Flexible working and quality of life

Abstract

This chapter explores flexible working and its relationship to work. It looks at both the employee and employer perspective, and the surrounding policy and legislative developments that have shaped the way that flexibility has played out in the UK. As flexibility and flexible working have developed and become mainstream concepts and human resources practice, some of the expected benefits of flexible working have not materialised. Nevertheless, the development of the legislation, and of employer practice which followed a similar path, shows a wider understanding that flexibility should be about more than childcare and can deliver wider opportunities to all. The links between flexibility, control, and autonomy are likely also to relate to workload. The original expectation that flexible working would deliver improved quality of life to the individual was reflected in the concept of work life balance, which has become widely used as an indicator of a “good” employer.