Flexible work arrangements: exploring the linkages between perceived usability of flexible work schedules and work/life balance

2009 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 327-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy R. Hayman
2021 ◽  
pp. 152342232098293
Author(s):  
Marvin Bontrager ◽  
M. Suzanne Clinton ◽  
Lee Tyner

The Problem. An increasing number of organizations are experiencing concerns from employees regarding work-life balance. Organizations that have chosen to implement formal flexible work arrangements (FWAs) have experienced reluctance from their employees to participate. COVID-19 has forced the hand further toward FWAs, and created additional work life balance concerns. The Solution. FWAs present an opportunity for organizations to address work-life balance concerns, especially amid the black swan event of COVID-19. Implementing FWAs provides opportunity for organizations to reduce turnover and facilitate employee development through work life balance programs. The Stakeholders. The informal processes of FWAs should receive due attention by HRD practitioners and scholars alike.


Author(s):  
Mohamed Eshak ◽  

This study aimed to analyse the impact of flexible work arrangements on the employee performance of employees in private Egyptian universities in Alexandria, mediated by work-life balance (applied to the Arab Academy for Science, Technology, and Maritime Transport). institutions to retain talented people, raise the efficiency of employee performance, and thus raise the efficiency of institutional performance and competitive capabilities of organizations. The researcher used the descriptive analytical method and the questionnaire as a tool for data collection, to measure the impact of flexible work arrangements (focusing on reducing working hours, benefits provided to employees, work policies towards parenting) on the work-life balance, and the extent of the impact of all this on raising the efficiency of employees' employee performance. A stratified random sample of 423 employees was used, and the data collected was analysed using SPSS and AMOS statistical software. The findings revealed a positive relationship between flexible work arrangements (reduced working hours, benefits provided to employees, and work policies toward parenting) and employee performance, as well as a positive relationship between flexible work arrangements and work-life balance, as well as a positive relationship between work-life balance and employee performance, and the researcher recommends implementing such policies.The recommendations also include the need to review current labour laws before legislators, and update them in line with contemporary technological development and the requirement to achieve a balance between the requirements of life and work. This study also recommends the adoption of reducing working hours as one of the flexible work policies offered by organisations to employees. The study concludes that flexible work arrangements and programmes are in fact a competitive tool that organisations can use to increase loyalty, improve performance, achieve commitment and job satisfaction, which enhances the organization's productivity.


2010 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 555-574 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isik U. Zeytinoglu ◽  
Gordon B. Cooke ◽  
Sara L. Mann

Summary This paper examines whether flexible work schedules in Canada are created by employers for business reasons or to assist their workers achieve work-life balance. We focus on long workweek, flextime, compressed workweek, variable workweek length and/or variable workweek schedule. In the last three decades, two streams of literature have emerged on flexibility. One stream of literature discusses flexibility as demand-driven, that is, a strategic initiative of employers to enhance the business requirements of the firm. The other stream of literature discusses flexibility as supply-driven, where employees have the ability to influence the decisions about the nature of their work schedules and where employees, especially women, demand flexible work schedules for work-life balance. Thus, we ask are flexible work schedules created for business reasons or to assist workers achieve work-life balance? Statistics Canada’s 2003 Workplace and Employee Survey data linking employee microdata to workplace (i.e., employer) microdata are used in the analysis. Results show that more than half of the workers covered in this data have at least one of the five specified types of flexible work schedules. Approximately 5% of workers have a long workweek, 36% have flextime, 7% a compressed workweek, 13% a variable workweek length, and 16% a variable workweek schedule. Only two in five Canadians have a standard work schedule. Employment status, unionized work, occupation, and sector are factors consistently associated with flexible work schedules. Personal characteristics of marital status, dependent children, and childcare use are not significantly associated with flexible work schedules, while females are less likely to have a flexible work schedule than males. Overall, results suggest that flexible work schedules are created for business reasons rather than individual worker interests. Thus, if public policy makers are committed to facilitating workers’ work-family-life balance interests, then our results suggest that separate policy initiatives designed specifically for workers will be required.


Author(s):  
Sofie Bjärntoft ◽  
David M. Hallman ◽  
Svend Erik Mathiassen ◽  
Johan Larsson ◽  
Helena Jahncke

Flexible work arrangements permitting workers to work anytime and anywhere are increasingly common. This flexibility can introduce both challenges and opportunities for the organisation, as well as for worker work-life balance (WLB). This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the extent to which occupational factors (organizational, leadership and psychosocial) and individual work-related behaviours (over-commitment, overtime work and boundary management) are associated with WLB, and whether these associations are modified by the perceived level of flexibility at work (i.e., control over when, where, and how to do the work). In total, 2960 full-time office workers with flexible work arrangements at the Swedish Transport Administration participated. Associations were determined using linear regression analyses with adjustment for covariates. The strongest negative associations with WLB were found for over-commitment, quantitative job demands, expectations of availability, and overtime work. Strongest positive associations were found for boundary management, information about organizing work, social support, and relation-oriented leadership. Perceived flexibility was positively associated with WLB, and interacted with several of the examined factors, buffering their negative associations with WLB. Results suggest that WLB can be promoted by organizational initiatives focusing on minimizing excessive job demands, increasing psychosocial resources, supporting boundary management, and enhancing perceived flexibility.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maryam Dilmaghani

PurposeUsing the Canadian General Social Survey of 2016, a large nationally representative dataset, the present paper compares different types of flexible work arrangements in their associations with employee wellbeing and organizational outcomes.Design/methodology/approachThe dataset contains 7,446 observations. Informed by the past scholarship, eight outcomes of job satisfaction, work-life balance satisfaction, organizational belonging, job motivation, perceived advancement prospects, perceived job security, workplace social capital, and turnover intentions are investigated.FindingsFirst, employees with both flextime and flexplace, and only flextime, have a significantly higher job and work-life balance satisfaction. Second, the possibility of working from home without any discretion over timing does not elicit positive wellbeing outcomes. Third, the results show that the combination of flexplace and flextime is synergistic. Fourth, rather unexpectedly, the positive associations of the FWAs with work-life balance satisfaction are stronger among men and women without dependent children. Finally, there are significant positive associations for the combination of flexplace and flextime, and flextime alone, with other outcomes, such as organizational belonging and job motivation, especially among men.Practical implicationsGiven the nonrandom assignment of the workers into the FWAs, the results only reflect ceteris paribus correlations.Originality/valueThis is the first Canadian study of flexible work arrangements, using a large nationally representative dataset.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 73
Author(s):  
Aditya Indra Bagaskara ◽  
Hilmiana Hilmiana ◽  
Irfanul Kamal

<p><em>The success of an organization is influenced by employee performance, so every company will try to improve the performance of its employees in achieving the organizational goals that have been set. During the Covid-19 pandemic, there are several factors that can support employee performance, one of which is flexible work arrangements. However, not only work methods are needed to improve employee performance, the work environment and aspects of work-life balance are expected to improve employee performance. This study aims to determine the effect of flexible work arrangements and work environment on employee performance directly or indirectly through work-life balances as an intervening variable.</em></p><p><em>The data in this study were collected by distributing online questionnaires. This research on employees of PT. Telkom Indonesia, tbk in West Java (S=193), where S is the sample of employees at Telkom West Java. The method used in this research is PLS-SEM which is processed using SmartPLS 3 software. The results showed that there was a direct influence between flexible work arrangements and work environment on employee performance. In addition, the results of other studies also show that there is an indirect effect between flexible work arrangements and work environment on employee performance through work-life balance as an intervening variable.</em></p>


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