I’d ask if you could start/end your work day earlier - like 6:30-2:30 or something, then ride in the afternoons. If riding in the afternoon, you don’t have to worry about getting yourself clean and presentable for work afterwards. I also think your employer would be happier with a set schedule that’s the same every day instead of you having different hours on different days.
I’ve been doing four 10’s for a couple of years now and love it! My co-worker and I alternate wednesdays and fridays off - she works 7 to 5:30 and I work 7:30 to 6:00. I beat the traffic, have one day off during the week to run errands/make appointments (Costco on a Wednesday is MUCH better than a Saturday or Sunday!), I’m not home so late that I can’t still ride on the days I do work (horses are home but I don’t have an arena so I’m fighting daylight and bugs). Plus I don’t have to use up my vacation days to take off a Friday for a horse show - I schedule it so my Fridays fall on those weekends. If there’s a week where the office is closed a day for a holiday (Memorial Day, for example), we go back to our regular hours for that week as if we worked five 8’s.
Highly recommend it!
Whatever you negotiate, try to position it as something that is advantageous to both your employer and yourself. If you’re offering to work longer hours on some days in exchange for coming in later once a week, emphasize that it might be beneficial to have someone there from start to completion on a long-term project. Or how you’re willing to be available later on some days when others are not. If you stress that your eccentric schedule or hours is win-win, they will be more accommodating.
After you get an offer and before you accept it is when you make these types of negotiations. You absolutely need to do it now because after you accept the job you have NO leverage, none at all. This is normal and if they can’t do it, they can say no. You don’t have to phrase it as a dealbreaker for you – I would definitely not do that. Instead I would tend to frame it as I would like to be able to do keep doing this thing than I do, would it be possible if we structure my time in a way that works for us both, here are some ideas I have to make that work, my preference would be to do X, here are the benefits to you, if that’s not possible let me know and I’ll give you some other options…I’d really like to find a way to work this out in a way that is mutually beneficial, etc.
Agree with previous posters that flex time (7 am to 4 pm or 9 am to 6 pm) is probably going to be more acceptable to your employer than coming in at noon. Working from home gives you a break from the commute but doesn’t give you the flexibility to go ride unless your ponies live at home, which mine do. I typically ride over my lunch hour on my work from home day, and nobody is the wiser. I can even take a lesson on my work from home day as my trainer is literally five minutes away. I pack the trailer the evening before,load horse and go. It still works out to more of a 90 minute “lunch hour”, but I start work early or work a little later that day.
Definitely negotiate a flexible work schedule up front. Maybe the job offer isn’t worth giving up your current schedule?
Is your home significantly closer to the barn than work is to barn? If so, then maybe you could get some remote work days and be working more during normal hours. Saving the commute time could make it more doable for early AM rides where you are at your desk at a reasonable morning hour.
[QUOTE=Prime Time Rider;8206064]
Agree with previous posters that flex time (7 am to 4 pm or 9 am to 6 pm) is probably going to be more acceptable to your employer than coming in at noon. [/QUOTE]
Agreed. The 4 10’s might also be an option - I’ve seen both at work, but never coming in at noon/1pm, so that option might be less palatable. Plus if it’s just a “deal” with one’s supervisor and not part of the “normal” flex schedule on offer (ie if the company does have core hours), it might also breed resentment in the workplace of the “well, OP just swans in at noon, what is up with that” variety.
I would ask what kind of flex options are available, and explain I would like one day/morning a week free and if that’s possible. Some companies will have pre-set options, others might well customize the whole shebang.
Most companies have something about their benefits on their website… what does that say? Do they promote flextime/telework schedules ? If so, then you could negotiate flex/telework hours/days. Much of it depends on the type of work you do. I recently worked for a nonprofit 1/2 of the staff teleworked but my position was one that wasn’t telework eligible. Some companies also offer telework after a certain amount of time.
Without knowing what the position the OP is being offered it’s hard to give an opinion. If they are being offered an upper level position it would be easier to negotiate work hour perks vs a mid type position where you could negotiate yourself right out the offer. I don’t know that I would run in there with “I’m a competitive rider” as that would say to me (if I was the employer) that your riding career is more important than the company. I’d leave it more vague - like commute/family commitments.
I would tell them that my previous job had X hours and thus my life has been set up around those hours. You understand you will need to make some adjustments, but need one afternoon a week off. You’d be happy to work 9 hour days on the other 4 days plus a half day, or 4 10 hour days. I wouldn’t get into why. It could be a standing appointment with a doctor, it could be to visit an elderly relative, it could be to enjoy your horse, and quite frankly it’s none of their business. If they get really nosy about it (which might or might not be legal depending on how they phrase it), just say you are a competitive athlete and that is when you meet with your trainer. If they really want to hire you they will understand that you had prior commitments on your days off. I am not telling you to do this but if you had kids and said that you needed some flextime due to childcare issues I bet they would make it work.
Good luck!
Thanks everybody for all the input.
The research project (an academic study where I will be doing clinical outpatient work as part of the study) will be conducted at several outpatient clinics/offices. I will be out of the office at least three days a week as part of my responsibilities. There may be an occasional evening or weekend appointment. They have said it is a very “autonomous” position.
I already work at the company (a major teaching medical center) but in a very different capacity. The culture, well lets just say, it is “special”.
When the MD who is the head of the department emailed me to say: Does this mean you are taking the job??
I replied: I think we need to have a salary/benefits/vacation/start date/etc conversation before I give a final answer.
Her reply: I’m asking our administrator XXXX to check all this out!!
I’m not kidding. They thought I might take it without having any salary discussion first other than in the interview when I was told they could get me “some” more money than I make now but didn’t specify an amount. I
However this is not the person to whom I would be directly reporting.
That person is another MD who already has a semi-flexible schedule as he takes his kids to school everyday. He also is out of the office at another hospital two days a week and makes house calls on other days. There are just three of us to be performing the research study.
I did mention in my interview with him that I would be interested in a flexible schedule and he seemed amenable/open to it.
This situation is one where HR/recruiting is incredibly inept and backwards. I will also be in a very unusual situation as an RN reporting to MDs where the normal hierarchy is RN reporting to other RNs.
Nobody really knows what the parameters of the job are as it is a new research study. So it could be great, or a recipe for catastrophe.
The reason I think that some of my time could be so flexible is that when I’m not seeing patients most of the work is charting/computer work. It seems that could done at anytime.
In terms of the commuting to the barn. I literally can’t get up early enough to avoid the commuter traffic on the way back to work. Traffic can be so bad that the 1 hour 15 minute drive can be often double that between the hours of 7-9:30am. It isn’t that I’m unwilling to get up early it just doesn’t help.
Currently I will leave the house at 7am to ride at 9am and can be back by 12:00.
I used to commute 1hr 40min each way to my horse in no traffic, by comparison 1hr 15min is much better.
There really isn’t anywhere closer. 
I also wanted to thank all the posters who suggested how to phrase my request for flexible time.
Those comments were particularly helpful.
The research team is on a deadline. They are desperate to hire someone and had to already get permission to offer me the position because my qualifications don’t exactly match the job description. I was orally offered the job during my interview.
I have a feeling HR is not very flexible but that my immediate superior and the one other person involved in the study will be reasonable.
Typically HR will say, “whatever you arrange with your supervisor.” An oral job offer is really worthless. You want a written offer that provides the details you mentioned, salary, benefits, etc. That’s when you get back to your immediate supervisor and make arrangements on your schedule. My one concern is that there seems to be a disconnect in getting these hygiene issues of employment settled. I wouldn’t blame HR as I bet they have been told little or nothing. I work with physicians and they are not the best with administrative detail.
My other question is the nature of your funding. Is it soft money that could dry up in a few years?
[QUOTE=IronwoodFarm;8206504]
You want a written offer that provides the details you mentioned, salary, benefits, etc. That’s when you get back to your immediate supervisor and make arrangements on your schedule. My one concern is that there seems to be a disconnect in getting these hygiene issues of employment settled. I wouldn’t blame HR as I bet they have been told little or nothing. I work with physicians and they are not the best with administrative detail.
My other question is the nature of your funding. Is it soft money that could dry up in a few years?[/QUOTE]
Absolutely the case as far as I can tell. Major medical center with poor HR department who basically is uninformed. Lovely MDs who have no idea about administrative details!
There is a separate study manager who I met with and liked immensely. He is not an MD. I have a feeling it will really just be the two of us getting the work done. I sent an email to him asking if we could further discuss some work flow issues.
I will confirm that study is fully funded but I believe the grant has already been confirmed and given for the duration of the study. It is a national study involving at least 10 medical centers and this would be year “two”. Job is for three years.
With that extra detail, I would possibly loop your MDs or manager or whomever in on to the schedule issue and get their approval so that you can go to HR and say that they are fine with this schedule, all HR has to do is write it up. HR isn’t going to want to OK it without their input anyway and may just say no if they suck.
I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t do the charts whenever, and would propose as such.
I’ve worked all kinds of flex schedules in the past. I’ve done 4/10, Flex start time, WFH, 9.5 hour days with Friday afternoons off, etc, etc. Your best bet is either the WFH or the 4/10, as that is what is going to save on the commute and help keep you sane. The down side to WFH is that it is very easy to slip into the work all the time mode, and the 4/10 downside is I found that I ended up working many of those days anyway. I’d make sure that HR is on board and that you have it in writing, can be simple as an e-mail.
Good luck with your new position!
With additional details from the OP, I would ask a few more details - top of the list would be:
#1. Is this a contract position? If so, what happens to you at the end of the contract? Are you terminated or will you be able to be transferred to another area?
#2. let the MDs you’re working with know that you’ve been working shift work and would very much like to/need to have a similar type schedule.
It being a contract position would be most concerning to me but then I’m not a risk taker.
Keep us posted.
WFH may not be an option due to HIPAA. I guess it depends what the OP is doing and what IT system is in place.
But 4 10s or early start/finish are not atypical for this type of job (if it is what I am envisioning).
