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FLEXTIME.
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Effects of flexible working hours concept & practice on employee productivity, job satisfaction & absenteeism in workplace.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Effects of flexible working hours concept & practice on employee productivity, job satisfaction & absenteeism in workplace.
Paper Introduction:
THE EFFECTS OF FLEXTIME ON EMPLOYEE PRODUCTIVITY,
JOB SATISFACTION, AND ABSENTEEISM
IN THE WORKPLACE
Introduction
This research examines the effects on organizations of the application of the flextime concept to operational management. Over the past two decades flexible work scheduling increasingly has been introduced into organizational environments (Galen, Palmer, Cuneo, and Maremont, 1993, p. 81). Flexible work scheduling includes such concepts as flextime, the four-day week, and job sharing, among others. Organizations developed and implemented such initiatives as one means of developing structures and systems that would permit them to integrate often conflicting demands. One set of often conflicting demands pits
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Flexible worksolutions. Tarkan, Laurie. Research has found that "after several years of rotating shifts,workers' general well-being declines and health problems appear earlierthan in straight day workers" (Janowski, 1988, p. Absenteeism is not simply notbeing present for work. (1987). Flexible work scheduling includes suchconcepts as flextime, the four-day week, and job sharing, among others.Organizations developed and implemented such initiatives as one means ofdeveloping structures and systems that would permit them to integrate oftenconflicting demands. 417). Flexible working hours have been found to lead to improved commitmentto the organization by employees. 76, 78. Flexible Working Hours and Job Satisfaction Perhaps the greatest organizational benefits that may be derived froma policy permitting employees to opt for flexible working hours is anincrease in employee job satisfaction, because higher levels of jobsatisfaction are typically associated with increased productivity, reducedabsenteeism, and reduced turnover. 417). Another study foundthat implementation of flextime led to a reduction in job-relatedaccidents, thereby reducing costs and increasing productivity (Thomas andThomas, 199 , pp. Absenteeism began to increase dramatically in the American workplacein the early 197 s. Productivity is alsoaffected by ancillary costs associated with an organization's humanresources. 661678. Shift workers "have poorer scores on a variety of health indices, andmore complaints in three specific areas" than do workers on fixed-shifts(Glazner, 1991, p. (1991). Shift work creates unusual problems.Personnel Journal, 89(5), pp. 513-517). Adequate child day care in the United States isexpensive. Cost for such care range from approximately $2,6 per year towell over $15, per year (Hewlett, 199 ). 661-678) limitedtheir study to relatively large, unionized firms in which implicit lifetimecontracts could be assumed to exist. Higher levels of coordination arerequired than are required in organizations operating under a standard workweek regime. Productivity is affected not only by the efficiency withwhich an organization's human resources work. Two solutions suggestedto the problem of rotating shifts are (1) to use only clockwise rotation,i.e., day to evening and evening to nights, and (2) slower rotations(Janowski, 1988, p. Infant day care, child development, and familypolicy. Labor LawJournal, (8), pp. Improved organizational commitment isassociated with reduced personnel turnover (a function of jobsatisfaction), which, in turn, leads to reduced personnel acquisition costsand to improved employee productivity. (1991, August). 114-117 Janowski, Mary J. Should your organization useflextime? The presence ofunsatisfactory conditions in such factors may preclude the development ofworker self-fulfillment. Work & family. As a point of fact, 57 percent of motherswith preschool age children now hold jobs outside of the home (Belsky,199 , pp. In an historical context, the hours of work issue has been couched interms of total number of hours per day worked, total number of hours perweek worked, total number of days per week worked, and total number of daysper year worked. 1341). Within the context ofshift work, 6.3 percent of all American workers work evening shifts, 4.3percent work rotating shifts, 2.7 percent work night shifts, .7 percentwork split shifts, and 1.9 percent work some other type of shift. 14-16). In contemporary American society, it is necessary for all adults in amajority of the country's households to work outside of the home, if anacceptable standard of living is to be maintained (Belsky, 199 , pp. Flexible working time schedules are a part of such solutions(Sommer and Malina, 1991, pp. Flexible work time schedules have been found to reduce bothabsenteeism and tardiness. When the performance of health care workers issubstandard, patient care is also jeopardized" (Fiedor and Keys, 1987, p.1167). Research hasdetermined that "humans are, either genetically or by natural adaptation,day oriented, a phenomenon that parallels the . (199 , September). Further, it is possible that the authors'hypothesis may be more appropriate for non union firms, because hours ofwork are less flexible under most collective bargaining agreements (Altonjiand Paxson, 1988, pp. (1992). Amongthe health assessment and treating occupations, 31.3 percent of workers areassigned to shift work--more than double the national average for alloccupations (Mellor, 1986, p. These effects are considered in thediscussions that follow. Productivity is affected not only bythe efficiency with which an organization's human resources work.Productivity is also affected by ancillary costs associated with anorganization's human resources. An ill considered, hastychange could, potentially, cause a serious deterioration in productivity tooccur, while a well planned change in system might not only maintainproductivity levels, but could conceivably lead to improvements inproductivity. These three areas of increased complaints are (1)sleep-wake disorders, (2) gastrointestinal disorders, and (3)cardiovascular disorders" (Glazner, 1991, p. 424-453. Alward, Ruth R. How companies becomemore family friendly. Clearly, flextime has a positive impacton absenteeism. While shift change is one of the least reported excuses given bynurses for being absent for work, reasons associated with shift work play amore prominent role (Hackett, Bycio, and Guion, 1989, p. At the Englehard Company'sAlabama plants, flexible work time schedules have been credited withreducing annual absenteeism from an average of 2 days per year peremployee to an average of three days per year per employee (Galen, Palmer,Cuneo, and Maremont, 1993, p. Studies have found that the introduction of flextime reducesorganizational costs for employee medical care because flextime reducedstress levels among those employees availing themselves of flexible workinghours, and that the implementation of flextime leads to reductions in job-related accidents, thereby reducing costs and increasing productivity. A regime of flexible working hours enables bothemployees and organizations to select working hours that are compatiblewith individual needs and capacities, while simultaneously providing forthe attainment of organizational objectives (Lussier, 199 , pp. A change in the standard work week need not lead toproductivity reductions. The authors posited that, at giventimes, wages and the value of marginal product under such conditions woulddiverge. Jamal, Muhammad. Hackett, Rick D., Bycio, Peter, & Guion, Robert M. 1341). Other researchers found that certain activitiesare best performed at certain times of the day, and that flextime permitsemployees to schedule such tasks when they are most productive (Personaleffectiveness, 1991, p. In addition to the hours worked conflict, flextime holds thepotential to deal with problems caused for both employees and organizationsby shift work. 29-4 ). The ABCs ofchild care: Building blocks of competitive advantage. 143-144. This current research is concerned with the effect of flexibleworking hours, particularly flextime, on employee productivity, jobsatisfaction, and absenteeism. Monthly Labor Review, 19 (11), pp. Managers Magazine, 56(9), p.3 . 1337). Over thepast two decades flexible work scheduling increasingly has been introducedinto organizational environments. Social change spurs child care.National Underwriter [Property/casualty/employee benefits ed.], 94(29), pp.15, 22. 31-41.----------------------- 9 Tardiness typically is defined as reporting latefor assigned work up to one-hour, while idleness is defined as being awayfrom one's assigned work station up to one-hour after having reported forwork, and early-leaving is defined as departing one's assigned work stationup to one-hour prior to the scheduled time of leaving. Tarrant, Sharon M. Are you a lark or an owl on the night shift? 3 ). Labor unions fought hard for the 4 -hourwork week as a basic compensation standard to protect labor from managerialexploitation, and the 4 -hour work week as a basis for overtimecompensation and other factors is now a part of federal labor law (Gilmour,1992, pp. 134 -1341. Specifically, nurses working rotating shifts reportdifficulty in sleeping, upset stomachs, headaches, sickness in the earlymorning, and dizziness later in the day. Noresponsible parent wants to leave their children with inadequate care.Yet, many mothers must work outside of the home, in order to surviveeconomically--whether they are from middle or low income families, orwhether they head single-parent families. Union-management cooperation. When pre-school age children are present in these households, theproblems become exacerbated. 1 13). Research has found that, in humans, body "functions are in a wave-like rhythm and are at optimal levels when the body is awake" (Glazner,1991, p. Sloan ManagementReview, 31(2), pp. 31-41). A 1991 study found thatfatigue was experienced by nurses working rotating shifts at levels farhigher than that experienced by nurses working any other schedule (Gold,Rogacz, Bock, Tosteson, Baum, Speizer, and Czeisler, 1992, p. (199 , 16 July). The Johnson & Johnson Corporation foundthat absenteeism among employees who worked on flexible working hoursschedules was 5 percent less than among all company employees (Galen,Palmer, Cuneo, and Maremont, 1993, p. 431). Additionally, one of every fourfamilies with children is headed by a single parent. Tardiness, idleness, and earlyleaving areadjuncts to absenteeism. 1341). Small Business Reports, 16(8), pp. Constraints on the choice ofwork hours. An assumption ofimplicit lifetime contracts may be more difficult to justify in the case ofnon union firms; nevertheless, such an assumption may be made in relationto some non union firms. A change in thestandard work week, however, need not lead to productivity reductions. (1991, August). 86). 1166-1169. Sommer, Kim L., & Malina, Deborah Y. Fiedor, Genevieve E., & Keys, Marjorie. Thomas, Linda T., & Thomas, James E. Employees who cannot adjust to shift work "put an extra burden on therest of the staff and lower the overall productivity of the group" (Fiedorand Keys, 1987, p. 114).Nurses engaged in rotating shift work have been found to exhibit lessfavorable work behavior when compared to nurses on fixed-shifts. 14-16). 661-678) adequately demonstrated thatworkers do face constraints on the choice of work hours. 17). Theeffect of such a change on productivity will depend largely on thestructure of the new system, and how well the characteristics of the newsystem meshes with organizational requirements. Child care and elder care problems experienced by employees can oftenbe addressed effectively through alternative work week schedules to thestandard 4 -hour, five-day work week. Rotatingshift work, sleep, and accidents related to sleepiness in hospital nurses.American Journal of Public Health, 82(7), pp. Flexible working hours leads to improved commitment to theorganization by employees (Sommer and Malina, 1991, pp. Kahn and Lang (1992, pp. 661-678) examined one single aspect of the hours of work issue:the implications of the lifetime contract on the ability of employees toinfluence their hours of work. Lussier, Robert N. Coping with nights.American Journal of Nursing, 87(9), pp. Such schedules for both a husbandand a wife provide significant flexibility in the development of carearrangements for children and elderly relatives. Personal effectiveness. circadian rhythm"(Glazner, 1991, p. The requirements of coordination associated with the flexibleworking hours, however, are more than compensated for through increasedemployee productivity. Gilmour, Allan D. Researchhas determined that, because "biological clocks cannot be reset as easilyas mechanical clocks, a person's adjustment to a new sleep/wake scheduletakes at least one to two weeks" (Fiedor and Keys, 1987, p. 254-276. 76, 78). Forall types of workers, the disincentives must be corrected, but, moreimportantly, job enrichment must be developed to the point that workers mayattain self fulfillment in their work. Flexible Working Hours and Absenteeism Absenteeism, to varying degrees, is a problem involving all classesof workers--professionals, white collar workers, and blue collar workers.The only group of workers where absenteeism is not a major problem is amongthe self-employed and individual proprietor group, where absence from workusually leads quickly to financial ruin. 29-4 . . In fact, their findings indicated that, in the views ofemployees, most employers attempt to curtail hours of work, regardless ofthe value of marginal product. Kahn and Lang (1992, pp. 418). Any solution to the problem of workerabsenteeism, thus, may be expected to boost organizational productivity.Flexible work time schedules have been found to reduce both absenteeism andtardiness (Sommer and Malina, 1991, pp. 661-678) found that working hoursflexibility and employee job satisfaction were related. Even with the clockwise rotation scheme,however, eventually one must go from night to day. All employees, whether they beprofessional, white collar, or blue collar, desire the opportunity for self-fulfillment in their work. More from the night owls. Flexible work time schedules require organizational changes for thefirm implementing such a program. The requirements of coordination associated with the flexibleworking hours, however, are more than compensated for through increasedemployee productivity. Their presence in a satisfactory manner, however,will not assure motivation to a level which will preclude absenteeism. American Journal of Nursing, 88(1 ), pp. Improvedorganizational commitment is associated with reduced personnel turnover (afunction of job satisfaction), which, in turn, leads to reduced personnelacquisition costs and to improved employee productivity (Gilbert, 199 , pp.15, 22). The national average for childday care is estimated at approximately $3, per year, dependent primarilyon where one lives--city or country, industrial state or agriculturalstates, and so forth. Shiftwork: Its effect on workers. If this rhythm is disturbed, the human body is subject todesynchronization, a detrimental phenomenon, as normal "phase relationshipis essential for maintenance of a healthy organism" (Glazner, 1991, p.417). Further, in many instances, business management has taken thelead in the development, gaining employee acceptance, and introduction ofsuch concepts. References Altonji, Joseph G., & Paxson, Christina. 81). The increase in absenteeism occurred concurrently witha decline in productivity. The authors didnot, however, demonstrate that the reason for such constraints wasassociated with a divergence between wages and the value of marginalproduct. Flexible work scheduling includes such concepts as flextime, thefour-day week, and job sharing, among others. Nurses working rotating shiftsalso report lower social involvement than fixed-shift nurses. Rotatingshift nurses also report lower levels of job satisfaction andorganizational commitment, and higher frequencies of job absence (Jamal,1989, p. 1337-1339. Further, as a consequence of such divergence, firms would attemptto curtail employee work hours when the value of marginal product was lowerthan wages, and would attempt to increase employee work hours when thevalue of marginal product was higher than wages. (1991, December). Further, the authorsfound that by a ratio approximating ten-to-one, workers claimed that theywould like to work more hours than permitted, as opposed to being pressuredto work more hours than desired. Supervision, 51(9), pp. (1989). Reductions in absenteeism of 5 percent andmore have been reported by organizations implementing a flextime regime.Clearly, flextime has a positive impact on absenteeism. Glazner, Linda K. Stress relief: The '9 s perk.Working Woman, 16(12), pp. Such factors as compensation and on-the-jobrelationships, if unsatisfactory, act as disincentives. Absenteeism, thus,may be defined as being away from one's assigned work station for anyperiod in excess of one-hour for any unauthorized reason. Kahn and Lang (1992, pp. One weakness of the research was that thepopulation and sample consisted only of unionized firms. THE EFFECTS OF FLEXTIME ON EMPLOYEE PRODUCTIVITY, JOB SATISFACTION, AND ABSENTEEISM IN THE WORKPLACE Introduction This research examines the effects on organizations of theapplication of the flextime concept to operational management. One study found that the introduction offlextime reduced organizational costs for employee medical care becauseflextime reduced stress levels among those employees availing themselves offlexible working hours (Tarkan, 1991, pp. (1992). Some organizations have found that the flexible work schedules have apositive impact on an organization's productivity, as well as having apositive impact on employee desires to remain with their organizations.Flexible work time schedules, however, require organizational changes forthe firm implementing such a program. 144). Reduced turnover may well be the mostsignificant organizational benefit associated with flexible working hoursfor employees. 14-21. (1992, January/February). Higher levels of coordination arerequired than are required in organizations operating under a standard workweek regime. Mellor, Earl F. Flexible working hours, however, can be structuredwithin the concept of the 4 -hour work week with respect to compensationand other factors. 1167). Journal ofLabor Economics, 6(2), pp. A wide variety of problems are reported by workers engaged in shiftwork (Jamal, 1989, p. (199 , Winter). 1 -12. 1 -12). 114). 14-16. Within the context of shift work, 8.3percent of health assessment and treatment workers work evening shifts (one-third higher than the average for all occupations), 12.1 percent workrotating shifts (2.9 times the average for all occupations), 8.3 percentwork night shifts (3.1 times the average for all occupations), .1 percentwork split shifts (one-seventh the average for all occupations, and 2.6percent (37 percent greater than the average for all occupations) work someother type of shift. Nurses working rotating shifts also report poorer mental health andmore psychosomatic complaints than nurses working fixed-shifts (Jamal,1989, p. Business Week, pp. 418). Hospitals requireshift work for effective patient care; however, the human circadian rhythmis equally inflexible (Janowski, 1988, p. 254-276). . (1988). As individuals age, they "seem to be less able to adjust to shiftwork" (Glazner, 1991, p. The effect of such a change on productivity willdepend largely on the structure of the new system, and how well thecharacteristics of the new system meshes with organizational requirements.An ill considered, hasty change could, potentially, cause a seriousdeterioration in productivity to occur, while a well planned change insystem might not only maintain productivity levels, but could conceivablylead to improvements in productivity. The need for child day care and the need for elder care stem from twoseparate problems. 1 11-1 14. 29-4 ). 416-421. Both physical and emotional adjustments are required to adapt toshift work (Tuazon, 1991, p. Galen, Michele, Palmer, Ann T., Cuneo, Alice, & Maremont, Mark.(1993, 28 June). Research has also determined that humans can adapt to night shiftwork, but that trouble occurs when humans are subjected to rotating shiftwork. Oneset of often conflicting demands pits employee pressures for changes in thestandard 4 -hour per week, eight-hour per day work week againstorganizational demands for productivity increases. AAOHNJournal, 39(9), pp. These householdcharacteristics demonstrate the great and growing need for working hoursflexibility in the United States. Journal of Compensation & Benefits, 7(4), pp. 417). Motivation ofworkers, however, is not an easy task. In this way, the chronicabsenteeism problem which is unrelated to severe personal problems may bealleviated. (1992). Reduced turnover may well be the mostsignificant organizational benefit associated with flexible working hoursfor employees. Otherfindings of this study were as follows: (1) nurses working rotating shiftsreported a far higher incidence of poor quality sleep than did nursesworking any other schedule; (2) nurses working rotating shifts reported ahigher incidence of the use of sleep medications than did nurses workingany other schedule; (3) nurses working rotating shifts reported a farhigher incidence of alcohol use to promote sleep than did nurses workingany other schedule; (4) nurses working rotating shifts reported a higherincidence of nodding off while driving to or from work than did nursesworking any other schedule; (5) medication errors were attributed to nursesworking rotating shifts reported a far higher incidence than that reportedfor nurses working day, evening, or night shifts; (6) medication near-misses were attributed to nurses working rotating shifts reported a farhigher incidence than that reported for nurses working day or evening,shifts; (7) nurses working rotating shifts reported a higher incidence ofautomobile accidents than did nurses working any schedule other than fixednight shifts; (8) nurses working rotating shifts reported a higherincidence of automobile accident near misses than did nurses working anyother schedule; (9) nurses working rotating shifts reported a higherincidence of accidents of all types than did nurses working any otherschedule; and (1 ) nurses working rotating shifts reported a far higherincidence of accident near misses of all types than did nurses working anyother schedule. 115). Perhaps the greatest organizational benefits that may be derived froma policy permitting employees to opt for flexible working hours is anincrease in employee job satisfaction, because higher levels of jobsatisfaction are typically associated with increased productivity, reducedabsenteeism, and reduced turnover. Gold, Diane R., Rogacz, Suzanne, Bock, Naoim, Tosteson, Tor D.,Baum, Timothy, Spiezer, Frank E., & Czeiler, Charles A. (1991). 8 -84, 86, 88. Nursing, 21(11), pp. (1988). Transaction Social Science and Modern Society, 27(5), pp. (199 ). Gilbert, Evelyn. (1988). Adapting to the night shift. Motivated employees do not practice chronic absenteeism, unlesssevere personal problems such as alcoholism are involved. 18-21). 29-4 ; Thomas and Thomas, 199 , pp.31-41; Lussier, 199 , pp. In the overall American work force, 15.9 percent of workersare assigned to shift work (Mellor, 1986, p. Labor supplypreferences, hours constraints, and hours-wage trade-offs. Beginning in the late-197 s and continuing into thedecade of the 199 s, however, flexible work time concepts have changed andare continuing to change the character of this issue (Gilmour, 1992, pp.513-517). Night work disturbs these rhythms and theirrelationship to each other" (Alward, 1988, p. 661-678) tested their hypothesis through theapplication of both the agency model and the firmspecific capital model.They found that neither model adequately explained their findings.Essentially, the authors found that approximately 5 percent of workersclaimed to have faced hours of work constraints. Some researchers argue that these problems areattributable to the fact that shift workers find themselves out of linewith established physiological and social rhythms (Jamal, 1989, p. 82). Organizational managements, however,have been justifiably concerned over the potential effects of flexibleworking arrangements on productivity. Forsome individuals, the adjustment period is four to six weeks, and stillothers cannot make such an adjustment. Organizational managements, however, have been justifiably concernedover the potential effects of flexible working arrangements onproductivity. The responsibility for addressing each of the problems,however, most often falls to the same group of people--persons employedoutside of the home. The reasonsrelated to shift work used as excuses for work absence include thefollowing: (1) minor personal illness; (2) emotional problems; (3) physicalfatigue; (4) frustrated with work; and (5) hard to concentrate. Kahn and Lang(1992, pp. Flexible Working Hours and Employee Productivity Approximately 53 percent of American families are dual-incomehouseholds (Tarrant, 1992, pp. 1167). Research has determined that once individuals become synchronized tothe environment by social clues, awareness of clock time, and light-darkcycles, "each rhythm reaches a high (peak) and a low (trough) once duringeach 24-hour period. Employees working rotating shifts,thus, are never able to make the required adjustment. (1989).Absenteeism among hospital nurses: An idiographic-longitudinal analysis.Academy of Management Journal, 32(2), pp. Thus, responses to each of the problems holdimplications for employers. 1 -12). To be sure, the traditional framework of the issue--totalhours worked--remains viable. Over thepast two decades flexible work scheduling increasingly has been introducedinto organizational environments (Galen, Palmer, Cuneo, and Maremont, 1993,p. The Journal of Human Resources, 27(4), pp. What has not been at issue in the historical context isthat work time, whatever its duration, should generally occur in blocks ofcontiguous hours. Kahn and Lang (1992, pp. 16). American Journal of Nursing, 88(1 ), pp. Shift work and flexitime: How prevalent arethey? Shift work is more prevalent among the healthassessment and treating occupations than among any other occupationalgroups other than service workers. 115). Summary and Conclusion This research examined the effects on organizations of theapplication of the flextime concept to operational management. 513-517. Rather, absenteeism is not being present for workfor an extended period of time. Belsky, J. Kahn, Shulamit, & Lang, Kevin. For most parents of pre-schoolers in contemporaryAmerican society, the cost of adequate day care is a major problem. (1986). Tuazon, Nelson C. 18-21. Organizations developed andimplemented such initiatives as one means of developing structures andsystems that would permit them to integrate often conflicting demands.
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