Bringing the “right to request” flexible working arrangements to life: from policies to practices
| Date | 03 August 2015 |
| Published date | 03 August 2015 |
| Pages | 568-581 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-07-2014-0085 |
| Author | Rae Cooper,Marian Baird |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Industrial/labour relations |
Bringing the “right to request”
flexible working arrangements
to life: from policies to practices
Rae Cooper and Marian Baird
University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to understand how the “right to request”flexible working
arrangements (FWAs), located in national policy and in organisational policy contexts, are brought to
life in the workplace by employees and their managers. The authors seek to understand the nature and
content of requests, the process followed in attending to requests, the scope of the arrangements which
resulted and the implications for the work of both employees and managers.
Design/methodology/approach –The authors employ a case study method, investigating how
formal “right to request”FWAs policies translate to practice within two large companies in Australia.
The primary data focuses on 66 in-depth interviews with line managers, employees and key
organisational informants. These interviews are triangulated with legislative, company and union
policy documents.
Findings –Most requests were made by mothers returning from maternity leave. Typically their
requests involved an attempt to move from full-time to part-time hours. The authors found a
considerable knowledge deficit among the employees making requests and a high level of informality
in the processing of requests. As a result, managers played a critical role in structuring both the
procedure and the substantive outcomes of FWAs requests. Managers’personal experience and levels
of commitment to FWAs were critical in the process, but their response was constrained by, among
other things, conflicting organisational policies.
Research limitations/implications –The scale of the empirical research is possibly limited by a
focus on large companies in the private sector.
Practical implications –The authors provide insight into the implementation gap between FWA
policy and practice. The authors make suggestions as to how to make “right to request”policies more
accessible and effective.
Social implications –The “right to request”flexible working is an issue of critical importance to
families, employees, managers, organisations and economies.
Originality/value –“Right to request”FWAs are relatively new in legislation and policy and thus the
authors have an incomplete understanding of how they operate and come to life at the workplace level.
The authors show a significant implementation gap between policy and practice and point to some of
the critical influences on this. Among other things, the authors build new insight in relation to the
interaction of formal and informal and the role and place of the direct manager in the process of
operationalising the “right to request”.
Keywords Government policy, Industrial relations, Line managers, Flexible labour, Family roles
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Policies enabling the introduction of flexible working arrangements (commonly
referred to as FWAs) spring primarily from the need for employees to engage both in
paid employment and to undertake family roles. Recognising the political potency
of the work and family clash, governments, including in Australia in 2010 and earlier in
Employee Relations
Vol. 37 No. 5, 2015
pp. 568-581
©Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/ER-07-2014-0085
Received 29 July 2014
Revised 7 October 2014
Accepted 4 November 2014
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0142-5455.htm
The authors acknowledge the support of an Australian Research Council, Discovery Grant
(DP120100125). Laura Good and Nicole Cini provided research assistance on the project.
568
ER
37,5
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