Is there a need to stabilize Flexible Working Arrangements? A qualitative case study within the Swedish public sector

Abstract

Work-life flexibility has influenced the way work is organized in modern organizations, which has led to a widespread adoption of the concept Flexible Working Arrangements (FWAs). While FWAs is a well-researched area, there are still significant limitations in previous literature. Previous studies on FWAs tend to focus directly on the implications of flexibility in relation to work-family conflicts. This study aims to broaden the understanding of how FWAs are used and understood in practice and the consequences of having a flexible work-life within the Swedish public sector. Drawing on a comparative approach to explore similarities and differences between employees and managers in relation to existing policies, this study contributes with several main findings. First, by taking the lens of boundary theory, employees' and managers' engagement in diverse types of boundary work practices could be explained. In addition, a kind of boundary loyalty has been identified where the employees gave accounts of a loyalty and respect towards the boundaries between domains. Secondly, the findings of this study point towards a need to stabilize the FWAs for a number of reasons. Lastly, this study may provide inspiration for future research of how the concept of FWA can be used and understood in practice, and the implications an increasingly flexible work-life can have for people working in an organization.