The Determinants of Flexibility and Innovation in the Government Workplace: Recent Evidence from Canada

Abstract

This article analyzes the adoption of flexible work design and employee involvement practices in Canadian government workplaces. It uses information from a representative survey of government middle managers. The survey, which was specially designed for the government sector, was carried out in five Canadian jurisdictions. A high incidence of both flexible work design and employee involvement practices, much higher than in the Canadian private‐sector, was found in government workplaces. The most significant correlation between the two sets of practices is perceived public pressure for more better‐quality services and for increased employee involvement in the design and implementation of these services. Budget constraints are important in explaining the adoption and spread of employee involvement techniques. There is also a strong positive association between the adoption of flexible work practices and the extent of managerial autonomy. Various supporting human resource management practices are also complementary to the successful adoption of flexible work practices in Canadian government workplaces. However, the characteristics of the work, the work unit, and the workforce have a rather limited effect on the adoption of these practices. Our findings indicate that there might be differences in the determinants of the adoption of flexible workplace practices in government and private‐sectors, pointing to possible institutional forces at work in government workplaces.