Alternative workplace arrangements: Tearing down the walls of a conceptual labyrinth

Abstract

With its five-decade history, the literature on alternative workplaces, working time arrangements, and related issues now represents a relevant quantitative and qualitative articulate corpus regarding topics addressed, approaches applied, analytical tools implemented, and terminology used. Due to its complexity, this corpus appears as an indubitable labyrinth. However, it is unnecessary to be perplexed by this maze. It can be exited and the contributions hidden within it can be of value. This article presents a literature review of three different and related objectives: (a) to investigate the different conceptualizations and terminologies used for analyzing workplace arrangements (research streams), (b) to analyze the results of the individual streams to identify elements of overlapping and differentiation while tracing the connections between them, and (c) to identify future research guidelines for single streams and the entire field. We analyzed 344 academic publications. Our qualitative content analysis of the articles allows us to investigate the peculiarities of each research stream and grasp the relationships between them. We supplemented our analysis using Leximancer, a conceptual mapping tool. This article contributes heightened clarity in the complex research field of workplace arrangements. We provide a map of research streams assisting researchers to move across the labyrinth and introduces redesigned research avenues for the purpose of sharing insights and progressing straightforwardly. Increasing clarity within the field allows fellow researchers' contributions to be more accessible to practitioners, reducing their effort in finding relevant work and researchers.