WASHINGTON – The government has grown so concerned that its Washington-area workers can’t get to the office on time during the massive Metro repairs that started this week that it’s now urging federal offices to change their employees’ work schedules.

The shift from the rush-hour arrival and departure common for most federal workers to dramatically more flexible schedules could affect thousands of employees who commute to agencies across the region. And it has the potential to shift what we think of as traditional government hours to a more permanent expectation of flexible hours.

In a government-wide memo posted on its website Tuesday, the Office of Personnel Management told agencies to get creative, not just by being open-minded in allowing their employees to telework but by allowing them, for example, to work four-day weeks (with four, 10-hour days) or to come in when they want — as long as the work gets done.

The goal is to help employees get to their jobs by working around the severe constraints of Metro’s SafeTrack project — still commuting, but going and leaving when they won’t get stuck on a train platform for hours.

OPM is urging agencies to consider “compressed” and “flexible” schedules. These are not novel in government, but neither are they in widespread use. The memo provides managers with a list of variables to think about, and offers the possibility that an alternative schedule while the Metro repairs continue through next spring could become permanent.

The year-long maintenance blitz began over the weekend with 13 days of continuous single-tracking between East Falls Church and Ballston, affecting the Silver and Orange lines.

On Monday, the first weekday commute during the repairs, the rail system had no major breakdowns, but thousands of riders faced lengthy delays, crowded trains and commutes that may only get more difficult. Ridership also was down compared with a normal weekday, thanks to an education campaign by Metro that urged people to stay away from public transit.

As they make decisions on employees’ new work schedules, agencies should communicate “their expectations for employees electing to use any new flexibilities,” OPM said.

The memo also noted that shifting the hours someone works is often subject to their agency’s collective bargaining agreement. Some of these agreements with federal employee unions require feasibility studies for any change, which could take months. Others allow labor and management to work informally on the best approach.

The American Federation of Government Employees, in a statement on behalf of President J. David Cox, Sr., said the union “is pressing agencies to let employees adjust their schedules as needed to make up any time lost as a result of commuting delays and give more employees the opportunity to work from home in light of the unique circumstances posed by this unprecedented situation.”

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