Creating flexibility in your career is vital to achieving balance and finding more profound satisfaction in your life. Traditionally, full-time positions are scheduled Monday through Friday for a total of seven or eight hours each day. Many careers often require long hours and additional hours over the weekend to meet the deadlines and demands of the job, including on-call hours.
Establishing balance is critical for a successful and satisfying, rewarding career. With working professionals rioting for accommodating schedules and work-from-home options, employers now serve flexible working hours on a silver platter to accommodate a wide range of lifestyles and goals.
Though scouring for job opportunities with flexible hours can feel like paddling up unemployment creek without a paddle, rest assured that employers are joining the flexible work movement in droves. If you’re looking for wiggle room in your day-to-day life, consider these seven ways to find flexibility in your career.
Consider a travel job
Suppose you’re looking for a change in scenery in your job and enjoy travel. In that case, you may want to consider a career in tourism and hospitality, which offers the potential for growth, relocation, and business trips regularly. You’ll also find great career opportunities that offer travel as an option in sales, healthcare, technology, and transportation.
If your current industry can’t divvy up the flexibility you’re craving, consider taking a leap of faith by switching industries. For example, those working professionals handcuffed to the same 6 x 6’ cubicle in the same office building might entertain a career switch to the healthcare sector. Unlike desk jobs, travel-friendly medical jobs allow you to set your hours, work part-time, or complete day-to-day tasks from home.
To investigate flexible, travel-friendly healthcare opportunities within reach, start by partnering with job marketplaces like Fusion Medical Staffing. Soon enough, you’ll be boarding your cross-country flight and fulfilling your fantasy of dictating your own schedule as a travel nurse, jet-setting medical office assistant, or remote medical transcriptionist.
Flexible working hours
Many workplaces offer flexible start times for salaried employees, ideal if you have an early morning appointment or family commitments. Typically, this option allows staff to work late if they start at nine o’clock instead of seven or add a couple of extra hours to one day to leave early on another. Careers in the medical field offer a variety of shifts and flexible working options for staff.
Work remotely or at home
Telecommuting has become an increasingly popular way for employees to create a more flexible and productive work environment. As working from home becomes increasingly more common, finding an arrangement where you can schedule your tasks around appointments and personal life won’t pose a seemingly impossible challenge. Employers often provide all the equipment you need in these work-from-home setups, including computers, software, and a cell phone, and may cover all or some of the internet and utility-related costs.
While a flexible home-based job is challenging when setting aside a separate space for your job, it’s equally gratifying. It allows you to shift seamlessly between work, family, and personal time. Many healthcare jobs even offer the option of conducting some appointments with clients and patients online or over the phone.
Maximize vacation time
Many employers offer generous vacation time. If you find it’s not enough, there may be some options to request extra days off or combine personal days with vacation time for an extended vacation. Unfortunately, many people don’t dip into their accrued PTO nearly as often as they should, as days off are seen as a luxury.
Though squeezing in a PTO day in between high-priority projects may make your skin crawl, taking time off is essential, whether you plan on traveling overseas or locally. If you travel in the medical field, you’ll likely have above-average amounts of time to rest and recharge.
Working part-time
In some professions, the option of working part-time hours is available. While decreasing working hours may not be ideal for everyone, it can offer an unprecedented opportunity for parents and caregivers who need more personal time for PTO meetings, sick days, or school pick-up. When you work fewer hours, options to customize your schedule will trend upwards, granting you time to spend with your family, participate in school activities with your kids, or schedule personal activities.
A shorter workweek and more time for ongoing studies is another great benefit to working part-time. Many employers encourage this arrangement specifically when taking courses in relevant areas of study that could benefit the company’s vision. Whether you conduct business in a shorter workweek or log fewer hours each day, part-time hours can offer a greater sense of balance and satisfaction.
Combining on-site and remote work
Many jobs, including medical-based professions, offer a flexible approach to working at a clinic and home. On-site work can be scheduled based on client appointments or specific tasks, whereas communication, online work, and administration can be done at home. This hybrid approach enables you to choose customized hours that work best for your individual needs.
Attempt a compressed workweek
Working the full five days of a full-time workweek can be exhausting, making a compressed schedule attractive. Some employers allow staff to take off one or two days during the week while adding the hours to the weekend or working longer shifts on fewer days each week. The compressed schedule works well for part-time and full-time positions and allows for greater flexibility in your career for work-life balance.
Before you go
If you’re looking for a career that embodies professional development, greater flexibility, and a rewarding future, consider a progressive position in the medical field. You’ll find many healthcare positions offer various positions, workplace arrangements, with the option of negotiating hours and schedules.
That said, stretch your hours of productivity by protesting traditional 9-to-5 structures.
