Flexible working in the public sector – a case of inflexibility: senior managers' experiences
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-08-2020-0379 |
| Published date | 21 April 2022 |
| Date | 21 April 2022 |
| Pages | 1273-1289 |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Industrial/labour relations,Employment law |
| Author | Joan Amanda Ballantine,Tony Wall,Anne Marie Ward |
Flexible working in the public
sector –a case of inflexibility:
senior managers’experiences
Joan Amanda Ballantine, Tony Wall and Anne Marie Ward
Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics, Ulster University,
Newtownabbey, UK
Abstract
Purpose–The public sectoris often consideredthevanguard in termsof the availabilityandpromotionof flexible
workingarrangements(FWAs).Despitethis, littleis known about howsenior managersin the publicsector engage
with FWAs. This paper aims to address this gap, reporting o n a number of issues, including the reality of FWAs,
the existence of a flexibility stigma and whether this is gendered, and the drivers influencing the uptake of FWAs.
Design/methodology/approach –Theoretical insights of flexibility stigma from the literature and data
from semi-structuredinterviews with senior managers in the Northern Ireland Civil Service explore the realities
of FWAs at this level.
Findings –The findings indicate a decoupling between the rhetoric and reality of FWAs, with few senior
managers availing of such arrangements. The authors also identify a complex web of issues that constrain
senior managers’agency in shaping a positive culture of FWAs at senior management level in the Civil Service,
including an inherent resistance to flexibility, a lack of visible role models and negative perceptions around
progression. The findings also indicate deeply held perceptions among senior males and females that availing
of FWAs is associated with a flexibility stigma. These perceptions were confirmed by the small number of
senior females with caring responsibilities who were availing of FWAs.
Research limitations/implications –The paper provides senior managers and human re source
practitioners with insights into the difficulties associated with wide-scale FWA availability and use at
senior levels of the Civil Service.
Originality/value –The findings of the study offer valuable insights into the experience of senior managers
in the public sector as they engage with FWAs. The study, therefore, contributes to the limited literature in
this area.
Keywords Flexible working arrangements, Public sector, Civil Service, Flexibility stigma, Senior managers
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Theissueofwork–family conflict has received considerable attention in the literature over the
past two decades (Byron, 2005;Shockley et al., 2017). Describing a situation in which the
demands or pressures from the work and family domains are incompatible with each other
(Greenhaus and Beutell, 1985),work–family conflict has been associated with a range of negative
outcomes, including burnout, a lack of job satisfaction and occupational well-being (Blanch and
Aluga, 2012;Dishon-Berkovits, 2014). Flexibleworking arrangements (FWAs) are increasingly
being used by organisations as a means of enabling workers to reconcile work and family
commitments (Cooper and Baird, 2015;Chung and van der Lippe, 2020). Defined“as any o ne of a
spectrum of work structures that alters the time and/or place that work gets done on a regular
basis”(Workplace Flexibility, 2006, 2010, p. 1), FWAs enable employees to exercise control over
either the timing (i.e. when) or location (i.e. where) of their work (Kelly et al., 2011). With respect to
flexibility over the timing of work, FWAs provide for “flexibilityintheschedulingofhours
worked”(e.g. flexitime, compressed hours) or “flexibility in the amount of hours worked, such as
part-timework and job-shares”(Workplace Flexibil ity,2006, 2010, p. 1). Flexi bilityover place of
Flexible
working in the
public sector
1273
The authors wish to acknowledge the generous funding to support this research received from the
former Office of the Minister and Deputy First Minister, Northern Ireland.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/0142-5455.htm
Received 12 August 2020
Revised 30 July 2021
17 February 2022
Accepted 24 March 2022
Employee Relations: The
International Journal
Vol. 44 No. 6, 2022
pp. 1273-1289
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/ER-08-2020-0379
work, on the other hand, relates to the physical location of work, such as working at home or at a
satellite location (Houghton et al.,2018).While this typeof flexibilityhas become more prevalent
recently due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this stud y focuses on flexibility of timing only.
Despitean increasein the provisionof FWAs in organisations, uptakeby employees hasbeen
demonstrated to be problematic,and simply having sucharrangements inplace does not mean
that employees will avail of them (Stone and Hernandez, 2013;Williams et al., 2013,2017;Chung,
2020). Additionally, reflecting their complexity, mixed messages emanate from the literature
regarding the benefits of FWAs. Thus, while some studies identify benefits to workers using
FWAs (Kim and Wiggins,2011), others find that those who avail of them are stigmatised and
penalised (Williams et al., 2013). Furthermore, while some studies report that the stigma
surrounding FWAs predominately affects women, others identify that it affects both sexes
(Rudman and Mescher, 2013). It is also claimed that the problems associated with FWAs affect
lower-level workers since seniorworkers have more control over their work schedules (Kossek
et al.,2005), and that senior roles cannot be accommodated on a flexible basis (Williams et al.,
2013). An explanation for the inconsistencies reported is provided by Williams et al. (2013) who
claim that flexibility stigma differs for stratified classes of work and the triggers for and
consequences of stigma differ across classes (Reskin and Padavic, 2002). Therefore,the findings
of a study on a particular class may not begeneralisable to the working population.
While a number of studies provide insights on the realities of FWAs and the existence of a
flexibility stigma within private sector organisations (e.g. Onken-Menke et al., 2018), fewer
studies investigate the experiences of public sector workers at senior levels (Hall and
Atkinson, 2006;McDonald et al., 2008;Colley, 2010), specifically those employed in the Civil
Service, a significant public sector employer [1]. This is surprising as the public sector is
perceived at be at the forefront of the promotion of FWAs and a better work–life balance
(Kim and Wiggins, 2011). This study addresses this gap by drawing on data from 50
interviews with senior managers employed in the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS). In
doing so, the study contributes to the literature by reporting on the realities of FWAs at senior
levels in the public sector. The study has a number of aims. First, to provide insights into the
realities of FWAs for senior managers in the public sector. Second, to investigate if a
flexibility stigma exists in the public sector, including whether it is a gendered issue. Finally,
to provide insights on the drivers influencing the uptake of FWAs at senior levels of the
public sector. Insights from this research should inform human resources (HR) policymaking
in respect of the design of public sector senior roles to ensure they are fit for purpose for
today’s workforce, and that the principles of equality and fairness are not inadvertently being
undermined. The remainder of the paper is structured as follows. In the next section, we
review the literature on FWAs and flexibility stigma, including that related to gender. We
then present a discussion of the research methodology before outlining the study’s findings.
Finally, we draw conclusions and identify implications of the research.
Flexible work arrangements and flexibility stigma
Flexible working has been shown to be beneficial in terms of contributing to a better work–
life balance, increased productivity, reduction in workplace stress and improved job
satisfaction by addressing work and personal life conflicts (Kim and Wiggins, 2011;
DeSivatte and Guadamillas, 2013;Chung, 2019;Chung and van der Lippe, 2020). A body of
research has investigated the drivers that impact the uptake of FWAs. Drawing on Kelly and
Kalev’s (2006) notion of a decoupling of policy and practice, Cooper and Baird (2015) reported
a“significant implementation gap”(p. 568) between flexible working policy and practice
within two large Australian private sector organisations, potentially as a result of low levels
of knowledge about such policies. Flexibility stigma is a common explanator (Williams et al.,
2013); however, other influences are observed. Since the tone for the success of organisational
ER
44,6
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