The American Workplace

An increase in flexible work schedules was widespread across demographic groups, occupations, and industries in 2004, according to the BLS in Workers on Flexible and Shift Schedules in May 2004 (July 1, 2005). In May 2004, 28.7% of whites had flexible work schedules that included at-home work, compared with 19.7% of African-Americans and 18.4% of those with Hispanic or Latino ethnicity.

In May 2004 about 44.7% of executives, administrators, and managers, 52.4% of workers in computer and mathematical occupations, 47.5% of workers in life, physical, and social science occupations, and 38.1% of sales workers were able to vary their work hours. However, only 21.2% of those employed as service workers, 13.1% of workers in education, training, and library occupations, and 12.4% of production workers had such flexibility. (See Table 2.13.)

Among private-sector employees, the proportion of workers with flexible schedules was much higher in such service-producing industries as financial activities (37.7%) and professional and business services (37.6%) than in goods-producing industries (24%). In the public sector, flexible schedules were more common among federal and state government employees (28.8% and 28.4%, respectively) than workers in local government (13.7%), which includes public elementary and secondary schools. (See Table 2.13.)

TABLE 2.10 Employed workers with alternative and traditional work arrangements by school enrollment and educational attainment, February 2005 "Table 7. Employed Workers with Alternative and Traditional Work Arrangements by School Enrollment and Educational Attainment, February 2005," in Contingent and Alternative Employment Arrangements, February 2005, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, July 27, 2005, http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/conemp.pdf (accessed January 9, 2006)