Flexibility (Employment Relations)
MSc. International Business and Human Resource Management
Managing Employment Relations (HRMG5057)
Individual Essay Assignment
Submitted To:
Peter Butler
Submitted By: Karan Sharma (P13202579)
Word Count: 2576 words
Date: May 7TH, 2014
Flexibility is about an employer and a worker making changes to when, where and how an individual works to meet the business and individual needs. Flexibility empowers both the business and the individual needs to be met through by making changes to location (where), manner (how), time (when) in which the employee works. (Workplaceflexibility.bc.edu, 2014)
As cited in (Wilton, 2013, p99) Conley suggests, ‘flexibility is an amorphous term used to describe many qualitatively different forms of work, and it is sometimes employed as a term holding both positive and negative connotations’.
Flexible working opportunities benefit everyone: employers, employees and their families. Many employers know that it makes good business sense to provide flexible working opportunities for their staff. These employers know flexible working arrangements enable them to retain skilled staff and reduce recruitment costs; to raise their staff morale and decrease absenteeism; and to react to changing market conditions more effectively (DTI). (Butler, 2014)
One key determinant of any organization’s ability to react adequately to a changing and questionable business environment is the flexibility and the adaptability of its workforce. The flexibility of the workers is reflected in the ability of the employer too: recruitment or disposal of labor as required; adjust labor costs in accordance with the needs of the business; placing the labor efficiently inside the firm; and fix working hours which suits the requirements of the business. (Wilton, 2013, p95)
Flexible working is described as a type of working arrangement, which gives some flexibility on how long, where and when employees work. The flexibility can be
Managing Employment Relations (HRMG5057)
Individual Essay Assignment
Submitted To:
Peter Butler
Submitted By: Karan Sharma (P13202579)
Word Count: 2576 words
Date: May 7TH, 2014
Flexibility is about an employer and a worker making changes to when, where and how an individual works to meet the business and individual needs. Flexibility empowers both the business and the individual needs to be met through by making changes to location (where), manner (how), time (when) in which the employee works. (Workplaceflexibility.bc.edu, 2014)
As cited in (Wilton, 2013, p99) Conley suggests, ‘flexibility is an amorphous term used to describe many qualitatively different forms of work, and it is sometimes employed as a term holding both positive and negative connotations’.
Flexible working opportunities benefit everyone: employers, employees and their families. Many employers know that it makes good business sense to provide flexible working opportunities for their staff. These employers know flexible working arrangements enable them to retain skilled staff and reduce recruitment costs; to raise their staff morale and decrease absenteeism; and to react to changing market conditions more effectively (DTI). (Butler, 2014)
One key determinant of any organization’s ability to react adequately to a changing and questionable business environment is the flexibility and the adaptability of its workforce. The flexibility of the workers is reflected in the ability of the employer too: recruitment or disposal of labor as required; adjust labor costs in accordance with the needs of the business; placing the labor efficiently inside the firm; and fix working hours which suits the requirements of the business. (Wilton, 2013, p95)
Flexible working is described as a type of working arrangement, which gives some flexibility on how long, where and when employees work. The flexibility can be
References: Beltran-Martin, I., Roca-Puig, V., Escrig-Tena, A. and Bou-Llusar, J. (2008). Human resource flexibility as a mediating variable between high performance work systems and performance. Journal of Management, 34(5) Butler, P Cipd.co.uk, (2014). Flexible working - Factsheets - CIPD. [Online] Available at: http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/factsheets/flexible-working.aspx [Accessed 29 Apr. 2014]. Clutterbuck, D. (2003). Managing work-life balance. 1st ed. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Houston, D. (2005). Work-life balance in the 21st century. 1st ed. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. Houston, D. and Waumsley, J. (2003). Attitudes to flexible working and family life. 1st ed. Bristol, UK: Published for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation by The Policy Press. Stredwick, J. and Ellis, S. (2005). Flexible working. 1st ed. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, pp.33-40. Survey Report: Flexible Working Provision and Uptake. (2012). London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, pp.21-22. Tomer, j. (n.d.). Understanding High Performance Work Systems: The Joint Contribution of Economics and Human Resource Management. [ebook] pp.1-2. Available at: http://gemba.sdsu.edu/~frantz/docs/Tomer.pdf [Accessed 30 Apr. 2014]. Wilton, N. (2013). An introduction to human resource management. 1st ed. London: SAGE. Workplaceflexibility.bc.edu, (2014). What is Workplace Flexibility? [Online] Available at: http://workplaceflexibility.bc.edu [Accessed 30 Apr. 2014]