The world has been facing recession, which has resulted in the shutting down of several organizations and loss of jobs for several people working in them. Several big organizations, including Infosys, Wipro, Sun Microsystems, Lend Lease, etc., have cut short their size by retrenchment and have paved the way for several HR related problems. Such decisions have not only put financial burden on the recession struck organizations but have also put great economic pressure on the countries they are in. In such a tough time, flexible work arrangements could be used as a face-saving option for all involved. This article throws light on the various kinds of flexible work arrangements and the benefits associated with them from both the employer's and the employee's points of view.

Economic recession has been the most engrossing topic these days. An economic slowdown that started in the US, prominently with the Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection on September 15, 2008 and still continuing with General Motors filing for the same, has now become the vital issue of every nation of the world. Industries whether in real estates, travel and tourism, information technology, education, insurance, or banking and finance, have all been affected. Its impact can be seen in the large number of companies shutting or changing their modus operandi and resorting to retrenchments. The companies include: Infosys, Jet Airways, Wipro, HSBC, Intel Lend Lease. Australia's largest property developer, Lend Lease did 1,700 job cuts worldwide due to the global financial crisis. Thomson Safari laid off 45 employees out of its 140 Arusha staff in Tanzania, Intel laid off 5,000 workers worldwide and Ericsson laid off 1,000 workers in Sweden. In India, Perot systems retrenched 100 employees, Kingfisher Airlines retrenched 300 employees and even Google retrenched 200 employees approximately. This is not the end. If you scan business papers and magazines, you will find that such news is quite common nowadays. This has not only affected the working class but has also given rise to several economical problems. Government problems have increased manifold with the increase in unemployment. Is it possible to minimize this increase in unemployment? Flexible work arrangements can come out as a rescue for most of the companies as well as for the people and government.

Most companies retrench employees because they can't afford to pay salaries and perks and bear higher costs of operation at certain places. Flexible work arrangements can work as a solution to these problems, especially in the case of present economic recession. Different flexible arrangements, like work sharing, telecommuting, reduced work hours and contractual or part-time work arrangements can help employers in reducing costs and retaining more knowledge workers who can be helpful for the organization in the long run. Instead of going for retrenchment at this point of time, if companies go for flexible work arrangements as per their own needs, it will not only reduce their costs, but will also help them to retain more knowledge workers. At the very first instance, the following question may arise in the mind of any employer.

HRM Review Magazine, Economic Recession, Real Estates, Travel and Tourism, Information Technology, IT, Global Financial Crisis, Flexible Work Arrangements, Multicultural Workforce, Work-Life Balance, Flextime Working Arrangement, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, ASHA.