW must be approved in advance by your Manager, Senior Manager, and your Director. After management pre-approval, you must submit the EWW eform to obtain all documented approvals.

If approved, EWW pays you straight time, in addition to your base salary, for the eligible hours worked under EWW.

*EWW charging can now begin hour one over an exempt employee’s weekly scheduled hours. This change is approved through May 31, 2024. This change does not apply to flextime.

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Managers may approve alternate work schedules when they meet Sandia’s business needs and adhere to our policies. Represented employees should refer to their respective collective bargaining agreements regarding work schedules.

Telecommuting and Virtual Work

In addition to alternate work schedules, Sandians may be eligible to telecommute from home or work virtually from a remote location. Telecommuting or virtual work can be an effective means of meeting mission needs while providing employees options that reduce commute times and environmental effects, foster work-life balance, and recognize the unique needs of individual employees.

If you are interested, review the process and resources below, then talk with your manager. From there, you will need to sign a formal agreement, which establishes the terms of your telecommuting arrangement.

Telecommuting

With telecommuting, employees work from home and can commute to their main work location as needed (for example, to attend in-person meetings). A telecommuting arrangement can be short- or long-term for full-time, part-time, or incidental work types.

A formal telecommuting or virtual work agreement needs to be processed by Human Resources at least two weeks prior to starting. So be sure to plan ahead as you complete the process for submitting your request.

Virtual Work

You may be eligible to set up a virtual work arrangement when:

  • You are working full-time from a non-primary work location, and
  • You are not readily available to report to your main work location within normal commuting times.

Generally, there are two types of virtual work: when you are working at a customer/contract site and for personal situations.

You can learn more about virtual work arrangements from your manager and through HR Solutions.

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Next Steps & Resources

  1. Review the requirements for Telecommuting and Virtual Work (HR013)
  2. Evaluate what work status might be right for you using the Telecommuting and Virtual Work Employee Guide.
  3. To start or terminate a telecommuting or virtual work agreement, complete this eForm.

Telecommuting and Virtual Work Tips for Success

Connect with other telecommuters and virtual workers

NextGen: touchdown spaces, FAQs, the end-to-end process to start telecommuting, and IT, health, safety, and security info to support your work from home

Promoting inclusion while working remotely

Hybrid Team Engagement Toolkit

Training opportunities for telecommuters and managers

Approaches to Innovation

Tips, tools and lessons learned on collaborating and innovating in telework situations.

External Resources

 

 

All telecommuters and virtual workers are required to complete an online Ergonomic Assessment.

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Certain eligibility and other rules apply for different types of roles, work locations, and types of work (for example, student interns, employees living in Washington, D.C ., and classified work). Get all the details through HR Solutions.

Flexible Schedule Options to Balance Family Needs

How can I adjust my schedule to balance family needs during the pandemic, or for other reasons?

Talk with your manager about Sandia’s flexible work options. The following scenarios show how these options can be used to help navigate unique challenges.

Access to Sandia’s internal web is required to view the scenarios.

  1. Flexing start and stop times to help kids with school
  2. Compressing or expanding workdays to help high-risk parents
  3. Flexing workdays while teleworking with spouse and college students at home
  4. Considering part-time schedule while childcare provider is closed
  5. Using vacation time in shorter increments to help with remote work and family needs
  6. Taking care of an ill family member or myself
  7. Exempt employee modifying start and stop times to help young children during the day
  8. A non-exempt way to modify start and stop times (New Mexico)
  9. A non-exempt way to modify start and stop times (California)
  10. Considering a part-time schedule to meet family needs
  11. Non-exempt moving start and stop times to help younger children during the day
  12. Non-exempt moving to 4/10 to help younger children during the day

 

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Cross the i’s and dot the t’s

Need help with an alternative work schedule? Connect with HR Solutions to find out your options.

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Quick Tip

Need time away from work?

If you have a temporary situation where a flexible work schedule can’t help you balance your work and personal/family life needs, you may consider taking a leave of absence.