Support for supervisors: HR enabling flexible work
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-03-2018-0077 |
| Published date | 02 August 2019 |
| Pages | 914-930 |
| Date | 02 August 2019 |
| Author | Penelope Williams |
| Subject Matter | Hr & organizational behaviour |
Support for supervisors:
HR enabling flexible work
Penelope Williams
Business School, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
Abstract
Purpose –Flexible work arrangements (FWAs) are routinely offered in organizational policy, yet employee
access to FWAs is highly dependent upon support from their immediate supervisor. There is little empirical
research thatspecifically investigates the roleof the human resource function(HR) in supporting managers to
implementFWA policy. Throughthe lens of HR systems theory,the purpose of this paper is to examinehow HR
supports managersto implement FWAs.
Design/methodology/approach –Using a case study in the Australian Insurance industry, this paper
analyzes corporate documents and interviews with 47 managers, supervisors and HR staff across four diverse
business units.
Findings –This study identifies supervisors’perceived ability to implementFWAs as a potential barrier to
utilization. Fivemechanisms of HR support to overcome perceived barriers are identified in the data. An HR
system thatenables managers to support FWAsrequires alignment of HR policies;the provision of supportive
technology;an HR structure that facilitatesproactive advice and support;HR business partners with influence;
and managerial training on FWAs.
Practical implications –This paper provides HR practitioners with insights into the mechanisms that can
support managers to implement FWAs or other devolved HR policies.
Originality/value –ApplyingHR systems theory, this casestudy utilizes the perspectivesof senior managers,
supervisors and HR staff to explain how the HR function supports or constrains managers in the effective
implementationof FWAs.
Keywords Line managers, Human resource management, Flexible work
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Flexible work arrangements (FWAs) are now routinely offered in organizations as a human
resource (HR) practice designed to assist employees to balance their work commitments
with life outside work. Supervisors are largely responsible for the effective implementation
of FWAs (Bond and Wise, 2003), as they are for other HR policies that have been devolved
to line management (Sikora and Ferris, 2014). Consequently, much of the FWA literature has
focused on the immediate supervisor as critical to FWA uptake, with limited consideration
of the role of the HR function in supporting supervisors to implement FWAs.
FWAs encompass both formal policies and informal practices that allow employees to
vary when, where and how workis carried out (Maxwell et al., 2007). Despite the existence of
policy to guide implementation in organizations, FWA utilization remains problematic for
many employees( McDonaldand Cathcart, 2015; Skinneret al., 2014). Failure to implementHR
policies as intendedis a challenge well-documentedin the strategic HR literature (Guest,2011).
FWA policies, like many HR policies, require support and action from supervisors before
employees can access FWAs in practice (Knies, 2011; Purcell and Hutchinson, 2007).
The aim of this study is to examine how HR supports and/or constrains supervisors’
efforts to implement FWAs. Using FWAs as an example of a devolved HR practice, the
study provides insights into HR policy implementation generally, as well as the influence of
the HR function on managerial support for HR practices. Beginning with a review of the
FWA and HR literature that highlights current knowledge deficits, the study uses HR
system strength (Bowen and Ostroff, 2004) as a framework to explore the specific ways in
Employee Relations: The
International Journal
Vol. 41 No. 5, 2019
pp. 914-930
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/ER-03-2018-0077
Received 13 March 2018
Revised 27 July 2018
9 November 2018
Accepted 9 November 2018
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0142-5455.htm
This research was supported by the Australian Research Council’s Discovery Project Funding Scheme
(Project No. DP 120101560).
914
ER
41,5
which HR influences FWA policy implementation in a large insurance organization. The
study extends knowledge of HR systems theory in explaining how the HR function
contributes to the strength of an HR system and how the HR system guides supervisor
implementation of FWAs.
Flexible work arrangements as an HR practice
FWA policies provide employees with the right to request tailored work arrangements.
Access to FWAs requires the employee and their supervisor to participate in individualized,
case by case negotiations (Cooper and Baird, 2015). Some FWAs (such as part-time work)
become formal employment agreements specifying the agreed hours, locations or other
conditions of employment. Many FWAs however, are unofficial, accessed on a temporary or
ad hoc basis (e.g. time off in lieu) and are not recorded in a formal contract (Cooper and
Baird, 2015). Prior studies have shown that informal FWAs are often highly valued and
more frequently accessed by employees (Hall and Atkinson, 2006; Cooper and Baird, 2015).
Supervisor decisions relating to informal FWAs may however be invisible to HR or senior
management, and potentially open to greater levels of discrimination and inconsistency
(Eaton, 2003). Understanding the relationship between HR and supervisors is therefore
important to FWA implementation.
FWA implementation and the supervisor
FWAs can benefit both employees and organizations. Use of FWAs can reduce employee stress,
improve job satisfaction and assist individuals to address work-life conflict (DeSivatte and
Guadamillas, 2013; Haley and Miller, 2015). Organizations that offer FWAs may experience
higher levels of employee commitment, attraction and retention (DeSivatte and Guadamillas,
2013; Maxwell et al., 2007), and even the potential for share price and reputational improvements
(Arthur, 2003). Yet there is often a disjuncture between FWA policy and utilization. Employees
can be reluctant to use FWAs offered if they perceive associated negative stigma or a lack of
availability (Eaton, 2003; Skinner et al., 2014). Support from the immediate supervisor can
however improve FWA uptake (McCarthy et al., 2010).
Within the FWA literature, distinctions between different levels of supervisor and
managerial support are rarely made (McDonald and Cathcart, 2015). This may be because the
support of an individual’s immediate supervisor is an important variable in FWA use even when
both the supervisor and employee are managers (Knies, 2011). The term supervisor is often
applied to the role of frontline manager (FLM) who has direct responsibility for non-managerial
employees, and is also accountable to a more senior manager (Hales, 2005). While distinctions
between the two are acknowledged and empirical studies of FLMs are relevant, here attention
centers on supervisors who engage directly with workers’requests for FWAs (Hales, 2005,
p. 473) and managers who may also assess FWA requests from supervisors.
It is widely acknowledged that the effectiveness of HR practices is influenced by the
extent to which those practices are adopted by supervisors (Purcell and Hutchinson, 2007;
Sikora and Ferris, 2014). Operational performance relies on the capacity of supervisors to
interpret and enact HR policy (Evans, 2015; Purcell and Hutchinson, 2007). Prior research
has considered the factors that hinder HR implementation by supervisors. For example,
Nehles et al. (2006), identified that while most FLMs had the desire to undertake HR
activities, they felt limited by time; by unclear policies and procedures; their own
competence in managing HR issues; and the implementation support they received from the
HR department. A lack of institutional support was also identified as an impediment to HR
implementation by Evans (2015), who further noted how tensions between operational
demands and HR policy began at hierarchical levels above the FLM. FWA studies have also
shown that to be supportive, supervisors need sufficient knowledge, people management
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Support for
supervisors
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