Reducing early retirement intention among older workers

Purpose Retirement of older workers results in a damaging loss of important knowledge and capabilities. By focusing on work goals, generating work passion and providing flexible work arrangements, firms can help reduce early retirement intention. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings Retirement of older workers results in a damaging loss of important knowledge and capabilities. By focusing on work goals, generating work passion and providing flexible work arrangements, firms can help reduce early retirement intention. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives and researchers’ hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

The relationship between telework from home and employee health: a systematic review

Background Globalization and technological progress have made telework arrangements such as telework from home (TWFH) well-established in modern economies. TWFH was rapidly and widely implemented to reduce virus spread during the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, and will probably be widespread also post-pandemic. How such work arrangements affect employee health is largely unknown. Main objective of this review was to assess the evidence on the relationship between TWFH and employee health. Methods We conducted electronic searches in MEDLINE, Embase, Amed, PsycINFO, PubMed, and Scopus for peer-reviewed, original research with quantitative design published from January 2010 to February 2021. Our aim was to assess the evidence for associations between TWFH and health-related outcomes in employed office workers. Risk of bias in each study was evaluated by the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and the collected body of evidence was evaluated using the the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. Results We included 14 relevant studies (22,919 participants) reporting on 28 outcomes, which were sorted into six outcome categories (general health, pain, well-being, stress, exhaustion & burnout, and satisfaction with overall life & leisure). Few studies, with many having suboptimal designs and/or other methodological issues, investigating a limited number of outcomes, resulted in the body of evidence for the detected outcome categories being GRADED either as low or very low. Conclusions The consisting evidence on the relationship between TWFH and employee health is scarce. The non-existence of studies on many relevant and important health outcomes indicates a vast knowledge gap that is crucial to fill when determining how to implement TWFH in the future working life. Systematic review registration number PROSPERO registration ID # CRD42021233796.

Indonesian professionals’ perspectives on flexible working arrangements as an alternative employment option post-Covid 19 recovery

The objective of the study is to assess how industry professionals perceive the implementation of flexible work arrangements (FWA) and what challenges are likely to enable or hinder its adoption in Indonesian companies. We conducted an intensive qualitative study for three months, guided by phenomenology, with 15 industry professionals representing multi-sectorial industries, as respondents. Laddered open-ended interviewing using two series of focus group discussions was employed. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Our findings show that industry professionals are in favor of FWA due to the many benefits it could bring to the employees like work-life balance, health and safety, flexible hours, convenience and comfort, and efficiency in the utilization of office space facilities.

TELEWORKS A REALITY AMONG LECTURERS IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS IN NIGERIA

Information Communication Technology-based practices have given rise to flexible work arrangements, such as flextime and telecommuting, which increase the amount of autonomy that employees have in their work. The increase in the use of ICTs and technological improvements enabled the development of telework. The study,x-rayed the effect of telework on the performance of tertiary institutions in Nigeria.Descriptive design was adopted and the sample of 39 respondents was drawn from the target population of 16203. Data were analyzed using Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient. The findings revealed that there is a positive and significant relationship between home-based telework and supervision of students by university lecturers in Nigeria. Also, a positiverelationship exists between occasional telework and lecture delivery by university lecturers in Nigeria. The study recommended that management of various tertiary institutions should provide their workers with necessary facilities that will aid home-based teleworks, to increase productivity and ensure improved work quality.

Impact of flexible work arrangements on employees’ perceived productivity, organisational commitment and perceived work quality: a United Arab Emirates case-study

Purpose This study aims to examine the impact of flexible work arrangements (FWAs) on employees’ perceived productivity, quality of work and organisational commitment (OC) with a special focus on the United Arab Emirates. It also analyses the mediating effect of employee happiness on the relationship between FWA and employees’ perceived productivity, OC and perceived work quality. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative, non-experimental correlational study was used for this research project. The study yielded numerical data, which were analysed using a deductive approach. The analysis aimed at exploring the relationships between the constructs, which were viewed as variables; these relationships were considered correlations, mediation and moderation. The sample comprises employees currently working at different public and private sector organisations, representing all major service industries in the UAE. Nine questions were used to assess the flexibility at work and six out of the nine questions were used to measure the level of FWAs using the Likert scale. Findings FWA has a significant and positive association with the employees’ perceived productivity, quality of work and OC. It was confirmed that happiness plays a mediating role in the relationship between FWA and employee outcomes. The facility allows employees to manage their personal and professional lives with ease using their preferred work method. This ability promotes employee satisfaction. In conclusion, managers and employees around the world should view FWAs as a positive tool to enhance employee productivity and OC, particularly in an emergency like the Covid-19 pandemic. Research limitations/implications The participants’ honesty was a limitation, which could raise questions on the validity of this study. This limitation arises when the self-report method is used for data collection. Use of multiple instruments could be another limitation. Practical implications Organisational leaders can use FWAs to improve employee outcomes. When an organisation grants flexible work options to employees, it implies that the organisation trusts its employees to complete the task. This factor motivates all employees to work with dedication, which is particularly true if the employees are creative people and wish to work on their preferred time and place. Originality/value This study is significant because the findings will allow managers to assess the benefits of using FWAs to improve employee productivity, particularly in the service sector. It combines the aspects of perceived productivity, OC and perceived work quality, as well as employee happiness to assess the role of FWAs in organisations. The study also investigates the influence of FWAs in improving these employee outcomes. Based on the literature review, this study on FWAs is the first of its kind in the UAE, the country using a truly multinational workforce coming from more than 100 countries and cultures.

Contemporary Conflicts in Perspectives on Work Hours across Hierarchical Levels in Public Accounting

Socializing personnel into accepting work hour norms has been fundamental to how accounting firms function, but is now challenged by contemporary work perspectives. Using 40 semi-structured interviews of personnel across hierarchical levels at a national firm and an international firm, we show how strangeness and contradiction expressed in work hour perspectives across different levels within both firms are reconstructed as compatible and complementary. Highlighting various firm adaptations, including alternative work arrangements, offshoring, and technological tools, our interviews suggest a major shift in firms’ approach toward work hours. This shift is fueled by work perspectives embraced by younger generations desiring work life balance and purposeful work, and enabled by technology supporting remote work and increasing work efficiencies. The question remains whether firms are evolving to genuinely embody work perspectives of younger generations or restructuring to rely on a smaller workforce willing to accept traditional work hour norms, or some combination thereof.