ABE Human Resources Management Chapter 6

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Workforce Organisation
Flexibility An immensely complex and highly-debated topic. Sociologists and economists get very emotional about this word. The term is used in a variety of overlapping senses, including: - Labour market flexibility, where it is argued that regulation and consequent rigidity of the job market act against growth and should be minimised. However, this usually means cutting worker protection rights and social benefits. - The flexible firm: a model of organization developed by the former Institute of Manpower Studies in the UK during the 1980s. Argues for a workforce composed of 'core' and 'peripheral' workforces. Core workers are permanent, have full range of benefits and job security. They take care of the organization's key functions. Peripheral workers are split into three categories:a) Regular employees engaged in relatively low-skill, routine work (example: back office administration in banking). Fairly low pay and insecure - the next wave of technology can eliminate the need for these people. b) Contingent employees working on high-skill tasks, perhaps on short-term contracts or projects. High pay, no job security but this is compensated for by the freedom to pick and choose projects. c) Low-skill, low pay contract workers often provided by an agency for cleaning, routine security, catering, etc. Within the model there are some key explanatory concepts: numerical, functional and pay flexibility and also 'distancing'. The model has its critics and there is little evidence that organizations have made much use of it as a strategic concept. However, individual components such as sub-contracting are commonplace.

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Numerical Flexibility
External numerical flexibility External numerical flexibility refers to the adjustment of the labour intake, or the number of workers from the external market. This can be achieved by employing workers on temporary work or fixed-term contracts or through relaxed hiring and firing regulations or in other words relaxation of Employment Protection Legislation, where employers can hire and fire permanent employees according to the firms needs. Internal numerical flexibility Internal numerical flexibility, sometimes known as working time flexibility or temporal flexibility. This flexibility achieved by adjusting working hours or schedules of workers already employed within the firm. This includes part-time, flexi time or flexible working hours/ shifts (including night shifts and weekend shifts), working time accounts, leaves such as parental leave, overtime.

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Temporal Flexibility
This is particularly the case in the retail services sector where management has sought to obtain greater freedom to match staffing levels more closely to fluctuations in the volume of customer demand. Such arrangements may not, however, be in accordance with employee preferences Wage flexibility is in which wage levels are not decided collectively and there are more differences between the wages of workers. This is done so that pay and other employment cost reflect the supply and demand of labour. This can be achieved by rate-for-the-job systems, or assessment based pay system, or individual performance wages
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Functional Flexibility
Functional flexibility Functional flexibility or organisational flexibility is the extent employees can be transferred to different activities and tasks within the firm. It has to do with organization of operation or management and training workers. This can also be achieved by outsourcing activities.
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Debates on Flexibility
Most debates on flexibility focus on the supply side and the removal of institutional rigidities that prevent the functioning of free market forces. These debates focus on the issues of organisational flexibility, labour market flexibility and functional flexibility of the entrepreneur. This study goes beyond the employerworker dyad to examine flexibility for the intermediate actors involved in production
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Work life Integration

Work-life balance is a broad concept including proper prioritizing between "work" (career and ambition) on one hand and "life" (pleasure, leisure, family and spiritual development) on the other. Related, though broader, terms include "lifestyle balance" and "life balance".

Work-life integration means finding ways to blend your work and your life, so you can have a meaningful experience with both of them. Companies are finding ways to support that concept, by trying to decrease some of the stress points. This makes it easier to blend your work life and your home life and enjoy both.

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Practice
The world of work has changed. There is new technology, new opportunities, skills shortages and an aging population. Many companies are also facing new demands presented by the increasingly global 24/7 economy with customers expecting service at times that suit them. To be competitive, organisations must meet these challenges to achieve the best results from their most valuable asset - their workforce. Work-life balance is about good management practice and sound business sense. Organisations who adopt initiatives that help their employees achieve a better balance between work and the rest of their lives focus on achievement. They build more resilient organisations - better able to adapt and be successful. They attract better talent as a best practice employer, a benefit that impacts directly on their business's bottom line, with improved recruitment and retention of a more diverse workforce. Work-life balance initiatives can result in benefits to business as well as to the employees - the classic 'win-win'.
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Successful flexible working is about creating a culture of trust and responsibility, one in which flexible working is 'simply the way things are done around here.' Work-life balance is all about good management practice and sound business sense. The procedures offered are designed to accommodate and benefit the four interested parties that affect efficiency and success of an organisation. the employer individual employees their colleagues and teams customers and other stakeholders Sustainable Policies

A sustainable work-life balance initiative needs to be sensitively introduced. Key ground rules have to be established about the rights and responsibilities of all the parties. This must be accepted and transparent in order to engender a culture of trust on which creating the right and most sustainable work-life balance strategy rests. These include:

any person affected by flexible working arrangements will be consulted there is a responsibility to consider the interests of other team members and customers employers have a responsibility to all customers, the right to seek ways of improving effectiveness, and the responsibility to treat all employees equitably employees have the right to ask for changes in working patterns and employers have the responsibility of considering the request carefully employees do not have an automatic right to change the way they work; nor do employers have an absolute right to impose change. Success in introducing flexible and reduced hours working depends on consultation, open communication and the involvement of all team members. Throughout the change process, these rights and responsibilities must be observed.

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Employers Responsibility
Companies have begun to realize how important the work-life balance is to the productivity and creativity of their employees. Researches have shown that those employees who were more favorable toward their organizations efforts to support work-life balance also indicated a much lower intent to leave the organization, greater pride in their organization, a willingness to recommend it as a place to work and higher overall job satisfaction. Employers can offer a range of different programs and initiatives, such as flexible working arrangements in the form of part time, casual and telecommuting work. More proactive employers can provide compulsory leave, strict maximum hours and foster an environment that encourages employees not to continue working after hours. It is generally only highly skilled workers that can enjoy such benefits as written in their contracts, although many professional fields would not go so far as to discourage workaholic behaviour. Unskilled workers will almost always have to rely on bare minimum legal requirements.

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Employees Role
Helping your employees maintain work/life balance isnt something you do just for them it can be vital to the health of your company. Employee burnout has a major impact on productivity, but that's not its only negative effect. Employee burnout is caused by a number of things, including an employees own abilities, their workload, their responsibilities and how much support they have in the workplace. But there are things you can do help employees juggle work and home life. Even the smallest efforts show your employees that you respect their personal time and make them feel good about their relationship with you and the company. Give employees comp days. Certain projects or seasons require an unusual amount of work or overtime. After these busy periods are over, reward your employees with a comp day or two. It will emphasize how much you appreciate their efforts and the sacrifices they've made. Plus, it increases the chances that they'll voluntarily pitch in for the next big project

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