An examination of the relationship between flexible work arrangements, work-family conflict, organizational commitment, and job performance
 
 
More details
Hide details
1
Assistant Professor of Business Colorado, Mesa University, USA
 
 
Online publication date: 2019-12-21
 
 
Management 2019;23(2):169-187
 
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
Many employees are often faced with an inter-role conflict between work and that of a family in the U.S. However, business leaders and Human Resource Management (HRM) may not recognize the problem affecting white-collar employees. The purpose of this non-experimental quantitative study was to determine whether or not a relationship existed between employees’ use of flexible working arrangements as predictor variables (such as flexible work schedules and telecommuting) and work-family conflict and family-work conflict as covariate variables, and organizational outcomes (such as organizational commitment and job performance outcome variables). The self-reported survey data included 237 employees who have utilized flexible work arrangements in service organizations in the state of Texas. The inconclusive ANCOVA parametric data assumption resulted in further employ Kruskal-Wallis statistical analysis with less restrictive normality assumption The ANCOVA and Kruskal-Wallis analyses tests revealed a statistically significant result for employees’ use of flexible work options (a combination of flexible work schedules and telecommuting) to alleviate family-work conflict. The use of a single option (flexible work schedules or telecommuting) was statistically insignificant to employees. Despite the rigorous study, limitations are inevitable particularly for self-reported data and non-experimental study. The difficulty to determine the participants’ honesty unintentional misrepresentations reflected in the validity of the study (Hunter, 2012; Matsui et al., 2005). Nevertheless, the study provided insight information to organizational management not to overlook the use of flexible work arrangement practices to mitigate employees’ family-work conflict (Gözükara & Çolakoğlu, 2015) to achieve organizational outcomes. Future researchers should replicate this study to include flexible work arrangement users vs. non-flexible work arrangement employees in other states, regions, and industries.
 
REFERENCES (43)
1.
Allen, T. D., Johnson, R. C., Kiburz, K. M., & Shockley, K. M. (2013). Work-family conflict and flexible work arrangements: Deconstructing flexibility. Personnel Psychology, 66, 345–376. DOI:10.1111/perps.12012.
 
2.
American Psychological Association. (2011). Stress in the Workplace: Survey Summary. Retrieved from https://www.google.com/?gws_rd....
 
3.
Atkinson, C., & Hall, L. (2011). Flexible working and happiness in the NHS. Employee Relations, 33, 88-105. DOI:10.1108/01425451111096659.
 
4.
Bal, P. M., De Jong, S., Jansen, P. G. W., & Bakker, A. B. (2012). Motivating employees to work beyond retirement: A multi-level study of the role of I-deals and unit climate. Journal of Management Studies, 49, 306-332.
 
5.
Bhave, D., Kramer, A., & Glomb, T. (2013). Pay satisfaction and work-family conflict across time. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 34, 698-713.
 
6.
Blazovich, J. L., Smith, K. T., & Smith, M. (2013). Employee-friendly companies and work-life balance: Is there an impact on financial performance and risk level? Journal of Organizational Culture, Communications, and Conflict. Retrieved from http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/De....
 
7.
Brown, L. M. (2010). The relationship between motherhood and professional advancement. Employee Relations, 32, 470-494. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/0142....
 
8.
Buonocore, F., Russo, M., & Ferrara, M. (2015). Work-family conflict and job insecurity: are workers from different generations experiencing true differences? Community, Work & Family, 18, 299. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1366....
 
9.
Burke, R. J., Koyuncu, M., & Fiksenb, L. (2013). Antecedents and consequences of work-family conflict and family-work conflict among frontline employees in Turkish hotels. IUP Journal of Management Research, 12(4), 39-55.
 
10.
Cairns, T. D. (2013). What will tip the scales for flexible work arrangements-motivation or collaboration? Employment Relations Today (Wiley), 40(2), 29-33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ert.....
 
11.
Carlson, D., Hunter, E., Ferguson, M., & Whitten, D. (2014). Work-family enrichment and satisfaction: mediating processes and relative impact of originating and receiving domains. Journal of Management, 40(3), 845-865. DOI:10.1037/t03592-000.
 
12.
Caykoylu, S., Egri, C. P., Havlovic, S., & Bradley, C. (2011). Key organizational commitment antecedents for nurses, paramedical professionals, and non-clinical staff. Journal of Health Organization and Management, 25, 7-33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/1477....
 
13.
Chernyak-Hai, L., & Tziner, A. (2015). The I believe and then I invest in work-family balance: The indirect influences of personal values and work engagement via perceived organizational climate and workplace burnout. Revista De Psicología Del Trabajo Y De Las Organizaciones, DOI:10.1016/j.rpto.2015.11.004.
 
14.
Cheung, M., & Wong, C. (2013). Work-family/family-work conflict: the moderating roles of gender and spousal working status. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 51, 330-346. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.17....
 
15.
Coenen, M., & Kok, R. W. (2014). Workplace flexibility and new product development performance: The role of telework and flexible work schedules. European Management Journal, 32, 564-576. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.em....
 
16.
De Janasz, S., Behson, S. J., Jonsen, K., & Lankau, M. J. (2013). Dual sources of support for dual roles: How mentoring and work-family culture influence work-family conflict and job attitudes. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 24, 1435-1453. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0958....
 
17.
De Sivatte, I., & Guadamillas, F. (2013). Antecedents and outcomes of implementing flexibility policies in organizations. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 24, 1327-1345. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0958....
 
18.
Duncan, K. A., & Pettigrew, R. N. (2012). The effect of work arrangements on the perception of work-family balance. Community, Work & Family, 15, 403-423. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1366....
 
19.
Field, A. (2013). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics. CA: Sage. Publications, Inc.
 
20.
Fiksenbaum, L. M. (2013). Supportive work-family environments: Implications for work-family conflict and well-being. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 25, 653-672. DOI:10.1080/09585192.2013.796314.
 
21.
Galea, C., Houkes, I., & De Rijk, A. (2014). An insider’s point of view: How a system of flexible working hours helps employees to strike a proper balance between work and personal life. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 25, 1090-1111. DOI: 10.1080/09585192.2013.816862.
 
22.
Galinsky, E., & Matos, K. (2011). The future of work-life fit. Organizational Dynamics, 40, 267-280. Doi:10.1016/j.orgdyn.2011.07.004.
 
23.
Goh, Z., Ilies, R., & Wilson, K. S. (2015). Supportive supervisors improve employees’ daily lives: The role supervisors play in the impact of daily workload on life satisfaction via a work-family conflict. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 8965-73. DOI: 10.1016/j.jvb.2015.04.009.
 
24.
Gözükara, İ., & Çolakoğlu, N. (2015). The impact of manager support and work-family conflict on job satisfaction. Business Management Dynamics, 5(6), 13-25.
 
25.
Greene, W. H. (2012). Econometric analysis (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
 
26.
Henly, J. R., & Lambert, S. J. (2014). Unpredictable work timing in retail jobs: Implications for employee work-life conflict. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 67, 986-1016. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0019....
 
27.
Kossek, E. E., Baltes, B. B., & Matthews, R. A. (2011). How work-family research can finally have an impact on organizations. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 4, 352-359.
 
28.
Maharshi, N., & Chaturvedi, R. (2015). A study of factors—affecting the work-life balance of women employees working in public and private sector banks of Rajastan. Asia Pacific Journal of Management and Entrepreneurship Research, 4, 89-107. Retrieved from http://www.apjmer.org/articles....
 
29.
Matthews, R. A., Kath, L. M., & Barnes-Farrell, J. L. (2010). A short, valid, predictive measure of work-family conflict: Item selection and scale validation. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 15(1), 75-90. DOI: 10.1037/a0017443.
 
30.
Minnotte, K. L. (2012). Family structure, gender, and the work-family interface: Work-to-family conflict among single and partnered parents. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 33(1), 95-107. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s108....
 
31.
Mowday, R. T., Steers, R. M., & Porter, L. W. (1979). The measurement of organizational commitment. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 14, 224-247. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0001....
 
32.
Munsch, C., Ridgeway, C., & Williams, J. (2014). Pluralistic ignorance and the flexibility bias: understanding and mitigating flextime and flexplace bias at work. Work and Occupations, 41(1), 40-62.
 
33.
Parker, K. & Wang, W. (2013). Modern Parenthood: Roles of moms and dads converge as they balance work and family. Retrieved from Pew Research website: http://www.pewsocialtrends.org....
 
34.
Shannon-Missal, L (2014). Vast majority of Americans favor flexible workplace policies. Retrieved from Nielsen & the Harris: http://www.harrisinteractive.c....
 
35.
Society for Human Resource Management, (2013, 2016). Workplace flexibility in the 21st century: Meeting the needs of the changing workforce. Retrieved from http://secure-us.imrworldwide.....
 
36.
Sturman, M. C., & Walsh, K. (2014). Strengthening the employment relationship: The effects of work-hours fit on key employee attitudes. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 35(6), 762-784. DOI:10.1002/job.1925.
 
37.
Swanberg, J. E., McKechnie, S. P., Ojha M. U., & James, J. B. (2011). Schedule control, supervisor support, and work engagement: A winning combination for workers in hourly jobs? Journal of Vocational Behavior, 79, 613-624. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jv....
 
38.
Sweet, S., Pitt-Catsouphes, M., Besen, E., & Golden, L. (2014). Explaining organizational variation in flexible work arrangements: Why the pattern and scale of availability matter. Community, Work & Family, 17, 115-141. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1366....
 
39.
Thompson, C. A., Beauvais, L. L., & Lyness, K. S. (1999). When work-family benefits are not enough: The influence of work-family culture on benefit utilization, organizational attachment, and work-family conflict. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 54392-415. DOI:10.1006/jvbe.1998.1681.
 
40.
Wells-Lepley, M., Thelen, L. A., & Swanberg, J. (2015). Supervisors’ use of flexibility as a strategic management tool: Prevalence and predictors. The Psychologist-Manager Journal, 18(1), 31-53. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/mgr0....
 
41.
Wickramasinghe, V. (2012). Supervisor support as a moderator between work schedule flexibility and job stress. International Journal of Workplace Health Management, 5, 44-55. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/1753....
 
42.
World Bank, (n.d). Section 9: Growth of the service sector. Retrieved from http://www.worldbank.org/depwe....
 
43.
Yang, J., Mossholder, K. W., & Peng, T. (2009). Supervisory procedural justice effects: The mediating roles of cognitive and affective trust. The Leadership Quarterly, 20143-154. DOI:10.1016/j.leaqua.2009.01.009.
 
eISSN:2299-193X
ISSN:1429-9321 (1997-2019)
Journals System - logo
Scroll to top