FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF FWAs

Flexibility has become a buzzword in organizations. However, flexibility is an overarching term that incorporates a number of different types of strategy. Flexible working time and place arrangements, which are the subject of this chapter, are only one strand along with functional, contractual, numerical, financial, and geographical flexibility. This chapter focuses on flexible working arrangements (FWAs), that is organizational policies and practices that enable employees to vary, at least to some extent, when and/or where they work or to otherwise diverge from traditional working hours. They include, for example, flexitime, term time working, part-time or reduced hours, job sharing, career breaks, family-related and other leaves, compressed workweeks and teleworking. These working arrangements are also often referred to as family-friendly, work–family, or more recently work–life policies. This implies an employee focus, but the extent to which these policies primarily benefit employees or employers, especially in the 24/7 economy (Presser, 1998), or contribute to mutually beneficial solutions, has been the subject of much debate (e.g., Barnett & Hall, 2001; Hill, Hawkins, Ferris, & Weitzman, 2001; Purcell, Hogarth, & Simm, 1999; Raabe, 1996; Shreibl & Dex, 1998). Other work-family policies such as dependent care support can be used to complement FWAs and much of the research addresses them simultaneously. The term FWAs will be used in this chapter except where the research under consideration explicitly addresses work–family issues. Non-traditional work arrangements such as shift work or weekend work which are ‘standard’ in certain jobs are not considered here.