Flexible Workers

Modern workplaces are following a strong trend of increasing flexible working practices and approaches, offering more flexibility in working times, working places, work organization, and work relations as the result of new information and communication technologies. This book brings together a group of internationally recognized experts in the field of flexible work to examine the psychological and social implications of these practices, describing the current state of research and empirically-based practices in this field. It focuses on organizational, job, and individual factors related to the quality of working life, and identifies potential risk groups where the benefits of flexible work are suppressed or not realized. Ideal for organizations implementing or considering implementing flexible work, for professionals and researchers in work and organizational psychology, and for HR professionals, this volume is an invaluable overview of rapidly changing work norms and their impact on working life.

SHORTLISTED: Business Book Awards 2021 - HR & Management Category DISTINGUISHED FAVOURITE: Independent Press Awards 2021 - Business General Category Flexible working is now a key concern for many employees. It spans genders, ages and family circumstances, with 37% of millennials declining a job offer if working flexibly isn't an option and 78% of employees over 50 wanting more flexible hours. Flexible Working is a practical guide for HR practitioners showing how to develop an effective flexible working strategy to meet the needs of employees and the needs of the business. This book explains how to develop effective flexibility policies and processes as well as how to communicate and train line managers on these practices. It also includes advice on how to overcome barriers to flexible working, dispels common myths and offers guidance on the different forms of flexible working available to organizations. Flexible Working shows that working practices outside the standard 9-5, five-days-a-week in the office can benefit a company. It drives employee engagement and performance, reduces costs and workplace stress and improves talent acquisition from a more diverse talent pool. It also explains how a proactive flexible working strategy can have sustainability benefits and reduce a company's carbon footprint. Including case studies from organizations such as Zurich Insurance, and supported by rigorous analysis of flexible working data, this is essential reading for all HR professionals.

There is growing interest in flexible working, not only as a means to manage labour more efficiently and for greater agility, but also as a response to increasing concerns over well-being, work-life balance, and participation in the labour force of those with significant non-work commitments (e.g. parents, carers, older workers). As a result, a comprehensive stream of literature on the benefits and challenges of flexible working has developed and led to a body of evidence on the implementation and outcomes of different forms of flexible working arrangements. This book assesses the current state of this literature as follows: Background: the authors review the different definitions that have been proposed, policy developments, availability and uptake. Outcomes from flexible working: the main chapters focus on the outcomes for employers (e.g. performance, employee retention, organisational commitment etc.), as well as for individual employees (e.g. well-being, job satisfaction etc.). Evaluation of extant knowledge: the authors comment on the existing literature and consider the methodological approaches adopted in the literature. Conclusion: suggestions for future research are proposed. Of interest to students, academics and policy-makers, this book provides an expert overview of the empirical evidence and offers critical commentary on the state of knowledge in the field of flexible working and new forms of work.

Your customersâ¬" demands are not constant. Many of the most able and talented potential employees cannot or will not work regular hours. So why is your business still based around a 9:00-5:00 five day week? Flexible working enables your business to respond cost effectively to peaks and troughs in demand and helps you to attract and retain the best staff. This book shows you how to tailor a policy that is right for your organisation, make the business case, win over the doubters and implement and manage a system that will provide genuine competitive advantage for your organisation.

Striptease and other types of erotic dance increasingly make up a large, lucrative and visible part of the sex industries in the United Kingdom and 'lap dancing' has become the focus of many important contemporary debates about gender, work and sexuality. This new book from Teela Sanders and Kate Hardy moves away from the more traditional focus on the relations between dancers and customers, to a focus on regulation and the working conditions experienced by those working in stripping work. Drawing on interviews, survey data and participant observation with dancers, managers, regulators and other staff, Sanders and Hardy present the first ever nationwide study of the stripping industry and the working lives of those within it. The book explores the reasons for the expansion of the industry in the United Kingdom and the experiences, opinions and perspectives of those that produce and shape it. Placing dancers' voices centre stage, it examines the wider political economy which shapes dancers' engagement in employment in the stripping industry, pointing towards the wider conditions of the labour market and growing privatisation of Higher Education as explanatory factors for its labour supply. In suggesting a new feminist politics of stripping, dancers voice their own political awareness of erotic dance and an intersectional analysis of solidarity with workers in the stripping industry is foregrounded. Presenting a 360 degree view of the industry, this ground-breaking study presents systematic evidence for the first time on this area of social life which has become central as a strategy of survival, class mobility and urban accumulation. It will appeal to undergraduate and postgraduate students across the fields of criminology, sociology, geography, labour studies and gender studies, as well as regulators, activists and even dancers themselves.

This report is the first to examine attitudes towards flexible working and family life. Drawing on a study of over 1500 members of the AEEU and interviews with 53 shop stewards, the report addresses key questions around rights and benefits, employer's attitudes, gender differences and the effects of flexible working on health and well-being.

Presenting a new framework that explores the perspectives of employers and employees in the changing world of work.

Developing Practice provides managers with essential frameworks to identify, formulate and implement the best policies and practice in the management and development of people.

This book makes use of a four country research programme, covering France, Germany, Great Britain and Japan. Investigations and interviews at store, company and individual levels paint a picture of working times in the sector and in each of the countries. The volume provides some explanations for national differences as well as the similarities; supply and demand issues, as well as societal and social backgrounds. Large format food retailing is a major force in each country, employing millions in many different situations and conditions. This book suggests opportunities for retailers and employees to better manage their situations.