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The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of work schedules on work‐family conflict and synergy using the job demands‐resources (JD‐R) and conservation of resources models. The impact of resources including supervisor support, work schedule control and satisfaction, as well as the moderating effects of work schedules on conflict (synergy) and domain satisfaction are examined.

This quantitative study examined responses from organizationally‐employed respondents (n=2,810) from the 2002 National Study of the Changing Workforce using MANOVA and multiple regressions.

Work schedules were significantly related to work‐interfering with family (WIF) and work‐family synergy (W‐FS) but not for family interfering with work (FIW). Perceived supervisory support was significantly related to employee work schedule control and work schedule satisfaction. Perceived control of work schedule and work schedule satisfaction were significantly related to work‐family conflict and synergy. Work schedules moderated the relationship between work‐family conflict (synergy) and domain satisfaction.

Although based on a national probability sample, this study may suffer from common method variance since all measures were from the same self‐report questionnaire.

The results do suggest that solutions like increased schedule flexibility for all workers may not be efficacious in reducing work‐family conflict or increasing work‐family synergy. Employee control over work schedule, employee satisfaction with work schedule, and supervisor support need to be considered as well.

This study examined the impact of work schedules on work‐family conflict and synergy. It is noteworthy since very little research has been conducted on work schedules and synergy. The results also broaden evidence for the JD‐R and conservation of resources models.

The purpose of this paper is to examine employee satisfaction with an employer-imposed compressed workweek (CWW) schedule within a US municipality (City).

The study utilizes an employee survey (n=779) to test factors related to employee satisfaction with the CWW, a four-day, ten-hours/day workweek (4/10 schedule).

Employee satisfaction with the schedule is influenced by previous 4/10 pilot experience, work schedule preference, and happiness with the 4/10 schedule’s implementation. Additionally, sick leave figures and survey results regarding informal substitute work schedules suggest that worker fatigue may limit the overall organizational value of the 4/10 schedule.

The study is opportunistic in nature and therefore constrained by the City’s HR Department concerns for survey length and respondent anonymity. This meant an inability to collect demographic data or to utilize validated scales.

Analysis suggests that the potential work-life benefits of flexible work schedules may not apply equally to employer-imposed vs employee-chosen compressed work schedules. Further, CWWs engender greater fatigue despite employee satisfaction, an issue managers should consider when weighing schedule costs and benefits.

The study highlights the importance of employee choice in conceptualizing flexibility and for capturing CWW benefits, namely: an initiative’s voluntary or involuntary nature should be considered when determining whether it is likely to be beneficial for employees.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between the determinants of public employee turnover intent and the use of workplace flexibilities, with particular attention on the role that gender plays on the relationship between these two constructs.

Using a cross-sectional quantitative research design, the data collection specifically targeted employees of US municipalities that had a significant portion of their workforce using some type of alternative work schedule. Nine cities from six different states were included in the data collection.

In support of prior research and conventional wisdom, the authors find that the use of alternative work schedules is associated with lower expressions of turnover intent, but this relationship is only significant for female municipal employees.

One limitation of the study is that it is mono-source data. A second limitation relates to the lack of controls for contextual and occupational characteristics. Further research is needed on the relationship between alternative work schedule choice and turnover, particularly exploring how other characteristics might impact the relationship between employment flexibilities and turnover.

Overall, the results of the analysis align with broader observations of the need for increasing workplace flexibilities and scholarship exploring these flexibilities, especially for female employees who are attempting to integrate their work and family responsibilities.

There has been relatively little research exploring the relationship between the determinants of turnover intent and the use of workplace flexibilities at the municipal level of government. This is particularly important given that employment in local government is larger than both federal and state government employment combined in the USA (US Census Bureau, 2017).

The purpose of this paper is to understand workers’ resistance toward change from a semi-continuous (SCW) to a continuous shift work system (CW), especially focusing the perspective of change and its impact on workers’ personal lives.

A case study was conducted at a Portuguese steel plant. A questionnaire was administered to 98 shift workers of the two systems, three focus groups (FG) each with ten CW workers, and three interviews with their managers.

The results of the FG and the interviews indicate the loss of days off during weekends as the main drawback of this change, leading to work schedule dissatisfaction. The consequences of the change focused on social and family life. For the CW workers, the conciliation between working hours and life outside the company were the only predictors of satisfaction with work schedule.

The cross-sectional design is one of the main limitations, as well the use of only one organization in the study suggests future replication. Organizations need to consider the aspects of family and social life in the management of working hours.

Globally, this case study highlights the importance of family and social aspects in the adjustment process to working hours, especially when these involve performing work on the weekends, such as shift work.

The purpose of this paper is to use a subjective well-being approach to address a long-standing debate on informal employment: whether it is a low-quality or a high-quality option. The literature generally refers to these options as exclusion vs exit. Policy makers often assume that informal employment constitutes a low-quality option.

The paper relies on a mid-size survey from Mexico as well as on a group of subjective well-being indicators to explore whether people in informal employment display lower or higher well-being. Information on life satisfaction, job satisfaction, and satisfaction with some job-related attributes, satisfaction in other domains of life, and experiences of well-being is used to assess the situation of those in informal employment.

The empirical research finds that there are substantial differences in the socio-demographic and economic characteristics of those in formal and in informal employment. These differences in the population characteristics partially explain differences in subjective well-being. However, once these differences are taken into consideration there is little difference in subjective well-being between informal workers and formal ones. Hence, the paper concludes that in comparison with people in formal employment, informal employment is neither associated with a better life nor with a worse life. Neither the exclusion nor the exit view of informality is supported by the empirical evidence.

Contrary to common perceptions, informal employment does not constitute a low-quality option in the subjective well-being arena. This is a powerful message for policy makers who wish to maximize the employment-related well-being of its citizens. There may well be legitimate policy reasons why the degree of informality should be reduced. However, based on the findings in the Mexican context, the paper stipulates that reducing informal employment primarily on the grounds of greater general unhappiness is not one of them.

The paper contributes to the relevant literature by studying informality from a subjective well-being perspective, which extends much beyond job satisfaction. No research on informal employment has previously used such a large set of subjective well-being indicators comprising variables such as life satisfaction, satisfaction in domains of life, and experiences of well-being.

This study aims to examine the impact of flexible work arrangements (FWAs) on employees’ perceived productivity, quality of work and organisational commitment (OC) with a special focus on the United Arab Emirates. It also analyses the mediating effect of employee happiness on the relationship between FWA and employees’ perceived productivity, OC and perceived work quality.

A quantitative, non-experimental correlational study was used for this research project. The study yielded numerical data, which were analysed using a deductive approach. The analysis aimed at exploring the relationships between the constructs, which were viewed as variables; these relationships were considered correlations, mediation and moderation. The sample comprises employees currently working at different public and private sector organisations, representing all major service industries in the UAE. Nine questions were used to assess the flexibility at work and six out of the nine questions were used to measure the level of FWAs using the Likert scale.

FWA has a significant and positive association with the employees’ perceived productivity, quality of work and OC. It was confirmed that happiness plays a mediating role in the relationship between FWA and employee outcomes. The facility allows employees to manage their personal and professional lives with ease using their preferred work method. This ability promotes employee satisfaction. In conclusion, managers and employees around the world should view FWAs as a positive tool to enhance employee productivity and OC, particularly in an emergency like the Covid-19 pandemic.

The participants’ honesty was a limitation, which could raise questions on the validity of this study. This limitation arises when the self-report method is used for data collection. Use of multiple instruments could be another limitation.

Organisational leaders can use FWAs to improve employee outcomes. When an organisation grants flexible work options to employees, it implies that the organisation trusts its employees to complete the task. This factor motivates all employees to work with dedication, which is particularly true if the employees are creative people and wish to work on their preferred time and place.

This study is significant because the findings will allow managers to assess the benefits of using FWAs to improve employee productivity, particularly in the service sector. It combines the aspects of perceived productivity, OC and perceived work quality, as well as employee happiness to assess the role of FWAs in organisations. The study also investigates the influence of FWAs in improving these employee outcomes. Based on the literature review, this study on FWAs is the first of its kind in the UAE, the country using a truly multinational workforce coming from more than 100 countries and cultures.

The aim of this research is to explore effects of hours of work and the role of personal preference on job satisfaction, work‐to‐family conflict (WFC) and overall life satisfaction among Taiwanese employees.

Data from a nationwide survey in Taiwan were used. A total of 1,122 full‐time employees were surveyed using structured questionnaires.

It was found that working hours were negatively related to job satisfaction and overall life satisfaction, and positively related to WFC, after effects of demographical and job‐related factors were partialled out. More importantly, it was found that the “fit” between preferred and actual hours of work had an effect upon the above strain variables. Specifically, people who had a fit between preferred and actual hours of work reported lower levels of WFC and higher overall life satisfaction, compared to those who had a misfit in working hours.

Using single‐item measures is a major limitation, though it is a common practice in large‐scale social surveys due to constraints on length and time. However, these results have both theoretical and practical implications. It is recommended that both the actual and individual's preference for hours of work should be taken into consideration in any attempt to improve employees' quality of work and quality of life in general.

The use of a national representative sample is a major thrust of the present study. This study also fills the gap left by the scarcity of research on working hours and strain from a Chinese perspective.

The design of work has been shown to influence a host of attitudinal, behavioral, cognitive, well-being, and organizational outcomes. Despite its clear importance, scholarly interest in the topic has diminished over the past 20 years. Fortunately, a recent body of research has sought to reenergize research into work design by expanding our view of work design from a narrow set of motivational work features to one that incorporates broader social and contextual elements. In this chapter we seek to review the literature on work design and develop a framework that integrates both job and team design research. We begin by briefly reviewing the history of work design in order to provide needed historical context and illustrate the evolution of job and team design. We then define work design, particularly as it relates to incorporating job and team design elements and transitioning from a view of jobs to one of roles. Following this, we identify a comprehensive set of work design outcomes that provide the basis for understanding the impact that different work characteristics can have on individuals and teams. We then offer an extended discussion of our integrative model of work design, which includes three sources of work characteristics (task, social, and contextual) and the worker characteristics implied by these characteristics. Having defined the range of work and worker characteristics, we then discuss some of the fit and composition issues that arise when designing work, as well as discuss the mechanisms through which the work characteristics have their impact on outcomes. Finally, we discuss research into informal forms of work design.

The purpose of this paper is to test the relationship of work-life culture and organizational productivity and determine if it is mediated by the availability of work-life programs.

Quantitative data for the study were collected using three sources: an original survey completed by managers of 195 different companies, archival data from two databases, and archival data published in three national surveys. Hypotheses were tested using path analyses.

The data reveals that work-life culture has no direct effect on labor productivity but does have an indirect effect on it, through the availability of work-life programs.

One of the study’s limitations is that its design is cross-sectional. The authors suggest that future longitudinal studies examine the impact of work-life culture on organizational outcomes.

Practitioners should note the importance of promoting a favorable work-life culture and offering work-life programs as they enhance labor productivity.

The authors examine the impact of work-life culture on organizational productivity, a relatively understudied relationship at the organizational level.

This study aims to examine the linkage between work–life balance (WLB) and organizational commitment (OC) among women employees in the healthcare sector.

Using a quantitative methodology, this paper drew upon samples of 580 health-care sector employees working in the health-care sector of Jammu and Kashmir in India. A structured questionnaire was administered to gather the required information. Data were analyzed using SMART PLS and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, in which descriptive statistics, t-test, analysis of variance and structural equation modeling were conducted to achieve the objectives of the study.

Findings indicated a significant positive relationship between WLB and OC. Further component-wise analysis revealed a positive relationship between the WLB and affective and normative commitment. However, WLB demonstrated a negative association with continuance commitment.

The study also brought forth the causes and potential consequences of the work–life imbalance and stressed upon the role of organizational policies in managing the relationship between work and non-work domains and subsequently the development of OC among employees.