Flexible Work Practices Research Articles

Part-time work and job sharing in health care: is the NHS a family-friendly employer?

This paper examines the nature and level of flexible employment in the National Health Service (NHS) by investigating the extent to which part-time work and job sharing arrangements are used in the provision and delivery of health care. It attempts to analyse the reasons for an increasing number of part-timers and a very limited number of job sharers in the NHS and to explain the advantages and disadvantages of each pattern of employment. Data collected through the use of questionnaires and interviews from 55 NHS trusts reveal that the use of part-time work is a tradition that seems to fit well with the cost-saving measures imposed on the management of the service but at the same time it has led to increasing employee dissatisfaction, and that job sharing arrangements are suitable for many NHS employees since the majority of them are women with a desire to combine family commitments with career prospects but a very limited number of employees have had the opportunity to job share. Therefore it is concluded that to attract and retain the quality of staff needed to ensure high performance standards in the provision and delivery of health care the NHS should accept the diversity that exists within its workforce and take a more proactive approach to promoting a variety of flexible working practices and family-friendly policies.

Labour market deregulation, 'flexibility' and innovation

Labour ‘flexibility’ is often portrayed as important to competitive success. Using evidence from an original survey of UK firms, this paper investigates the relationships between firms' use of, on the one hand, various flexible work practices, human resource management techniques, and industrial relations systems and, on the other hand, the innovative activities of those firms. Our results suggest that the sort of ‘low road’ labour flexibility practices encouraged by labour market deregulation—short-term and temporary contracts, a lack of employer commitment to job security, low levels of training, and so on—are negatively correlated with innovation.

Australian and South African perspectives on the implementation of flexible work practices (Fwp): an exploratory study

The purpose of this study was to identify examples of good and innovative practices of Flexible Work Practices to benchmark against and then to use the information to develop strategies of implementation that will assist South African organisations to emulate their success. One hundred-and-twenty (120) individuals, representing different stakeholder groups were requested to complete a questionnaire, based on an Australian study. Comparative findings of both countries strongly confirmed variables that are positively associated with the adoption and successful implementation of Flexible Work Practices (FWP). Opsomming Die doel van hierdie studie was om voorbeelde van goeie en innoverende gebruike van Buigsame Werkspraktyke te identifiseer ten einde daarteen te kan vergelyk, en dan om hierdie inligting te gebruik ten einde implementeringstrategieë te ontwikkel wat Suid Afrikaanse maatskappye kan gebruik om sukses na te volg. Honderd en twintig (120) individue, wat verskillende belangegroepe verteenwoordig, is genader om ‘n vraelys, gebaseer op ‘n Australiese studie, te voltooi. Vergelykende bevindinge van beide lande bevestig veranderlikes wat positief geassosieer word met die aanvaarding en suksesvolle implementering van Buigsame Werkspraktyke (BWP).

Flexible Labour? The Growth of Student Employment in the UK

The transition from school to work in the UK has undergone dramatic change since the 1970s and the labour market that young people are entering is now significantly different to that faced by previous generations. While securing employment has always proven difficult for unqualified youth, they are particularly disadvantaged in today's labour market. In place of full-time employment, young people are being confronted with different forms of flexible employment. However, the growth in the demand for flexible labour has benefited young people engaged in full-time education who have over the 1990s increasingly combined study and work. Interviews with senior management in the retail grocery sector suggest that the availability of student labour has enabled them to maintain a high-quality labour force while pursuing flexible work practices. This illustrates the heterogeneous nature of the youth labour market and the need to make clear distinctions between those young people who are just in the labour market and those who are combining education and employment. Importantly, the growth in student employment emphasises the need to consider students as a significant segment of both the youth and general labour market.

Flexible Labour? The Growth of Student Employment in the UK

The transition from school to work in the UK has undergone dramatic change since the 1970s and the labour market that young people are entering is now significantly different to that faced by previous generations. While securing employment has always proven difficult for unqualified youth, they are particularly disadvantaged in today's labour market. In place of full-time employment, young people are being confronted with different forms of flexible employment. However, the growth in the demand for flexible labour has benefited young people engaged in full-time education who have over the 1990s increasingly combined study and work. Interviews with senior management in the retail grocery sector suggest that the availability of student labour has enabled them to maintain a high-quality labour force while pursuing flexible work practices. This illustrates the heterogeneous nature of the youth labour market and the need to make clear distinctions between those young people who are just in the labour market and those who are combining education and employment. Importantly, the growth in student employment emphasises the need to consider students as a significant segment of both the youth and general labour market.

Banking and finance in France and Germany. New regulations of work and working time - a challenge for the trade unions?

In response to the globalisation of financial markets and restructuring of national finance systems, the banks in both countries are pursuing far-reaching strategies for reorganisation in accordance with the ‘lean banking’ model. The organisation of working time, initially neglected, has now moved centre-stage in this process of reorganisation, and flexible working practices have become the order of the day. In spite of these common strategic starting points, however, the models of flexibility adopted in these two countries differ fundamentally from one another. The difference is to some extent attributable to the different institutional arrangements, and above all the training system, which in Germany caters for a broad general training but in France is unilaterally geared to the development of sales skills. The article discusses the implications of these different trends for trade unions in the two countries.

Gender and Employment Flexibility within Hotel Front Offices

This article describes a study of the contemporary nature and extent of gendered employment flexibility within hotel front offices in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Previous studies in the service sector have tended to focus upon the career paths of female managers and generalised findings across the service sector. The study reported is concerned with staff at an operative level and uses the front office as an exemplar of a department with an even gender balance overall in order to examine flexible working practices. The study finds that, in the hotel front office, female employees are usually better qualified, with greater opportunity than male employees for functional flexibility; the majority of female employees are under 30 years of age. The findings are compared with previous studies and discussed in the context of female career progression, and service organisations' approaches towards the creation of a work/family balance.

Trade Union Strategy and Renewal: the Restructuring of Work and Work Relations in the UK Aerospace Industry

The adoption of new management strategies and flexible working practices in the manufacturing industry has caused a fragmentation of the traditional collective base of British trade unions. Such changes have led some commentators to argue that, in order to survive, manufacturing unions must reject oppositional stances and instead offer support for company objectives, work reforms and partnership relations with management at the workplace level. This article compares the responses of the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union (AEEU) and the Manufacturing, Science and Finance Union (MSF) to the rapid and wide-ranging restructuring of the UK's aerospace industry. The article questions current typologies of union policy and identity and associated prescriptive analysis of appropriate union strategy. We argue that such prescriptive analysis understates the complexity of union behaviour at the workplace level. Our findings suggest that the local traditions of workplace organizing far outweigh the influence of national union strategy. In the case of the MSF, the workplace unions failed to engage with the restructuring of work and were constrained by technical union traditions of sectionalism. By contrast, the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union (AEEU) workplace unions were able to adapt their historical form of organizing, based on work group representation and job control, to maintain significant constraints against managerial prerogatives.

When Was Post‐Fordism? The Uneven Institution of New Work Practices in a Multinational

This paper considers the lineage of flexible or post‐Fordist work practices. It traces the introduction and diffusion of new work practices within a major multinational enterprise (MNE), Eaton Corporation. The case study illustrates an important discontinuity in the way in which, in the US, the company abandoned its older established production locations in order to introduce its new work practices and philosophy. However, it also illustrates some of the continuities apparent across continents within the corporation’s workplace restructuring from the 1960s through the 1980s. In the absence of significant union responses, the paper highlights the temporally and geographically uneven effects of a unified corporate strategy to introduce a new workplace philosophy and practices, highlighting the need for sensitivity to national and subnational contexts.The word “restructuring” is cold and abstract and perhaps fails to convey the explosive change which has been taking place in Eaton. (Eaton Corporation 1983:2)

The key to promoting and retaining female executives

It has long been acknowledged that women at work face a unique set of challenges in balancing career with the responsibility of running an effective home life and the solution has, traditionally, been sought through the advancement of flexible working practices. The pressure on companies to acknowledge the importance of a balanced workforce has, indeed, brought about change in this area and yet the figures still indicate a low percentage of women at senior management level in almost all industries. Nearly half the UK’s top 100 companies have no women on their boards and the FTSE Female Index shows that women make up just 5 per cent of board members. Forward thinking companies are now searching for alternative options. The “top down” approach of changing the working environment has been welcomed and continues to evolve. The move is now toward a “bottom‐up” approach. In other words companies are beginning to ask how they can support individual women in coping with the many demands on their time. This article explores the unique approach of teaching the importance of personal development as well as professional development in ensuring the key female staff are motivated to succeed.

TRESIS: a transportation, land use and environmental strategy impact simulator for urban areas

The Institute of Transport Studies has developed a Transportation and Environment Strategy Impact Simulator (TRESIS) as a decision support system to assist planners to predict the impact of transport strategies and to make recommendations based on those predictions. A key focus of the simulator is the richness of policy instruments such as new public transport, new toll roads, congestion pricing, gas guzzler taxes, changing residential densities, introducing designated bus lanes, implementing fare changes, altering parking policy, introducing more flexible work practices, and the introduction of more fuel efficient vehicles. The appropriateness of mixtures of policy instruments is gauged in terms of a series of performance indicators such as impacts on greenhouse gas emissions, accessibility, equity, air quality and household consumer surplus. In this paper we introduce TRESIS to the research community, focussing on the structure of the system and the diversity of applications. Applications are presented to illustrate the diversity and richness of TRESIS as a policy advisory tool.

Labour Market Flexibility, Human Resource Management and Corporate Performance

Labour market flexibility is often portrayed as a key to the competitive success of the UK and US economies. We surveyed several hundred firms in the UK, and using the resulting data (on over 200 manufacturing firms) this paper investigates the relationships between firms’ use of flexible work practices, human resource systems and industrial relations on the one hand, and corporate performance on the other hand. The results suggest that ‘low‐road’ practices – short‐term contracts, a lack of employer commitment to job security, low levels of training and low levels of human resource sophistication – are negatively correlated with corporate performance. In contrast, it is found that ‘high‐road’ work practices –‘high commitment’ organizations or ‘transformed’ workplaces – are positively correlated with good corporate performance. It is also found that human resource management practices are more likely to contribute to competitive success where they are introduced as a comprehensive package, or ‘bundle’ of practices. Significant interaction effects between human resource systems, trade unions and flexible work practices add further support to the bundling hypothesis.

Economic Policy and Women’s Informal Work in South Africa

This article examines the gender dimensions of the growth in informal and flexible work in South Africa and the government’s policy response to this. It outlines the growth in informal and flexible work practices and, as illustrative examples, analyses how trade and industrial policies and labour market policies are impacting on the growth of informal and flexible work. It is argued that the South African government’s trade and industrial policies are shifting the economy onto a path of capital intensification. Allied to this, firms are undergoing a process of extensive restructuring. These developments are further promoting the growth of flexibilization and informalization, and thereby disadvantaging women. The article demonstrates that whilst the government offers a vast package of support measures to big business, its policy is largely irrelevant to the survivalist segment of small business, where most women in the informal economy are to be found. The picture for labour policy is more diverse. Aspects of the labour legislation are promoting the growth of a dual labour market, whilst there seems to be some tightening up of practices aimed at bypassing aspects of the protection provided to workers.

Part‐time medical training

Medical Journal of AustraliaVolume 175, Issue 5 p. 284-284 Matters Arising Part-time medical training First published: 01 September 2001 https://doi.org/10.5694/j.1326-5377.2001.tb143569.xAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Abstract Recently we published several articles on part-time specialty training. It seems a logical progression in today's world of increasingly flexible work practices, but not everyone agrees. Volume175, Issue5September 2001Pages 284-284 RelatedInformation

Time for change

'The NHS Plan means that by April 2003 all employees in the health service will have the right to work for an organisation that can show it has adopted flexible working practices.

Flexible working in sport and recreation: current practices in Scottish public, not-for-profit and private leisure facilities

Public sector leisure managers in the UK have, since the imposition of compulsory competitive tendering to leisure management in 1989, been struggling to reconcile the conflicts between becoming more consumer led and satisfying the needs of the 'recreationally deprived'. Budget cuts and an increase in competition from private sector leisure clubs has exacerbated this situation. More recently managers have had to operationalize the new Best Value policy that aims to ensure public services do not lose sight of the public sector principles of transparency and accountability in their attempts to deliver economy, efficiency and effectiveness. In tandem, a number of European Employment Directives have placed constraints on HRM practices. This paper explores the challenges inherent in managing employees within this environment and examines the preferred employment practices used by managers within the public, not-for-profit and private sectors of the leisure and recreation industry. An analysis of five case studies from across these sectors reveals differences in relation to the nature and extent of flexible working policies used by managers. Managers of local authority operated leisure facilities generally used a mix of strategies, partly to conform to changing demographic and household trends and the 'back to work' policies of their political masters as well as for 'business' reasons and to cater for employee work–life balance needs. Evidence was found that managers in not-for-profit leisure facilities were, with the approval of their Board of Directors, adopting a greater degree of flexible working practices as compared to their public sector counterparts. The highest proportion of full-time jobs were found within the private sector, although at less favourable terms and conditions of employment.

The experiences of nurses returning to work after childbirth: 'making a difference'

Aims To gain a better understanding of the experiences of nurses returning to work following childbirth and make recommendations for staff retention. Background Shortages of registered nurses have led managers and Government to consider ways of improving retention of staff. Following childbirth, nurses are one group of people who may potentially be lost to the workforce. Mothers who do return to work may experience role strain associated with their multiple roles. Method Using a qualitative approach data were obtained through semi-structured interviews with five nurses returning to work after childbirth in a central London intensive care and cardiac unit. The interviews were taped, transcribed and then analysed using a grounded theory approach. Findings (Re-)negotiation at home and work was used to cope with multiple roles. Five themes emerged: continuing career pathways, coping mechanisms, self-perception, division of labour, and relationships with partners. Conclusions Implications for nurse retention are highlighted. Recommendations to promote flexible and family friendly work practices are discussed in relation to the UK Government's publication ‘Making a Difference’.

Labor flexibility and firm performance

The aim of this paper is to add to the labor flexibility debate by exploring the relationship between different forms of flexible working practices and the performance of the firm. Although there is a strong argument that labor flexibility can lead to greater financial success through the reduction in labor costs and the ability to use labor resources more efficiently, little empirical evidence has been provided to demonstrate the existence of such a relationship. This paper reviews the existing literature, puts forward a number of research propositions, and tests them by using data drawn from the Cranet-E International Survey of Strategic Human Resource Management. Only one form of numerical flexibility is found to have a positive relationship with firm performance. Proposals for further research are suggested.

Work Reorganisation in Two Australian Open-Cut Coal Companies

Commonly, employer efforts to reorganise work appear as a response to increasing market pressure. Market pressure is said to flow from globalisation and the saturation of mass production markets. Thus, in order to remain competitive, employers must target niche markets that require devising new methods of production. If employers implement new methods of production that allow them to adapt to changes in consumer demand, then they also require flexible work practices. This logic ties the introduction of work reorganisation to the new production concepts debate. This paper examines cases of reorganisation in an industry striving to remain internationally competitive where there was no corresponding effort to introduce new methods of production. The paper seeks to explain the successes and failures of work reorganisation in two chosen case studies using three variables developed by Geary (1993) in a previous reorganisation study. These variables are product market pressure, managerial commitment and worker resistance. The case studies demonstrate how these three variables combined along with other, more subtle, factors to produce interestingly different results in the two companies. Taken overall, however, the cases suggest that employers may experience difficulties in implementing schemes of major work reorganisation that do not correspond with the introduction of new methods of production.

Flexible work practices, productivity improvement and employment

Abstract In this study the authors consider qualitative data on flexible work practices gathered through semi-structured interviews conducted between 1997–1999 in three South African (SA) provinces: Western Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. Findings show that almost ail organisations practice some form of workplace flexibility to achieve greater operational efficiencies. Flexible work practices are considered by a minority of employers as part of business strategy, but not effectively linked to performance measurement. Employee reduction and downsizing have a negative effect on morale, although this is often masked by improved operational efficiencies. Numerical flexibility is used to both downsize and bring new skills into some organisations. Functional flexibility is less commonly used. Most employers are less critical than expected of the role of government and labour legislation in determining employment practices and conditions. But a significant number want labour law to determine minimum employment ...