Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Flexible workplaces'

Activity Based Workplaces (ABW) is the latest trend within the office layout for knowledge workers. The design and layout of an activity based workplace is based on the worker's need to carry out different tasks, in the most efficient way. In order to achieve that the office is divided into different zones and the workers doesn't have a private work-station. The biggest advantage with ABW is a space efficient working environment that promotes knowledge- and information sharing within the company’s different departments. The purpose of this master thesis is to investigate how to implement Activity Based Workplaces in an efficient way. In order to do that a literature review on existing research and a qualitative study have been carried out. The qualitative study is based on interviews with key persons at five different companies that have implemented ABW or had the intention to do so. The transition to ABW have been studied in three different blocks; the decision process, the implementation process and the outcome and user perspective. The analysis of the results from the qualitative study shows that the transition includes a lot of different challenges. One of the biggest challenge that the management has to overcome is to assure the co-workers that the implementation of an Activity Based Workplace will bring positive effects to the company. In order to achieve that it is important that the management acquires the right knowledge to successfully handle the implementation and is able to create a clear strategy of how to do so. During the process it is important to involve the co-workers in order to identify their needs. After all it is the co-workers who carry out the activities that the workplace is supposed to support. The involvement of the co-workers will also create a more positive attitude towards the concept of ABW. After the implementation of the Activity Based Workplace the challenge lies within the ability to constantly adapt and develop the office space after the changing needs of the company and its co-workers. The co-workers changing needs are hard to identify in advance, therefore it is important to adapt the workplace when these needs are identified. The demand for space efficient offices will grow in the future and in comparison to a traditional office space layout, we believe the Activity Based Workplace allows for a workplace better suited for the needs of the company and its co-workers.
Aktivitetsbaserade arbetsplatser (förkortas ABW) är den hetaste kontorstrenden för tillfället. Konceptet ABW bygger på att utforma kontoret och dess arbetsplatser utifrån personalens behov. På ett aktivitetsbaserat kontor ska personalens arbetsuppgifter styra valet av arbetsplats och personalen har därför inga fasta arbetsplatser. De stora fördelarna med ABW är en förbättrad och mer yteffektiv arbetsmiljö som främjar informations- och kunskapsutbyte mellan ett företags eller en organisations olika avdelningar. Syftet med detta examensarbete är att undersöka hur aktivitetsbaserade arbetsplatser kan implementeras på ett effektivt sätt. Syftet har besvarats genom en litteraturstudie, bestående av aktuell forskning inom området, samt en kvalitativ empirisk studie av fem stycken företag som antingen har implementerat ABW eller haft för avsikt att göra detta. Hos dessa fem företag har olika nyckelpersoner intervjuats kring konceptet ABW. Övergången till ABW har studerats ur tre block; beslutsprocessen, implementeringsprocessen samt resultat och användarperspektiv. Analysen av resultaten från den empiriska studien visar att utmaningarna vid en implementering av ett aktivitetsbaserat kontor är många. En av de största utmaningarna är att företagets ledning lyckas övertyga personalen om att ett aktivitetsbaserat kontor kommer att gynna verksamheten och skapa en arbetsmiljö som på ett bättre sätt tillgodoser medarbetarnas behov. För att lyckas med detta krävs det att ledningen på företaget tillskansar sig kunskap om vad ABW är för någonting och har en tydlig strategi kring hur implementeringen ska genomföras. Under implementeringsprocessen är det viktigt att låta personalen vara delaktig för att på bästa sätt kunna tillgodose deras behov. Att låta personalen vara delaktig i processen resulterar också i en högre acceptans gentemot det nya aktivitetsbaserade konceptet. Efter implementeringen av det aktivitetsbaserade kontoret ligger utmaningen i att fortsätta utveckla kontoret. Personalens behov förändras med tiden och det kan även vara svårt att på förhand tillgodose samtliga behov vilket innebär att ett kontinuerligt utvärderingsarbete av kontorets layout är viktigt. En implementering av ABW är ingen punktinsats som avslutas efter flytten till det nya kontoret. Efterfrågan på yteffektiva kontor kommer i framtiden att öka och i jämförelse med ett traditionellt öppet kontorslandskap skapar ABW en arbetsmiljö som vi tror på ett bättre sätt tillgodoser företagens och dess personals behov.

This thesis examines the learning preferences and learning strategies of apprentices, and the contexts within which they learn in their workplaces. Since the end of the 1980s Australian vocational education and training (VET) structures and processes have undergone radical change in attempts to develop skills in the workforce that will ensure enterprise, national, and international competitiveness. A major strategy in the national reforms has been the encouragement of flexible delivery as a means through which workplace-based learning can be accessed by a larger number of workers in ways that are cost-efficient, and that reduce the amount of time that workers spend away from their jobs. Although flexible delivery has been championed by governments and industry alike, there has been little attempt to identify the preparedness of either learners or their workplaces for the demands of flexible learning. The thesis examines the economic context for these changes to VET, and also examines the literature available on workplace learning. Additionally, the thesis examines the conceptualisations of flexible delivery that are available in the literature, pointing to the possibility that the wide range of meanings associated with the term ‘flexible delivery’ may result in quite different practices and expectations. The thesis also examines the literature on independent learning and self-directed learning, and explores the concept of ‘client-focused’ flexible delivery. The study of learner preferences uses data collected from apprentices over a period of some years, in the four occupational areas commanding the highest number of apprentices in Australia. These occupational areas are Metals and Machining, Building, Electrical, and Hairdressing. These data on learning preferences are collected using the commercially available Canfield Learning Styles Inventory (CLSI). The data from the sample of 389 apprentices are analysed statistically through analyses of variance, and indicate that variables such as age, gender, and occupational area are related to learning preferences. Apprentices are shown by this analysis to prefer structured programs of instruction that are instructor-led, and to not have a high preference for independent learning or the development of their own learning goals. Additionally, they are shown to have very low preferences for learning through reading, preferring instead to learn through direct hands-on experience. While these characteristics are largely common among the four occupational groups, the Hairdressing apprentices are shown to have a slightly higher preference for independent learning and goal setting. Females are shown to have a higher preference than males for learning qualitative material through reading. Interestingly, the younger apprentices are shown to have a higher preference than the older ones for self-directed learning. Some possibilities for that finding are discussed. The research also shows that the learning preferences displayed by different groups of apprentices in any one program are much the same over time, providing some confidence that data generated from one group of apprentices can be used to make instructional decisions for future groups in the same program. The data are also factor analysed to indicate three major factors underlying apprentice learning preferences. The first factor indicates a Verbal–Non-verbal preference factor, with apprentices clearly preferring to learn through non-verbal means. A second factor is described as Structure–Content, with apprentices showing a preference for learning from structured programs in a structured environment. A third factor, Self-directed–Social preference, indicates apprentices preferring to learn through socially mediated presentations and contexts rather than through more independent forms of learning. Qualitative data are also generated through interviewing eight apprentices, and focusing on the learning strategies they employ while constructing knowledge in the workplace. That component of the research uses a modification of the Marland, Patching and Putt (1992a, 1992b) stimulated recall technique, and a set of learning strategies derived from the work of O’Malley and Chamot (1990) and Billett (1996a). The eight apprentices are drawn from the Metals and Machining, Electrical, and Hairdressing trades. The findings indicate that the learning strategies most often used by apprentices in the workplace are those associated with the construction of knowledge that is structured and provided by the instructor or learning program, and those that include social mediation of learning. Additionally, the strategies associated with demonstration and hands-on practice are most favoured. The qualitative data are confirmatory of the quantitative data. The research also indicates, through the apprentice interviews, that support for apprentice’s learning in their workplace is typically unplanned and haphazard. Their experience was sometimes characterised by a reluctance on the part of the workplace to acknowledge learning needs such as trialling and practice of new knowledge, or pro-actively seeking understanding from other more skilled workers. The learning preferences and learning strategies findings for apprentices, coupled with the findings of typically poor or unplanned support in the workplace, indicate that effective flexible delivery of training to apprentices in the workplace provides a number of challenges. These challenges, it is argued, demand strategies to be developed and implemented to prepare both learners and workplaces for effective engagement with flexible delivery. Using as a theoretical framework Kember’s (1995) two-dimensional model of open learning for adults, the thesis integrates the findings into a proposed two-dimensional model of learner and workplace preparedness for flexible delivery. The model provides for a Learner Development Space, a Workplace Development Space, and a Strategy Space. Within the Learner Development Space, focuses for the development of learner preparedness are identified in terms of self-directed learning, skills developments, and effective participation in a community of practice. Focuses for workplace development identified in the Workplace Development Space are those associated with development of training policies, training structures, and trainer skills and abilities. The Strategy Space then provides detail of seventy-nine specific strategies developed to enhance learner and workplace preparedness within each of the focuses identified.

Syftet med studien var att undersöka skillnader i arbetsmotivation och arbetstillfredsställelse bland omsorgspersonal beroende på om de hade en fast eller flexibel arbetsplats. I studien ingick två deltagargrupper där den ena gruppen tillhörde en fast avdelning medan de anställda i den andra gruppen flyttade runt mellan avdelningar beroende på var det för tillfället fanns behov. Studien genomfördes som en enkätundersökning inom omsorgsförvaltningen i en mindre kommun. Totalt besvarade 55 personer på enkäten som var uppdelad i två delar; Basic need satisfaction at work scale som mätte arbetsmotivation med delskalorna autonomi, kompetens och samhörighet och Minnesota job satisfaction som mätte inre och yttre arbetstillfredsställelse. Studien visade att anställda med en flexibel arbetsplats hade lägre arbetsmotivation och arbetstillfredsställelse än anställda med fast arbetsplats. Autonomi, samhörighet och inre arbetstillfredsställelse visade ett signifikant resultat, kompetens och yttre arbetstillfredsställelse hade en tendens till signifikant effekt
The aim of the study was to examine differences in work motivation and job satisfaction among nursing assistants, depending on whether they had a permanent or flexible workplace. The study involved two groups of participants, the one belonging to a permanent ward while the employees of the other group moved around between wards depending on where they were currently needed. The study was conducted as a survey in care administration in a small municipality. A total of 55 people responded to the questionnaire, which was divided into two parts; Basic need satisfaction at work scale measuring the motivation subscales of autonomy, competence and connectedness and Minnesota job satisfaction scale measuring job satisfaction based on intrinsic and extrinsic aspects. The study showed that employees with a flexible workplace had lower motivation and job satisfaction than workers with permanent workplace. Autonomy, connectedness and internal job satisfaction showed a significant result, competence and external job satisfaction tended to significant effect.

'Profession' and 'professional' are shifting signifiers that have taken on a range of new meanings in the past two decades as professional occupations have been reshaped by moves to 'flexible' (deregulated and decentred) work processes and work practices. The role of modern professions was significant in terms of the democratic elements of the professionalising project. But how do moves away from the modern bureaucratically-structured professions, and a professional ideal based on the concept of universal service, impact on graduates currently entering professional employment domains in which new 'performativity-based' management regimes are replacing the older control structures? This study draws on a range of sociological literature to explore both the structural and discursive changes in the meaning of profession practice. The study also draws on a number of research projects, including materials from focus group interviews of final year undergraduate students, recruitment brochures, ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) statistical analyses and DEST (Australia: Department of Employment, Science and Training) graduate destination studies, and policy documents. These materials are used to argue that the employment destinations of those with professional qualifications and credentials are now more stratified and more diverse and no longer necessarily coupled with a lifelong career. In addtion, the new management regimes that accompany the move to more flexible work processes and work practices are changing how those in professional work locations construct their sense of themselves as professional practitioners. Changes in the nature of professional work, and in the structural and discursive location of professional workers, have implications for education and training institutions. These institutions not only prepare workers for these occupational domains but are the main conduits through which access to work in the restructured labour markets is mediated. The study concludes by drawing attention to the need for educational research to be anchored in a 'sociology of employment' that is able to provide a more critical account of the relationship between education and training and entry into high status/low status employment domains.

Med anledning av dagens utvecklade kommunikationsteknik har stora förändringar skett i arbetslivet. Det flexibla arbetet är ett fenomen som förändrat arbetslivet och som innebär att medarbetare i större utsträckning kan kontrollera var och när arbetet utförs. Forskning visar att flexibelt arbete tenderar etableras mer kontinuerligt i arbetslivet vilket kommer påverka de sociala relationerna och därmed också experimentera medarbetares hälsa och lärande. Syftet med studien var därför att belysa hur medarbetare på olika organisatoriska nivåer uppfattar att sociala relationer påverkar deras hälsa och lärande på arbetsplatsen. Studien har tagit ett teoretiskt avstamp i hälsoteorin KASAM och Världshälsoorganisationens modell “Healthy workplace” samt den pedagogiska teorin sociokulturellt lärande. För att svara på syftet har tio intervjuer genomförts med medarbetare på ett aktivt företag i byggbranschen. Den insamlade datan analyserades genom en kvalitativ innehållsanalys som resulterade i två kategorier innehållande sammanlagt nio underkategorier. Resultatet visade att sociala relationer i arbetslivet har en direkt påverkan på medarbetares hälsa och lärande. Sociala relationer i arbetet visade sig bland annat generera ökad trivsel, arbetsglädje och meningsfullhet och på så sätt påverka medarbetarnas hälsa. Vidare beskrevs vikten av dialog och diskussion för att kunna utveckla lärandet. Resultatet går i linje med mycket av den tidigare forskning som finns på ämnet och en slutsats som dragits är att sociala relationer i arbetet är en avgörande faktor för medarbetares hälsa och lärande. Då flexibelt arbete visat sig hämma de sociala relationerna går det också att dra slutsatsen att tillväxten av fenomenet tenderar påverka medarbetare negativt ur ett hälso- och lärandeperspektiv.
Due to today's advanced communications technology, major changes have taken place at work. Flexible working is a phenomenon that means that employees can to a greater extent control where and when the work is performed. Research shows that flexible working is increasing which will influence social relationships at work and in turn the effects on employees' health and learning. The aim of the study was to illustrate how employees at different organizational levels perceive that social relationships affect their health and learning in the workplace. The theoretical approach for this study is grounded in the health theory KASAM, the model of the World Health Organization “Healthy workplace” and the pedagogical theory of sociocultural learning. Ten employees were interviewed within the construction industry. The collected data was analyzed through a qualitative content analysis. The result showed that social relationships in working life have a direct impact on employees' health and learning. Social relationships at work were found to generate greater job satisfaction, well-being and meaningfulness and thus affect employees' health. Furthermore, the importance of dialogue and discussion was described in order to develop learning. The result is in line with much of the previous research on the subject and one conclusion is that social relationships at work are a decisive factor for employee health and learning. Since flexible work has proven to inhibit social relationships, it can also be determined that the growth of the phenomenon tends to negatively affect employees’ health and learning.

One of the most common office designs is the traditional office. As the technology has developed, it has enabled a new office design to evolve, the activity-based office. The activity-based office is more flexible and the employees get greater freedom in terms of being able to decide where, when and how they want to perform their tasks. As the employees work largely independently and take own responsibility for their tasks, the leader has reduced control compared to the traditional office. To get a well-functioning activity-based workplace, trust must be created between the leader and employees as this is a presumption for good business relationships. The purpose of the study is to get a deeper understanding of how trust is created between a leader and the employees in the activity-based workplace. Trust is something that is created mutually, and our study is based on three trustbuilding qualities, ability, benevolece and integrity. To collect the empirical data two semistructured interviews with Skanska and Vasakronan were performed. The conclusion of our study is that trust in an activity-based workplace is created by the factors; Presence, independence and own responsibility, communication, responsiveness, attention, caring, openness and honesty, competence and respect. Trust does not differ at a traditional office compared to an activity-based, but trust gets a different meaning depending on which office design that is utilized.
Ett traditionellt kontor är en av de vanligaste kontorsutformningarna, där medarbetarna har en fast sittplats och kan utföra sina uppgifter koncentrerat. I takt med att teknologin utvecklats har nya kontorsutformningar växt fram. En av dessa kontorsutformningarna är det aktivitetsbaserade kontoret som är mer flexibelt och öppet än det traditionella kontoret. De anställda har inga fasta sittplatser utan väljer sittplats utifrån vilka uppgifter de har för dagen, det gör således att individerna har en stor frihet att bestämma var, när och hur de ska utföra sitt arbete. I och med denna frihet blir det svårare för ledaren att få samma kontroll och ledaren måste istället förlita sig på att medarbetarna utför sina uppgifter på ett korrekt sätt. Det aktivitetsbaserade arbetssättet innebär således att medarbetarna måste ta ett stort eget ansvar och kunna arbeta självständigt. Syftet med studien är att få fördjupad förståelse för hur förtroende skapas mellan ledare och medarbetare på en aktivitetsbaserad arbetsplats. Förtroende är något som skapas ömsesidigt och definieras som ett attribut för ett förhållande mellan två utbytespartners. Den teoretiska utgångspunkten för hur detta förtroende skapas baseras på begreppen välvilja, integritet och förmåga. Välvilja handlar om lojalitet, att som medarbetare och ledare hjälpa varandra men också visa omtanke. För att kunna göra detta krävs det en närvaro från ledaren och detta underlättas på den aktivitetsbaserade arbetsplatsen då ledaren sitter ute bland medarbetarna. Integritet och andra sidan handlar om att en person gör det som den har sagt att den ska göra. På det aktivitetsbaserade kontoret betyder det att ledaren förväntar sig att medarbetarna utför sina arbetsuppgifter på ett korrekt sätt trots att ledaren har minskad kontroll. Den sista faktorn förmåga behandlar i vilken utsträckning en part uppfattas ha den kompetens som gör det möjligt för personen att ha inflytande inom ett visst område. Ledaren måste förvänta och förlita sig på att medarbetaren har den kompetens som krävs för att utföra sina uppgifter självständigt. Till vår studie har vi haft semistrukturerade intervjuer med två företag, Skanska och Vasakronan. Skanska är ett byggföretag som utvecklar, bygger och underhåller fysiska levnadsmiljöer. Vasakronan är inom fastighetsbranschen och äger, förvaltar och utvecklar kontor och butiksfastigheter. Slutsatsen av vår studie är att förtroende på en aktivitetsbaserad arbetsplats skapas genom närvaro, självständighet och eget ansvar, kommunikation, lyhördhet, uppmärksamhet, omtanke, öppenhet och ärlighet, kompetens och respekt. Förtroendet skiljer sig inte på ett traditionellt jämfört med ett aktivitetsbaserat men förtroendet får en annan innebörd beroende på vilken kontorsutformning som används.

This study examines the relations among information technology (IT), workplace organization and the demand for skilled labor. Recently, demand for skilled labor has relatively increased. One of the causes of this great increase is skill- biased technical change. Firms that are intensive users of IT tend to adopt a complementary set of organizational practices that include: decentralization of decision authority and a greater reliance on skill and human capital. I have explored the affects of IT on skill and organizational architecture of firm by using a detailed data which was collected from the aioecam Group of Company. I have tested that IT usage is complementary or substitutionary to a new workplace organization which includes broader job responsibilities, more decentralized decision-making and more self-managing teams together with IT and new organization are complements with worker skill measured in variety of ways.

Objetivo: Este estudio explora la manera que el personal docente e investigador (PDI) gestiona la interfaz trabajo-familia. Para ello, primero se definirá el trabajo del profesorado. ¿Qué implica ser profesor en la universidad? Segundo, ¿qué tipo de conflicto trabajo-familia (CTF) es común en el ejercicio de esta profesión? Tercero, ¿qué prácticas lleva a cabo el profesorado con tal de reducir el CTF y promover la facilitación o enriquecimiento trabajo-familia? Y cuarto, ¿qué diferencias existen según las variables tipo de contrato, etapa vital, y género? De acuerdo con estos objetivos, la revisión de literatura abordará los siguientes temas: 1) interfaz trabajo-familia (conflicto y facilitación), 2) sobrecarga de trabajo, 3) conceptos relacionados, incluidos el burnout y el engagement, 4) el marco teórico demandas-recursos (estrategias de afrontamiento), y 5) el trabajo del profesor universitario en el contexto español. Diseño y Metodología: Esta tesis adopta un enfoque cualitativo en el estudio de los antecedentes, consecuencias y estrategias de afrontamiento de la sobrecarga y del conflicto trabajo-familia. Un cuestionario respondido por 146 profesores y profesoras de universidades españolas pregunta abiertamente si ellos perciben que les falta, basta o sobra tiempo para realizar su trabajo, y cómo lo viven. Adicionalmente, se llevaron a cabo en Barcelona 17 entrevistas y 2 grupos de discusión. El trabajo de campo se completó entre primavera de 2007 y 2010. Los datos obtenidos de los cuestionarios, grupos de discusión y entrevistas fueron asignados como documentos primarios en el programa Atlas.ti para someterlos a un análisis de contenido temático. Resultados: El carácter multi-propósito del trabajo del profesorado, que combina actividades de docencia, investigación y gestión, es el principal factor de la sobrecarga de trabajo, y ésta, a su vez, es el principal factor de CTF. Además del triple perfil del profesorado, muchos están pluriempleados y algunos tienen participación política. Las tareas de gestión son vistas como labores para las cuales el profesorado no ha sido preparado, por lo que ella es fuente de estrés, burocracia y sobrecarga de trabajo que va en desmedro de la calidad de la docencia e investigación. Esta tesis hace un llamado a una mejor distribución de los recursos y del personal administrativo, para que éste actúe como soporte a las tareas nucleares de la universidad: docencia e investigación. Además de la sobrecarga cuantitativa del profesorado, también existe sobrecarga cualitativa, relacionada particularmente a dos áreas: desarrollo profesional y promoción, y control y satisfacción por el trabajo bien hecho. La carga laboral no es algo nuevo, pero en el pasado esta carga no había sido tan alta. Por ejemplo, hace veinte años atrás había menos presión social y presión autoimpuesta entre los profesores de la universidad. Había menos evaluación profesional, menos competencia por una plaza fija, y los profesores estaban menos expuestos a la comunidad académica global. Así, la sobrecarga laboral, definida en este estudio como la percepción de falta de tiempo para realizar el trabajo, es identificada como el mayor estresor en el ámbito familiar. Los antecedentes de la sobrecarga laboral se clasifican en tres: antecedentes personales, sociales y organizacionales. Los factores personales incluyen la presión autoimpuesta y desarrollo en la trayectoria académica, conflicto familia-al-trabajo, y deficiencia en autoeficacia. Para esta muestra, los factores sociales sólo incluyen la presión social. Y finalmente, los factores organizacionales consisten en sobrecarga de rol, falta de recursos/personal, distribución de tareas y horarios, y cambio, burocracia y sobrecarga de información. Por otra parte, las consecuencias de la sobrecarga laboral pueden clasificarse en tres categorías: consecuencias en la salud física y psicológica, en la familia, y en el trabajo. La primera categoría incluye distrés psicológico e impacto emocional, e impacto en la salud y hábitos saludables. Consecuencias familiares se refieren al conflicto trabajo-a-la-familia, y al impacto en el tiempo personal y social. Por último, las consecuencias laborales abarcan la calidad del trabajo, satisfacción, participación, motivación y clima laboral. Entonces, ¿qué hacen los profesores para reducir el CTF? Este estudio considera sólo la una demanda del ámbito laboral: la sobrecarga de trabajo cuantitativa. Del ámbito no remunerado, considera las demandas familiares (tareas de cuidado y ocio de familiares) y demandas domésticas (como la limpieza, compras, presupuesto y finanzas del hogar). Los recursos (estrategias de afrontamiento) han sido clasificados en tres tipos: absorción de la carga, reducción de la carga, y reducción del distrés, creando así una taxonomía particular al profesorado español. Muchas estrategias se superponen y se usan tanto para afrontar la sobrecarga de trabajo como las demandas doméstico-familiares, simultáneamente. Generalmente, los profesores afrontan de manera diferente según el ámbito de procedencia de la demanda. Sin embargo, el impacto que las estrategias utilizadas tendrán sobre el otro ámbito son continuamente consideradas. Esto les ayuda a decidir, aunque en muchas ocasiones no hay elección. Ciertas estrategias, como las orientadas a absorber la carga de trabajo, parecen contradictorias, pues ellas crean o intensifican el conflicto con el cuidado de los hijos. En otras palabras, estrategias de aumentar la jornada laboral tiene consecuencias en el conflicto temporal, en detrimento de otras demandas que compiten por ese tiempo, del equilibrio trabajo-familia, y del bienestar general. Inevitablemente, el estrés surge cuando las demandas exceden los recursos disponibles. Para el estrés, los profesores tienen estrategias de reducción del distrés que apoyan y amortiguan los efectos de las consecuencias para absorber y reducir la carga. Esta tesis identifica dos estilos o perfiles extremos de afrontamiento entre profesores que perciben una alta carga de trabajo: los “sobrecargados y quemados” y los “sobrecargados y engaged”. Los primeros tienen un estilo de afrontamiento reactivo y preferencias por estrategias de segmentación, mientras que los segundos afrontan proactivamente y tienden a integrar el trabajo y la familia. Las estrategias orientadas a absorber la sobrecarga laboral, especialmente la práctica de trabajar más horas, promueven la cultura del presentismo. Es decir, mientras los profesores trabajen más horas, esa práctica se vuelve normal y deseable, por lo que luego se hará más difícil ejercer estrategias en el sentido contrario. Esto cuestiona el poder de agencia del docente para actuar con libertad. Se identifican diferencias entre algunas variables como el tipo de contrato (fijo o temporal), la etapa vital y el sexo/género. El trabajo academic parece ser más difícil para mujeres jóvenes, sin plaza fija, y personas con hijos pequeños o el primer hijo. Limitaciones: Se reconocen varias limitaciones: 1) el carácter transversal de su diseño, 2) la existencia de un único codificador/analista, y 3) la coincidencia del período de trabajo de campo (2007-2010) con el apogeo de la crisis económica y el potencial impacto de ésta en los datos. Implicaciones: La tesis señala unos aspectos de las condiciones de trabajo del profesorado universitario español (y por las referencias de la literatura, del personal académico considerado a escala global) que constituyen importantes factores de riesgo psicosocial, y por tanto unos puntos de referencia para las correspondientes políticas preventivas. Se hace un llamado a utilizar como variable independiente la jornada laboral efectiva (consecuencia de las estrategias personales para absorber la carga), en vez de las horas de trabajo reflejadas en el contrato, o la carga de trabajo objetiva para estudiar el campo trabajofamilia. La razón de esto es que las horas de trabajo más allá de la jornada normal de trabajo inciden y contribuyen fuertemente en el conflicto trabajo-familia. Además es una medida subjetiva. Contribución: El valor de esta tesis reside en enfocar la investigación en el campo trabajo-familia sobre una profesión, país y contexto contingente particular: el personal docente e investigador en España. Los resultados demuestran que algunas estrategias personales de afrontamiento para absorber la carga laboral (como aumentar la propia jornada laboral) predice el CTF. Dos perfiles de estilos extremos se han identificado, lo cual ayuda a entender por qué aumentar las horas de trabajo tiene algunas veces consecuencias negativas y otras no. Palabras Clave: Interfaz trabajo-familia, sobrecarga de trabajo, estrategias de afrontamiento, académicos.
Background: In our knowledge society, it is common to experience work without boundaries. Some occupations such as self-employed professionals, physicians and academics can work longer hours, which leads to work-family conflict (WFC) (Byron, 2005; Frone, 2003; Eby, Casper, Lockwood, Bordeaux and Brinley, 2005). Time flexibility has been offered by employers as the most common prescriptive approach to providing a balance between work and life for their employees (Cully, Woodland, O’Reilly and Dix, 1999; Dex and Smith, 2002; Hogarth, Hasluck and Pierre 2000). However, problems concerning coping with work and domestic responsibilities remain especially acute for employees with caring responsibilities and especially women (Major, Klein and Ehrhart, 2002; Schwartz and Scott, 2000). But what happens when the work environment is flexible? Is it flexible enough to partially resolve WFC? Purpose: The general goal of the present study was to explore how professors manage the work-home interface. Therefore, the study aims to define professors’ work and specify how work can cause WFC, to identify the type of WFC events the exercise of this profession can entail, and to examine the strategies employed to reduce WFC and enhance work-family facilitation (WFF). According to the aims, relevant literature was reviewed on the following issues: 1) workfamily (life) interface (conflict and facilitation), 2) work overload, 3) related working concepts, including burnout and engagement, 4) the demands-resources framework (coping strategies), and 5) the professor’s work and the Spanish context. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative approach was used to investigate the work-family (WF) interface antecedents, outcomes and coping strategies. A survey administered to 146 female and male Spanish university professors enquired if they perceive a lack of, a sufficient amount of, or a surplus of time to perform their work. Seventeen interviews and two focus groups were also conducted in Barcelona. The fieldwork was conducted during spring 2007 and 2011. A questionnaire, focus group and interview transcripts were entered as primary documents into the Atlas.ti software for qualitative analysis, where a Thematic Content Analysis was conducted. Findings: A unique set of WF interface antecedents, outcomes, coping strategies and linkages to other factors were identified in the professors’ responses. Some professors have more than one job, some because they wish to, and others because they need to. Some may also have a presence in the political arena. Participants consider that the main task contributing to work overload is dedication to service, which means time and energy that comes from the teaching and researching realms. Only a few professors like to perform service tasks. The majority feel frustrated when obliged to carry out service tasks, since they have not been prepared to do so. This is also related to the lack of staff and resource complaints. The Teaching and Research Academic Staff (Personal Docente e Investigador, PDI) feel a lack of control when performing service tasks. However, these tasks also constitute unpaid work and it is simply their turn to do service work. Service position or tasks are also notorious for their excess paperwork. Professors that perceive a lack of time usually identify some areas of their working life in which they require more time. Two fields were detected: professional development and career advancement and control and satisfaction concerning work well done. Was a heavy workload always experienced? Twenty years ago, there was less social pressure and less self-imposed pressure. Professors were subject to fewer appraisals and less competition, and people were less exposed to the global academic community. Work overload (as a perceived lack of time to complete work) is the main stressor in the family domain. Professors’ work overload is due to the very nature of the profession and the multi-purpose nature of their work: teaching, research and service. Antecedents can be classified into three main categories: personal, social and organizational antecedents. Personal antecedents include self-imposed pressure and career development, family-to-work conflict (FIW), shortcomings in personal organization and shortcomings in self-efficacy. For the project sample, social antecedents only concern social pressure, and organizational antecedents comprise role overload, lack of resources/staff, task and schedule distribution, unforeseen events, change, bureaucracy and information overload. On the other hand, outcomes of work overload can be classified into three categories: physical and psychological/health outcomes, family consequences, and work consequences. The psychological/health outcomes category features the following aspects: psychological distress and emotional impact and impact on health and healthy habits. Family consequences consist of work-to-family conflict (WIF) and impact on social and personal time. Finally, work consequences involve work quality, satisfaction, participation, motivation and working climate. What do professors do to reduce WFC? For the purposes of the study, only one demand of the work domain has been considered: work overload (related to teaching, research and service activities). From the unpaid work domain, family (tasks and leisure related to kinkeeping) and home activities (i.e. housework, grocery shopping, budgeting and management of household finance) have been considered. The resources (coping strategies) are classified into three main coping styles: load absorption, load reduction and distress reduction, thereby creating a particular taxonomy of coping strategies for Spanish academics. Many strategies overlap and are employed to cope with work overload and family/home demands simultaneously. People cope differently according to the demand domain. However, professors evaluate the consequences generated by a certain strategy in one field on the other field. This helps them decide. However, on many occasions, there is no choice. This situation sometimes makes strategies seem counterproductive. For instance, there are some strategies for absorbing work overload (e.g. working longer hours at the office, working on Saturdays at the university or working at night) that create or intensify conflict with childcare. In other words, the behavioral-based strategy of working long hours has consequences on time-based conflict, to the detriment of competing demands and the work-family balance. In particular, the strategy of working longer hours than usual is an antecedent of work-family conflict. Stress inevitably surfaces when professors perceive that demands exceed the resources available. Professors have their own supportive coping strategies for stress, which are classified under the style known as distress reduction. Coping strategies aimed at absorbing workload, especially those related to exceeding working hours and having to work at home, reverberate in an increase of professors’ WF conflict and a decrease in perceived well-being. The coping style of absorbing the work overload encourages a culture of presenteeism. In other words, the practices change the structure (i.e. working culture), meaning that professors have little freedom to act, thus calling coping agency into question. Two extreme profiles have been identified (i.e. the “overloaded and burned-out” and the “overloaded and engaged”) in coping with work overload according to reports of experience. The relationship held by both profiles with the perception of work-family interface has been demonstrated. Engaged participants are involved in strategies that integrate the work and family domain and proactive coping (engaged professors are more likely to tackle demands while relieving pressure), and the burned-out are less flexible with work and home boundaries (segmentation) and have a preventive coping style. Changes in three variables are particularly relevant in professors’ work. The first is related to whether they have a temporary contract or tenure. The second concerns their life stage, and the third, the gender role. Academy seems to be harder for young women, not-tenured, and with young children. Limitations: The current research is not without its limitations. The cross-sectional research design implies that the postulated relationships between work overload and work-family conflict and vice versa cannot be interpreted causally. The study has also only had one analyst/encoder. A weakness of the study is that it is limited by a convenient sample of academics at one major university, as interviews and focus groups were conducted in Barcelona, and it also represents higher educated Spanish employees. The extent to which the findings can be generalized to employees in other cultural contexts with a lower level of education is unknown. The processes of conducting interviews and focus groups were carried out in Barcelona, and it is assumed that the study is representative of the situation among professors across the country given that the questionnaires were distributed across the entire country. In order to maintain the privacy of study participants, specific data regarding their discipline/profession was not collected. Therefore, future work should include information concerning academic disciplines/professions as the area in which one works may have a different work-family culture. Theoretical Implications: The purpose of this study was to contribute to the literature on both the work-family interface and work overload. Firstly, this study provides the antecedents and outcomes of work overload in a particular occupation and culture, namely, academics in Spain. This study identifies and describes the strategies for coping with work overload and it also determines three styles and two modes of coping. Results demonstrate the qualitative relationship between work overload and WFC. Secondly, this study contributes to coping theories in WF literature. It affords the specific coping strategies employed by professors at public universities in Spain in order to struggle with work and family/home demands. It was found that strategies are more effective when used together, and that some practices to absorb work overload may lead to WFC, which is consistent with emergent research. Practical implications: WF scholars have studied work overload in terms of objective working hours rather than focusing on perceived work overload (and lack of time to carry out the work). This study clearly shows the linkages among antecedents, outcomes and coping strategies regarding work overload and family-to-work conflict. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to use perceived work overload or lack of time as independent variables. Ideally, to make a step forward, researchers should address the coping strategy of working beyond normal hours to tackle workload as a variable affecting the WF interface instead of objective working hours or workload, as was done in the past. This study clearly shows the linkages among antecedents, outcomes and coping strategies concerning work overload and family-to-work conflict. Researchers are encouraged to use perceived work overload or lack of time as independent variables. Furthermore, professors’ work overload outcomes have a devastating impact on WF balance and well-being, as well as on work quality and stress that subsequently reverberates in student learning. Originality/value: The main contribution of this research consisted of setting WF research in a particular profession and context: teaching and research professors in Spain. It also recognizes that particular spillover coping strategies are predictors of WFC. Two extreme profiles for coping with the WF interface were identified, which facilitate the understanding of the reasons why working long hours sometimes has negative outcomes whereas, in other situations, it does not. Keywords: Work-family interface, spillover, work overload, coping strategies, academics.

This study examined the relationship between the use of flexible work arrangements and satisfaction with work-family balance amongst working fathers in South Africa. Two types of flexible work arrangements were examined. Formal flexible work arrangements included flextime, flexplace and paternity leave. Informal flexibility was examined as job control. Survey responses were collected online via Qualtrics (2014). Based on the data from a sample of working fathers employed on a full-time basis in South Africa (N = 371), hierarchical regression analyses indicated that the use of flexible work arrangements was not significantly related to satisfaction with work-family balance. This finding was inconsistent with conservation of resources theory (Hobfoll, 1989) whereby it was expected that using flexible work arrangements would generate employee resources required to effectively manage multiple role responsibilities, therefore facilitating satisfaction with work-family balance. Interestingly however, job control was found to explain a significant proportion of variance in satisfaction with work-family balance over and above work hours, commute time, neuroticism and number of children living at home. Moderated multiple regression analysis indicated that commute time moderated the relationship between job control and satisfaction with work-family balance such that as job control increased, employees with high and low commute time experienced greater satisfaction with work-family balance. The results of this study encourage greater attention to employee characteristics, such as job control, that represent resources useful for the effective management of work and family roles. Suggestions for future research and management implications are discussed.

This study utilised the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to investigate the intentions of South African working fathers to use flexible workplace arrangements (FWAs). The study aimed to broaden the limited knowledge of the experiences of working fathers in a South African context. Usable responses to an electronic questionnaire were received from white collar male employees across a variety of industries (N = 371). Exploratory Factor Analyses and reliability analyses showed strong support for the use of TPB scales in future behavioural research. Hierarchical binary logistic regression analyses showed that attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control help to predict working fathers intentions to use FWAs. Attitudes was the strongest predictor and subjective norms was the weakest. It was also found that intentions do not significantly predict actual behaviour for most of the FWAs assessed, however actual behavioural control helps predict actual use of FWAs. Support was found for using perceived behavioural control as a proxy measure for actual behavioural control. Theoretical and management implications of the present findings are discussed.

Syftet med studien var att försöka förstå faktorerna och motiven bakom kommunernas övergång från cellkontor till aktivitetsbaserade kontorslösningar. För att se vad som har påverkat beslutet om övergången och för att se hur kommunerna har gått till väga under processen mot införandet av den nya kontorsformen.
The purpose of the study was to create an understanding of the factors and motives behind the municipal transition from cellular offices to an activity based workplace. To see what influenced the decision about the transition and to see how the municipalities proceeded in the process of the new form of office.

Sammanfattning Titel: Flexibilitet utan gränser Författare: Anders Spångmark och Anna Öhrner Handledare: Michael Allvin Lärosäte: Uppsala Universitet Datum: 2013-05-22 Syfte: Uppsatsens syfte är att undersöka vilka konsekvenser intervjupersonerna upplever till följd av sitt flexibla arbete. Syftet är också att ta reda på om intervjupersonerna använder sig av några strategier för att hantera det flexibla arbetet och i så fall vilka dessa strategier är. Studien syftar även till att diskutera hur dessa strategier förhåller sig till de institutionaliserade och mer traditionella sätten att reglera arbetet. Metod: Uppsatsens empiriska material bygger på åtta stycken intervjuer med personer som har ett flexibelt arbete, innebärande att de själva kan påverka var och när deras arbetsuppgifter utförs. Efter behandlingen av materialet analyserades det och diskuterades med utgångspunkt i tidigare forskning inom området. Resultat/slutsats: Det flexibla arbetssättet kan innebära många konsekvenser för individen. Främst beskrivs svårigheter när det gäller kommer till gränsdragning mellan arbete och fritid, en känsla av otillräcklighet och påverkan på individens relationer. Vissa individuella strategier för att hantera det flexibla arbetet återkom hos flera av intervjupersonerna. Dessa har sammanställts till tre huvudstrategier för hur de intervjuade väljer att hantera konsekvenserna av det flexibla arbetet. Det framgår också att dessa strategier tenderar att gå i en annan riktning än de institutionaliserade formerna för reglering av arbetet, genom lagstiftning och partsöverenskommelser, där dessa har svårt att täcka in det flexibla arbetet. Nyckelord: Flexibelt arbete, strategier, coping, gränsdragning
Abstract Title: Flexibility without boundaries Authors: Anders Spångmark och Anna Öhrner Mentor: Michael Allvin University: Uppsala University Date: 2013-05-22 Purpose and problem statement: The purpose of the essay is to research the consequences of flexibility in the workplace, as they’re experienced by the interviewees. The purpose is furthermore to investigate whether the interviewees make use of any coping strategies to handle the work-related flexibility and, in that case, what those strategies are. The essay will also contain a discussion about how the aforementioned strategies relate to the institutionalized and more traditional means to regulate labor. Approach: The empiric data of the essay is based on eight interviews with people who all have flexible jobs, in the sense that they can affect where and when they are to carry out their job assignments. The data was subsequently processed, analyzed and discussed, using earlier research on the subject as a foundation. Results/conclusions: Flexibility in the workplace can be the cause of many different consequences for the concerned individual. The consequences most prominently described are difficulties regarding demarcation between work and leisure, a sense of inadequacy and the effect flexibility in the workplace has on personal relationships. Some individual strategies to handle flexibility in the workplace proved to be utilized by several interviewees. These have been compiled into three main categories. The results show that these strategies tend to go in a different direction, so to speak, than the institutionalized means to regulate flexibility in the workplace, such as legislation and covenants. This is a result of the fact that it’s difficult to apply the institutionalized means to flexibility in the workplace. Key words: Flexibility in the workplace, strategies, coping, demarcation

The thesis is in the field of information design and specializing on spatial design. The study explores how workplace personalization can take form in an activity-based workplace with flexi-desks. At the time of writing, Mälardalen University is planning to build a new campus in Eskilstuna. The new workplace for the teachers and researchers is planned to be an activity-based workplace with flexi-desks. Earlier studies have shown that in many cases activity-based workplaces have not been used in the way they were designed for. In those cases, there appears to be issues with employees interaction with the physical environment.   The aim of the study has been to investigate what impact and need of workplace personalization have to the teachers in the academy of innovation, design and technology at Eskilstuna University, in order to avoid above named problems with the teachers new activity-based workplace.   Early empirical data in this study is based on interviews, to get the overall picture and to understand how activity-based workplaces work in practice at other organizations. The interviews also defined the functions of the new campus in Eskilstuna, that lead to a mapping of activity zones in the blueprints of the new building. Through studies of literature, a method has been developed that identifies the underlying needs of workplace personalization for the users in this study. The empirical data, together with earlier studies and design theory that puts human behavior first, resulted in a design proposal that satisfies the users needs for storage and personalization. The design proposal is a complement to the flexible workplace.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2005.
Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 279 p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 238-279). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center

Todays digitized society have open up for new types of office arrangements and possibilities of working from home in a higher extend. This thesis is based on the flexible working culture that is increasing, which means more personal responsibility regarding ergonomic and environment conditions as well as artifacts needed for a well equipped workplace outside the traditional office. Furniture dealers are having a new approach as open office hubs and home office environment are increasing with new needs. This project contains of a small investigation of which artifacts are needed and wanted from a customer perspective in the home environment due to these new behaviors.  This thesis will as well show the outcome and process of one product in a collection of 5 stationary objects. The name of the project is as well the name of the collection. This project consists of two main objectives, customer orientation and product development.

This is the story of how four people invented a whole new world and way of life - and how they attempted to establish it across the globe. Copass, a Parisian startup consisting of four cofounders, aimed to connect hundreds of the world's shared workspaces under their new global federation. But the main objective of this startup, in contrast to most, was not to build capital. It was to build a universe: a future where white-collar workers would be liberated from the shackles of office life to work anywhere in the world, to meet exciting people and to have amazing experiences. Here, workdays were permanently mixed with holidays. Work was fun, workplaces were play-places and workers were adventurers. The ambition of these four cofounders was to turn the way they wanted things to be for them into the way things ought to be for everyone else. To turn their desired lifestyle into a global social movement that enrolled, as they saw it, hundreds of cities and thousands, tens of thousands, even millions of people. In short, they created a company to fulfil a dream. This is an ethnography of that one startup's dream, analysed at length to demonstrate innovative ways of worldmaking employed by an ambitious tech company seeking success. A company dissatisfied with the world that, instead of changing it, decided to create a new one.

Trenden är tydlig, vi arbetar flexiblare nu för tiden och det verkar vara början på en strukturomvandling av arbetsmarknaden, det har blivit extra tydligt under Covid-19 pandemin. De absolut flesta som arbetar på distans arbetar hemifrån och våra hem måste anpassas till dessa flexibla arbetsformer. Den vanligaste lösningen på problemet är att ta med kontoret hem. Arbetsgivare erbjuder ofta de anställda att ta med stolen eller skrivbordet hem men storleken och estetiken på kontorsmöbler passar inte in i hemmiljön. Vi vill inte ha ett kontor som ser ut som ett hem, inte heller ett hem som ser ut som ett kontor. I det här arbetet undersöker jag estetiken och hur förutsättningarna för distansarbete hemifrån kan förbättras. Ett tidigare projekt kallat Home, som behandlade distansarbete ligger till bakgrund för mitt examensarbete och är en anledning till att jag valt att djupare syna ämnet. Jag har lärt känna problematiken och behoven genom en litteraturstudie där jag granskat olika rapporter och vetenskapliga artiklar för att förstå distansarbete och dess för- och nackdelar. Användarstudier har också genomförts för att lära känna användarna och förstå deras behov, samt samtalat med experter för att fånga in detaljkunskap inom området. Det har lagt grunden för den kreativa fasen bestående av idégenerering och prototyparbete. Det resulterade i ett designförslag som heter Pop, ett flexibelt och kompakt skrivbord för deltidsdistansarbete med platsbrist i hemmet.
There is a distinct trend that we work more flexible nowadays and it seems to be the beginning of a structural transformation of the labour market. This has become clear during the Covid-19 pandemic. The majority of remote workers are stationed in their homes. Therefor our homes must adapt to the change in favor for these flexible working conditions. The quick solution is often to bring the office home, but the size and the aesthetics of office furniture does not fit in the environment of the home. We do not want to have an office that looks like home, or a home that looks like an office. In this essay I investigate the aesthetics and how the conditions for remote work from home can be improved.  An earlier concept called Home, a project about remote work has laid the foundation for my bachelor’s degree essay and is one of the reasons I wanted to explore the subject further.  By studying reports and scientific research I have deeply got to know the conditions for remote work, user’s needs, and the associated problems.  I have also interviewed users as well as professionals, to gather expertise. This has laid the base for my creative work – generating ideas and prototyping. This resulted in a design proposal called Pop, a flexible and compact desk for part-time remote workers who has a lack of space.

Magistro baigiamąjame darbe išanalizuotos ir įvertintos palankių šeimai politikos priemonių taikymo galimybės ir nauda Vilniaus m. savivaldybės įmonėse, iškeltos šeimos ir karjeros vaidmenų derinimo problemos bei pateikti siūlymai, kaip šias problemas spręsti. Pirmojoje dalyje teoriniu aspektu tiriama šeimos ir karjeros vaidmenų derinimo dilemos šiuolaikinėje visuomenėje, pateikiama šeimos samprata globalių pokyčių perspektyvoje bei karjeros samprata, taip pat apžvelgiama lygios galimybės siekti karjeros. Antroje dalyje nagrinėjami palankios šeimai politikos aspektai, pateikiama palankios šeimai politikos samprata, supažindinama su Lietuvos ir užsienio palankia šeimai įstatymine baze bei teoriniais palankios šeimai darbovietės aspektais. Trečioje dalyje pristatomi šeimos ir karjeros vaidmenų derinimo modeliai ir jų privalumai bei trūkumai. Ketvirtoje baigiamo darbo dalyje nagrinėjamas Vilniaus m. savivaldybės įmonių darbdavių ir darbuotojų požiūris į palankias šeimai politikos priemones bei jų taikymo galimybes. Darbas užbaigiamas išvadomis ir rekomendacijomis.
Master's thesis analyzed and evaluated family-friendly policy measures and benefits of Vilnius city municipal enterprises, raised a family and career roles in reconciliation of problems and proposed the solutions of solving these issues. Reconciliation of family and career roles dilemmas in modern society are examined by theoretical aspects, the concept of change of a family in global perspective and the concept of career as well as an overview of equal opportunities to seek career is presented in the first part of the thesis The second part of the thesis deals with family friendly policy aspects; family friendly policies and introduction to Lithuanian and foreign family-friendly legal framework and family friendly theoretical workplace aspects are presented. The third section presents models of reconciliation of family and career roles, its advantages and disadvantages. The fourth part of the thesis deals with Vilnius city Municipal Enterprises employers and employees' attitudes to family-friendly policy measures and their application possibilities. The thesis is completed with conclusions and recommendations.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
Workers who request a flexible schedule to accommodate their biologically-determined sleep-wake cycle (chronotype) may face prejudice if supervisors perceive them, particularly “night owls”, as lazy or unconscientious. Such bias may be exacerbated in organizational cultures characterized by stability and control. Thus, chronotype bias was examined in a 2 (rigid vs. flexible organizational norms) X 3 (morningness chronotype, eveningness chronotype, educational pursuit/control as reason for a flexible schedule request) online scenario study. Participants were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk (N=398) and were instructed to act as managers to decide whether to approve a fictitious employee’s request for a flexible schedule. Organizational culture and reason for schedule request were orthogonally manipulated in the scenarios. Ps completed measures of schedule approval (including an open-ended justification item), beliefs about the employee’s performance (job-specific task performance, contextual performance, personal discipline, and conscientiousness), and manipulation checks, as well as measures of their own chronotype. Ps were less likely to approve a flexible schedule request for employees with chronotype-based requests (both morningness and eveningness) compared to control (educational pursuit/control request). Task performance beliefs mediated the effect. Organizational norms had both a direct and moderating effect on schedule approval, such that approval was higher and chronotype bias was weakened in the flexible norm condition compared to the rigid norm condition. Ps’ own chronotype had no direct or moderating effect on schedule approval. Qualitative content analysis of Ps’ justification for the schedule approval decision revealed that Ps justified their decision on the impact of schedule approval on the organization.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
Workers who request a flexible schedule to accommodate their biologically-determined sleep-wake cycle (chronotype) may face prejudice if supervisors perceive them, particularly “night owls”, as lazy or unconscientious. Such bias may be exacerbated in organizational cultures characterized by stability and control. Thus, chronotype bias was examined in a 2 (rigid vs. flexible organizational norms) X 3 (morningness chronotype, eveningness chronotype, educational pursuit/control as reason for a flexible schedule request) online scenario study. Participants were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk (N=398) and were instructed to act as managers to decide whether to approve a fictitious employee’s request for a flexible schedule. Organizational culture and reason for schedule request were orthogonally manipulated in the scenarios. Ps completed measures of schedule approval (including an open-ended justification item), beliefs about the employee’s performance (job-specific task performance, contextual performance, personal discipline, and conscientiousness), and manipulation checks, as well as measures of their own chronotype. Ps were less likely to approve a flexible schedule request for employees with chronotype-based requests (both morningness and eveningness) compared to control (educational pursuit/control request). Task performance beliefs mediated the effect. Organizational norms had both a direct and moderating effect on schedule approval, such that approval was higher and chronotype bias was weakened in the flexible norm condition compared to the rigid norm condition. Ps’ own chronotype had no direct or moderating effect on schedule approval. Qualitative content analysis of Ps’ justification for the schedule approval decision revealed that Ps justified their decision on the impact of schedule approval on the organization.

Resident-centered care has been the standard philosophy in accredited personal care homes (PCHs) across Canada since 1990. Health care aides (HCAs) are the primary health care providers in PCHs and key to residents' quality of care and quality of life. However, studies have not examined HCA work satisfaction in relation to the four elements of resident-centered care: providing flexible scheduling, following residents' preferences, promoting a home-like environment and offering permanent assignment to promote consistency of care. This cross-sectional, ethnographic study was conducted using face-to-face interviews with nine HCAs working in four PCHs in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The results indicate that HCAs' work satisfaction was highly related to their caring relationships with residents and their working relationships with other HCAs and staff. The implementation of resident-centered care depended on institutional and managerial support. Lack of this support created stressful situations for HCAs and caused them concern about the quality of care and quality of life of residents.
May 2009

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of working women when they announce their pregnancies, take maternity leave, transition back to work, and utilize flexible work policies. Using a qualitative methodology, transcripts of in-depth interviews were analyzed utilizing a life history approach. Key findings of the study are that women perceive more negative responses to the announcement of their pregnancies than positive ones. In terms of maternity and parental leave policies, all the participants had access to these benefits. Women found issues with financial adequacy, administration, and duration of these policies. Mothers found that financial support from the Canadian government was inadequate to allow them to take the full duration of the 52-week maternity and parental leave for which they were eligible. In addition, employer “top-up” payments were limited and administrative details of maternity leave were often not discussed fully with pregnant workers. When women returned to work, they found that workplaces did not offer resources such as a phased-in return to work or personnel to help them re-engage with their prior work projects. Women discussed the challenges of managing their dual roles of worker and mother and found that managers and coworkers put them in a mommy mould which lessened the quality of their assignments. New mothers found that they had difficultly juggling their work and home responsibilities, finding time for themselves, and receiving increased domestic support from their spouses. While some workplaces offered women flexible workplace policies, not all mothers chose to access them as they found these policies often negatively impacted their career progression. Other issues were a lack of flexible workplace policy transparency, inconsistent manager support, and difficulty maintaining a flexible schedule. Findings have major implications for an improved response from managers upon pregnancy announcement, improved dialogue among employers about increasing “top up” maternity leave pay to new mothers, developing a formal transition plan for new mothers returning to the workplace, and expanding the use of flexible workplace policies.

The global development of capitalism and the transition from ‘Fordism’ to ‘flexible accumulation’ intensified international migration especially the migration of professionals. ‘Flexible accumulation’ hinges on different forms of flexibilities mainly labour market flexibility, which is, made possible by dividing the labour force into ‘core’ and ‘periphery’. Migrant professionals, however, occupy a unique position. As foreigners they can be easily marginalised in the social, cultural and political processes in the workplace. At the same time they hold scarce skills that are crucial for the success of business organizations. The social ordering and the nature of interactions between employees at the workplace, generally, mirror what happens in the wider economic, social and political spheres. The reverse is also true. Thus, the workplace has the potential to perform an integrative function by connecting individuals with the larger society or by connecting individuals from different racial and ethnic groups. This is particularly important in heterogeneous countries, like South Africa, that are made up of diverse racial and ethnic population groups and significant numbers of immigrants. Despite its integrative capacity, there are also social and cultural processes that take place in the workplace that severely undermine its capacity to perform this integrative function. South Africa’s racial ordering during the colonial and apartheid eras created deep-seated racial divisions in the wider societal realm and the workplace. In post-apartheid South Africa the African National Congressled government has set up and continues to put in place structural measures to undo the impacts of the past political and workplace regimes. Unfortunately, some of the measures put in place result in new and unexpected problems and challenges. Thus, South Africa continues to battle with structural unemployment and critical skills shortages, which has necessitated the importation of skilled migrants. These migrant professionals, therefore, find themselves in a divisive environment in the South African workplace with limited opportunities for workplace integration. This case study of Zimbabwean engineers in the public sector of the construction industry in Pretoria and Johannesburg reveals that migrant professionals are far from being fully integrated in the workplace. They are faced with structural barriers that need to be redressed. If left unchecked these differential practices in the workplace will have negative impacts on the wider political democracy in South Africa.
Dissertation (MSocSci)--University of Pretoria, 2013.
Sociology
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