Flexible Work Schedules and Employee Well-Being

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Abstract

This paper aims to improve understanding of the relationship between the use of flexible work schedules and employee well-being. Using a sample of 336 employees operating on two flexible work schedules (flexitime and telecommuting), clear evidence was found of the positive relationships between flexible work practices, job satisfaction and work/life balance. The results of the study also indicate that flexitime schedules can reduce the impact of role overload and job-induced stress. However, the findings suggest that telecommuting does not always enhance role overload and work/life balance. In addition, employees operating under flexitime work schedules displayed significantly higher levels of work/life balance than their counterparts utilising telecommuting arrangements. The study findings are discussed in relation to theories of employee flexibility and the implications for employees and organisations are addressed.

Keywords: Flexible work arrangements; work schedules; well-being; job satisfaction; work/life balance.

Introduction

There have been many changes to global business, international work forces and in employees' lives that have led to increased concern for the boundary between work and non-work. For example, the challenges created by the present financial crisis have led to more international organisations focusing on flexibility as an alternative to redundancy (Andrews, 2009). A further example of the ambiguity of the pursuit of balancing work and non-work is demonstrated by the increasing incidence of dual career couples, dual income families, and single parent families with either child or elder care responsibilities (Baird, 2006). Indeed, the number of working individuals with children or elder dependents for which they need to care seems to be increasing (Pocock, 2004). Furthermore, a greater number of employees telecommute (work from home), or bring work home, thus blurring the boundaries between work and non work (Hill, Hawkins, Ferris and Weitzman, 2001). Together, these factors have resulted in employees spending more time attempting to balance multiple responsibilities, and ultimately, increasing the concern for the boundary between work and personal life. To adapt to these changes, many organisations have implemented flexible work arrangements to help employees balance their work and non work lives.

The impact of flexible work arrangements on employee and organisational outcomes has been well documented. For instance, research (Rubin, 1979; Ronen and Pimps, 1981; Stains and Pleck, 1986; Barber, Dunham and Formisano, 1992; Pierce and Dunham,...