Core hours

What It Means

Core hours are the stretch of the workday when everyone on a flexible scheduleFlextimeA work schedule that lets employees pick their start and finish times within limits, as long as they work the required hours and are there for core hours. See more has to be at work. On either side of them sit flexible hours, when employees choose, within limits the employer sets, when to arrive and when to leave. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) builds its definition of a flexible work schedule for federal employees from these two parts. A private employer that uses the term sets its own times.

How People Say It at Work

• "Core hours are ten to three, so book it after ten."
• "I come in early and leave before the school run, but I'm always here for core."
• "Can we keep the standup inside core hours?"

The Breakdown

How a flexible day is built (example times)

How to work well with core hours (Buhata's suggestion)

1. Find your core hours in writing: your agency's or employer's policy, or your offer letter.
2. Choose a start time inside the flexible band that fits your commute or family pickups, and keep it steady for a few weeks.
3. Count back from your required hours to set your finish time, the way the planner above does.
4. Book meetings that need the whole team inside core hours, since that's the only time everyone is sure to be there.
5. Use the flexible ends of the day for work you do alone, such as writing or planning.

Try it today. Check whether every recurring meeting on your calendar falls inside core hours. Any that don't are the ones teammates on early or late starts are most likely to miss.

Good to Know

OPM's handbook and fact sheet describe flexible work schedules for federal employees: core hours, when all employees must be at work, and flexible hours, when employees choose arrival and departure within set bands. OPM also publishes a separate fact sheet on maxiflex schedules, another kind of flexible schedule. Outside federal service, core hours mean whatever your employer's written policy says, so read it or ask HR before you plan your days around a start time.

Related Terms and Categories

• Flextime

  A work schedule that lets employees pick their start and finish times within limits, as long as they work the required hours and are there for core hours.

• Compressed workweek

  A full-time schedule that fits the usual hours into fewer, longer days, such as four 10-hour days a week instead of five 8-hour days.

• Hybrid work

  A work arrangement that splits the week between working from home and working at the employer's site, such as three office days and two at home.

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