Instead of Two Shifts, Job Segmentation Adjusts Group Schedules
Flexible Working Hours Lead to a Surge in Job Applications
Career-Interrupted Women Successfully Rebound as Working Moms
Flexible Working Hours Lead to a Surge in Job Applications
Career-Interrupted Women Successfully Rebound as Working Moms
Flexible work in a factory?
Flexible work, which allows adjustment of working hours and locations without fixed schedules, has been perceived as applicable only to 'white-collar' jobs, that is, office workers. However, there is a place that demonstrated this working method can be implemented even in factories. It is a dairy manufacturing plant based in St. Louis, Minneapolis, USA.
![Flexible Work at the Factory?...Why the Cheese Factory Chose Change Amid 'Labor Shortage' [Jjinbit]](https://cphoto.asiae.co.kr/listimglink/1/2024031409294194362_1710376181.jpg)
How did a manufacturing plant introduce flexible work?
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) recently reported focusing on the background, process, and outcomes of Land O'Lakes, a U.S. dairy cooperative, applying flexible work arrangements to some factory workers since April last year. Among the 140 sites operated by the company, 60 are implementing flexible work programs, with plans to expand to all factory operations within the next few years.
Land O'Lakes operates a 24-hour factory to produce 500-pound blocks of cheese from milk. It produces 350,000 pounds of cheese daily. Like the rest of the world, the company has pursued automation to address labor shortages, and according to factory officials, machines now perform all tasks they can at this point.
Before introducing flexible work, the company divided working hours into two shifts: from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. and from 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. the next day, operating two shifts. The 24-hour factory operated with all tasks uniformly applied across these two shifts.
However, with the introduction of flexible work, tasks were subdivided, and work previously done by one full-time employee was divided among teams of 2 to 3 people. They coordinated their schedules to ensure 24-hour factory operation without issues, enabling flexible work. Managers and employees in teams adjusted work schedules every two weeks. Managers assigned employees to ensure uninterrupted 24-hour factory operation and communicated with employees to resolve any gaps.
The company started applying flexible work to tasks relatively suitable for it. Tasks requiring precise timing or continuity, which could cause problems, were initially excluded; instead, flexible work was first applied to managing containers holding products or building maintenance tasks. The company explained that they are gradually expanding to tasks requiring skilled expertise.
![Flexible Work at the Factory?...Why the Cheese Factory Chose Change Amid 'Labor Shortage' [Jjinbit]](https://cphoto.asiae.co.kr/listimglink/1/2024031409321294370_1710376331.jpg)
However, after COVID-19 and the freezing of the U.S. labor market, the company faced labor shortages and could no longer insist on this method unconditionally. Maintaining the shift work system made it difficult to retain employees seeking work-life balance. The same applied to recruiting new employees.
While the company solved the issue for office workers by introducing remote work, finding solutions for production workers was not easy. They considered reducing working hours but judged that the ability to flexibly adjust working hours was more important.
Jon Duberry, Chief Supply Chain Officer (CSO) of Land O'Lakes, said, "We asked ourselves, 'Why do we have to start work at 6 or 7 a.m.?'" and "We thought about how to arrange work centered around employees." He added, "The number of people working in manufacturing is gradually decreasing every year due to factors like an aging workforce," and "From a U.S. demographic perspective, this is a long-term issue."
As a result, the company found it easier to secure labor. When they posted one job opening with flexible work, over 100 applicants applied. Considering that before introducing flexible work, 26 full-time job postings received no applicants, this is a tremendous change.
Duberry CSO explained that the company needs 2 to 3 flexible workers to replace one full-time employee, which requires training costs and increases related expenses due to weekly schedule adjustments. However, he added that more employees remain at work under this system, and overtime pay actually decreases, reducing related costs.
Through this, Garrett Nelson and Raven Nelson, a couple with three children, found a way to both work and raise their children. Under the previous system, only the husband could work, but since a flexible work position was introduced in April last year, the wife also started working, and the two could coordinate their schedules. Nelson, a working mom, told WSJ in an interview, "Being able to work at the times I want is the best thing for working parents."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
