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A Study of Flexible Working Hours and Motivation
Abstract
The flexible working hours allows employees to focus on multiple roles in today's competitive working environments. This arrangement has been widely practiced in order to create balance between work and lifestyle. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the flexible working hours and employees' motivation. The survey questionnaires were used for data collection in this study. Meanwhile, both descriptive and inferential statistics were employed to analyse the data. The results indicated that the implementation of flexible working hours show a significant impact to the employees' motivation in the XYZ Department. Thus, the null hypothesis was rejected. Therefore it can be concluded that there is a high positive correlation between flexible working hours and employees' motivation. Through this study, opinions, suggestions and comments were discussed to enhance the effectiveness of the working system.
... The research outcomes prove that there is a positive relationship between Flexible work options and job satisfaction also a positive relationship between flexible work options and employee motivation. This supports the finding of the previous researches Ahmad & Idris (2013), Raziq & Maulabakhsh (2015), Nanjundeswaraswamy (2019) and Lopez & Legaz (2016). Though both the H1b and H2b hypotheses are accepted, the resulted moderate correlation and the fairly low R squared value for the relationships between flexible work optionsjob satisfaction and flexible work optionsemployee motivation, insisted the researcher to have informal casual interviews with few of the current and ex employees of the particular organization regarding the practice of flexible work options. ...
The extent literature on high-performance work practices in human resource management has mainly focused on the strategic level, with little research exploring employee-experienced HPWPs and their relationship with job satisfaction. High-performance work practices are considered to result in higher levels of employee motivation leading to increased job satisfaction and retention. Inconsistent with this stream of research, this study aims to find the relationship between high-performance work practices and job satisfaction via the mediation of employee motivation. For this purpose, data were collected through a five-point Likert scale measurement survey questionnaire from a sample of 108 employees of ABC company, a leading organization in the export apparel industry in Sri Lanka. The correlation coefficient and Sobel test were applied to identify the relationships and mediating effects between variables. The findings reveal a positive relationship between high-performance work practices and job satisfaction and moreover that positive relationship is partially mediated by employee motivation. The research contributes to the literature by providing a differentiated insight into the relationship between HPWPs and job satisfaction. Theoretical & managerial implications along with limitations and recommendations for future research have also been discussed in this paper.
... Most of the research is designed to examine the empowerment of employees, its dimensions, and its significance for the organisation [4,[7][8][9][10]. The peculiarities of the organisation of remote work [11] and its impact on the work-life balance of employees [12] are also examined, as well as the impact of remote work on employee motivation and job satisfaction [13], but there is a lack of research on the challenges involved in empowering remotely working employees and on measures to increase employee empowerment. The study contributes to the literature search for effective forms and assumptions of employee empowerment in the context of remote work. ...
This paper analyses the empowerment of remotely working employees in the case of Lithuanian companies. Research methods were scientific literature review and a quantitative method of questionnaire survey. It revealed that an employee is psychologically empowered when working remotely when they feel the meaning, enthusiasm, and competency related to the job, while structural empowerment manifests itself as the opportunities, information, resources, and support that exist in the organization and are available to the employee. The manifestation of remote work empowerment is sufficient in all groups of both psychological and structural empowerment dimensions. The results for the fully and hybrid remotely working employees’ empowerment differed little. The study found that all the dimensions of remote work are interlinked, so that only when they are sufficiently fulfilled in corpore, could a higher manifestation of employee empowerment be achieved.
... Motivation has a significant role in many of the health workforce's challenges, as employee performance and motivation are preconditions for organizational success. To increase employees' motivation for vision and mission, each organization should raise staff living standards and provide a pleasant and performance-friendly organizational climate [52][53][54]. ...
Healthcare managers consider the rewards and performances of employees as central elements of their activities due to the challenges caused by the phenomenon of healthcare employees’ emigrating to higher-income countries, which has reduced patient satisfaction and led to a negative image of hospitals. In this context, this paper analyzes how employee rewards influence the employees’ self-perceived performances in the hospital units of the emergency medical system in Romania. Using structural equation modeling, we analyzed the relationships between the investigated variables, showing that financial motivation and the recognition of employees’ merits are central to employees’ self-perceived performances. Ensuring equity also has a positive impact on how the reward package is established and managed. While financial rewards are the most important incentives to increase efforts to exhibit higher performances, recognition has a long-term motivational effect.
... The research outcomes prove that there is a positive relationship between Flexible work options and job satisfaction also a positive relationship between flexible work options and employee motivation. This supports the finding of the previous researches Ahmad & Idris (2013), Raziq & Maulabakhsh (2015), Nanjundeswaraswamy (2019) and Lopez & Legaz (2016). Though both the H1b and H2b hypotheses are accepted, the resulted moderate correlation and the fairly low R squared value for the relationships between flexible work optionsjob satisfaction and flexible work optionsemployee motivation, insisted the researcher to have informal casual interviews with few of the current and ex employees of the particular organization regarding the practice of flexible work options. ...
Abstract: Research talks about the gamification of the management of human capital. Gamification is not about an immersive environment being digitally recreated; it is about using game components and mechanics to help a company achieve employee engagement and other organizational goals. It is about developing HR and other processes that use best practice ideas from a variety of fields, especially fun and motivation. In addition, the increased pressure on HR to add value to the use of gamification in HR may also provide one way for organizations to quantify their contribution. HR gamification is about being business-oriented, gearing practices towards the achievement of goals and objectives of both players and businesses. With gamification, you inspire individuals to do more than you want them to do and get better at it as well. There are several ways in which game principles in HR can be used. For instance, in HR, gamification can be used to attract, induce, train (learn) and create, engage and retain staff. The possibilities for gamification to be applied to HR extend well beyond those we list here. As well as HR practitioners understanding gamification to actively build gamification strategies themselves, it will also be necessary for these professionals to establish such an understanding to allow them to manage others including external agencies) who on their behalf create and operate gamification platforms.
Keywords: Gamification, Human Resource Management
... Over a period of time, flexibility at the workplace has become a favoured range of research interest and a significant body of studies has been carried out to explore its relationship with workers' motivation and work satisfaction. This is supported by a study conducted by Ahmad, Idris, and Hashim (2013) which investigated the relationship between flexible working hours and employees' motivation. The researchers employed the use of quantitative study, specifically questionnaires, as the research instrument. ...
Many sectors are implementing work from home policy as it is one of the effective ways to avoid physical contact among workers and to control the spread of COVID-19. Amidst the stressful pandemic, working from home poses a different kind of stress among both the employers and employees. Numerous studies have found positive and negative consequences of working from home. With or without the pandemic, working from home has become a new way to work. Some industries cannot function well with their employees working from home. Many are finding ways to make work from home a success. This study explores work from home motivation among 53 employees of different industries. The instrument used is a survey. The survey has 4 sections. Section A has 4 items on demographic profile. Section B has 10 items about availability via flexibility. Section C has 10 items on safety through work-life balance and section D has 10 items on meaningfulness through work performance. Findings reveal interesting motivational influence for employees who work from home.
... First, the flexibilization of working arrangements brings greater employees' autonomy, whichin turnenhances the individual job motivation (ter Hoeven and van Zoonen, 2015). Increased job motivation triggered by teleworking paves the way for job satisfaction, which entails employees' positive perceptions about their ability to effectively handle overlapping work and life concerns (Ahmad et al., 2013). Second, WLB is a challenging and unstable achievement that does not solely rely on working conditions' flexibilization. ...
Purpose: Literature is not consistent in discussing the implications of teleworking on work-life balance. Even though teleworking may enhance work arrangements' flexibility, it blurs boundaries between life and work, endangering the individual work-life balance. The article aims to illuminate this issue, moving forward our understanding of teleworking’s implications using the Social Exchange Theory framework.
Design/methodology/approach: Secondary data were collected from Eurofound’s sixth European Working Condition Survey. A large sample of Europeans (n= 16,473) was involved in this study. We designed a serial mediation analysis to investigate the direct and indirect effects produced by teleworking on work-life-balance. We included employees’ job motivation and job satisfaction as intervening variables that mediate the relationship between teleworking and work-life balance.
Findings: We found teleworking to negatively affect work-life balance, putting under stress the teleworkers’ ability to handle the interplay between work and life. However, the serial mediation analysis pointed out that teleworking triggers an improvement of job motivation, which, in turn, boosts job satisfaction. Increased job motivation and job satisfaction nurture positive employees’ perception of work-life balance.
Research limitation/implications: The study results invite us to pay attention to the complex interplay between teleworking and work-life balance, emphasizing the mediating role of job motivation and job satisfaction. As a flexible work arrangement, teleworking may increase the employees’ sense of control over their work, which leads to better perceived work-life balance. However, confounding the boundaries between work and daily life, it may nourish work-to-life and life-to-work conflicts.
Originality: The article advances what we currently know about teleworking’s implications on work-life balance, envisioning avenues for further conceptual and empirical developments.
... Further, allows the employees to balance their responsibilities and family issues at home. The flexible working hours plan permit employees to concentrate on multiple roles in at present cutthroat working environments [42]. ...
The achievement of a workplace entirely depends on the skill of managers that how to offer a motivating environment to its employees. The performance of a workplace entirely depends upon employee motivation which is a crucial element in creating an amicable environment for producing optimal performance. Employee motivation is highly responsible in stimulating workplace harmony, commitment and overall employee performance at the workplace. It is decisive in relating to long term benefits for the organization. Motivated employees signify staff retention and loyalty towards the workplace which in turn foster growth & development of business. In the competitive business environment, the biggest challenge for managers is to retain the employees and keep them motivated to perform satisfactorily at the workplace. Equally, it is important that the manager must be aware of the behavioural instinct of employees and of the factors of what possibly motivate them. Individuals can be motivated due to various factors like: leadership, rewards, incentives, etc. and other organizational constituents in which they perform the duties. Keeping in mind these views, the study primarily focuses upon the effects of motivational factors on employees’ performance. Subsequently, the study highlights the connection among employee motivation along with performance.
The well-being of employees is catching momentum among various demanding industries across the world, underlying the importance of introducing and maintaining effective happiness initiatives to foster successful employees ’engagement with their line management to work better together and build loyalty to the workplace. This paper, therefore, aims to detail the strategic benefits of happiness initiatives along with the expected business benefits on long-term basis.
A happy employee is defined as a productive and loyal employee. When an employee is happy, they tend to display greater engagement with their job. Similarly, studies have shown that when an individual feels "heard" and that their voice matters, their levels of morale are higher. Moreover, when equipped with the right tools to cope with a stressful environment, a worker's level of productivity and the quality of their work improves. The data collected at the end of each initiative is an important reference and resource for companies with a high number of employees across various specialties. This paper will provide the background of the importance of happiness initiatives, as well as making the first steps towards cultivating a culture of happiness in the more traditional industries, especially including the oil, gas and energy industry.
The concept of a happiness initiative, especially in relation to international best practices, is currently not widely applied in traditional industries with evidence on the lack of a true sense of happy and productive engagement across different employees ’levels and contractors. Elevating happiness across organizations is, therefore, essential, as indicated by the fact that good mental health and well-being are core needs for any business to succeed in the post-COVID-19 era. Happiness at work is a relative, attainable concept that can be fostered and sustained in a more professional context, where organizations can play a vital and critical role in the research, establishment, and advancement of workplace happiness policies and frameworks on strategic basis that will positively result in tangible and non-tangible business benefits. This paper will outline mechanisms, best practices and the role of "Chief Happiness Officers" in leading tailor-made happiness initiatives to address organizational-specific needs and emerging issues.
Today, business styles and ways of doing business are changing due to global and technological changes. Employees' attitudes towards these changes are important for employers. At the point of business life; with the increase of working parents, the importance of the balance between private life and work-life is also increasing. The ability of employees to establish a work-life balance makes their lives easier. One of the practices used by organizations to maintain the work-life balance of employees is flexible working practices. Employees' attitudes towards flexible working may vary within the framework of their perceptions, needs, and expectations. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of employees' attitudes towards work-life balance and flexible working practices on their motivation levels. In this context, a questionnaire was applied to 543 people working in the central units of Ankara Metropolitan Municipality and its subsidiary EGO General Directorate. IBM SPSS Statistics 25 program was used in the analysis of the data in the research. The reliability of the data used in the questionnaire was tested and factor analysis was performed. Correlation analysis to determine the existence of the relationship between independent and dependent variables; Regression analysis was performed to measure the interaction. In the study, Anova and T-tests were applied to examine the difference between variables and demographic variables. In the research, between the dimensions of work-life balance and motivation, intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation; Significant differences were found between the sub-dimensions of work-life balance, work responsibility, and other employee attitudes of the attitude variable towards flexible working arrangements and the intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation dimensions of the motivation variable.
Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh antara Work-Life Balance dan Flexible Working Arrangement terhadap Job Performance dengan Employee Engagement sebagai variabel mediasi. Purposive sampling diterapkan dalam penelitian ini, dimana area penelitian difokuskan di Jakarta dan sekitarnya seperti yang dianggap menjadi pusat penyebaran pandemi Covid -19 di Indonesia, dimana skema work from home paling banyakditerapkan. Pengumpulan data dilakukan secara online dengan menggunakan google form. Sebanyak 208 tanggapan yang dapat digunakan dikumpulkan dari individu yang bekerja yang dipekerjakan di perusahaan yang menerapkan flexible working arrangement. Data dikumpulkan dan dianalisis menggunakan SMART PLS ver.3.0. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa flexible working arrangement, meskipun tidak secara langsung mempengaruhi job perforamce, memiliki beberapa efek ketika Employee Engagement diperkenalkan sebagai faktor mediasi. Temuan ini mengusulkan efek mediasi penuh dari Employee Engagement terhadap Job Performance. Selain itu, Employee Engagement juga ditemukan memediasi hubungan antara Work-Life Balance dan Job Performance. Oleh karena itu, pengenalan Employee Engagement sebagai variabel mediasi untuk Work-Life Balance dan Flexible Working Arrangement, akan meningkatkan varians Job Performance dalam penelitian ini.
Introduction (This book is in Malay language):
This is the 2nd edition of the first book of a five book series entitled “Research Methods and Statistics”. Research Methods is a practical guide that covers all aspects of research methodology. It is a useful teaching and learning tool for courses related to research at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. This book can also be used as a reference by researchers when they are conducting and reporting their research. Concepts are explained in detail with examples to enable readers to carry out confidently each stage of the research process. Exercises are provided at the end of each chapter to help readers reinforce their understanding of the topics covered in the chapter. (Number of pages: 346)
Content:
Chapter 1: Introduction to Research, Chapter 2: Research Ethics, Chapter 3: Literature Review, Chapter 4: Research Design, Chapter 5: Experimental Study, Chapter 6: Quasi-experimental Study, Chapter 7: Survey Study, Chapter 8: Field Study, Chapter 9: Case Study, Chapter 10: Action Study, Chapter 11: Historical Study, Chapter 12: Probability Sampling Procedures, Chapter 13: Non-probability Sampling Procedures, Chapter 14: Measurement in Research, Chapter 15: Index, Scales and Specific Measurement Procedures, Chapter 16: Pilot Study, Chapter 17: Research Instrumentation, Chapter 18: Format of Writing Research Report.
Working time flexibility comprises a wide variety of arrangements, from part-time, overtime, to long-term leaves. Theoretical approaches to grouping these arrangements have been developed, but empirical underpinnings are rare. This article investigates the bundles that can be found for various flexible working time arrangements, using the Establishment Survey on Working Time and Work–Life Balance, 2004/2005, covering 21 EU member states and 13 industries. The results from the factor analyses confirmed that working time arrangements can be grouped into two bundles, one for the employee-centred arrangements and second for the employer-centred arrangements, and that these two bundles are separate dimensions. We also tested the stability of the factor analysis outcome, showing that although we find some deviations from the pan-Europe and pan-industry outcome, the naming of the components as flexibility for employees and flexibility for employers can be considered rather stable. Lastly, we find three country clusters for the 21 European countries using the bundle approach. The first group includes the Northern European countries along side Poland and Czech Republic, the second group the continental European countries with UK and Ireland, and lastly, the southern European countries with Hungary and Slovenia.
Constituting nearly half of the labour force, Malaysian women sometimes face the issue of balancing work and life which is quick becoming a major concern among most dual career families. As a result of this phenomenon, family friendly policies at the work place is becoming a challenge for the employers to provide. Family friendly policies which commonly refers to policies that enable employees to balance the demands of paid work and personal life can be in the form of workplace flexibility or work time flexibility. Even though family friendly policies are not gender bias, generally female employees are more affected by it as they try to juggle work, home and the family. This study which is based on a primary survey, first tries to assess how family friendly are some of the work places in Malaysia. The more common modes of family friendly policies were identified based on focus group discussion. This study concentrates more on family friendly policies in terms of work time flexibility. It further sets out to investigate how interested are the employees with regards to some of the modes of family friendly policies offered by the employers. Finally, the paper concludes with discussions on the implications of family friendly policies on work life balance. The study shows that there are many work places in Malaysia which have implemented various family friendly policies but there still exists a gap between employee's practical needs and the availability of family friendly policies.
The authors examined the relation between the availability of 2 popular types of flexible work arrangements (i.e., flextime and compressed workweek) and work-to-family enrichment and, in turn, the relation between work-to-family enrichment and (a) job satisfaction and (b) turnover intentions. In a sample of 220 employed working adults, hierarchical regression analyses showed that work-to-family enrichment mediated the relation between flexible work arrangements and both job satisfaction and turnover intentions, even after controlling for gender, age, marital status, education, number of children, and hours worked. Thus, the availability of flexible work arrangements such as flextime and compressed workweek seems to help employees experience greater enrichment from work to home, which, in turn, is associated with higher job satisfaction and lower turnover intentions. The authors discuss the implications for research and practice.
This paper examines flexible wo rking in the workplace using case studies from four different European companies, in three countries. This detailed evidence shows that while flexibility is a major challenge to managements, trade unions and employees, the results are more acceptable to these groups when certain practices are followed. These include its introduction and maintenance through the careful provision of information and consultation with workers, and dealing with flexibility as a process rather than as a one-off cost-cutting exercise. Identifies the implications of this work for managements, trade unions and employees.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to, first, explore flexible working as an important but under‐researched dimension of equality and diversity (E&D) and, second, contribute to employment relations debates by exploring organisational perspectives on flexible working and how these connect with business strategies and the regulatory context.
Design/methodology/approach
In depth semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 12 E&D managers in ten public and private sector organisations. Interviews explored the role of E&D managers in the construction of flexible working arrangements (FWAs) and drivers underpinning them.
Findings
Flexible working was most evident as a significant field of E&D practice where E&D was linked into business strategy and was well resourced. The key roles of E&D managers in relation to FWAs were policy innovation and monitoring. Four organisational rationales for FWAs were identified from the data. These were FWA constructed as: an individual employee benefit; a means of improving operational effectiveness; an integral part of organisational strategy; and as a means of addressing structural social inequalities.
Research limitations/implications
While the sample is small, the research is of value to both researchers and policy makers, offering insights on an under‐researched area of E&D policy and practice.
Practical implications
This paper outlines different rationales for flexible working and shows how some organisation are able to develop flexible working policies that are more equitable and effective than other organisations.
Originality/value
The originality lies in the use of E&D managers as informants of organisational approaches to FWAs, which to date has been under‐researched in terms of its connection with E&D policy and practice.
Wanita Berhenti Bekerja Kerja Lebih Banyak Hadapi Kesukaran
- Utusan Malaysia
Utusan Malaysia. (2007). Wanita Berhenti Bekerja Kerja Lebih Banyak Hadapi Kesukaran. September 12. p 19.
Balancing Work and Flexible Working: Employer Benefit from Flexible Working
- H Smith
Smith, H. (1993). Balancing Work and Flexible Working: Employer Benefit from Flexible Working. Department
of Social and Family Affair.