Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A Look Into the Future: Is Working Time Freedom Apt to Add Value for Different Stakeholders?

A Discussion with Experts in the Field

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Human Resource Management Practices

Part of the book series: Management for Professionals ((MANAGPROF))

Abstract

A potential future scenario in the field of working time flexibilization is that input control (recording working hours) will be replaced by output control (recording goal achievement). The underlying work time model is referred to as ‘working time freedom’ or ‘results-only work environment’ (ROWE). The implementation of working time freedom presupposes a collective effort to change the organizational culture so that employee control over the time, timing, and location of their work becomes the norm for all or a large group of employees at all levels of the occupational hierarchy. Traditional attempts to flexibilize working hours (such as part-time work, telecommuting, compressed work weeks), by contrast, rely on individual agreements with select employees and require a supervisors’ permission as a basic principle. ROWE has so far been implemented in few companies in the US, but rarely in Europe due to legal restrictions. This chapter discusses functional and dysfunctional effects of a ROWE for different stakeholders based on first empirical evidence, theoretical models and expert interviews. While the added value of working time freedom is deemed to be positive, several management practices are outlined as prerequisites for its success.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Note: This means that employees are blamed for their bad time management and an overly investment in low-value work.

References

  • Andresen, M. (2009). Das (Un-)Glück der Arbeitszeitfreiheit. Eine ökonomisch-psychologische Analyse und Bewertung. Wiesbaden: Gabler.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Appelbaum, E., Bailey, T., Berg, P., & Kalleberg, A. (2000). Manufacturing advantage. Why high performance work systems pay off. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arthur, M. B., & Rousseau, D. M. (Eds.). (1996). The boundaryless career: A new employment principle for a new organizational era. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baruch, Y., & Hall, D. (2004). The academic career: A model for future careers in other sectors? Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 64(2), 241–262. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2002.11.002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brotheridge, C. M., & Lee, R. T. (2002). Testing a conservation of resources model of the dynamics of emotional labor. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 7, 57–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Correll, S. J., Kelly, E. L., Trimble-O’Connor, L., & Williams, J. (2014). Redesigning, redefining work. Work & Occupations, 41(1), 3–17. doi:10.1177/0730888413515250.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Cuyper, N., Mäkikangas, A., Kinnunen, U., Mauno, S., & De Witte, H. (2012). Cross-lagged associations between perceived external employability, job insecurity, and exhaustion: Testing gain and loss spirals according to the Conservation of Resources Theory. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 33(6), 770–788. doi:10.1002/job.1800.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • European Commission (2014). Working conditions – Working time directive. http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId = 706&langId = en&intPageId =205. Accessed 21 April 2014.

  • Hackman, J. R., & Oldham, G. R. (1980). Work redesign. Reading: Addison-Wesley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hakanen, J. J., Bakker, A. B., & Jokisaari, M. (2011). A 35-year follow-up study on burnout among Finnish employees. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 16, 345–360.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hill, R., Tranby, E., Kelly, E. L., & Moen, P. (2013). Relieving the time squeeze? Effects of a white-collar workplace change on parents. Journal of Marriage and Family, 75, 1014–1029.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hobfoll, S. E. (1989). Conservation of resources: A new attempt at conceptualizing stress. American Psychologist, 44, 513–524. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.44.3.513.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hobfoll, S. E. (2001). The influence of culture, community, and the nested-self in the stress process: Advancing conservation of resources theory. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 50, 337–370. doi:10.1111/1464-0597.00062.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hobfoll, S. E. (2002). Social and psychological resources and adaptation. Review of General Psychology, 6, 307–324.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kelly, E. L., & Moen, P. (2007). Rethinking the clockwork of work: Why schedule control may pay off at work and home. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 9(4), 487–506. doi:10.1177/1523422307305489.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kelly, E. L., Moen, P., & Tranby, E. (2011). Changing workplaces to reduce work-family conflict: Schedule control in a white-collar organization. American Sociological Review, 76, 265–290. doi:10.1177/0003122411400056.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kelly, E. L., Moen, P., Oakes, M. J., Fan, W., Okechukwu, C., Davis, K. D., Hammer, L., Kossek, E., King, R. B., Hanson, G., Mierzwa, F., & Casper, L. (2014). Changing work and work-family conflict: Evidence from the work, family, and health network. American Sociological Review, 79, 485–516.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kratzer, N. (2013). Added value durch Arbeitszeit-Freiheit? Munich: ISF (Unpublished manuscript).

    Google Scholar 

  • Landers, R. M., Rebitzer, J. B., & Taylor, L. J. (1996). Rat race redux: Adverse selection in the determination of work hours in law firms. The American Economic Review, 86(3), 329–348.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moen, P. (2009). Work-life fit and the life course. Sloan Work and Family Research Network News, 11(9). http://www.flexiblework.umn.edu/MoenSloan_Network_News_InterviewSept-2009.pdf.

  • Moen, P., Kelly, E. L., & Huang, Q. (2008). Work, family and life-course fit: Does control over work time matter? Journal of Vocational Behavior, 73, 414–425. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2008.08.002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moen, P., Kelly, E. L., & Chermack, K. (2009). Learning from a natural experiment: Studying a corporate work-time policy initiative. In A. C. Crouter & A. Booth (Eds.), Work-life policies that make a real difference for individuals, families, and organizations (pp. 97–131). Washington, DC: Urban Institute Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moen, P., Kelly, E. L., & Hill, R. (2011a). Does enhancing work-time control and flexibility reduce turnover? A naturally occurring experiment. Social Problems, 58(1), 69–98. doi:10.1525/sp.2011.58.1.69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moen, P., Kelly, E. L., Tranby, E., & Huang, Q. (2011b). Changing work, changing health: Can real work-time flexibility promote health behaviors and well-being? Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 52, 404–429. doi:10.1177/0022146511418979.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moen, P., Fan, W., & Kelly, E. L. (2013a). Team-level flexibility, work-home spillover, and health behavior. Social Science & Medicine, 84, 69–79. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.02.011.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moen, P., Kelly, E. L., & Lam, J. (2013b). Healthy work revisited: Do changes in time strain predict well-being? Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 18, 157–172. doi:10.1037/a0031804.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Munz, E. (2006). Mehr Balance durch selbst gesteuerte Arbeitszeiten? WSI-Mitteilungen, 59(9), 478–484.

    Google Scholar 

  • Musselin, C. (2009). The markets for academics. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oldham, G. R., & Hackman, J. R. (2010). Not what it was and not what it will be: The future of job design research. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 31(2–3), 463–479. doi:10.1002/job.678.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perlow, L. A., & Kelly, E. L. (2014). Toward a model of work redesign for better work and better life. Work & Occupations, 41(1), 111–134. doi:10.1177/0730888413516473.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reisch, L. A. (2002). Ist das Thema Zeitwohlstand theoriefähig? Plädoyer für einen theoriegeleiteten Zeitwohlstandsdiskurs. In J. Rinderspacher (Ed.), Zeitwohlstand. Ein Konzept für einen anderen Wohlstand der Nation (pp. 37–57). Berlin: Edition Sigma.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ressler, C., & Thompson, J. (2008). Why work sucks and how to fix it: No schedules, no meetings, no joke – The simple change that can make your job terrific. New York: Penguin Group.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steinke, M., & Badura, B. (2011). Präsentismus: Ein Review zum Stand der Forschung. Dortmund: Bundesanstalt für Arbeitsschutz und Arbeitsmedizin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, J. (2013). Added value of results-only work environments. Minneapolis (Unpublished manuscript)

    Google Scholar 

  • Wagner, A. (2000a). Arbeiten ohne Ende? Über die Arbeitszeiten hochqualifizierter Angestellter. Jahrbuch des Institut für Arbeit und Technik 1999/2000 (pp. 258–275). Gelsenkirchen: IAT.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wagner, A. (2000b). Arbeitszeitwirklichkeit von (hoch-)qualifizierten Angestellten. In S. Pfahl (Ed.), Moderne Arbeitszeiten für qualifizierte Angestellte? Projektarbeit und Termine (pp. 9–22). Bonn: Hans-Böckler-Stiftung.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wagner, H. (2013). Added value von Arbeitszeitfreiheit und Vertrauensarbeitszeit. Frankfurt: IG Metall (Unpublished manuscript).

    Google Scholar 

  • Wright, T. A., & Hobfoll, S. E. (2004). Commitment, psychological well-being and job performance: An examination of conservation of resources (COR) theory and job burnout. Journal of Business and Management, 9, 389–406.

    Google Scholar 

  • Xanthopoulou, D., Bakker, A. B., Demerouti, E., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2009). Reciprocal relationships between job resources, personal resources, and work engagement. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 74(3), 235–244. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2008.11.003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Human Resource Management, University of Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany

    Maike Andresen

Authors
  1. Maike Andresen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maike Andresen .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Human Resource Management, University of Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany

    Maike Andresen

  2. Leoni AG, Nuremberg, Germany

    Christian Nowak

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Andresen, M. (2015). A Look Into the Future: Is Working Time Freedom Apt to Add Value for Different Stakeholders?. In: Andresen, M., Nowak, C. (eds) Human Resource Management Practices. Management for Professionals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08186-1_7

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation