Search

Motivated by social role and conservation of resources theories, we examine the link between innovative work behaviour and employee career satisfaction, and how workplace flexibility and work-related engagement behaviour relate to innovative work behaviour, comparing samples of male and female service sector employees. We apply a quantitative approach involving a self-administered cross-sectional survey of 176 female and 133 male employees in the Kuwaiti services sector. Gathered survey data was analysed with the aid of partial least squares structural equation modelling and involved using the SmartPLS software. From the analysis, our study finds a positive and significant relationship for work flexibility and engagement behaviour with respect to innovative work behaviour, and a stronger relationship between work flexibility and work-related engagement behaviour. Our results also suggest a positive and significant link between creativity-based work behaviour and career satisfaction for female employees, and between implementation-based work behaviour and career satisfaction for male employees. Our research is original in shedding light on the salient differences that exist between the innovative work behaviour of male and female employees with regard to career satisfaction. Theoretically, we advance a flexibility-engagement-innovativeness-satisfaction relationship that promotes career satisfaction, and diversity/inclusivity in workplaces, while managerially, our study recommends continuous reframing and use of innovative work behaviour-based incentives and talent optimisation policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of required remote work on work–family spillover within U.S. college sport. In particular, we examined the changes in work–family spillover (positive and negative), job commitment, and workaholism as employee's work environment changed from traditional work expectations to work from home, and if these changes were, at least partially, due to parental responsibilities. Data were collected from full-time, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athletic department employees (n = 1,139) in November 2019 and again in May 2020 following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and after the transition to remote work. Results showed that sport employees found a number of benefits associated with working remotely, including a significant decrease in negative work–family spillover. However, employees with children at home reported higher levels of negative family–work spillover after going to remote work. Workaholism was also higher after the move to remote work. Both theoretical and practical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how employees make sense of their long work hours. We use a case study of an administrative unit at a public university in the United States, where expectations of working long hours are relatively low and employees have organizational resources to achieve work-life balance. Even so, we find that many employees still work more than expected and feel the need to work over the weekends. These employees overwhelmingly attribute their long hours to their personalities. Because many employees view their work as central to their existence, they invest their emotional energy and drive themselves to work longer hours than is expected from their supervisors and the institution. This individualized understanding that uses personality as a cultural frame persists and operates as a justification for long work hours even when other causes, such as staff shortage, were present. These findings imply that removing organizational expectations and rewards for long work hours alone is not enough for employees to achieve work-life balance because personal work ethics can still drive working long hours in the cultural context that puts high moral values on long work hours. In the conclusion, we discuss policies and cultural shifts needed to address these problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractWorkplace flexibility has become increasingly popular and important within the landscape of human resource management especially during and even after the COVID19-pandemic among young working adults. The objective of this study is to identify the influence of four forms of workplace flexibility on employee engagement. The study used online questionnaire and were answered by 185 young working adults below 30 years old as of 2022 through Google Form. The data were analyzed by using partial least square (PLS) structural equation modelling (SEM) technique. The study found that workspace flexibility and operational flexibility have significant positive relationships with employee engagement. This study provides practical and direct implications for business and society. Besides that, this research also adds values to the understanding of workplace flexibility and employee engagement for human resource scholars.

This article explores the application to Italy of Goldin's hypothesis that the unexplained gender pay gap is crucially linked to firms' incentive to disproportionately reward individuals who work long and particular hours. The study draws mainly on Italian responses to the 2014 European Structure of Earnings Survey for data on earnings and the individual characteristics of employees and their employer, but also uses data from the Occupational Information Network and the Italian Sample Survey on Professions to measure characteristics reflecting the work context within occupations. For graduate and non-graduate workers, the results reveal a positive relationship between various measures of the unexplained gender pay gap and the elasticity of earnings with respect to work hours. For graduate workers, in accordance with Goldin's hypothesis, both these variables are correlated with the occupational characteristics that impose earnings penalties on workers seeking more workplace flexibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, flexible working arrangements (FWAs) have emerged as a popular alternative to traditional working practices, and their use has escalated since the onset of COVID-19. Although previous studies have highlighted the importance of changes induced by COVID-19, few studies have provided a comprehensive overview. This review highlights these issues by incorporating the SCM-TBFO framework. The authors elaborated the framework by categorizing the variables identified under this framework into four primary dimensions: employee-oriented, socio-cultural, infrastructural, and employer-oriented. The findings indicate that although FWAs were studied widely before the pandemic, the focus was mainly on Western countries and multi-sector datasets. However, with the onset of the pandemic, the context of studies began to change. Furthermore, the conservation of resources theory has been the most frequently used school of thought, with regression analysis as the prevailing method. The study examines these findings, offers insights into future research directions, and suggests concrete implications for employers and managers, hence emphasizing the need to comprehend the triggers that indicate the necessity for FWA, such as work–life integration, rectify the barriers such as cyber risks, and encourage the facilitators, such as supervisory support, to achieve favorable organizational outcomes. In addition, it highlights the need for government interventions to incentivize alternative arrangements that promote diversity and inclusion within the corporate sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 4‐day work week (4DWW) was popularised in the 1970s, but has recently gained significant global attention again, with a growing number of organisations experimenting with the 4DWW in response to increasing demand for more flexible work arrangements (FWA) in the aftermath of the COVID‐19 pandemic. The emergence of generative AI tools like ChatGPT, with their potential to support worktime reduction strategies, are also refuelling interest in a shorter working week. This renewed interest motivated this scoping review of 1769 4DWW records from the past 52 years and enabled the authors to identify five major themes: employee acceptance, allocation of time, leisure, gender and career advancement, and productivity. These themes are used to consider specific forms of 4DWW in terms of whether days of work are fixed or flexible, whether the 4DWW is an employee option, and whether total weekly hours worked or pay are reduced. Conservation of resources theory is used as a lens for interpreting the themes. The authors believe these themes and lessons have significant implications for a growing number of scholars and practitioners, who are investigating, trialling, and implementing 4DWW arrangements, in response to growing demand for more FWA options from employees across all sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the associations between Simons' (Levers of control: how managers use innovative control systems to drive strategic renewal. Harvard Business Press, Brighton, 1995) positive systems (belief systems and interactive control systems) and two organisational capabilities (organisational resilience and workplace flexibility), and the subsequent impact of these capabilities on organisational performance. Based upon the survey responses received from the managers of 337 Australian organisations, we found that the use of both belief systems and interactive control systems are positively associated with the level of organisational resilience and workplace flexibility, which in turn, exhibit a significant positive effect on organisational performance. In addition, the two organisational capabilities are found to mediate the associations between the positive systems and organisational performance. The findings suggest that organisations should place greater emphasis on the use of positive systems and endeavour to develop and enhance organisational resilience and workplace flexibility to facilitate organisational performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research argues that the availability of flexible work arrangements (FWA) is unequally distributed among workers. Meanwhile, the Covid-19 pandemic has drastically transformed the way we work, including the abrupt introduction of telework. However, we know little about how workers are stratified in telework usage under the global crisis and how it differs from pre-pandemic times. This study leverages the nation-wide longitudinal survey data in Japan to investigate (a) who are more/less likely to be excluded from telework and (b) how the structure changes from 2019 to 2022, with close attention to both absolute and relative shifts. The analysis shows (a) the absolute amount of telework opportunities has increased in the wake of the pandemic; but (b) the relative inequality among workers has rather been intensified since 2020, with the probability of non-telework ranging from 0.6 to 0.9 across their socio-economic attributes and (c) labour stratification in telework use persists over time despite its fluctuating magnitude. One may call this social phenomenon 'flexibly maintained inequality (FMI)' in that relative inequalities remain via adjusting their absolute thresholds across worker segments. Examining the mechanism of FMI and its impact on individuals, organisations, and societies is crucial for future research and relevant policy/practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: New forms of digital work such as crowdwork promise to increase potentials for flexible working. As crowdworkers can work highly autonomous and from anywhere at any time via the internet, they may be able to make work and private demands more compatible and avoid role conflicts between the life spheres, and in turn, experience enhanced well-being. OBJECTIVE: This research asked whether crowdworkers benefit from flexible working potentials. It investigated the association of the use of different dimensions of flexible working (flex-time, flex-place, and task autonomy) in crowdwork with work-life conflict and well-being. Moreover, it explored whether the relationship between flexible working and well-being was mediated by work-life conflict. METHODS: The study drew upon a sample of 470 crowdworkers from a cross-sectional self-assessment survey on four different German crowdwork platforms. Structural equation modeling was conducted to estimate the effects of flexible working on work-life conflict, somatic health symptoms, and life satisfaction. Indirect effects were estimated to test the mediation hypothesis. RESULTS: The findings suggest that if crowdworkers use temporal and task flexibility, they experience fewer work-life conflict, fewer somatic health symptoms, and greater life satisfaction. This does not apply to flex-place. The relationship between flexible working and well-being is partly mediated by work-life conflict experiences. CONCLUSION: This study supports that crowdwork offers a high potential for working highly autonomous and flexibly in time and place. It is associated with lower levels of work-life conflict and enhanced well-being, but the benefits of this flexibility are not universally included in crowdwork. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study investigates to what extent empowering HRM practices (i.e., workplace flexibility, professional autonomy, and access to knowledge via ICT) and empowering leadership have the potential to motivate employees in displaying workplace proactivity in NWW contexts. The study builds on the empowerment theory to gain a better understanding of how employees are able to make choices in order to achieve the goals set in their work and how leadership can support this. A field study was conducted in four subsidiaries of a large Dutch bank active in the financial sector. In line with expectations, positive relationships were found between professional autonomy, access to knowledge via ICT and empowering leadership, on the one hand, and psychological empowerment, on the other. Also, in line with expectations, a positive relationship was found between psychological empowerment and workplace proactivity. Moreover, as hypothesized, psychological empowerment partly mediated the relationship between the HRM practices and empowering leadership and workplace proactivity. However, autonomy had a direct, negative effect on workplace proactivity. Also workplace flexibility was neither directly nor indirectly associated with workplace proactivity. Finally, HRM and leadership can be viewed as complementary as they combine different perspectives for employees in order to display proactive workplace behaviour. In conclusion, the empowerment process approach helped to disentangle the motivating elements that foster workplace proactivity in modern workplaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Linked to technological and societal developments, including the COVID‐19 pandemic, employees are increasingly being given the opportunity to blend onsite and remote working including flexibility as to when and where they work. Despite the proliferation of such blended working, there is little empirical research on how leaders in organizations can contribute to facilitating its effectiveness. In the present study, we hypothesized that an empowering leadership style would be positively associated with employees' perceptions of the effectiveness of blended working. Additionally, grounded in Self‐Determination Theory, we hypothesized that the satisfaction of employees' work‐related psychological needs for autonomy and for competence would mediate this relation. Results of a field study (N = 405 employees) using a two‐wave panel design supported a cross‐lagged effect of empowering leadership on employees' perceptions of the effectiveness of blended working. However, no evidence was found for the hypothesized mediated relations. Our findings could be of value to organizations as they indicate a specific leadership style that is likely to facilitate the effectiveness of blended working. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the mediator role of the psychological contract on the effect of workplace flexibility on organizational commitment was examined. The sample of the research consists of 112 participants working in different sectors and positions in Istanbul. To test the research hypotheses, Simple Regression Analysis and Hierarchical Regression Analysis were performed. As a result of the analyses, the full mediator role of the relational psychological contract and the partial mediator role of the transactional psychological contract on the relationship between workplace flexibility and affective commitment and normative commitment were determined. With the inclusion of continuance commitment in the analysis as a dependent variable, the mediating role of both types of psychological contracts did not occur. Organizations can influence their employees’ psychological contracts and increase their commitment to the organization by providing flexibility in the work environment. There is a limited number of national studies in which employees’ perceptions of flexible practices in the workplace are considered. Also, it is predicted that examining flexibility within the scope of different models will contribute to the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines cross-national differences in workplace flexibility between the U.S. and China. Data from 2,688 employees of three multinational corporations with worksites located in both the U.S. and China demonstrated that Chinese viewed workplace flexibility as less important, perceived fewer benefits and more costs associated with its use, and reported less access to and use of flexibility than Americans. Access to flexibility was linked to higher job satisfaction for Americans, but not for Chinese. Both access to and use of flexibility were linked to higher satisfaction with work-family balance for Americans, but not for Chinese, with the exception of access to flexplace that was linked to higher satisfaction with work-family balance for both. We conclude that workplace flexibility policies may produce different results in countries with different levels of industrialization (developed vs. emerging) and cultural orientation (individualism-collectivism) and suggest that such policies should be customized to improve their congruence with national contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paradigm shift in the world of work has created a new dimension in the labour market vis a vis employment relation; a point of reference is the flexibility of work and labour deployment in the Nigeria labour market. The study examines flexibility of work in employment relations and deployment of labour in the Nigeria labour market within the purview of relationship and the benefits to the employers and employees. Hence, the study takes an exploratory approach by reviewing extant literatures to understand the dynamics of work flexibility in employment relations and its influence on different patterns of labour deployment. The findings from the review of extant literatures revealed that there are various dimensions to flexibility of work in employment relations(workplace flexibility, workforce flexibility, low flexibility and mutual flexibility) and labor deployment(temporary worker, part time workers triangular employees etc.) in the Nigeria labour market and it often benefit the employer more because of the objective of maximizing return on investment by creating financial rigidity on the employee through cutting or reduction in the personnel cost or overhead cost. This study therefore recommends that a win-win flexible work dimension for deploying of workers for flexible work arrangement should be adopted to achieve a healthy employment relations practice in the Nigeria labour market.

Although work schedulers serve an organizational role influencing decisions about balancing conflicting stakeholder interests over schedules and staffing, scheduling has primarily been described as an objective activity or individual job characteristic. The authors use the lens of job crafting to examine how schedulers in 26 health care facilities enact their roles as they “fill holes” to schedule workers. Qualitative analysis of interview data suggests that schedulers expand their formal scope and influence to meet their interpretations of how to manage stakeholders (employers, workers, and patients). The authors analyze variations in the extent of job crafting (cognitive, physical, relational) to broaden role repertoires. They find evidence that some schedulers engage in rule-bound interpretation to avoid role expansion. They also identify four types of schedulers: enforcers, patient-focused schedulers, employee-focused schedulers, and balancers. The article adds to the job-crafting literature by showing that job crafting is conducted not only to create meaningful work but also to manage conflicting demands and to mediate among the competing labor interests of workers, clients, and employers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In blended working arrangements (BWAs), employees have discretion over when and where they work. Although BWAs are proliferating worldwide, the lack of predefined temporal and locational structures is unlikely to appeal to every employee. To investigate with whom and when BWAs cause positive reactions, we conducted two experimental vignette studies among full-time employees. In Study 1, we used a 2 (BWAs: yes vs. no) × 2 (development support: yes vs. no) between-subjects design (N = 212) and, in Study 2, a within-subjects design with the same factors (N = 114). Additionally, in both studies, we measured individual differences in autonomy orientation and personal need for structure. Study 1 showed that, relative to traditional working arrangements, BWAs enhance organizational attractiveness and intention to demonstrate organizational citizenship behaviour. In Study 2, in which employees could compare working arrangements, we only found effects of BWAs among employees high in autonomy orientation or low in personal need for structure. Development support for independent working was not found to moderate the effects of BWAs. By indicating which employees tend to prefer BWAs, our findings could help organizations determine employees' suitability for such arrangements, which is likely to contribute to BWAs being effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article uses a concept of “organizational historiography” as a way of critical reading the business past, including the literary representations of this past. The author analyzes – as a particular example – some historical contexts of narrations about workplace flexibility as a human challenge. Article refers to a psychological narrative about flexibility accumulated in the early 90s. in Protean Self-concept by Robert Jay Lifton and followed by the contemporary concepts of Resiliency. As the main themes the text outlines the selected literary antecedents of struggle with workplace flexibility on the example of belles-lettres. The author focuses on the intercultural, yet provincial, myths of “Lozdremensch” and “Silesian fate” that was developed in the belles-lettres, which focus of the experiences of the people who were living on Polish territory at the turn of nineteenth and twentieth century and later. According to the author, these myths carries the narrative of a cultural heritage, valid also (or even especially) regarding psychological problems of workplace flexibility today. Such reading of the novels, poetic essays and stories seems to be consistent with the Deirdre McCloskey’s idea that nothing like the work of writers helps to understand and “calibrate” economic reality.

Burnout is a growing problem among healthcare workers. Whereas there are numerous predictors of burnout, this article explores the compounding effects of job and family demands among nurses and Patient Care Associates (PCA). This study used the 2018 survey data of the Boston Hospital Health Workers Study (BHWHS) to assess the relationship of job and family demands, workplace flexibility, and burnout (N = 874). In addition, it aimed to evaluate the moderating effect of workplace flexibility and job and family demands on burnout. Results of the study demonstrate that active and high strained healthcare workers are associated with higher odds of experiencing burnout as well as workers who reported perceived low workplace flexibility. In addition, workplace flexibility is associated with reduced odds of experiencing burnout. Workplace flexibility moderated the relationship of childless married healthcare workers and burnout. The study shows that workplace flexibility plays a critical role in potentially reducing odds of burnout in the healthcare worker population. Assessing the perception and accessibility to workplace flexibility among workers is imperative to improve worker well-being and the quality of care provided to patients especially the current effects to worker's health during a pandemic.

Previous research has shown that women in STEM often feel a tension between their woman and scientist identities. However, this has not been examined at teaching-intensive institutions, where women in STEM in the United States are more likely to be employed (compared to research-intensive institutions), and where faculty members' identities as teachers may be especially salient. Because aspects of the teacher identity and woman identity overlap, and because STEM faculty must integrate their scientist identity and teacher identity when teaching STEM classes, women faculty in STEM at teaching-intensive universities may be able to resolve their woman-scientist identity interference through teaching. In an online survey, women faculty in STEM and social sciences at a teaching-intensive institution in the northeastern United States (N = 44) reported their identity centrality for teacher, woman, and scientist identities, as well as their woman-scientist identity interference and experiences of workplace flexibility. Analyses revealed that those who had a strong teacher identity had a positive correlation between their woman and scientist identities, whereas those with a weak teacher identity had a negative correlation between their woman and scientist identities. Furthermore, for women in STEM (but not social sciences), a strong teacher identity was associated with lower woman-scientist identity interference. Finally, greater workplace flexibility was associated with lower woman-scientist identity interference. Though not yet generalizable, these findings raise questions about the stature of teaching in academia and its relationship to the underrepresentation of women in STEM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As flexibility has become a sine qua non of the contemporary workplace, we performed a critical review of its different uses and understandings in business and management research. Analyzing the literature on workplace flexibility in the period 1970–2018, using a four‐part conceptual framework, and on the basis of subsequent content analysis of 262 most relevant publications, we identify two axes of tension embedding scholarly work on flexibility: the flexibility of vs. flexibility for organizations and employees, and a favorability‐criticality tension. We further explain how internal divisions are attributable to three different paradigms of flexibility (two of which dominate), resulting from divergent sets of assumptions regarding: its target, rationale, approach to it, as well as methodologies involved in studying it. We propose a research agenda indicating the ways in which paradigmatic underpinnings of flexibility research may be further clarified and divisions between the paradigms made sense of. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though many fathers want to be warmer, more nurturing, and more actively involved than prior generations (i.e., the new fatherhood ideal), they also embrace a father's traditional role as financial earner. Thus, we hypothesized that fathers' attitudes about their roles would likely interact with workplace characteristics to produce variations in father warmth and engagement. Using a national sample of 1,020 employed U.S. fathers with children ages 2-8 years old, results suggest that adherence to the new fatherhood ideal was associated with more frequent father engagement and warmth, while endorsing traditional gender norms was associated with less father warmth. Also consistent with prior research showing that family friendly work cultures may enable fathers to be more engaged parents, we find that a family supportive workplace and greater flexibility in when and where fathers work, were associated with more frequent father engagement and warmth. Moreover, interaction results suggest that the associations between job flexibility and engagement are stronger for fathers who do not fully endorse the new fatherhood ideal; associations between workplace support and warmth are also stronger for fathers who do not fully endorse the new fatherhood ideal. Thus, flexibility and a family supportive workplace may particularly enable father involvement for fathers whose attitudes might otherwise be a barrier to their involvement. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Balancing work and caregiving demands is a critical challenge for working parents with young children. Workplace flexibility can serve to promote parent-child interactions by enhancing the coordination of work and family responsibilities. Using longitudinal data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey-Birth Cohort (ECLS-B), the study examined three potential sources of workplace flexibility—access to flexible schedules, working from home, and part-time employment—and their associations with the frequency of parent–child interactions (i.e., enrichment activities and daily routines) among parents with young children, with a particular focus on gender, household structures, and income. The results indicated that working from home and part-time employment were associated with more frequent enrichment parent–child interactions for mothers, while flexible schedules were associated with greater daily routine interactions for fathers. The positive associations between working from home and parent–child interactions were more pronounced among low-income mothers than mid- and high-income mothers. Fathers working parttime in dual-earner households more frequently interacted with their children than those in single-earner households. These findings suggest that distinctive types of workplace flexibility may work differently across gender, household structure, and household income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The study examines the associations between two distinct forms of workplace flexibility—flexible schedules and working at home—and workers' well‐being, with special attention to the distinct reasons for working at home and gender differences. Background: Workplace flexibility can be a key resource to manage work and family responsibilities. However, there are gaps in knowledge regarding the types of flexibility that provide either a benefit or disadvantage for workers. In particular, insufficient attention has been paid to different reasons employees have for working at home and their implications. Method: Using the General Social Survey, we created a pooled sample across the four waves of data (2002, 2006, 2010, and 2014, N = 6,945). Workers' well‐being was measured with job satisfaction, job stress, daily fatigue, and work‐to‐family conflict. Multivariate regression analysis and several sensitivity tests were conducted. Results: The study found benefits of flexible schedules for work‐related well‐being. Working at home as part of one's job had some benefits, but working at home to catch up on work had consistent disadvantages for worker well‐being. Moreover, the ability to adjust start and end times of work and working at home to catch up on work were associated with elevated work‐to‐family conflict, particularly for female workers. Conclusion: The findings suggest the potential advantages and unintended consequences of different flexibility arrangements for workers, and these implications may differ by gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much of the existing literature and research in the area of fathers' flexible work has been disciplinary specific, resulting in a fragmented understanding of the topic. The objective of this systematic review is to overcome some of the limitations of the existing body of literature by adopting an interdisciplinary approach and exploring the dominant themes in the literature across disciplines surrounding flexible working arrangements, including parental leave, for fathers. The content of 121 articles from the years 2008–2019 was analyzed using thematic synthesis to identify recurring themes, which resulted in the development of four top‐level themes—gender norms and ideals, a failure of policy, incompatible workplace norms and expectations, and social class and flexibility—and a primary theme, the invisible and stigmatized father in the workplace. The findings suggest that men's caring responsibilities need to become more visible in the workplace via changes to practice and policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the prevalence of workplace flexibility and the mechanisms that allow workplace flexibility to influence turnover intentions through work–family and family–work conflicts and job satisfaction among low‐wage workers in South Korea. Participants included 250 low‐wage workers whose monthly salary was less than 2 million Korean won (approx. $1,900). The study results indicate that low‐wage workers have limited access to workplace flexibility and that workplace flexibility plays a significant protective role in reducing their turnover intention, indirectly by decreasing work–family conflicts and enhancing job satisfaction. This article also discusses the implications of these findings for labor policy and social work practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The organizational flexibility finds a substantial place in the literature; however, limited evidence of its institutionalization by managers is noticed. This paper analyzes the managerial paradox toward flexibility in managing business complexity, uncertainty handling, organizational reorientation, and structuring decisions across organizational functions. Thematic analysis is used to investigate the managerial flexibility paradox. The literature is identified in three categories related to workplace, frameworks or concepts, and business environment. It further shows two kinds of orientations: the first one deals with concerns in the implementation of flexibility, and the second showcases the concomitant benefits or performance. The literature related to concerns deals with uncertainty and risk management, while the performance-related literature deals with the augmentation of flexibility theories. The practicing manager seeks advice in the literature to implement the concepts of flexibility and finds its limited availability. This is the prime reason for the emergence of managerial paradox. This paper recommends that future contributions should emphasize the guidelines for flexibility adoption while expounding the flexibility theories. The findings presented in this paper can potentially draw the attention of academicians and practitioners to devise the ways to implement and enhance organizational flexibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atypical working times have become an increasingly common reality for much of the workforce. While most of the research has focused on the negative impacts of shift work on employee health and family life, the possibility of enrichment between work and life roles has rather been neglected. Yet, it appears that shift workers may have some leeway in determining their own schedule through the use of "flex shifts", indicating a possibility to achieve a satisfying work-life balance. Through the lens of work-family boundary dynamics, our paper analyzes the choices and experiences of shift workers who can, to a certain degree, request shifts suiting their personal preferences. We conducted a qualitative research and led 59 semi-directive interviews with flight attendants and service directors from Canadian and German airlines. Our findings indicate the presence of work-life enrichment between shift work and other life roles, including but not limited to the family domain. Our results allow for a discussion on employees' right to flexible work and the construct of "work-life balance" in the twenty-first century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building on insights from the early stages of our research partnership with a U.S. Fortune 500 organization, we came to differentiate between voluntary and involuntary schedule variability and remote work. This differentiation underscores the complexity behind flexible schedules and remote work, especially among white-collar, salaried professionals. We collected survey data among the partner firm's information technology (IT) workforce to evaluate whether these forms of flexibility had different implications for workers, as part of the larger Work, Family, and Health Network Study. We find that a significant minority of these employees report working variable schedules and working at home involuntarily. Involuntary variable schedules are associated with greater work-to-family conflict, stress, burnout, turnover intentions, and lower job satisfaction in models that adjust for personal characteristics, job, work hours, family demands, and other factors. Voluntary remote work, in contrast, is protective and more common in this professional sample. Employees working at least 20% of their hours at home and reporting moderate or high choice over where they work have lower stress and intentions to leave the firm. These findings point to the importance of both stakeholders and scholars distinguishing between voluntary and involuntary forms of flexibility, even in a relatively advantaged workforce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides evidence that self-employment is a quantitatively important work alternative that American mothers use to gain workplace flexibility. First, I use panel data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) to show that self-employment rates are higher when women have young children at home in a pattern that has remained largely unchanged over the previous three decades. I estimate that women whose youngest child is two years old have 14% higher predicted self-employment rates due to the birth of that child. Second, I show that self-employed women appear to have more flexibility in their work location, hours, and schedule than wage and salary employed women using data from the American Time Use Survey. I find that mothers with young children use self-employment to spend an additional two hours per day with their children. My results suggest that mothers use self-employment to gain more control over their work environment allowing them to better manage their household responsibilities while working. These findings contribute to the ongoing discussion on the importance of family friendly work policies and the rise of alternative work arrangements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we attempt to describe the relationship between the observation of coworker idiosyncratic deals (i-deals: Rousseau et al., 2006; Rousseau, 2005) and employee turnover intention by incorporating two explanatory mechanisms: workplace flexibility and procedural justice. We hypothesize contrasting implications of coworker flexibility i-deals and developmental i-deals on these two mediating mechanisms. Based on a sample of 176 employees, we find differential implications for the two types of i-deals and mediators. We discuss these findings and the implications of our research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Offering workplace flexibility to attract new talent has become a strategic issue for many organizations. Workplace flexibility provides employees with the autonomy to choose when and where to perform their work. Even though there is some evidence of its positive influence on organizational attraction, research that differentiates the influence of temporal and spatial flexibility is lacking, leaving their separate and joint effects largely unclear. Furthermore, whether the principle of distribution influences this relationship is also unclear. Drawing on signaling theory, we perform an experimental study that helps to clarify how workplace flexibility influences organizational attraction. We conduct a randomized vignette-based experiment (N=334) that manipulates temporal flexibility, spatial flexibility and equity-based distribution. The results indicate significant main effects for both dimensions of flexibility, with temporal flexibility having a stronger influence. For the combination of temporal and spatial flexibility, we found an additive effect rather than a significant interaction. The experiment did not detect any evidence for a moderating role of equity-based distribution. The paper provides contributions to research and practice. Finally, we discuss our findings with regard to limitations and make suggestions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do employees of dynamic consulting firms deal with their demanding professional environment, where they must be accessible, responsive and flexible seemingly around the clock? This case study of a large consulting firm explores employee experiences of flexible working through the lens of paradox. It finds that flexible working far exceeds the set of approved flexible work arrangements and practices enshrined in formal HR policies. Rather, individuals develop varied perceptions, expectations and ways of organizing flexible working, which emerge and evolve as they accumulate experience in a context where client-focused responsiveness is key. The article argues that flexible working is part of the deeper psychological contract between professional employees and the firm. This allows us to better understand how the paradoxical tensions that characterize workplace flexibility are experienced as evolving combinations of contributions and inducements. Employees manage these tensions in different ways, including vacillating between polar opposites and integrating contradictory elements, creating an overall mental picture of their flexible working experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Workplace flexibility is recognized as the application of collective interventions in an organization. It is also known as various supportive technologies and strategies of the Human Resources Department. The purpose of this study is to design workplace flexibility strategies that are essential for organizational leaders and HR managers to sustain and improve organization competitiveness (improved productivity and improved financial performance) along with aging employees’ performance. Data collection from a large-scale survey of 2000 aging employees from a different organization in India. Participants in the survey study were based on employees ‘experience within the organization. The research interviews coded by focusing on the level of flexibility given to aging employees, focusing on managers' influence on the performance of aging employees, examining internal and external sources that impede performance. The study results organization and HR managers’ may increase the performance of aging employees by enhancing flexibility strategies that provide a positive assortment of motivational tools and opportunities. In addition, the findings suggest collaborative decision making between HR managers and aging employees has a positive relationship with work attitudes and the engagement of employees. The results of the study can make organizations more competitive that could improve aging employees’ retention rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As both paid and unpaid work were disrupted during the COVID-19 crisis, the two roles that working custodial single fathers occupy—breadwinners and caregivers—have intensified significantly. Using two independent sets of interviews, this study examines how custodial single fathers navigated work and caregiving responsibilities prior to COVID-19 and compares them to the experiences of single fathers interviewed during the pandemic. The findings are organized into three key themes. First, men with white-collar jobs experienced less work-family conflict than men with blue-collar jobs. The COVID-19 crisis further widened this divide as lack of flexibility put men with blue-collar jobs in a precarious position in the labor market. Second, the way single fathers arranged childcare varied with the availability of extended family and the coparenting relationship with the child(ren)’s mother. The pandemic significantly complicated these arrangements by removing men’s access to extended family and intensifying already conflicted coparenting relationships. Finally, prior to the pandemic, many single fathers struggled with lack of leisure time and diminished social support networks that shrunk with their initial break from their child(ren)’s mother. The resulting feelings of fatigue and loneliness seeped into men’s psychological well-being. COVID-19 and related social distancing measures further exacerbated single fathers’ isolation.

Analyzing 219 blog posts from 52 self-employed women lifestyle bloggers in North America, this study shows how these digital professionals navigate tensions and communicatively constitute work flexibility. In their narratives, women bloggers employed tension management approaches such as reframing, continual connections, and reflective practice in response to tensions in enacting temporal-spatial, identity, and financial flexibility. Specifically, women followed oxymoronic constructions - disciplined freedom, branded authenticity, and dependable independence - to embrace and transform competing poles of fluidity↔structure, authenticity↔marketability, and independence↔interconnection. Expanding work-life research to the self-employed digital labor context, this study responds to recent calls to uncover more-than tension management strategies in empirical settings and contributes to a tension-centered, contextual, and processual analysis of workplace flexibility construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]