Flexible Working Practices 2 - Lincoln Repository
Human Relations, January 2010, Volume 63, Number 1, Pages 83-106Doing more with less? Flexible working practices and the intensification of workClare Kelliher and Deirdre AndersonCranfield UniversityAbstractThis article examines an unanticipated consequence of adopting flexible working practices– that of work intensification. Based on a study of professional workers and in line with otherstudies, we present evidence showing that flexible workers record higher levels of jobsatisfaction and organizational commitment than their non-flexible counterparts. However,we also report evidence of work intensification being experienced by both those who workreduced hours and those who work remotely. We identify three means by which thisintensification occurs – imposed intensification, enabled intensification and intensification as anact of reciprocation or exchange. We argue that the apparent paradox of high job satisfactionand organizational commitment, alongside work intensification can be explained by employeestrading flexibility for effort. Using social exchange theory we propose that employees respond tothe ability to work flexibly by exerting additional effort, in order to return benefit to theiremployer.Keywordspart-time/reduced hours workers, professional workers, remote/teleworking, social exchangetheory, work intensification, work–life balanceIntroductionRecent years have seen an increasing number of organizations in the UK offering a range offlexible working options to their employees (Kersley et al., 2006). For many employersthis has been a response to increasing interest in work–life balance (Bailyn et al., 2001), theneed to be competitive in the labour market (Rau and Hyland, 2002) and the introduction oflegislation giving parents of young or disabled children and, more recently, carers, the right torequest flexible working arrangements. At the same time there has been a widespreadimpression that tension and strain have increased in UK workplaces (Green, 2004) and this issupported by evidence of the intensification of work (Burchell, 2002; Green, 2006).Patterson (2001) observes that the working week has now been eroded and replaced by the‘waking week’. These two trends, however, have generally not been seen to be associated,other than in observations that work intensification may generate the need for flexibility to rebalance work and non-work activities (Lewis, 2003; Lewis et al., 2007). Flexible workingpolicies are normally designed to give employees a degree of choice over how much, when and
where they work and to help them achieve a more satisfactory work–life balance; as suchone would not expect the implementation of flexible working to result in the intensification ofwork. However, in this article we present findings from a study examining employeeexperiences of working from home for part of the week and working reduced hours, whichshow that work intensification can be an outcome for employees. We examine how thisintensification has come about and seek to explain the responses of flexible workers.BackgroundThe article starts by exploring the potential for a link between flexible working practices andwork intensification by examining the literatures concerned with the outcomes of flexibleworking and with work intensification and its causes. The term flexible working has been usedin a broad sense to cover a range of working patterns, 1 including reduced hours, non-standardhours, various forms of remote working, and compressed working time. The central feature ofthese work arrangements is that it is the employee, not the employer, who chooses theworking arrangement, so-called flexibility for employees (Alis et al., 2006). Growing interestin the use of flexible working practices has spawned a number of studies that have examinedthe various forms of flexible working practices and that have contributed to our understandingof the outcomes for both individuals and organizations (see for example, Hammer andBarbera, 1997; Igbaria and Guimeraes, 1999; Kossek et al., 1999; Lee et al., 2002; Tietzeand Musson, 2003). In this article we will focus on two forms of flexible working: remoteworking, where employees work from home for part of the working week and reduced hoursworking. It is recognized that not all flexible working is voluntary (Tomlinson, 2007);however, the results reported here are based on those who have opted to take up a flexibleworking arrangement.Extant studies have identified a range of outcomes of flexible working for employees. First,where employees are able to exercise choice over their working patterns, there is evidence toshow a positive impact on job satisfaction (Hill et al., 1998; Hyman and Summers, 2004;Igbaria and Guimaraes, 1999). Looking specifically at remote working, however, the results aremore diverse. Some studies have found higher levels of job satisfaction (Baruch, 2000) andincreased autonomy (Kelliher and Anderson, 2008), while others have found feelings ofisolation impacting negatively on job satisfaction (Cooper and Kurland, 2002). Second,generally flexible workers report lower levels of strain and stress (Almer and Kaplan, 2002;Thomas and Ganster, 1995). For remote workers again the evidence is more mixed.Raghuram and Wiesenfeld (2004) report lower levels of stress for those who spend timeworking remotely, whereas others have identified new sources of stress (Tietze and Musson,2005) and greater evidence of mental ill health than for those based at the workplace (Mannand Holdsworth, 2003). Third, studies that examine the relationship between work roles andnon-work roles have found evidence of both conflict (Greenhaus and Parasuraman, 1999;Hammer et al., 2005; Rothausen et al., 1998) and more positive effects, such as positive
spillover (Kirchmeyer, 1993) and work-family enrichment (Greenhaus and Powell, 2006).From an organizational perspective, there is also evidence of benefits brought about by theintroduction of flexible working. These include increased productivity (Belanger, 1999; Eaton,2003; Konrad and Mangel, 2000); above average financial performance and improvements inquality (Dex et al., 2001); the ability to attract and retain valued employees (Branine, 2003; Rauand Hyland, 2002; Rothausen, 1994); reduced absenteeism (Dalton and Mesch, 1990) andgreater employee loyalty and commitment (Grover and Crooker, 1995; Roehling et al.,2001).Intensification of work is concerned with ‘the effort employees put into their jobs during thetime that they are working’ (Burchell, 2002: 72). Green (2001) distinguishes between‘extensive’ and ‘intensive’ effort. Extensive effort refers to the time spent at work, whereasintensive effort relates to physical and mental input. The intensification of work is generallyseen to have negative outcomes for employees (for an overview, see Fairris and Brenner,2001). Burchell (2002: 72), while noting the relative lack of work in this area, suggests that‘the intensification of work may be a greater problem – in terms of stress, psychologicalhealth and family tension’, than other factors such as the prevalence of job insecurity. Workby Warr (1987) links work intensification to a reduction in job satisfaction and worker wellbeing. In particular, where work intensification is imposed on workers, such as in the case ofdownsizing, those who are forced to work harder may become demoralized (Kets de Vriesand Balazs, 1997).There has been much debate about the causes of work intensification and calls for research toimprove our understanding of its sources (Green, 2004). Existing studies have identified anumber of factors, which focus mainly on macro level influences such as increased competitivepressure and technological change (see for example, Burchell et al., 1999; Green and McIntosh,2001; Green, 2004; Lapido and Wilkinson, 2002). Less attention has been given to howchanges at workplace level may contribute to intensification. There is some limited evidenceto show that certain approaches to the organization of work, such as functional flexibility andmulti-skilling, can result in an intensification of work by matching the supply and demand forlabour more closely (Green, 2004; Kelliher and Gore, 2006). The use of certain humanresource management practices may also result in work intensification by stimulating efforteither directly (e.g. performance related pay), or indirectly as a by-product of other humanresource (HR) outcomes, such as organizational commitment (Green, 2004; Osterman, 1995).This literature, however, has not cited the introduction of flexible working practices as asignificant contributor to work intensification. In many ways this is not surprising, since onewould not expect practices designed to help employees achieve a more satisfactory work–lifebalance to result in work intensification. Those who work reduced hours are spending lesstime at work and as such would be expected to exert less extensive effort. Similarly, reducedhours should not have implications for intensive effort per se. Those who work remotely
change the location of work which, in theory, should not result in changes to the intensity ofwork.It is important to recognize, however, that while flexible working policies may ostensibly beabout allowing employees some choice, in order to achieve a better work–life balance, inpractice this is not always the outcome (Higgins et al., 2000). Critics of the work–life discourseargue that the emphasis on choice and achieving balance implies control over life decisions(Caproni, 2004) and that these need to be seen in the context of the constraints of gender,workplace culture and norms (Lewis, 2003; Lewis et al., 2007). Similarly, little attempt hasbeen made to challenge the changes that have resulted in increased workplace pressuresand generated the need to create balance. There has also been criticism of the largely twodimensional approach – that of work and home – in this debate (Ransome, 2007) and it isargued that when other domains are taken into account, rather than having the ‘best of bothworlds’, flexible workers may struggle to achieve a balance (Warren, 2004).It may be that this predominant work–life discourse has obscured some of the widerimplications of flexible working. If we examine the potential for flexible working to result inthe intensification of work at a deeper level of analysis and draw on a wider literature,thereare a number of features of flexibleworking that could potentiallyhaveconsequences for the intensification of work. We have identified three means by whichintensification may take place. Increased effort may be imposed, enabled, or it may be areciprocal act on the part of employees in exchange for discretion over workingarrangements. We examine each of these in turn. First, the way in which flexible working isimplemented may result in imposed intensification, in a similar way in which workloadsmay increase following downsizing (Kets de Vries and Balazs, 1997). For example, thismight occur if, when a full-time member of staff opts to reduce their hours, their workloadis not reduced accordingly. Such circumstances could result in increased extensive effort –working at times when they are not scheduled to work (Sigala, 2005; Skinner, 1999),and/or increased intensive effort while working (Higgins et al., 2000).Second, work intensification may be enabled because flexible working patterns facilitate theexercise of increased effort. Green (2004) has argued that work intensification may occurwhere changes to work organization allow people to work hard more easily. In the case ofremote working, it could be that work intensity increases if being away from the workplacemakes it easier for people to work harder, or longer. This could be as a result of the removalof workplace distractions (demands of co-workers, social interactions, etc.), although this is notto say that other locations, such as the home, will not also generate distractions for employees(Harris, 2003; Tietze and Musson, 2005). In spite of evidence of managers having concernsabout the performance of those who work from home (Felstead et al., 2003), some studieshave indicated that home-based teleworkers work increased hours (Baruch and Nicholson,
1997). Along similar lines, it may be that traditional patterns of the working day or the workingweek do not necessarily result in optimal employee effort. Working a different number ofhours may result in different levels of effort being expended. If employees work fewer hoursthey may be able to exercise greater effort while working, because they experience lessfatigue and feel less need to take breaks from the work process. In support of this, anumber of studies have reported that part-time workers bring increased enthusiasm andenergy to work (Edwards and Robinson, 2004; Skinner, 1999), which may result in increasedintensive effort. Similarly, the avoidance of a stressful commute by a homeworker may meanthat the employee has more energy for work.Third, work intensification may be an act of reciprocation or exchange. The ability to takeadvantage of flexible working options may engender a reaction in employees, which results inthem expending greater effort. This may occur either directly or indirectly. Indirectly, there isevidence to show that policies designed to gain employee commitment engender higherlevels of employee effort (de Menezes and Wood, 2006; Green, 2004) and a number ofstudies have shown that offering flexible working options has a positive effect on employeecommitment (Grover and Crooker, 1995; Roehling et al., 2001). Therefore, enhancedemployee commitment, brought about by the provision of flexible working, could result inflexible workers exercising higher degrees of effort. Similarly, Dex and Scheibl (1999) in areview of the evidence present the case that family friendly policies (including flexible working)can increase staff motivation, which may lead to the exercise of increased effort. However,there is also some contrary evidence showing that those who work reduced hours recordlower levels of organizational commitment and hence might be expected to be less willing toput in additional effort (Steffy and Jones, 1990).From a direct perspective Golden (2001) observes that, in return for the opportunity toadopt flexible time schedules, workers are sometimes prepared to make sacrifices, such aschanges to the timing or number of hours worked, even though they may entail costs totheir leisure, compensation or predictability in the work week. It may be that other flexibleworkers would also be prepared to make sacrifices in return for their flexible workingarrangements, for example, in the form of increased effort. Social exchange theory (Blau,1964; Homans, 1958) may be useful here. Social exchange theory is concerned with theobligations that are generated through a series of transactions between parties (Emerson,1976). Put simply, an individual who receives some form of benefit is under obligation to thesupplier of that benefit. To discharge this obligation they in turn must furnish some form ofbenefit to the supplier of the original benefit. It could be argued that for an employee,taking advantage of a flexible work option, a feeling of obligation towards the employer isgenerated. This might be in the form of a negotiated or reciprocal exchange (Molm et al.,1999). Reciprocal exchange occurs when actors provide benefits for others without anyagreement, but an expectation of future benefits being available to them. Reciprocal exchange
tends to be established over time in longer term relationships (Molm et al., 1999).Furthermore, a sense of obligation requiring the exercise of additional effort may extend toco-workers. Reduced hours or remote workers may find themselves working more intently inorder to meet the expectations of their co-workers. There is evidence of co-workersatisfaction being negatively associated with the prevalence of teleworkers (Golden, 2007).Flexible workers, aware of a negative effect on co-workers, may feel the need to increase theireffort in an attempt to ameliorate such reactions. Other evidence suggests that when workerswho have reduced face time are proactively available to their work colleagues, this assistsgroup performance (Corwin et al., 2001) and the success of reduced hours working (Lee andKossek, 2004). If flexible workers recognize this and take steps to be proactively available,this essentially requires the exercise of additional effort on their part.To summarize then, while there is an accumulating body of knowledge about theimplementation of flexible working practices and the outcomes for both individuals andorganizations, relatively little attention has been given to the implications for work intensity.Much attention has focused on the relationship with work–life balance, emphasizing employeechoice and it may be that this discourse has drawn attention away from potential consequences forareas such as employee effort. In this article we attempt to shed further light on therelationship between flexible working practices and work intensification. In particular, we areconcerned with the ways in which work intensification is brought about and seek to explain theresponses of flexible workers. We present data on employee experiences of flexible working,focusing specifically on two types of flexible working where employees have less face time in theworkplace, reduced hours and remote working. Employees with these working arrangementsmay be more susceptible to work intensification since, as Munck (2001) notes, in manyorganizations the time employees are seen at work is often equated with productivity; as suchemployees with less face time may feel under pressure to exert more effort in order tocompensate for this.MethodsThe results reported here are drawn from a wider study designed to examine theimplementation of flexible working practices and in particular the impact on employeebehaviour, in a number of organizations in the UK private sector. In this article we presentfindings from three of the organizations involved in the study. Data collection involved theuse of focus groups, interviews and a questionnaire distributed to both flexible and nonflexible workers. Here we present largely qualitative data drawn from the semi-structuredinterviews with flexible workers. In addition, we present a small number of results from thequestionnaire. These findings provide some supplementary, background data on employeeoutcomes and allow the responses of flexible and non-flexible workers to be compared.
Our concern was to investigate the lived experiences of flexible workers. In particular we wereconcerned to examine how they felt flexible working impacted on their working lives. The threeorganizations included in this study were all large, multinational companies drawn from theinformation technology, pharmaceutical and consulting sectors. Each of the organizations hadoffered a range of flexible working options to employees for several years. This allowed data to begathered from respondents who had developed perceptions about flexible working based ontheir experiences over time. The participants in this study had all requested to change theirworking arrangements. The study did not include participants who were required to change theirworking arrangements, or those who were originally employed on reduced hours contracts, or asremote workers.The interviews were semi-structured in order to allow factors identified as important by therespondents to emerge (Rapley, 2004). Questions covered the interviewee’s role, the natureof their flexible working arrangement, their motivation for altering their working pattern andtheir experiences of flexible working, including the impact on their work and on thempersonally. A range of demographic details were also gathered from each interviewee. Wedid not ask specific questions about the intensification of work, yet it emerged as a
implications of flexible working. If we examine the potential for flexible working to result in the intensification of work at a deeper level of analysis and draw on a wider literature, there are a number of features of flexible working that could potentially have consequences for the intensification of work. We have identified three means by which
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types of flexible working tips on developing an appropriate arrangement, and information on the value of flexible working. Tip for practices Ensure workplace policies, particularly for flexible working, are capable of implementation in pra
Enabling flexible working: Cross-sector case studies and practice highlights 1 Introduction The widespread demand for flexible working and the significant policy drivers to improve flexible working and increase its use have underscored the need for real-life, evidence-based guidance to support flexible working implementation.
What impact might more part-time and flexible working opportunities have on overall teacher supply? 9 Barriers to part-time and flexible working 9 Benefits to schools from meeting the demand for part-time and flexible working 13 Making it work 14 What policies would encourage school leaders to increase flexible working? 20
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