Magister Commercii (Industrial Psychology) - MCom(IPS) / 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.

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.

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.

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.

Šiame darbe suformuluotos turizmo sektoriaus ir lankstaus darbo laiko sąsajos, išanalizuoti ir susisteminti įvairių Lietuvos ir užsienio autorių teoriniai ir praktiniai darbo laiko, turizmo kaip paslaugų verslo aspektai bei atlikta palyginamoji Lietuvos ir Norvegijos turizmo sektoriaus įmonių darbuotojų požiūrio į lankstų darbo laiką analizė. Išsamiai analizuojamos atskiros lankstaus darbo laiko formos dažniausiai taikomos turizmo paslaugas teikiančiose įmonėse, atskleidžiami svarbiausi darbuotojų poreikiai šiuolaikinėje kompanijoje bei pateikiamos priemonės lankstaus darbo laiko įgyvendinimui turizmo įmonėse, suformuluojamas tai atitinkantis modelis. Darbo objektas – Lietuvos ir Norvegijos turizmo įmonių darbuotojų požiūris į lankstų darbo laiką. Darbo tikslas – palyginti Lietuvos ir Norvegijos turizmo įmonių darbuotojų požiūrį į lankstų darbo laiką. Darbo uždaviniai: 1. Išanalizuoti lankstaus darbo laiko formų taikymą turizmo sektoriaus įmonėse teoriniu aspektu. 2. Aprašyti pagrindines priemones, kurių turėtų imtis turizmo sektoriaus įmonės siekiant įvesti lankstų darbo laiką. 3. Palyginti Lietuvos ir Norvegijos turizmo įmonių darbuotojų požiūrį į lankstų darbo laiką. 4. Sudaryti lankstaus darbo laiko taikymo turizmo sektoriaus įmonėse modelį. Darbą sudaro trys dalys. Pirmoje dalyje pateikiamos turizmo kaip paslaugų sektoriaus sąsajos su lanksčiomis darbo laiko formomis bei žmogiškųjų resursų skatinimo esmė, kaip pagrindinis darbuotojų motyvavimo veiksnys siekiant... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / This paper formulates the link between the tourism sector and flexible hours, analyses and systematizes theoretical as well as practical aspects of working hours and tourism as a service business provided by various Lithuanian and foreign authors, and carries out different types of flexible working hours in Lithuanian and Norwegian tourism enterprises. The papaer also gives a detailed analysis of different types of flexible working patterns which are the most common in tourism enterprises, reveals the most important needs of employees in contemporary enterprises, presents the means to implement flexible working hours in tourism enterprises, and, on basis, formulates a suitable model. Paper object. Employees attitudes toward flexible working hours in Lithuanian and Norwegian tourism enterprises. Aim of the paper. To compare employees attitude towards flexible working hours in Lithuanian and Norwegian tourism enterprises. Paper objectives: 1. To provide the theoretical analysis of the implementation of various types of flexible working patterns in tourism enterprises. 2. To describe the factors which are essential in the implementation of flexible working hours in the tourism sector companies. 3. To compare the employees attitudes towards flexible working hours in Lithuanian and Norwegian tourism enterprises. 4. To formulate the model of the implementation of flexible working hours in tourism enterprises. This paper consist of three parts. The first part presents the link... [to full text]

The implications of introducing shift work and flexible working hours into the UK clothing industry were examined, with special reference to the effects on personnel, plant utilisation and garment costs. A total of 37 garment manufacturing establishments, within 17 companies, were visited; 91 managers (for production and economic data)and 1018 supervisors and operatives, 87% female and 13% male, (for social data) were consulted. The main points arising from the survey are:- 1 . Social (i) The average age and length of service of respondents were respectively 30.4 and 7.1 for women and 40 and 13.9 for men. Nearly three fifths were married and over half of the women had children, most of them at school or pre-school stage. (ii) Over four fifths were committed to some kind of housework; 3 to 5 hours between 17.00 and 24.00 hours were usually spent on this task but about 9% spent more than 5 hours on it. (iii) Over half would be very much bothered by the inability to carry on their individual and/or group social activities. About two thirds would also be concerned by a change in the period of and time for sleep and meal times. Nearly two fifths used public transport for the journey to work. (iv) Only 15% had worked on multiple shifts previous to their present employment and 16% left their previous job because of being on shifts or unsuitable hours. About one fifth worked currently part-time and only 13% wanted to change their existing working system so that they might gain extra convenience and leisure in their working life. (v) The unsolicited personal choice of working systems were mainly shifts (13%), flexible working hours (14%) and part-time day work (30%); working only in school hours appeared to attract the choice of about 40% of the women. (vi) From the points above, it seemed that a high proportion of married female workers, mostly with dependent children and committed to housework, would probably react against shift work. The availability of part-time work together with the normal day work habit acquired would also affect the employees' attitudes towards the acceptance of even flexible working hours. 2. Production (i) The main problems involved with introducing shift work were considered to be sharing of equipment, bonus and piece rate payment and responsibility for quality failures. Dislike of sharing machines by operatives was considered to be a severe problem in sewing section and the extent of this dislike seemed higher in traditional rather than non traditional clothing areas; the operatives' age and length of service appeared to affect their attitudes. The smaller the period of time for each job then the less the problem of sharing payment and responsibility could become. (ii) Introduction of flexible working hours could create the difficulties of shortage and/or excess of supply of work within the production flow with interdependent operations; the extent of the problem could vary with the amount of work in progress and the period of time spent by each operative on the garment and/or its parts. Economic (i) Garment cost elements are material, labour, variable and fixed overheads (survey averages 50.6%, 24.9%, 8% and 16.5%), of which labour and variable overheads would be affected by introducing multiple shifts and only fixed overheads by flexible working hours. There should be a decrease in variable overheads per garment because of sharing a fixed amount of cost between shifts, an increase in labour cost due to shift premium and an increase in fixed overheads because of longer opening hours of the plant on flexible working hours. (ii) The capital employed on plant and machinery, C, could often be divided by the number of shifts so that this could help to increase profitability by a factor of 2 or 3. (iii) General formulae were established, using the most relevant variables, for calculating the profitability and profitability ratios of different working schemes. Generally, if the number of shifts are increased then the profitability of the plant could be very greatly increased. This was well illustrated from the calculated profitability ratios of about 2 and 3 respectively, when industrial survey values were used, for 2 and 3 shift systems replacing a single shift system. Profitability of flexible working hours would, theoretically, be less than that of single shift, but there might be some economic gains, such as reduced rates of labour turnover and absenteeism (which are currently high in the garment industry), arising from the introduction of flexible working hours.

Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka om nyttjandet av flexibel arbetstid predicerar inrearbetsmotivation. En webbaserad enkätundersökning innehållande 28 frågor skickades ut till152 tjänstemän i en offentlig organisation, totalt deltog 80 respondenter i undersökningen. Föratt mäta inre arbetsmotivation användes Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction at Work (BPNS-W) skalan som mäter autonomi, kompetens och samhörighet och är baserad på self-determination theory (SDT). Resultatet visade att nyttjandet av flexibel arbetstid signifikant predicerar dimensionerna autonomi, kompetens och samhörighet som leder till inrearbetsmotivation. Studiens slutsats vara att nyttjandet av flexibel arbetstid kan predicera inrearbetsmotivation i viss grad. / The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the use of flexible working hourspredicts intrinsic work motivation. A web-based survey containing 28 questions was sent to152 officials in a public organization, a total of 80 respondents participated in the survey. Tomeasure intrinsic work motivation, the Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction at Work(BPNS-W) scale was used. It contains measures of autonomy, competence and relatednessand is based on self-determination theory (SDT). The results showed that the use of flexibleworking hours significantly predicts the dimensions of autonomy, competence and relatednessthat lead to intrinsic work motivation. The conclusion of the study was that the use of flexibleworking hours can predict intrinsic work motivation to some extent.

The implications of introducing shift work and flexible working hours into the UK clothing industry were examined, with special reference to the effects on personnel, plant utilisation and garment costs. A total of 37 garment manufacturing establishments, within 17 companies, were visited; 91 managers (for production and economic data)and 1018 supervisors and operatives, 87% female and 13% male, (for social data) were consulted. The main points arising from the survey are:- 1 . Social (i) The average age and length of service of respondents were respectively 30.4 and 7.1 for women and 40 and 13.9 for men. Nearly three fifths were married and over half of the women had children, most of them at school or pre-school stage. (ii) Over four fifths were committed to some kind of housework; 3 to 5 hours between 17.00 and 24.00 hours were usually spent on this task but about 9% spent more than 5 hours on it. (iii) Over half would be very much bothered by the inability to carry on their individual and/or group social activities. About two thirds would also be concerned by a change in the period of and time for sleep and meal times. Nearly two fifths used public transport for the journey to work. (iv) Only 15% had worked on multiple shifts previous to their present employment and 16% left their previous job because of being on shifts or unsuitable hours. About one fifth worked currently part-time and only 13% wanted to change their existing working system so that they might gain extra convenience and leisure in their working life. (v) The unsolicited personal choice of working systems were mainly shifts (13%), flexible working hours (14%) and part-time day work (30%); working only in school hours appeared to attract the choice of about 40% of the women. (vi) From the points above, it seemed that a high proportion of married female workers, mostly with dependent children and committed to housework, would probably react against shift work. The availability of part-time work together with the normal day work habit acquired would also affect the employees' attitudes towards the acceptance of even flexible working hours. 2. Production (i) The main problems involved with introducing shift work were considered to be sharing of equipment, bonus and piece rate payment and responsibility for quality failures. Dislike of sharing machines by operatives was considered to be a severe problem in sewing section and the extent of this dislike seemed higher in traditional rather than non traditional clothing areas; the operatives' age and length of service appeared to affect their attitudes. The smaller the period of time for each job then the less the problem of sharing payment and responsibility could become. (ii) Introduction of flexible working hours could create the difficulties of shortage and/or excess of supply of work within the production flow with interdependent operations; the extent of the problem could vary with the amount of work in progress and the period of time spent by each operative on the garment and/or its parts. Economic (i) Garment cost elements are material, labour, variable and fixed overheads (survey averages 50.6%, 24.9%, 8% and 16.5%), of which labour and variable overheads would be affected by introducing multiple shifts and only fixed overheads by flexible working hours. There should be a decrease in variable overheads per garment because of sharing a fixed amount of cost between shifts, an increase in labour cost due to shift premium and an increase in fixed overheads because of longer opening hours of the plant on flexible working hours. (ii) The capital employed on plant and machinery, C, could often be divided by the number of shifts so that this could help to increase profitability by a factor of 2 or 3. (iii) General formulae were established, using the most relevant variables, for calculating the profitability and profitability ratios of different working schemes. Generally, if the number of shifts are increased then the profitability of the plant could be very greatly increased. This was well illustrated from the calculated profitability ratios of about 2 and 3 respectively, when industrial survey values were used, for 2 and 3 shift systems replacing a single shift system. Profitability of flexible working hours would, theoretically, be less than that of single shift, but there might be some economic gains, such as reduced rates of labour turnover and absenteeism (which are currently high in the garment industry), arising from the introduction of flexible working hours. / Iranian Ministry of Science and Higher Education and Teheran Polytechnic

This thesis deals with the issue of working time, as one of the main aspects of work. The goal of this thesis is to analyze the working time in concrete marketing company. The theoretical part introduces the issue and summarizes the basic knowledge of literature. In the practical part the company system of flexible working hours is being analyzed in detail. The aim is to analyze the behavior of employees in relation to working time and to recommend appropriate further steps for the company. This analysis should be useful particularly for managers and for HR department.

Work-life balance, balans mellan arbetsliv och privatliv, har intresserat forskare under de senaste decennierna och flertalet studier har gjorts på ämnet. Olika perspektiv har tagits i beaktning, såväl individinriktade som organisatoriska. Denna studie belyser de mönster och faktorer som kan urskiljas och påverkar chefers work-life balance. Studien bygger på 14 kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer med chefer inom olika branscher. Intervjuerna behandlade chefernas upplevelser av balans mellan arbetsliv och privatliv och en tematisk analys genomfördes på det insamlade materialet. Resultatet visar att chefer i relativt hög grad upplever balans mellan arbetsliv och privatliv men balansen tycks gå i vågor av perioder av stress och hög arbetsbelastning. Studien finner inga tydliga könsskillnader angående chefernas sätt att skapa balans. Däremot lyfter intervjupersonerna problematiken kring kvinnors dubbla arbete, i förvärvsarbete och hem. Slutligen kan det konstateras att arbetsuppgifternas karaktär, det flexibla arbetet och förmågan att sätta gränser mellan de olika livsdomänerna, konflikter mellan olika sociala roller, såväl som det sociala stödet och kraven som cheferna upplever är de faktorer som påverkar balansen mellan arbetsliv och privatliv i högst grad. / Work-life balance, the balance between work and private life, has been interesting researchers over the last decades, and several studies has been conducted in the field. Different perspectives have been considered, both individual and organizational. This study highlights the patterns and factors that affect managers' work-life balance. The study is based on 14 qualitative semi-structured interviews with managers in different industries. The interviews covered the managers’ experiences of work-life balance and a thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. The results show that managers experience a relatively high level of work-life balance, but the balance seems to fluctuate in periods of stress and high workload. The study finds no clear gender differences regarding the managers’ way of creating balance. Although the respondents raise their attention to the issue regarding women’s double workload, both at work and at home. Finally, it can be noted that the nature of the tasks, the flexible working hours, the ability to set limits between the life domains, the conflict between different roles, as well as social support, and the demands the managers face are the factors that influence the balance between work and private life the most.