Work schedules and workplace flexibilities

A work schedule includes the hours of a day and the days of a work week that you are required to work. Some work schedules have the same hours every day and the same days every week. Others may be flexible and change from week to week or day to day. The number of hours you work each day and the days of the week you work may vary depending on the job and the agency.

The federal government also offers workplace flexibilities such as alternative work schedules and telework.

Work schedules

Full-time

A full-time job requires most employees to work 40 hours per work week, or 80 hours in a two-week pay period. There may be slight variations in this schedule.

Part-time

A part-time job requires most employees to work less than 40 hours per work week, or less than 80 hours in a pay period. The number of hours may vary depending on the job.

Shift work

Shift-work jobs require someone working 24 hours per day, and sometimes 7 days per week. A shift-work job means you'll work during a set period within that 24-hour period. You may work a night shift, morning shift or you may rotate shifts with other workers. The exact schedule may vary depending on the job.

Intermittent

An intermittent job requires you to work from time to time—there is no set schedule. This is not the same as a part-time job.

A job share requires you to share a full-time job with another employee. You and the other employee share the full-time job responsibilities and receive salary and benefits on a pro-rated basis. Each job sharer can work up to 32 hours per week and your schedule could include half days, alternative days, alternative weeks or other arrangements. The exact schedule will depend on the job.

Multiple schedules

A job with “multiple” work schedules usually means there is more than one position that can be filled, and the work schedules may vary for each job.

Workplace flexibilities

Alternative work schedules (AWS)

Many federal agencies offer non-traditional work schedules so you can balance your work and personal needs. There are two types of AWS schedules, flexible work schedules and compressed work schedules.

Flexible work schedules include designated core business hours and days when you must be present for work. You have flexibility in when you work outside of the core business hours as long as you meet the 40 hours of work per week requirement.

A compressed work schedule allows you to work more hours in a day to meet the 40 hours per week requirement and then get a day off. For example, for a full-time job that requires 40 hours per week, you may have a schedule where you work 9-hour days and have a day off every other week.

Not all agencies offer alternative work schedules, so you need to check with the agency if this benefit is available.

Learn more about alternative work schedules.

Telework (hybrid)

Many federal jobs offer the option to work from home and from an office location. Sometimes this is referred to as a hybrid schedule or hybrid work, but the federal government calls this telework. How often you are required to report to an office depends on the agency and the job duties.

The job announcement overview will indicate if a job is telework eligible.