Work changes and employee perceptions of co-worker flexible work policy use: a moderated mediation study
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-02-2022-0064 |
| Published date | 08 December 2022 |
| Date | 08 December 2022 |
| Pages | 516-534 |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Industrial/labour relations,Employment law |
| Author | Svetlana Davis,Sara A. Murphy,Joanna Watkins |
Work changes and employee
perceptions of co-worker flexible
work policy use: a moderated
mediation study
Svetlana Davis
Bishop’s University, Sherbrooke, Canada
Sara A. Murphy
The University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Canada, and
Joanna Watkins
Fanshawe College, London, Canada
Abstract
Purpose –The present research aims to understand how and why flexible work arrangement (FWA) policy
use by co-workers affects policy non-users by investigating perceived changes to work, fairness and
organizational identification as factors that shape policy non-users’job satisfaction.
Design/methodology/approach –A survey was distributed to 300 Canadian respondents solicited from an
online panel owned by Qualtrics Inc. Hypotheses were developed and tested using a moderating mediation
model. SPSS Macro Process (Hayes) was used to test the hypotheses.
Findings –This survey found that perceiving negative changes to work stemming from co-worker FWA use
corresponded to policy non-user job satisfaction, fairness dimensions mediated this effect and organizational
identification moderated the relationship driven by interactional fairness. Policy non-users who care most about
organizations seem to be most vulnerable to the negative consequences associated with co-worker FWA policy use.
Originality/value–FWA use has been linked to many positive outcomes for policy users. However, the workplace
adjustments that occur to accommodate policy use by co-workers could also have implications for policy non-users.
This study explores the effects of FWA policy use by co-workers on policy non-users job satisfaction.
Keywords Flexible work arrangements, Flexible policy, Perceived work changes,
Organizational identification, Fairness, Job satisfaction
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has made the use of flexible work
arrangements (FWAs)much more common worldwide(De Menezes and Kelliher, 2016;Kapoor
et al., 2021) giving employees the freedom to choose thetime and place in which they conduct
work (Shockley and Allen, 2012). Ample research focuses on the potential benefits afforded to
organizations and usersof effective policies, such asimproved employee jobsatisfaction (Gashi
et al., 2022), work–family balance(Kelliher and Anderson, 2010) and productivity (McNall et al.,
2010). Improved attitudes from using informal FWAs can also translate into better performance
(De Menezes and Kelliher, 2016). However, there is an additional factor that is important for fully
understanding the implications of FWA policy use –its impact on policy non-users.
Policy non-users working onsite remain critical to organizational functionality in many
industries(e.g. manufacturing;OECD, 2021;Sweet et al., 2014). For example,despite the increase
in remote work during the pandemic, only an average of 15% of food and accommodation
ER
45,2
516
This research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada,
430-2016-00783.
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 4 February 2022
Revised 22 September 2022
19 November 2022
Accepted 22 November 2022
Employee Relations: The
International Journal
Vol. 45 No. 2, 2023
pp. 516-534
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/ER-02-2022-0064
service employees made this shift (OECD, 2021). Industries offering more remote options (e.g.
technology services; Sweet et al., 2014) may also benefit from onsite work given the recently
identifieddrawbacks of remotework, such as low team engagement (Zhang et al.,2021), longer
hours andorganizational disconnection(Shirmohammadi et al.,2022). To offer employees more
flexibility, moreorganizationsare implementinghybrid work formats(OECD, 2021). However, a
by-product of more workers using FWAs is that non-users must also navigate the
communication and coordination disruptions of working with remote workers (Yang et al.,
2022). Onsite workers may be perceived as more available and important to the organization,
which could translate to advancement opportunities (Haas, 2022). However, receiving these
benefits would also require meeting different, often higher, demands than FWA policy-using
counterparts. FWA policy users and non-users may be treated differently in the workplace;
however, thepresence of non-users isoften valued and criticalto organizational success.
The current study aims to understand how FWA policy use impacts non-user attitudes.
We use Fairness Heuristic Theory (Lind, 2001) to argue that perceiving negative work
changes stemming from co-worker FWA use presents policy non-users with a social dilemma
that is resolved through fairness assessments and drives a self-interested attitudinal
response. Organizational identification is expected to strengthen this negative effect because
it defines employee–organizational relationships and can be closely integrated with personal
identities, which are considered when responding to fundamental social dilemmas (Lind,
2001). Our findings add to the bourgeoning literature on the implications of FWA policy use
for non-users and highlight the importance of considering non-users when designing FWAs.
A brief overview of the FWA literature is provided below. We then outline our theoretical
argument for why policy non-users perceive work changes when colleagues use FWAs and
how fairness cues and organizational identification shape their response.
2. Flexible work arrangements
FWAs aredefined as work arrangements thatchange the work location and/orhours for policy
users (McNall et al.,2010),allowing work and life demandsto be better managed (Shockley and
Allen, 2012). However, the impact of policy use likely extends beyond the policy user.
Organizationsrarely offer flexiblework options to all employees (Sweetet al.,2014).During the
pandemic, the nature of the industry and (or) job was an importantfactor in determining the
availability of remote work for employees (Chowhan et al.,2021;OECD, 2021). For instance,
organizations in the transportation industry still expected most employees to work onsite,
whereasthose in technical servicescould offer more remotework options (OECD, 2021).Despite
considering hybridmodels to provide more flexibility in when andwhere employees work, it
remains unlikelythat FWAs will be available to all employees across every job.
While it is expected that work features will change for policy users, FWA policy use
requires that non-users also adjust (Sprinkle, 2012). Communication with remote-working
colleagues becomes more complex (Haas, 2022), more technology is needed and non-user
workloads often increase (Golden, 2007;Shirmohammadi et al., 2022). Fault lines (i.e. when
some employees are left out of exchanges and decisions) can form between remote and onsite
workers and fewer spontaneous interactions occur to spark creativity (Haas, 2022).
Collaborating with remote workers is also more challenging, asynchronous and drawn out
(Yang et al., 2022). Although hybrid work models are becoming more popular, managers often
lack training to effectively implement them (Haas, 2022;Employment and Social
Development Canada, 2016), adding further complexity. Accommodating co-worker FWA
use significantly alters the work environment, which could change non-user perceptions of
factors such as work quality, management support and compensation. In response,
perceptions of unfairness and concern about unmet work needs may rise, particularly for non-
users that strongly identify with the organization.
Co-worker
flexible work
policy use
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