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Who bene­fits from flex­ible working hours, Mr. Sturm?

Ralf Sturm, Head of Human Resources in Mulfingen, about a new working time model


Mr. Sturm, how will the new system affect working times?

With effect from the begin­ning of the year, 1,000 employees in Mulfingen are no longer bound by core working hours. By arrange­ment with their partic­ular team they are free to organise their working time as they wish between 5 a.m. and 10 p.m. with a minimum working time of four hours per day in the case of full time employ­ment. The idea behind this new working time culture was to shift the emphasis from phys­ical pres­ence to task orien­ta­tion.

What are the conse­quences of this internal re-organ­i­sa­tion for customers?

Our customers enjoy even better support. Thanks to the flex­ible working hours we are still able to serve our customers quickly and effi­ciently even when we have a heavy work­load. What’s more, customers in other coun­tries benefit from the fact that we are easier to contact. After all, working times in the USA and Asia do not start and finish at 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., they cover a span from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Our new model accom­mo­dates this aspect as well.

How have the employees reacted to the new system?

The response has been very posi­tive. Flex­ible working hours help our employees find a better balance between family life and work and give them more personal freedom. A good work-life balance is an impor­tant argu­ment, partic­u­larly when it comes to attracting and holding onto highly qual­i­fied personnel.

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