Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes

Defining and conceptualizing workplace flexibility

We first compare and contrast current conceptualizations of workplace flexibility in order to arrive at a definition in harmony with its contemporary use: ‘the ability of workers to make choices influencing when, where, and for how long they engage in work-related tasks’. Next, we situate workplace flexibility in its theoretical contexts to provide researchers with a clearer understanding of what workplace flexibility is, what its mechanisms of operation are, and why it may be related to other concepts. Finally, we present a conceptual framework of antecedents and consequences of workplace flexibility, including illustrative examples of several basic associations from the peer-reviewed literature.

The multi-generational workforce: Workplace flexibility and engagement

This paper explores the perceptions of employees of different ages regarding the flexibility they need at work (flexibility fit) and their engagement with work. Using 49,209 observations representing 183,454 employees in 22 different companies, we estimated a hierarchical linear model (HLM) to explain variation in employee engagement as a function of flexibility fit and age. Although flexibility fit was a powerful positive predictor of engagement for all employees, it was a more powerful predictor of engagement for employees ages 45 and older. The positive moderating effect of flexibility fit provides employers with guidance about how to maintain the engagement of workers of all ages, but especially older workers who want to extend their participation in the labor force.

A Question of Justice Disparities in Employees’ Access to Flexible Schedule Arrangements

Within an organizational justice framework, this article investigates which group of employees are less likely to have access to flexible schedule options. Using data from the 1997 National Study of the Changing Workforce, logistical regressions were conducted to identify the employee, job, and workplace factors associated with limited access to four flexible work schedules: modifying standard starting and ending times, daily flex-time, taking time off for personal or family time, and control over work hours. Analyses imply that workers who are less privileged report reduced access to a range of flexible schedule options. Lower wages, low education levels, and hourly work were factors associated with having less access to four, three, or two of the flexible work schedules, respectively. Implications and further directions for research are discussed.

Across the continuum of satisfaction with work-family balance: Work hours, flexibility-fit, and work-family culture.

This study investigated the association between hours worked per week and satisfaction with work-family balance, using data from a 2007-2008 survey of employees nested within organizations. We tested hypotheses informed by the resource drain and resources-and-demands perspectives using quantile regression. We found that the negative association between hours worked per week and satisfaction with work-family balance was significantly stronger at the 25th percentile, as compared to at the 75th percentile, of satisfaction with work-family balance. Further, there was some evidence that perceived flexibility-fit (i.e., the fit between worker needs and flexible work options available) and supportive work-family culture attenuated the relationship between hours worked and satisfaction with work-family balance. The results suggest that analyses focusing on the average relationship between long work hours (such as those using ordinary least squares regression) and satisfaction with work-family balance may underestimate the importance of long work hours for workers with lower satisfaction levels.

Explaining organizational variation in flexible work arrangements: why the pattern and scale of availability matter

This study examines flexible work arrangement (FWA) availability in 2009 in a sample of 545 American employers. While most employers offer FWAs to some of their workforce, few offer these to the majority of their workers. Those employers that offer flexible work options tend to rely most heavily on flexibility in the scheduling and place of work. Seldom do organizations make options of reducing work and/or pausing work available to majority portions of their labor forces. Industry sector, labor market conditions, and organizational cultural support of flexibility are predictive of wide-scale FWA availability. This study reveals that FWAs remain out of reach for most workers, but that some conditions may foster greater availability.

Organizational Size and Work-Family Issues

Although the number of small businesses has grown significantly, and the majority of American workers are employed by smaller companies, very little attention has been given to conducting research studies about work-family issues in these companies. This article presents information about other business studies that have focused on organizational size, and it highlights several research traditions that can be used to develop future studies of company size and work-family issues: organizational theories, and studies of community and school size. Studies that explore organizational and employee perspectives on work-family issues in smaller businesses are presented. Finally, recommendations are made for future studies to explore the relationship between organizational size and work family issues, including the suggestion that multilevel studies be conducted that combine both organizational and employee perspectives.

UNMASKING THE TAKEN FOR GRANTED

In this paper, we consider some of the taken‐for‐granted assumptions salient in the work–family literature, including assumptions about: gender and work–family, womens employment and the well‐being of dependants, employers as work–family stakeholders, work–family in society, work–family conflict, work–family and diversity/justice, the contexts of work–family, and time.

Looking up to regulations, out at peers or down at the bottom line: How institutional logics affect the prevalence of age-related HR practices

Drawing on new institutionalism theory, this study examines the influence of institutional logics, the belief systems that direct decision-makers’ attention to particular sets of issues, on human resource (HR) adaptation to demographic changes. We argue that the prevalence of age-neutral HR management and of age-related HR practices such as age assessment and older worker-targeted practices, are shaped by the strength of the strategic (business case), benchmarking (comparing one’s set of policies with peers’) and compliance (laws and regulations) logics. In a sample of 420 US organizations, a strong strategic logic was associated only with greater prevalence of age-neutral HR management. A strong benchmarking logic was associated with greater prevalence of age-neutral HR management, of age assessment practices, and of older worker-targeted practices. A strong compliance logic was associated with greater prevalence of age-assessment and older worker-targeted practices. This article contributes to research on ageing and extends work on institutional logics by (1) focusing on organizations’ differential enactment of institutional logics, reflecting the contextual embeddedness of HR practices, and (2) showing that the prevalence of age-neutral HR management and of age-related HR practices are associated with competitive as well as institutional isomorphism.

Access to and Utilization of Flexible Work Options

Many workers do not utilize the flexible work options to which they have access nor do they necessarily have access to all options officially provided by their organizations. This study sheds light on these gaps using probit models with sample selection to predict access to and utilization of fourteen flexible options. The findings highlight the roles of supervisor support, occupation, and work‐life culture. The influence of each of these factors on access and utilization differs.

Workplace Flexibility as an Organizational Response to the Aging of the Workforce: A Comparison of Nonprofit and For-Profit Organizations

ABSTRACT The degree to which flexible work options are available to employees has been used as an indicator of the extent to which organizations have responded to workforce needs, including those related to the aging of the workforce. This article uses an organizational adaptation framework to determine factors that explain variation in the degree to which flexible work options are offered in for-profit and non-profit organizations. Findings indicate that while the scope of flexible work options offered was similar among for-profits and non-profits, the factors that predicted variance in the scope of these options differed somewhat between the two sectors.