Implementation of Flexible Work Arrangements for Sustainable Development

Abstract

Rapid globalization, the Internet-enabled on-demand economy, changing demographics, dynamism and flexibility in the workforce are redefining the landscape of work and inevitably lead to the changes in work arrangements. Flexible work arrangement (FWA) can be defined as a set of benefits provided by employer that lets employees to control over when and where they work outside of the standard arrangement. Although the concept of flexible work arrangements (FWAs) is quite widely analysed by scientific community during past decades, there is a lack of knowledge exploring the impact of flexible work practices on sustainable development. The purpose of this paper is to examine how flexible work arrangements can contribute to sustainable development at different levels of abstraction. Research methodology includes comparative analysis and synthesis of scientific literature, modelling, and empirical research in the form of survey and semi-structured interview. Research revealed that FWAs, when implemented with care and preparation, have a positive influence on sustainability at different levels of abstraction: individual level, company level, and society level. Benefits of flexible work practices turn up through three interconnected domains: economic, environmental, and social.

Flexible Work: Opportunity and Challenge (FLOC) for individual, social and economic sustainability. Protocol for a prospective cohort study of non-standard employment and flexible work arrangements in Sweden

“…40 Prospective studies are needed to improve knowledge, aiming at determining potential temporal associations between NSE and FWA on the one hand, and individual, social and economic sustainability on the other. [41][42][43][44]…”

“…Most research on health in workers with FWA is cross-sectional,31 36 and evidence of long-term health effects of FWA remains scarce 40. Prospective studies are needed to improve knowledge, aiming at determining potential temporal associations between NSE and FWA on the one hand, and individual, social and economic sustainability on the other 41–44…”

Linking the employee voice to a more sustainable organisation: the case of Lithuania

“…During the past years, sustainability has become one of the most important goals of the global policy agenda (Kaivo-oja et al, 2013;Van de Kerk, 2014;Horlings, 2015;Ciarniene et al, 2018;Bombiak & Marciniuk-Kluska, 2019;Zawawi & Wahab, 2019;Čiarnienė et al, 2020). The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development underlines a global commitment to balanced integration of economic, social and environmental dimensions (United Nations, 2015).…”

“…Various studies emphasise that economic, social, and environmental activities of a sustainable organisation must be equivalent and complementary (Zawawi & Wahab, 2019;Čiarnienė et al, 2020;Nawaz & Koç, 2019;Kim et al, 2016;Rezapouraghdam et al, 2019;Batista & Francisco, 2018;De Medeiros et al, 2018;Bulut et al, 2017;Diprose et al, 2019;Ahmed et al, 2019;Coughlin, 2018, and others). Economic, environmental and social goals are interrelated and mutually reinforcing; furthermore, they need to be considered in a balanced manner (Bom-Engineering Management in Production and Services biak & Marciniuk-Kluska, 2019; Batista & Francisco, 2018;Rezapouraghdam et al, 2019;De Medeiros et al, 2018;Ciarniene et al, 2018). Those organisations that strive to not only yield an economic profit but also care for the environment and contribute to the social balance substantiate their activities on the triple-bottom-line principle and are referred to as sustainable organisations.…”

“…There is a growing trend to focus more on sustainability, covering ecological, socio-cultural and economic pillars (Horlings, 2015;Ciarniene et al, 2018;Bombiak & Marciniuk-Kluska, 2019;Zawawi & Wahab, 2019;Čiarnienė et al, 2020;Crucke et al, 2021). Sustainability is a present-day idea of organisational development.…”