Balancing work and family responsibilities is a challenge for many people. For some, a creative solution lies in changing the structure of the average workday. Flexible work schedules are grouped into two categories. Fixed arrangements have stable, established days and hours of work.
Variable arrangements provide for daily, weekly, monthly or annual fluctuations in schedule.
Many variations on this theme exist. Coming in to work at 7 a.m. allows me to check the buildings for any heating or cooling problems or damage before classes start. And I love having every other Friday off to get things done when other people are working. Maureen Burns, humanities curator of the visual resources collection in the School of the Arts, has been on this schedule for three years. I don't know if I could do the program any other way.