Flexible Working Time Arrangements Research Articles

Flexibility for equality: Examining the impact of flexible working time arrangements on women's convergence in working hours

AbstractDespite the rise in women's education and their increased participation in the workforce, there is still a lack of gender convergence in working hours. This study explores how flexible working time arrangements (FWTA) affect the convergence of women's working hours to those of men with similar job‐related characteristics. Using the German Socio‐Economic Panel and innovative methods to address endogeneity, the analysis suggests that FWTA, compared to fixed schedules, positively influence women's convergence. This is particularly pronounced among those working full‐time, the more educated, and those aged between 30 and 45. Transitioning to FWTA is associated with increased overtime and childcare hours but it is not related to more housework.

Working longer with working-time flexibility: Only when job commitment is high and family commitment is low?

Objective: This study investigates (a) whether job commitment and family commitment moderate the positive association between flexible working-time arrangements and work hours, and (b) whether childless women and men and mothers and fathers with the same levels of job and family commitment work equally long hours with flexible working-time arrangements. Background: As working-time flexibility increases at many workplaces due to digital technologies and work overload, so too does the risk of working longer hours. Although previous research has neglected job and family commitment as potential moderators of the relationship between working-time flexibility and long working hours, it has found gender inequalities in working hours among employees with flexible working-time arrangements, which have been attributed inter alia to men’s higher commitment to work and lower commitment to family. Method: Multivariate analyses were conducted based on German Family Panel (pairfam) data for 2018, 2019, and 2020. The sample comprised data from 4,568 employee-years, 1,666 part-time employee-years, and 2,902 full-time employee-years. Results: Among full-time employees, only those with high job commitment and low family commitment worked longer hours with employer-driven flexibility and working-time autonomy. Mothers with these arrangements worked fewer hours than childless women, childless men, and fathers, unless they had the same levels of job and family commitment as the latter three groups. Conclusion: These results suggest, first, that among full-time employees with flexible working-time arrangements, job and family commitment are driving factors for working long hours; second, that gender differences in work hours are shaped by parental status; and third, that these differences are due, at least in part, to differences in connectedness to job and family roles.

Flexible Working Arrangements and Social Sustainability: Study on Women Academics Post-COVID-19

One of the main challenges faced by companies, scholars, and governments nowadays is achieving economic, environmental, and social sustainability. Remote working, reduced work weeks, and other types of flexible working time arrangements (FWAs) are the new characteristics that will shape the future of work to ensure social sustainability. In changing work patterns, working styles are changed to possibly improve women employees’ mental health and life–work balance. However, recently, very few firms have succeeded in adopting these new FWA trends. The purpose of this paper is to investigate women’s preferences towards FWAs in the academic sector as a social sustainability source. We investigate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on female faculty members’ future job preferences. The data used in the research are collected from a survey given to female faculty members who work in a Saudi women’s university and have already experienced FWAs during the COVID-19 period. The study uses mixed methods of research, combining a choice modeling (CM) method, one sample t-test, a paired sample t-test, cluster analysis, and probit models. Our results show that flexible working arrangements improve the wellbeing of women employees, which ensures sustainable social development. The findings also show that flexibility in location plays a significant role in the decision made by female faculty members when revealing their flexibility preferences. However, flexibility in time did not play a significant role in the decisions made by respondents. This study adds to the empirical evidence in the current literature on female academic staff preferences for FWAs in Saudi Arabia, using choice modeling conjoint analysis and mixed approaches.

Where is the limit for overtime? Impacts of overtime on employees' mental health and potential solutions: A qualitative study in China.

Although Labor Law of the People's Republic of China stipulates the overtime system, overtime is still widespread in the IT industry. Through qualitative interviews, we explored the impact of overtime on employees' mental health and life. The current study identified four main themes, namely overtime reasons, outcomes of overtime, influential factors and solutions to overtime challenges. Besides work-related reasons and cultural influence, it was found that employees may work overtime due to personal reasons, such as capability and personal qualities; the most frequent impacts reported were fatigue, depression, stress and interference with life; three predominant influential factors were timing of overtime, control and rewards; and overtime conditions could be improved in practical and emotional ways. The study's findings highlight the importance of the design of flexible working time arrangements for avoiding fatigue and improving employees' work-life balance, enhancement of schedule arrangement for avoiding daily work interruption and last-minute tasks, and optimization of rewarding systems for avoiding complaints and facilitating voluntary overtime. Results suggest that mental health and work-life balance can be promoted by organizational initiatives focusing on minimizing excessive job demands, increasing psychosocial resources, supporting boundary management, and enhancing perceived flexibility.

What can I do for you? Line managers’ behaviors to support return to work for workers with common mental disorders

Purpose Sustainable return to work remains challenging for workers returning after long-term sick leave due to common mental disorders (CMDs): stress, anxiety and depression. Line managers play a significant role in supporting returned workers. Therefore, the purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the supportive behaviors of line managers in supporting returned workers.Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted a longitudinal study with up to three semi-structured interviews with 20 line managers with experience managing returned workers. In these interviews, the authors asked questions about the supportive behaviors line managers enacted to support workers and the role of the context. The authors conducted reflexive thematic analysis.Findings The analyses revealed five key strategies, including managing workload, flexible working time arrangements, location of work, mental health check-ups and long-term support. The interviewed line managers reported their own lived experiences and that being aware of the limitations of their role, together with training and support from senior management and human resources (HR), enabled them to provide appropriate support.Practical implications The five strategies and the barriers and facilitators to implementing these may enable HR to develop policies and procedures to support line managers, including training of line managers.Originality/value This is the first study in the UK on line managers’ behaviors to support workers who have returned to work after a period of long-term sickness absence due to CMDs. The identification of such behaviors is paramount to developing organizational policies and practices. The question, however, remains whether employees see these behaviors as effective.

For better or worse: How more flexibility in working time arrangements and parental leave experiences affect fathers' working and childcare hours in Germany

Objective: In this study, we investigate the effect of flexible working time arrangements and parental leave experiences on the actual working and childcare hours of men.
 Background: Many fathers want to spend more time with their children and actively participate in family life, but, after becoming a parent, most work even more hours than before. To better combine work and family, the possibility of flexible working time arrangements might play a crucial role for fathers, also to become more involved in childcare activities.
 Method: We use longitudinal data of the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) to examine how flexible working time arrangements, parental leave experiences, working hours, and childcare hours are related. Based on data between 2013 and 2019, panel regression models were estimated.
 Results: The results show that a change from fixed to flexible working time regulations leads to an increase in working hours for men and fathers. The longer working hours of fathers go hand in hand with a reduction in the time spent on childcare activities when switching to flexible working time arrangements. However, experiences with parental leave in connection with flexible working hours show a change in the use of time.
 Conclusion: Flexible working time regulations prove to be ambivalent for fathers: On the one hand, they offer fathers new leeway, on the other hand, due to traditional role models, they lead to longer working hours and thus less participation in childcare; but parental leave experiences make a difference, which indicates the importance of these regulations for fathers.

Factors related to children’s screen use: the influence of parent–child interaction and parents’ working time schedules in Greater Taipei

ABSTRACT This paper adopts the ‘Child Well-Being Study in Greater Taipei’ to examine factors associated with children’s screen use. This Study was conducted in 2017 and 2018 with 6,480 caregivers of primary school aged children. The hierarchical regression analysis shows that parent–child interaction and parents’ working time schedules are associated with children’s screen use. Based on the findings, this paper suggests that governments and social workers could provide courses and activities to promote parent–child interaction, encourage the implementation of flexible working time arrangements and offer childcare support for parents working atypical hours to reduce children’s excessive screen use.

E-Learning in Era of COVID-19 Pandemic: Impact of Flexible Working Arrangements on Work Pressure, Work–Life Conflict and Academics’ Satisfaction

The aim of this study is to better understand the effect of flexible working arrangements (FWAs) on three academics’ outcomes, which are work pressure, work–life conflict and satisfaction during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. A quantitative approach using probability-sampling technique was performed to collect the data. A total of 132 responses were considered in this study. The sample includes academics from Middle East and North Africa region. This research used the method of partial least squares to test the research hypotheses. The findings showed that there are significant effects between flexible working-time arrangements, work pressure, work–life conflict with academics’ satisfaction. Yet, both work pressure and work–life conflict do not have moderator roles on the relationship between FWAs and academics’ satisfaction. The research results could be applied by university human resources’ managers seeking to introduce flexible schedules in the workplace in the context of uncertainty. The study makes a novel contribution to the effect of flexible schedules on the attitude of academics during a health crisis (COVID-19).

Boundaryless working hours and recovery in Germany

ObjectiveDue to recent trends such as globalization and digitalization, more and more employees tend to have flexible working time arrangements, including boundaryless working hours. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships of various aspects of boundaryless working hours (overtime, Sunday work, and extended work availability) with employees’ state of recovery. Besides, we examined the mediating and moderating role of recovery experiences (psychological detachment, relaxation, mastery, and control) in these relationships.MethodsWe used data from 8586 employees (48% women; average age of 48 years) who took part in the 2017 BAuA-Working Time Survey, a representative study of the German working population. Regression analyses were conducted to test main effects as well as mediation and moderation.ResultsOvertime work, Sunday work, and extended work availability were negatively related to state of recovery. Psychological detachment mediated these relationships. Furthermore, we found that relaxation and control mediated the association between extended work availability and state of recovery. However, no relevant moderating effects were found.ConclusionsAltogether, our findings indicate that various aspects of boundaryless working hours pose a risk to employees’ state of recovery and that especially psychological detachment is a potential mechanism in these relationships. In addition, the results suggest that a high level of recovery experiences cannot attenuate these negative relationships in leisure time. Therefore, employers and employees alike should try to avoid or minimize boundaryless working hours.

The benefits and penalties of formal and informal flexible working-time arrangements: evidence from a cohort study of Australian mothers

While flexible working-time arrangements are highly sought-after entitlements for the reconciliation of work and family responsibilities, they also risk workplace stigma and deterioration in users’ (typically mothers’) employment status and career prospects. Among potential influences on these outcomes is the formality of provisions. In this analysis we examine job satisfaction, work/family benefits and employment penalties among Australian mothers using flexible working arrangements, comparing the outcomes of those who accessed flexible working-time arrangements formally (through policy provisions available at their workplace) with the outcomes of those who used informally negotiated arrangements. Using data from a nationally representative cohort of working mothers, we show that the use of flexible working-time arrangements was positively associated with specific indicators of job satisfaction, and that this association was stronger among mothers who accessed formal arrangements. However, formality was positively associated not only with perceived benefits (such as more time with family) but also with problems (such as intensified workloads and lost opportunities for training). Overall, our findings suggest that while formality is important, it may also amplify the tension between benefits and penalties associated with flexible working-time arrangements.

АНАЛІЗ ФУНКЦІОНУВАННЯ ФІНАНСОВО-БЮДЖЕТНОЇ СИСТЕМИ НІМЕЧЧИНИ

This paper examines the draft federal budget of Germany for 2022 and the government's fiscal plan until 2025. The main budget indicators, official statistics on budget expenditures and revenues, budget balance, the ratio of national debt to gross domestic product and the growth rate of GDP in 2021 and the forecast for 2022–2025 are analyzed. In addition, the implementation of the budget in 2021, measures to stabilize the economic and financial situation implemented by the German government in connection with the pandemic COVID-19 were considered. An analysis of the social component of the budget, the role of financial control in stabilizing the situation causrd by a pandemic and Germany's participation in finding solutionto such global challenge as unprecedentedly rapid climate change was also made. The next few years are crucial for strengthening Germany and Europe — for the major challenges posed by climate change, the need for digitization, securing our prosperity, social cohesion and demographic change. Germany needs a stable and reliable government that addresses the challenges facing the country. Following the elections in Germany in September 2021, a series of talks were held between the elected parties, during which they reached agreements on the main areas of their cooperation. SPD, BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN and Free Democrats recognize that Germany needs a new beginning. Even more than 30 years after the peaceful revolution, Germany remain committed to the task of completing internal unity – socially and economically. Meeting climate protection targets will also require an accelerated phase-out of coal-fired power generation. In order to respond to changes in the world of work and to address the wishes of employees and companies for more flexible working time arrangements, parties want to support trade unions and employers to enable flexible working time models. Germany's economy is leading not only in Europe but also in the world, so all the processes taking place in its financial system of Germany have a direct impact on the state and trends of further development of economic processes in the European Union. Analysis of the formation of the draft German budget, its main indicators and the government's fiscal plan until 2025, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, is important for understanding the general state of the German economy.

Working time flexibility and work-life balance

Based on border theory (Clark 2000), we aim to investigate the relationship between individual-oriented and organization-oriented working time flexibility and employees’ work-life balance, as well as the moderating role of segmentation preference. We use data from around 18,000 employees from the 2015 Working Time Survey of the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in Germany. Survey data were collected through computer-assisted telephone interviews. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that individual-oriented working time flexibility was positively related to employees’ work-life balance, whereas organization-oriented working time flexibility had a negative effect. Employees’ individual preferences regarding the segmentation of work and private life only played a minor role. Those with a higher segmentation preference profit only marginally more from individual-oriented working time flexibility and suffer only marginally more from organization-oriented working time flexibility demands.Practical Relevance: Taken together, the study’s findings highlight the importance of the design of flexible working time arrangements for improving employees’ work-life balance. Employers should grant their employees a certain degree of working time autonomy while keeping organization-oriented working time requirements, such as changes of working time at short notice to accommodate operational demands, to a minimum. This applies to all employees, not only those with a strong preference for separating work and private life.

A little less autonomy? The future of working time flexibility and its limits

The European Court of Justice has recently issued rulings on the interpretation of the European Working Time Directive 2003/88, which appear to restrict flexible working time arrangements (especially Matzak C-518/15, Syndicat C-254/18 and CCOO C-55/18). Only a few months prior to the latter ruling of the CJEU, the Austrian legislator amended the Working Time Act in order to make it more flexible. The article argues that the measures taken by the Austrian legislator to enable more flexibility and autonomy can still be regarded as compatible with Union law. In general, the article tackles the question of possible further legislative developments in order to strike a balance between autonomy and the need for security of both parties to the employment relationship. Among other suggestions, the article introduces the concept of molecularisation of working time and examines whether work intensity should be introduced as a qualitative dimension to the concept of working time, thus deviating from the current European Working Time Directive. Finally, the article suggests security measures – often referring to Austria as a best practice example – in order to safeguard workers in view of working time flexibility.

Employee representation and flexible working time

This paper provides evidence on the effect of employee representation on working-time flexibility in private-sector European establishments. A 2002 European Union directive granted information, consultation and representation rights to employees on a range of key business, employment and work organization issues beyond a certain firm size. We exploit the quasi-experimental variation in employee representation introduced by the implementation of the Directive in four countries (Cyprus, Ireland, Poland and the UK) with no previous legislation on the subject. The empirical analysis is based on repeated cross-section establishment-level data from the last three rounds of the European Company Survey. Difference-in-difference estimates suggest that the Directive had a positive and significant effect on both employee representation and the utilisation of flexible working-time arrangements for eligible establishments. Interestingly, the relaxation of shareholders' property rights and the limits imposed on managerial discretion as a result of the operation of employee representation seem necessary to achieve certain valuable forms of organizational flexibility in market economies.

Does Flexibility Help Employees Switch Off from Work? Flexible Working-Time Arrangements and Cognitive Work-to-Home Spillover for Women and Men in Germany

The present study investigates the effects of flexible working-time arrangements on cognitive work-to-home spillover for women and men in Germany. It analyzes (1) how schedule control, i.e. flexitime and working-time autonomy, and the lack of control, i.e. fixed schedules and employer-oriented flexible schedules, are related to work-to-home spillover and (2) whether these relationships are mediated by job pressure and overtime hours. The multivariate analyses based on the German Socio-Economic Panel Study in 2011 and 2012 show that employees have the most spillover with working-time autonomy and employer-oriented schedules and the least with flexitime and fixed schedules. Working-time autonomy is related to a higher cognitive work-to-home spillover, but only for men, and mainly due to overtime hours. Working-time unpredictability and unreliability seem to be reasons for higher spillover with employer-oriented schedules. This, however, is the case mostly for women, i.e., only women are likely to experience cognitive spillover with employer-oriented flexible schedules—above and beyond job pressure and overtime hours. Moreover, women, but not men, seem to suffer less with flexitime. This study provides evidence to show in which way distinct flexible working-time arrangements contribute to work-to-home spillover and reinforce gender inequality.

Assessing the Association between Late Career Working Time Reduction and Retirement Plans. A Cross-National Comparison Using the 2012 Labour Force Survey ad hoc Module

As public policies are focusing on retaining the ageing workforce, flexible working time arrangements in late career have gained visibility over the past decades. However, given the institutional nature of these arrangements, little is known about the extent to which older workers reduce working hours at a cross-country level. Using data from the 2012 Labour Force Survey ad hoc module, the article aims to provide estimates about the number of workers aged fifty-five to sixty-nine reducing working time in a move towards retirement (before and after the first old-age pension) and assessing, using a multilevel modelling, whether these arrangements play a role in explaining the decision to work beyond the pension age in thirty European countries. Descriptive results show important variations among countries and between genders. The multilevel model shows that the impact of working time reductions in late career varies from one country to another.

Flexible working in the UK and its impact on couples\u2019 time coordination

The ability to combine work with quality time together as a family is at the heart of the concept of work-life balance. Using previously unexploited data on couples’ work schedules we investigate the effect of flexible working on couples’ coordination of their daily work schedules in the UK. We consider three distinct dimensions of flexible working: flexibility of daily start and finish times (flexitime), flexibility of work times over the year (annualized hours), and generalized control of working hours. We show that having flexitime at work increases a couple’s amount of coordination of their daily work schedules by a half to 1 h, which is double the margin of adjustment enjoyed by couples with no flexitime. The impact is driven by couples with children. In contrast to flexitime, the other two forms of flexible working do not seem to increase synchronous time. Our results suggest that having flexitime plays an important role in relaxing the work scheduling constraints faced by families with young children, and that effective flexible working time arrangements are those that increase the worker’s and not the employer’s flexibility.

Sustained Effects of Flexible Working Time Arrangements on Subjective Well-Being

The article addressed the impact of a transition to two flexible working time arrangements, employee- and employer-oriented, on subjective well-being (measured by job satisfaction and satisfaction with leisure time) from a longitudinal perspective. The study investigated which of three patterns of well-being, i.e., stability, recovery, or chronic strain/long-term improvement, are associated with these transitions. To address this question, the study used data from eleven waves (2003–2013) of the German Socio-Economic Panel. Fixed-effects analyses indicated that the well-being of individuals who switched to the employer-oriented flexible time arrangement followed a chronic strain pattern (women) or adaptation pattern (men). The effect of the transition to an employee-oriented flexible time arrangement is not unanimous: women appear to profit from this arrangement in the long run in terms of increased satisfaction with leisure time, whereas men experience deterioration in satisfaction with leisure time, followed by adaptation. At best, the effect of this transition on job satisfaction is short-lived for both genders.

Established, accelerated and emergent themes in flexible work research

Flexible labour markets, flexible working arrangements and motivations behind their use are established and expanding strands of sociology of work and employment relations research. This article provides a review of key themes and debates connected to workplace flexibility between 2000 and 2015 utilising research located in leading sociology of work, employment relations, industrial relations and human resource management (HRM) journals, in addition to key texts published during this time period. We establish that flexible work research is a growing area of research and focus our analysis on identifying key themes categorised as established, accelerated and emergent. We conclude with areas of contention yet to be resolved and possible avenues for future directions in flexible work research, noting a disconnection between macro analyses of flexibility at the economic level and the focus on flexible working-time arrangements at the workplace level. Furthermore we observed few quantitative multi-level modelling analyses or multi-methods research designs. To that end, analyses that can synthesise these literatures would enhance the field, as might innovations in methodological approaches which advance multi-level modelling and multi-method designs to give multiple and dynamic perspectives.

Help or hindrance? Day-level relationships between flextime use, work-nonwork boundaries, and affective well-being.

Flexible working time arrangements are becoming increasingly popular around the globe, but do they actually benefit employees? To address this question, we take a differentiated look at employees' day-specific use of flextime and its effect on the intersection of work and nonwork life. Specifically, we examined whether links between day-specific flextime use and affective well-being at work and at home can be explained by level of goal completion and the subjective boundaries around one's work and private life domains (i.e., the strength of work-nonwork boundaries). During 2 consecutive workweeks, 150 bank employees from various functions (Study 1) and a heterogeneous sample of 608 employees (Study 2) reported their day-specific use of flextime, boundary strength at work and home, and affective well-being in the evening and the next day. Multilevel structural equation modeling of 2,223 (Study 1) and 3,164 (Study 2) observations revealed that flextime use was associated with stronger boundaries at home in both studies and stronger boundaries at work in Study 2. Stronger boundaries were, in turn, positively associated with affective well-being, both in the same evening and the next day. Study 2 further revealed that day-specific nonwork goal completion mediated the positive association between daily flextime use and boundary strength at work. However, whereas occasional flextime use had unequivocal positive consequences, chronic flextime use undermined the completion of work goals. Overall, findings suggest that flextime use benefits employees when used in moderation. (PsycINFO Database Record