Regulating Working Hours in the Transition to Flexible Work

This article presents midwives’ views and experiences of flexible working and work–life balance. Both flexible working and work–life balance are important contemporary agendas within midwifery and can have both positive and negative consequences for midwives. Full-time midwives and those without caring commitments feel disadvantaged by flexible working and work–life balance policies as they have to fit when they work around part-time midwives and are increasingly expected to cover extra work. They feel their work–life balance is marginalized and this is fuelling discontent and resentment among midwives and leading to divisions between full- and part-time staff that reinforce flexibility stigma. Although flexible working and work–life balance are important for recruiting and retaining midwives they are part of the ongoing tensions and challenges for midwives and the midwifery profession.

The article examines transformation of the legal regulation of flexible working hours, home-based work and teleworking in Ukraine in the context of the experience of foreign countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is investigated that under quarantine conditions the application of these forms of labour organization has increased and their legislative regulation in Ukraine and foreign countries has improved. Currently, in Ukraine flexible working hours are applied not only to employees who work under an employment contract, but also to government employees. The legal regulation of home-based work and teleworking has undergone some transformations from their initial identification to the subsequent differentiation. Legislative consolidation of teleworking has led to the establishment of a new institution, namely the right to disconnect (the period of free time of the employee who works remotely). Comparative characteristics of flexible working hours, home-based work and teleworking according to the laws of Ukraine are identified. It has been found that the legalization of non-traditional forms of labour organization including flexible working hours, home-based work and teleworking under quarantine conditions has allowed maintaining the stability of labour relations, ensuring social distance of workers and reducing the morbidity level during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Purpose Examines the origins and workings of work-life balance policies at Eli Lilly. Design/methodology/approach Forms part of a research report on Making Flexible Working Work, by Roffey Park Institute, which reviews the literature on flexible working, puts the business case, and includes case studies of Ford Motor Company (UK), the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, Vertex, the Legal Services Commission, East Sussex County Council and Lilly UK. Findings Presents the business drivers for allowing individuals to work flexibly at Lilly, describes the flexible working options available, shows how flexible working has been aligned with the organization's core business strategies and emphasizes the importance of top-management support. Practical implications Highlights the background against which flexible working operates best, and the instances where it is less appropriate. Originality/value Presents a number of useful lessons from the Eli Lilly experience of introducing flexible working.

This paper reports the information technology training needs and opportunities of flexible information workers in the United Kingdom. It concludes that positive action should be taken to address the needs of flexible information workers, because currently they have fewer training opportunities than other workers. As information technology becomes increasingly widespread throughout the information sector, this lack of training for a substantial section of the information labour market harbours negative implications for overall levels of skill in the profession. The paper draws on qualitative data from semi-structured focus groups with flexible information workers and interviews with their managers. This is used to illustrate the training difficulties, as perceived by managers and workers, and also the training needs of flexible information workers. Examples from the case study organisations are presented to offer potential ways of counteracting these difficulties. The paper argues that statutory pressures, from both sex discrimination and health and safety legislation, demand that managers address the needs of flexible information workers

An Exploration on the Graduate Flexible Employees

This study explores the impact of flexible working on the daily experiences of work–family conflict for dual‐earner couples with child dependants. In exploring these daily experiences, the occurrence of maternal gatekeeping behaviours, and the relationship between flexible working and such behaviours is investigated. We draw on episodic and longitudinal data from qualitative diaries kept for a 1‐month period by both members of 24 couples (48 participants) as well as from introductory and subsequent in‐depth qualitative interviews with the couples, both together and apart. We report an evidence suggesting that work–family conflicts are experienced and resolved differently, depending on whether it is the male or the female who works flexibly within dual‐earner couples. This link between flexible working and gender is demonstrated to have an important impact on maternal gatekeeping behaviours, which are highlighted as playing a crucial role in such daily experiences and how they are resolved.Practitioner points Traditional gender norms still play a role in parents' decisions to work flexibly and workers who opt for non‐traditional routes may feel stigmatized. HR departments and employers need to promote the legitimacy of male access to flexible working and work–life balance policies, so these are not perceived as opportunities for mothers alone. Greater father take‐up of work–life balance initiatives that offer more opportunities for involvement in childcare should be encouraged. Employers should offer a variety of flexible working arrangements to provide employees with desirable and healthy resolution options when faced with incidents of work–family conflict.

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.

This study concentrated on proposed hypothetical model to explore the link between flexible working hours, psychological empowerment and team performance of project based organizations in Pakistan, while observing work engagement in mediating role. The study was carried out by cross-sectional survey among employees and managers of selected organizations of Rawalpindi and Islamabad cities. Sample population consists of 221 employees and data collection was done by the distribution of structured questionnaires through convenience sampling technique. In statistical analysis to draw conclusions the analytical tools such as reliability, correlation, and regression analysis were used. After compilation of results it was observed that there was a positive and significant association between flexible working hours, psychological empowerment, work engagement and team performance of employees. Also, the outcomes of the study supported highly significant mediating role of work engagement on association between flexible working hours-team performance and psychological empowerment-team performance relationships. Work engagement of employees enhances by initiating flex-time and empowering the employees psychologically in an organization. Due to high engagement of employees in their work, team performance increases. The organizations are always in effort for motivating their employees in order to keep them engaged in their work and generate best results regarding their assignments.

PurposeThis paper seeks to explore how organizations might create flexible work programs to attract and retain older workers.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on the literature on aging and work, the paper identifies an incoming HR challenge (leveraging an aging workforce), focuses on a strategy (designing flexible work programs) and reviews some innovative programs in Europe and North America.FindingsThe paper identifies three lessons. The first is to adopt a portfolio approach, which means to combine and integrate diverse dimensions of work flexibility (work schedule, number of hours worked and so on). The second is to offer flexible work options to retired employees. The third is to align flexible work opportunities with pension scheme options.Originality/valueLabor market experts predict a steady increase in the number of older workers who will extend their work life or work during retirement. A number of surveys, in turn, report that people are more likely to seek flexible work options as they age. The paper provides practical advice that will help organizations to prepare for the demographic changes coming and to develop effective flexible work programs for older employees.

The article substantiates the need to develop and implement a flexible employment policy for employees of enterprises in connection with the course of transformational processes in the external environment and the related need to adapt to their internal environment. The article aims to study the features of the flexible employment policy of enterprises and develop proposals for the formation and implementation of their target programs using a program-target approach. Based on the generalization of literary sources, the features of flexible employment and its policy are analyzed, including the change of social status, organization of working hours, systems and forms of remuneration, and territorial location of employees’ workplaces. The differences between non-standard and flexible employment, their definitions, and the characteristics of crisis and transformational models are clarified. The expediency and advantages of using a program-targeted approach for the formation and implementation of a flexible employee employment policy at the enterprise have been proven. The principles of implementing the program-target approach were formed: planning, purposefulness, systematicity and complexity, compliance with timing and deadlines, limited resources, reflexivity, and success. The content and sequence of the main stages and regularities of applying the program-target approach to forming and implementing the flexible employment policy of the company’s employees are proposed. The typical objectives of the program were formed with their decomposition into supporting and providing ones. A typical form of monitoring the results of the implementation of the target program of flexible employment of the company’s employees for a certain period has been developed, considering the achievement of the values of the control critical indicators of the program by goals, measures, funding volumes and responsible positions of the executors. Keywords: employment, flexible employment, non-standard employment, enterprise, employees.

During the recent years, after going through several studies and research work, it is been observed, that flexible working hours are increasingly becoming important in the workplaces. Most of the companies and organisations are offering flexible working hours or work from home to their employees due to numerous benefits that flexibility gives to both the employee and employer. Therefore, there are many common benefits that lead towards greater level of employee productivity and higher organisational performance. Reduction in stress levels and increase in their well-being are some of the major outcomes of flexible working conditions. Adoption of flexible working and work from home has influenced the employee productivity and their performance in number of ways which will be discussed below in the further context. By providing, such conditions to an employee by an employer will also help them to better balance their both personal and professional lives. This study will provide some insights on how digital technology has enabled increase towards work from home arrangements. At the end, the present paper is going to be helpful to different organisations and companies and lead them to consider work from home as one of their work arrangements.

PurposeTelework has been widely used during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, distance work performed through teleworking may hinder organisational operations in public services owing to lower-than-expected work performance. This research paper aims to explore how teleworking relates to work performance and flexibility during the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThe sample included 178 managers and employees in public services. The relationships between the variables were evaluated using linear regression.FindingsThe findings indicated that telework affected work performance in public services in different ways. This research also explored the relationship between work performance and work flexibility. The findings revealed that telework had not improved the efficiency of public service work performance; however, the implementation of flexible work schedules owing to teleworking has improved the work performance of public services.Research limitations/implicationsThis study only focussed on organisations operating in the public services in Greece.Practical implicationsTeleworking in public services may negatively affect organisational operations due to lower-than-expected work performance.Social implicationsThis study could assist managers by showcasing that telework may be better implemented to improve work performance through work flexibility rather than as organisational change.Originality/valueThis novel research aims to gain a better understanding of the impact of telework on factors such as work performance and flexibility.

The traditional, rigid work schedules of medical residents have been linked to fatigue, burnout, and potential adverse effects on patient safety. The implementation of flexible working hours has been proposed as a potential solution to mitigate these risks and improve patient outcomes. This meta-analysis aims to evaluate the impact of flexible resident scheduling on hospital efficiency, patient safety, and resident well-being. A systematic search of electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science) was conducted to identify studies published between 2014 and 2024 that investigated the effects of flexible resident work hours on patient outcomes, medical errors, length of stay, and resident well-being. The quality of included studies was assessed, and data were extracted for meta-analysis using random-effects models. The meta-analysis included four studies. The results demonstrated that flexible resident scheduling was associated with a significant reduction in prolonged length of stay (pooled odds ratio [OR] = 1.10, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.06-1.14) and a decrease in medical errors (pooled OR = 0.93, 95% CI = 0.30-2.87). The results highlight the positive correlation between resident flexibility and enhanced patient care efficiency, indicating a decrease in medical errors. The findings of this meta-analysis suggest that implementing flexible resident scheduling can enhance hospital efficiency, improve patient outcomes, and promote resident well-being. Healthcare institutions should consider adopting flexible work hour policies to optimize patient care and support the professional development of resident physicians.

The effect of flexible working hours on employee satisfaction and performance was investigated in a field experiment conducted in a federal agency among 64 clerical employees who were randomly assigned to either flexible or fixed working hours for 6 months. The results indicated that flexitime caused a significant increase in satisfaction but had negligible effects on performance, whether assessed by ratings or output. Future research should aim to uncover reasons for positive effect of flexitime on employee feelings about their jobs. As part of a general trend to reexamine patterns of working hours, an increasing number of work organizations have introduced flexible working hours for their employees. The essential feature of such schemes is that the starting and quitting times are flexible for employee, but that he or she must be there during a core working (Glickman & Brown, 1974, p. 34). Typically, organizations that adopt flexible working hours define a core time period during which all employees are expected to work and then allow a range of time before and after this period during which employees can decide on their own arrival and departure times. Despite its widespread adoption by many organizations, however, actual effect of flexible working hours on employee morale and productivity has yet to be demonstrated. With notable exception of studies by Golembiewski, Hilles, and Kagno (1974) and by Schein, Maurer, and Novak (1977), most of information regarding effects of flexible working hours has not been based on controlled studies but instead on managerial judgments, single case studies, and surveys of employee opinion (cf. Baum & Young, 1974). In their longitudinal study based on preattitudinal and postattitudinal measures, Golembiewski et al. found employee reactions to installation of flexible working hours to be generally positive. In their study among insurance clerks in five different working units, Schein et al. found a significant increase in productivity following initiation of flexitime in two of units but no change in other three units. As researchers of both these studies admit, however, no clearcut conclusions regarding actual effect of flexible working hours can be made from their

Purpose: Flexible working hours can impact employee productivity. Therefore, the current research aimed to present a model for flexible working hours in public organizations, emphasizing increasing the productivity level of knowledge workers. Methodology: The present study was applied in objective and mixed-method (qualitative and quantitative) in execution. The qualitative study population included all academic and organizational experts familiar with the research domain, with a sample size of 25 determined based on theoretical saturation principle and selected through purposive sampling. The quantitative study population comprised all staff members of the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare, with a sample size of 205 determined by Cochran's formula and selected through simple random sampling. Data for qualitative and quantitative sections were collected respectively using interviews and researcher-made questionnaires and analyzed with thematic analysis and exploratory factor analysis methods in Maxqda and Smart-PLS software, respectively. Findings: Qualitative findings revealed that flexible working hours encompassed 15 sub-themes in 3 main themes: floating work hours, floating work location, and collaborative work; and employee productivity comprised 20 sub-themes in 3 main themes: self-management, self-control, and self-organization. Quantitative findings indicated that all themes of flexible working hours and employee productivity had a factor loading and extracted variance mean higher than 0.50 and Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability higher than 0.80. Other findings showed that the themes of floating work hours, floating work location, and collaborative work had a direct and significant effect on flexible working hours, and the themes of self-management, self-control, and self-organization had a direct and significant effect on employee productivity, and flexible working hours had a direct and significant effect on employee productivity (P<0.05). Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that flexible working hours play an effective role in enhancing the level of employee productivity. Therefore, to improve employee productivity, the themes of floating work hours, floating work location, and collaborative work can be utilized.