Denna undersökning som genomförts i en norrlandskommun belyser en grupp av femton kommunanställdas upplevelser av arbetstider vars schemaläggning förläggdes med hjälp av time-caresystemet i jämförelse med en grupp av sjutton kommunanställda som hade fast schema och heroma-önskeschemasystemet. Undersökningen som genomförts med kvantitativ metod syftade till att i ett urval av anställda i en norrlandskommun se upplevelser av arbetstider förlagda med och utan time-care avseende variabilitet (arbetsgivarens schemastyrning) och/eller flexibilitet (individens handlingsfrihet och självständighet).  Trettiotvå respondenter besvarade frågeformulären. Resultatet visade signifikant att respondenterna med time-care upplevde mer överåtagande, mindre möjligheter till förutsägbarhet över en månad, mindre rättvist ledarskap och att arbetet mer påverkar deras fritid än respondenterna som hade fast schema och heroma-önskeschemasystemet. Resultatet visade även att fast/heroma-önskeschemagruppen upplevde mindre överåtaganden, mer kontroll av arbetstakt, samt en högre grad av förutsägbarhet och att de upplevde mer rättvist ledarskap än en normgrupp vilket kan belysa fördelarna med önskeschema.  Nyckelord: oregelbundna arbetstider, flexibelt arbete, flexibel arbetstid, psykosocial / This study carried out in a northern municipality highlights a group of fifteen municipal employees' experiences of working hours whose scheduling was carried out using time-care system in comparison with a group of seventeen municipal employees who had fixed schedule and the heroma-wishful scheduling system. The survey conducted by quantitative method aimed at a sample of employees in a northern municipality see experiences of working placement with and without time care regarding variability (employer's schedule control) and / or flexibility (the individual's freedom and independence). Thirtytwo respondents answered the questionnaires. The results showed significant that respondents with time-care experienced more of overcommitment, less potential for predictability over a month, less fair leadership and to work more affecting their leisure time than respondents with fixed schedule and the heroma-wishful scheduling system. The results also showed that the staff with fixed/heroma-wishful scheduling system experiences less of overcommitments, more in control of the pace of work, and a higher degree of predictability and that they experienced more equitable leadership than a norm group which can highlight the benefits of wishful schedule. Keywords: irregular working hours, flexible work, flexible working, psychosocial

Syfte: Det nya arbetslivet har inneburit en rad förändringar för den lönearbetande populationen i Sverige, gällande allt ifrån tid, rum och tillgänglighet i de alltmer flexibla arbetsvillkoren. Syftet med denna studie är därför att undersöka ett antal faktorer i det nya arbetslivet som kan ha inverkan på den lönearbetande populationens livsbalans. Studien undersöker också om det finns skillnader mellan chefers och övriga anställdas livsbalans samt även om chefens nivå i hierarkin påverkar livsbalansen. Metod: Datamaterialet som används i denna kvantitativa studie är hämtat från European Social Survey 2010. Studien bygger på en svensk population bestående av 832 lönearbetande respondenter. Den beroende variabeln är ett index som mäter livsbalans. Kontroll- och oberoendevariablerna mäter bakgrund, familjesituation samt arbetsförhållanden. Analyserna består av medelvärdesjämförelser, korrelationer samt multipel regressionsanalys. Resultat/slutsats: Den huvudsakliga slutsatsen av denna studie är att den faktor som inverkar mest negativt på livsbalansen hos den lönearbetande populationen är om den anställda har personalansvar eller inte. Resultatet av studien visar även en negativ inverkan på livsbalansen för anställda som har barn. En positiv inverkan på livsbalansen är om den anställda har möjlighet att påverka arbetets tempo. Genom denna studie kan även slutsatsen dras att chefsnivå inte har någon inverkan på livsbalansen. / Purpose: Todays changed work-life has caused a number of changes to the wage-earning population in Sweden, regarding everything from time, space and availability in increasingly flexible working conditions. The purpose of this study is to examine a number of factors in the changed work-life that may have caused an impact on the life balance of the wage-earning population. The study also examines whether there are differences between managers and other employees' work-life balance, and also if the manager's level in the hierarchy affects life balance. Methodology: The data used in this quantitative study is taken from the European Social Survey of 2010. Study is based on a Swedish population consisting of 832 wage-earning respondents. The dependent variable is an index measuring life balance. The control and independent variables measures the background, family situation and working conditions. The analyzes consist of mean comparisons, correlations and multiple regression analysis. Results: The main conclusion of this study is that the factor that has the largest impact negatively on work-life balance of the wage-earning population is whether the employee is responsible for supervising other employees or not. Results of the study also shows a negative impact on work-life balance for employees who have children. A positive impact on work-life balance is if the employees are allowed to choose/change pace of work. influence the work. Through this study can also be concluded that the managerial level has no impact on work-life balance.

Bakgrund och Syfte: Tidigare forskning visar att delegering ökar känslan av empowerment hos medarbetarna. Mer forskning önskas kring hur delegering av schemaläggningen påverkar empowerment hos medarbetarna. Syftet med denna studie är att öka förståelsen för hur delegering av flexibla arbetstider till medarbetarna påverkar medarbetarnas upplevda empowerment. Metod: Studiens grund är av ett hermeneutiskt och socialkonstruktivistiskt perspektiv. Forskningsansatsen som använts är en abduktiv forskningsansats. Studiens insamlingsteknik är av en kvalitativ metod. Den empiriska informationen har samlats in med hjälp av semistrukturerade intervjuer. Den teoretiska referensramen har tidigare forskning som grund. Den empiriska informationen som framkommit under intervjuerna har kategoriserats och sammanställts i ett kapitel. Analysen av studien är framställd utifrån den empiriska samt teoretiska informationen som presenterats i studien. Slutsats: Studien tyder på att delegering av flexibla arbetstider påverkar medarbetarnas upplevda empowerment, i form av kompetens och självbestämmande. Flexibla arbetstider har även en större påverkan på medarbetarna än själva delegeringen i sig. Studiens bidrag: Studien visar på att delegering av flexibla arbetstider påverkar upplevd empowerment. Ur ett praktiskt perspektiv ges rådet till ledarna att med fördel delegera flexibla arbetstider till medarbetarna för att öka upplevd empowerment i form av ökat självbestämmande och kompetens. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Till vidare forskning finns ett behov av att undersöka kopplingen mellan flexibla arbetstider och empowerment på ett mer grundligt sätt. Vi föreslår att detta syfte studeras med medarbetare som varit anställa en kort tid och att syftet studeras med andra geografiska utgångspunkter. / Background and Aim: Previous research shows that delegation increases the sense of empowerment among employees. More research is requested about how delegation of scheduling affects empowerment among employees. The purpose of this study is to increase understanding how the delegation of working hours to employees’ affecting employees' psychological empowerment. Method: The basis of the study is of a hermeneutical and a social constructivist perspective. The research approach that has been used is a deductible research approach. The study's collection technique is of a qualitative method. The empirical information has been collected using semi-structured interviews. The theoretical frame of reference has earlier research as a basis. The empirical information found during the interviews has been categorized and compiled in a chapter. The analysis of the study is based on the empirical and theoretical information presented in the study. Conclusion: The study suggests that delegation of flexible working hours affects employees' psychological empowerment, in terms of competence and self-determination. Flexible working hours also have a greater impact on employees than the delegation itself. Contribution: The study shows that delegation of flexible working hours influences psychological empowerment. From a practical perspective, the advice is given to leaders to delegate flexible working hours to employees to increase psychological empowerment in the form of increased self-determination and competence. Suggestions for further research: For further research, there is a need to examine the link between flexible working hours and empowerment in a more thorough way. We propose that this purpose be studied with employees who have been hiring a short time and that the purpose is studied with other geographical starting points.

A inserção dos assentamentos de reforma agrária federal, a partir da década de 1980, na Zona da Mata pernambucana, aproximou os representantes dos movimentos sociais rurais e os trabalhadores rurais do sonho da melhor distribuição de terras e da possibilidade de acesso a sua terra de trabalho. Tal configuração se fez realidade para apenas alguns trabalhadores, porém estes, mesmo possuindo sua parcela para a realização do plantio continuou, através do trabalho flexível, subordinando sua força de trabalho aos representantes do agronegócio da cana de açúcar. Este panorama suscitou alguns questionamentos, entre eles: Como se apresenta de fato a atual estrutura fundiária do território da microrregião de Vitória de Santo Antão após a inserção dos assentamentos de reforma agrária federal? A então chamada reforma agrária brasileira tem sido capaz de formar uma nova configuração do espaço agrário? E por qual motivo o assentado, que via regra é um ex-assalariado da cana, passa a cultivar cana de açúcar depois que recebe uma parcela? Essas indagações direcionaram a pesquisa o seguinte objetivo: buscar, compreender e analisar as relações socioterritoriais a partir do processo de inserção dos assentamentos de reforma agrária federal no território da microrregião de Vitória de Santo Antão, além de buscar identificar a forma de subordinação dos assentados da reforma agrária aos representantes do capital do agronegócio. Diante das questões levantadas, esta pesquisa se faz relevante por debater questões teóricas associadas com o conhecimento empírico, pertinentes ao conhecimento geográfico e que visam explicar a atual configuração do espaço agrário diante da inserção dos assentamentos de reforma agrária e a subordinação dos trabalhadores assentados ao agronegócio. Visando alcançar o objetivo geral foram feitos os seguintes procedimentos metodológicos. Levantamento e leitura bibliográfica a respeitos das questões conceituais de espaço, território, renda da terra e trabalho flexível, além de trabalhos de campo visando a aplicação de entrevistas, questionários e produção iconográfica foram fundamentais para se chegar a algumas conclusões. A permanência da estrutura fundiária latifundiária e monocultora foi uma delas. Além desta conclusão, notou-se também que os assentados do território da microrregião de Vitória de Santo Antão permanecem subordinando a sua força de trabalho ao agronegócio canavieiro, só que agora dentro das características do trabalho flexível. Em função deste modo de trabalho os assentados não percebem mesmo tendo deixado de ser assalariado da cana, continuam subordinando a sua força de trabalho ao agronegócio canavieiro. / The insertion of the agrarian reform federal, from the 1980s, in the Zona da Mata, approached representatives of social movements and rural workers dream of better land distribution and the possibility of access to their land work. This configuration became reality for only a few workers, but these, despite having its share to achieve the planting continued, through flexible working, subordinating their workforce representatives of agribusiness sugarcane. This scenario has raised some questions, among them: As shown in fact the current structure of the land territory of the region of Vitoria de Santo Antao after insertion of agrarian reform federal? The so-called land reform in Brazil has been able to form a new configuration of agrarian space? And for what reason the settler who saw rule is a former employee of the cane begins to cultivate sugarcane after it receives a portion? These questions directed the research the following objective: to seek, understand and analyze the socio-territorial relations from the insertion process of agrarian reform in the federal territory of the region of Vitória de Santo Antão, and seek to identify the form of subordination of the settlers agrarian reform to representatives of agribusiness capital. Given the issues raised, this research is relevant for discussing theoretical issues associated with the empirical knowledge relevant to the geographical knowledge and aimed at explaining the current configuration of the agrarian space before inserting the agrarian reform settlers and the subordination of workers to agribusiness. In order to achieve the overall goal were made the following methodological procedures. Reading literature survey and to respect the conceptual issues of space, territory, land rent and flexible working as well as field work towards the implementation of interviews, questionnaires and iconographic production were essential to reach some conclusions. The permanence of land ownership and landholding monoculture was one. In addition to this conclusion, it was noted also that the settlers of the territory of the region of Vitória de Santo Antão remain making its workforce sugarcane agribusiness, only now within the characteristics of flexible working. According to this way of working the settlers do not realize even though no longer employed by the cane, still making its workforce sugarcane agribusiness.

Debates on flexible employment and labour persist in most Western market economies, while being largely absent regarding Saudi Arabia. Increasing unemployment among qualified Saudi citizens remains a major concern, particularly for females, despite a government policy of Saudisation. Notwithstanding incentives for prioritising Saudi citizens, foreign nationals dominate private sector employment. Few empirical studies consider the factors impacting employment of educated Saudi women: further, there are hardly any robust frameworks which offer policy makers, employers, and those championing the employment of this group a clear set of plausible guidelines bearing in mind the socioeconomic context of Saudi Arabia. The research aims, first and foremost, to examine how far "labour flexibility" in Saudi Arabia offers solutions to unemployment among educated Saudi females, exploring interalia the main institutions and regulatory framework of the Saudi labour market, and the effectiveness of these in managing the relationship between employers and employees. It also examines the major labour market and employment policy concerns of government, employers and employees, considering flexible employment forms in Saudi Arabia, and in what context employers and employees do or would consider flexible employment. Following on from this, the second aim is to develop a conceptual framework on key factors impacting the participation of educated Saudi females in the Saudi labour market. The framework that emerges from these analyses also provides some guidance for graduate women who seek labour market entry and participation. iii The study employed quantitative and qualitative methodologies, with targeted participants, returning 1347 usable questionnaires (41% response) augmented by 28 semi-structured interviews. The quantitative data underwent statistical examination by performing descriptive and inferential analysis on the SPSS software, and qualitative data were analysed using summative content analysis. A conceptual framework was developed and validated through interviews with ten representatives of the interviewed sample population, who held senior positions. To improve understanding of key influencing factors for educated women’s participation in the Saudi labour market for key stakeholders. The six factors identified were personal, socio-cultural, educational, legal/political, organisational and economic. The study identifies a relationship between increased flexible work patterns and increased employment of educated Saudi females and suggests a relationship between the challenges Saudi females face within employment practices and numbers employed in the labour market. Similarly, a relationship exists between educational level and employment chances for Saudi women. Recommendations are proffered to the Saudi Government, Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Education, industrial sector, organisations, researchers and academia.

Masters of Commerce / In the twenty first century, the traditional roles in a nuclear family have changed. In the majority of modern families, both partners have careers and full-time jobs. Burnett, Gatrell, Cooper and Sparrow (2010) explain that the approach to working life is changing, both men and women want to find a balance between work, family and caring responsibilities. Guest (2002) also elaborates that work-life balance has always been a concern for those interested in the quality of working life and the relation to broader quality of life. Due to the challenges which employees are currently facing, flexible work arrangements have become an increasingly popular business practice around the globe as a means to reduce work-life conflict. Many organisations offer flexible work arrangements with the goal of facilitating positive outcomes for both organisations and employees (Joiner & Bakalis, 2006). However, other organisations are still resistant to introducing flexible work arrangements as they fear it might impact negatively on productivity (Johnson, 2004; Martinez-Sanchez, Perez-Perez, Jose Vela-Jimenez & de-Luis Carnicer, 2008). While literature on flexible working hours has increased in recent times, no study has been found on the relationships between flexible working hours, employee engagement and organisational commitment in the retail sector in South Africa. Therefore this study focused on the relationship between flexible working hours, employee engagement and organisational commitment. The study followed a quantitative approach and the questionnaires were completed by 161 respondents. The two statistical approaches used to draw conclusions for this study are descriptive and inferential statistics. The study found significant relationships between flexible working hours, employee engagement and organisational commitment. The study also found a significant relationship between different age groups and flexible working hours as well as male and female and their use of flexible working hours. In conclusion, if retailers want to remain competitive in the retail industry where international competition is rife, they will have to ensure that they have the best talent. In order to acquire top talent, they will need to implement policies that will attract and retain them. Based on the findings and results, flexible working hours could substantially assist by increasing their employee engagement and organisational commitment and thereby attracting and retaining the top talent in the South African retail industry.

The work environment has vastly become more demanding and organizational practises have required have needed to be cognisant of methods to keep employees engaged. The topic of flexible working arrangements (FWA) has grown in popularity by research scholars and business practitioners. Considerable research has been conducted on the various dynamics of FWA and the influence of employee engagement. This research however aims to explore emerging themes in perceived organizational support (POS) and employee engagement in the context of flexible work arrangements, to gain in-depth understanding of the relationship between POS and employee engagement, in addition to what has been contributed to literature. The research study was conducted through qualitative methodology of exploratory obtained by the researcher. 14 semi-structured interviews were largely conducted through virtual communication platform, Zoom; and where possible interviews were conducted face-to-face, through open-ended questions. Respondents consisted of 7 Managers and 7 Employees from different organisations across three different industries. The analysis of the interviews was conducted through the six-stage thematic analysis. The research found four emerging themes FWA associated with flexible working schedules, enabling infrastructure, work life balance and adapting to a new way of working. The research also found a positive relationship between employee engagement and POS through common themes such as trust between managers and employees, decision making and dedication to work tasks. The perspectives and views from the participants were commonly affected by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and therefore the researcher made every attempt to gain perspectives prior the pandemic and during the pandemic from the participants. The research was limited to medium to large sized organisations operating in South Africa. / Mini Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2021. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MBA / Unrestricted

Flexible working hours is a work regulation which both creates opportunity for an increased flexibility but on the other hand demands the same from the employee. An increase in availability for the employees has contributed to a more blurred line between work and free time. This study has examined how flexible working hours affects the employees stress levels, workload and work life balance. Previous research has shown that stress, workload and work- life balance continuously interact and correlate with each other. Results both show that flexible working hours has positive and negative effects on all the subject matters. Using a qualitative method six interviews has been completed and from the collected data it can be concluded that all the interviewed work more than their contracted hours. Furthermore, it can also be shown that the constant availability complicates work-life balance. Finally, the data also presents a form of acceptance and normalizations around the demands and what is expected from an employee with flexible working hours. / Förtroendearbetstid är en arbetstidsreglering som både möjliggör en ökad flexibilitet men samtidigt kräver detsamma från den anställda. En ökad tillgänglighet för de anställda har bidragit till att gränsen mellan arbete och fritid inte är lika tydlig. I den här studien undersöks det hur förtroendearbetstid påverkar den anställdas stress, arbetsbelastning och gränsdragningen mellan arbete och fritid. Tidigare forskning visar att stress, arbetsbelastning och gränsdragning är sammankopplade till varandra och att det sker en ständig växelverkan. Det finns resultat som både visar på positiva och negativa effekter på samtliga forskningsområden till följd av förtroendearbetstiden. Med hjälp av kvalitativ metod genomfördes sex intervjuer och utifrån det insamlade materialet dras slutsatsen att samtliga respondenter arbetar mer än avtalad tid. Vidare visar resultatet att den ständiga tillgängligheten försvårar gränsdragningen mellan arbete och fritid. Resultatet leder även fram till att det finns en acceptans och normalisering kring vad som krävs och förväntas från den anställda med förtroendearbetstid.

In this study I aim to examine how flexible work conditions affect gendered norms in the workplace and in the family constellations, and through this knowledge contribute to how organizations can increase their awareness about gendered norms. The theoretical framwork is based off West and Zimmermans theory Doing Gender, with compliments from Joan Acker andthe theory of inequality regimes. The study is based of 7 semi-structured interviews with women who have flexible working conditions evolving their ability to control time, space and implimentation in thei work.  The results show that flexible work conditions can have a catalyzing effect on gendered practices in organizations. This is presented by the way the women in this study chooses to use the time they "save" buy flexible working conditions, which is mainly used for family affairs and childcare. Also by the way women express guilt towards family and work when they can´t meet the avaliability demands from the private sphere and the work sphere. Although the women in this study does not experience external expectations to take more responsibility around the home and children, it is still expressed buy them as "natural" since they have more time. This shows that the doing of gender is present in these actions. It is not based on rational divisions between men and women but rather the socially constructed idea of women being more suited for domestic work. Organizations contribute to the doing of gender by being unaware of how these norms can be reproduced through flexible working conditions. Organizations keep feeding the norm of the ideal worker which functions as a gendered process. It´s important for organizations to increase their awareness of this phenomenon in order to create structures which will promote flexible working conditions as something for everyone and not only women. I believe this study can contribute to that awareness and help organizations to start reflecting on the doing of gender in their workplace.

Continuous information technology development changed traditional ways of management and business operations. Nowadays there is a high demand for new innovative business solutions and the ways of managing people that enables to fully elicit their potential. Physical boundaries are removed; work is becoming incredibly dispersed around the world enabling growth of 24/7 customer service, home banking, online shopping and other services that were seemed incredible just a few years ago. In this fast paced environment the companies are seeking for any possibility to increase their competitiveness. Implementing flexible working is considered by most of organizations as a tool to adapt to never-ending changes. This paper aims to test the hypothesis that flexible working increases organizational productivity from the perspective of the property as well as from the perspective of employees. In current work organizational productivity from the perspective of property is analyzed from economic standpoint when flexible working decreases operational and real estate costs per employee, thus, allowing saving and investing in other business areas that would increases profitability of the company. Productivity from staff perspective is measured by employee's satisfaction of his working environment, work-life balance, and increased efficiency through team collaboration, flexible hours and telecommuting. Methodology used is case study and literature review. Case study was performed on-site in Alcatel-Lucent in Singapore. It is limited to six months from planned full year of 3 implementation project. Set of interviews with company managers was conducted to support the case results. The thesis suggests the hypothesis, according to the literature review and overview of some cases in different countries, that flexibility in property as well as in working mode increases productivity both in terms of real estate costs savings and in terms of employee’s increased productivity due to better team collaboration in open space, flexible working hours, ability to choose preferred location for work, telecommuting that creates a positive work-life balance. The case study performed for this paper in Alcatel-Lucent Singapore shows that the aforementioned benefits are not there yet due to the project timeline but are highly anticipated by local and global management. Nevertheless, thorough assessment of business requirements and the needs of employees should be undertaken before deciding on flexible working. It is extremely crucial to secure efficient and open internal communication and employees’ involvement in all stages of the project in order to achieve fast acceptance and adaptation to new environment. Based on the current example, future research suggests investigating in cultural aspect of global strategy deployment by corporate decision in different countries.