For anyone considering asking for a flexible work schedule, here are four of the most popular to consider.

Not everyone wants to work full-time or in a traditional 9 to 5 job. Whether they are working parents, retirees, students, or anyone else, many people would like to build more personal time into their work life.

Flexible work schedules -- telecommuting (now known as teleworking), flextime, job sharing, and the compressed work week – allow employees to work as much as they want while providing for flexibility as to days and hours.

For those employees who think they might like to work an alternative schedule, here is an overview of the four most popular flexible work schedules.

Teleworking

Teleworking (formally called telecommuting) recently got a name change because while telecommuting puts emphasis on getting from here to there, teleworking actually focuses on work. Teleworking is basically working virtually from a remote site (typically home) rather than from the same corporate brick and mortar office each day.

According to a Gartner Dataquest poll, by 2008 they expect the number of teleworkers in the world to reach 41 million corporate employees. Most will be U.S. workers.

The benefit of teleworking is that it provides employee flexibility, eases the working parent's burden, increases employee productivity, and reduces absenteeism. Plus with our increasing dependence on technology, the virtual office is becoming more and more commonplace allowing employers to retain valuable employees while hiring others who might not otherwise be available.

Job Sharing

Job sharing is a flexible work option where two employees share the same position. Job sharers can be jointly responsible for one entire position or they can handle separate functions of the same job. Hours can be shared by overlapping times, split shifts, or working in different locations at the same time.

The benefit of job sharing is that it provides balance and flexibility. In many cases the job sharers share the responsibilities of a full-time job while salary and benefits are prorated.

In addition, by allowing job sharing, companies can increase their existing labor pool and improve the efficiency of their operations by having skilled professionals available who can fill in during busy spells without overtime pay.

Compressed Workweek

Under a compressed workweek plan employees still work 40 hours; however, they work longer shifts in fewer days.

The most common compressed work week schedule is the 10/40 where employees work four ten-hour days a week for a 40-hour workweek. Another alternative is the 9/80 schedule, where employees either work eight nine-hour days plus one eight-hour day for a two-week – or 80 hours -- period then have the tenth day off, or they work four nine hour days plus one four-hour day each week.

While some feel that working longer hours can be a physical and mental drain on employees, employees often complain that they are working long hours anyway so why not take advantage of the situation.

Flextime

Under a flextime plan, employees work their regular schedule but are given flexibility when it comes to their starting and stopping times.

Typically there is a core set of hours that employees need to be at work, such as 10 am to 3 pm. Employees are then allowed to adjust the start and end time of their eight-hour day based around these core hours.

In this instance, one person might work 7 am to 3:30 pm with a half-hour lunch while another person might work from 9 am to 6 pm with an hour for lunch.

The benefit is if a working parent needs to drop a child off at school, they may want to begin their work day a bit later, while a student going to night school may need to leave early to catch a class.

What flexible work schedules do is provide flexibility for employers and employees alike while reducing commuter traffic and business operating costs thereby creating a positive situation for everyone.