Information Gathering/Findings
This report`s aim is to look into the possible impacts that work-life flexibility will bring along when replacing work life balance in future workplaces. The report will specifically unearth the likely effects of employees, human resource management and leaders and managers within such work settings. The report`s structure will include a brief demystification of today`s and future workplaces, short highlight of work life flexibility and work-life balance and the various impacts of such a shift on the employees themselves, human resource management and leaders and managers. Conclusions and recommendations will then follow. The key proposition in this report is that future workplaces will tag along with a shift from work-life balance to work-life flexibility, and it will have consequent implications for workers, human resource management, and managers.
Today`s workplace is featured by huge stress amounts for employees, and the stress may cause poor quality of work, morale challenges, poor productivity, health problems, employee absenteeism, accidents and others (Channuwong, 2009). This means that today`s worker is facing immense challenges that touch on their health and work performance. However, such problems have been managed quite successfully by various firms. In the recent years, the possession of strategic labor management skills was recognized to be most paramount (Carolina & Paulo, 2014). As such, a majority of entities have tried to mitigate this by introducing strategic labor management for managers’ programs. Additionally, employee training contributes significantly in increasing employee performance and consequently the overall performance of the whole entity (Kramar, et al., 2014). This implies that many organizations are increasingly designing employee training programs to optimize employees` performance and lower the above-mentioned challenges.
The workplace has experienced some dramatic transformations over the years, and that future predications will be highly attributed to advanced technology (Melissa, 2016). This means that future workplaces will be highly shaped by advancements in technology especially in IT. Many entities will be using modern technology in their operations, increased embrace of work life flexibility like part-time working and shift work among others. There is an increasing popularity of flexible working conditions in today`s economies and legislated in many nations (Jayasekara, 2011).
Work life balance depicts the connection between ones work and other commitments in life and the way they influence each other (SafeWorkSA, 2012). This means that there exists a relationship between an individual`s work and his or her other personal life commitments. A majority of individuals strive to balance job and other domestic responsibilities like looking after children, physically challenged family members, elderly parents, finding time to study, recreation and volunteering among others (SafeWorkSA, 2012). This implies that it is quite challenging for workers to balance such commitments with work demands.
Implications of work-life flexibility for employees
Work life flexibility refers to the situation whereby an employee has flexible working patterns which allow them adequate time to execute other life commitments. Such flexible working life patterns include part-time, overtime, job sharing, compressed hours, flexitime, term-time working and shift work among others (Acas, 2015). Benefits of flexible working patterns include a highly motivated workforce, a more productive and efficacious organization, increased retention of valuable personnel, attracting a huge pool of applicants to fill vacancies, lowered levels of sickness, stress and absence, increased customer loyalty and improved customer service and suitable working hours for the entity , its workers and its customers (Acas, 2015). Additionally, flexible work arrangements are meant to be a strategic tool for attracting, retaining and motivating workers for enhanced competition (Hyland, Rowsome, & Rowsome, 2005). These are the key factors behind its anticipated embrace in the future workplaces.
Flexible work life is beneficial to employees. Flexible working may assist in improving the well-being and health of employees and lower absenteeism, improve performance and develop employee loyalty and engagement (Acas, 2015). This implies that workers will get enough time to take care of their health, enhance their service delivery and even be more loyal to the employer. The work engagement of such workers will be high too. The most remarkable and compelling attributes of peak performing employees include their energy, enthusiasm and emotional commitment to deliver (Kartzenbach, 2000). This means that the three attributes will be more exhibited by employees who work under flexible work patterns.
Part-time work has implications for the worker. It is the most common flexible working type in many entities. Part time jobs are usually highly associated with family responsibilities (Dex., Shirley, & Erzsebet., 2012). Additionally, entities will have to design highly family friendly policies (Bashir & Ramay, 2008). This means that the employees can get enough time to take care of their domestic affairs. For instance, get adequate time to spend with their families; look after their children and their parents among others. However, part-time working does not earn the worker as much money as a full-time job would.
Overtime working impacts on the worker. It can either be voluntary or compulsory (Acas, 2015). This means that at times an employee can be compelled to work overtime depending on the demands of the job and peak aspects. Some organizations pay for overtime while others do not. As such, for employees who work unpaid overtime feel wasted, fatigued and demoralized at the end of the day. However, individuals working overtime could ask for extra holiday pay (Begum, 2014). This means that such workers may earn much cash based on an agreement with the employer. Unpaid overtime is a noticeable and increasing aspect within the Australian labor market, and it leads to adverse effects on the living and working conditions of workers and their families (Campell, 2002). Moreover, Australians usually work over two billion hours of unpaid overtime (Ged, 2017). As such, many workers are experiencing deplorable living conditions, and this will continue in the future.
Implications for HRM
Shift work brings along significant effects for the employee. It normally involves one worker replacing another in doing the same job in a 24 hour period (Acas, 2015). This implies that there exists a great chance that such firms are operating 24 hours a day. Long shifts may cause sleepiness and consequently low performance (Short, Agostini, Lushington, & Dorrian, 2015). This implies that when organizations design work shifts which are long it is more likely that the responsible workers will be working for long hours before they replace one another. As such, they will be exhausted by the end of the shift. The free time in between the next shift may also be less. Because of this, the employee may not have enough rest time before reporting for duty. This consequently causes the worker to feel sleepy during work, and hence it translates into lowered performance.
Shift work also provides ample time for the employee. This means that such workers are allowed enough time to do their things away from work. Such time may be utilized in taking care of their families, visiting friends and doing shopping among other activities. Shift working parents have increased relationship intimacy with their children (Davis, Crouter, & McHale, 2006). Based on this, such parents are better placed to spend adequate time in bonding with their families especially their spouses and children. This promotes good intimate ties in the family and gives the parents the morale to work to make the living standards of their families better.
Today human resource has a pivotal role (Alexis, 2017). This means that human input is indispensable and is essential in the human resource management. It will even be more crucial in the future workplace. Australian HRM strategies encompass empowered leadership style coupled with creative and integrated human resource (Compton, 2009). Based on this, innovation and empowerment are of the essence when engineering human resource management. It gives the firm a competitive edge.
Overtime impacts the human resource management quite significantly. Human resource management will have to design compensation and benefits strategies. Such strategies must suit the needs and demands of the employees working overtime. The planning should be such that short-term workforce shortages are fully addressed. This will be done without the need to employ extra staff members.
Job sharing has quite some implications on the human resource management. Two or more individuals share the duties of a full-time job and share the benefits and are paid proportionally according to hours worked (Acas, 2015). This means that such employees split what they earn proportionally. They may work split weeks, days or even alternate weeks (Acas, 2015). This is based on mutual consensus between such employees. The human resource may need to conduct extra induction and training (Acas, 2015). This implies that the organization will have to incur additional costs in taking the two or more workers through an induction and even training them to perform their duties efficaciously.
Implications for Leaders and Managers
Compressed hours are impactful too. It involves beginning early and or completing late to create extra hours which can be taken as a day or half day break away from work (Acas, 2015). This allows such workers some free time. The human resource management will be able to recruit workers, staff retention and instill fewer measures to curb absenteeism (Acas, 2015). The fewer steps to manage employee absenteeism are as a result of the lowered chances of workers failing to report to work. There will be programs to ensure staff retention since those working compressed hours are remarkably productive.
Shift work influences the way human resource operate. This is, particularly in the labor expenses. Since shift work involves double employees, the human resource management will have to establish policies and strategies to lower the increased wages and labor costs. Such strategies will consider the amount of work done and the necessity of such work and then engineer the most suitable strategies to manage such labor.
Part time work remarkably shapes the way human resource management function. Human resource develops multiple packages of practices and policies to suit both the part-time and full-time employee groups based on their needs and motivations (David, 2005). As such, the packages which include benefits and compensation systems are created such that they satisfactorily address the demands of the two groups. This is geared towards establishing a balance between the two.
Management role involves assuming responsibility for the efficacious performance and functioning of a team and its work output (Agate, 2017). This implies that managers are chiefly charged with the responsibility of facilitating a performing team and hence increased productivity.
Job sharing weighs quite heavily on managers. Managers have increased responsibility in allocating duties fairly and promoting effective communication between the job sharers (Acas, 2015). Based on this, it means that the leaders or the managers in charge of the employees have to prepare justifiable, fair, transparent, credible and workable duty rota for the workers who are job sharers.
The parties involved have to be contented with the allocation of duties. As such, the managers have to be wise and exercise equality in doing so.
Shift work directs some impacts to leaders and managers. Normally, shift work needs more workers. As a result, managers will need to prepare shift rotas which promote flexible response to peaks and off peaks (Acas, 2015). The managers have to be diligent when preparing the rotas to ensure that they suit to increased demands for workforce during peak times and reduced demands for workforce during off peaks.
Conclusion and Recommendations
Conclusion
Today`s workplace is a reflection of future workplaces. However, future workplaces will be highly sophisticated due to development in technology, and this will cause a shift from work-life balance to work-life flexibility. Some of the key flexible work patterns include part-time, shift work, job sharing, compressed hours, flexitime, overtime, and term-time working.
Work-life flexibility is advantageous to the employees in some ways. For instance, improved health due to good rest, workers get ample time to attend to other life commitments and earn extra money among others. However, it presents challenges too, for example, lower earning in the case of unpaid overtime and fatigue when in long shifts.
Flexible work patterns present opportunities to human resource management too. It can cut down labor and recruitment costs and retain workers in cases of overtime and compressed hours respectively. However, the challenge for human resource is to design suitable compensation and benefits strategies and to mitigate increased labor costs.
Leaders and managers are affected by the adoption of work-life flexibility. They have to prepare fair and responsive duty rotas and also promote efficacious communication between the employees.
They include:
- There needs to be structures and systems in organizations to embrace versatile job frameworks.
- Leaders and managers have to be trained on how best to handle flexible work patterns with minimal if any, friction.
- The human resource management should design policies, compensation and benefits systems and packages which are competitive yet reasonable.
References
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Kartzenbach, J. (2000). Peak Performance: Aligning the Hearts and Minds of Your Employees. Harvard Business Press.
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Melissa, S. (2016). Ways The Workplace Will Look Different in the Future-Business Insider. Retrieved from www.businessinsider.com/ways-the-workplace-will-look-different-in-the-future-2016-1
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