CAREER DEVELOPMENT
Flexible Schedules, Results-Oriented Workplaces Reduce Work-Family Conflict and Turnover
N
ew research from the University of Minnesota finds that a workplace
environment that allows employees to change when and where they work, based on their individual needs and job responsibilities, positively affects the work-family interface and reduces turn- over.
Led by U of M sociology professors
Erin Kelly and Phyllis Moen, the re- search is published in an April Ameri- can Sociological Review study, “Chang- ing Workplaces to Reduce Work-Family Conflict: Schedule Control in a White- Collar Organization,” and a February Social Problems study. Kelly and Moen base their findings
on data from surveys of more than 600 employees and company records from Minnesota-based Best Buy before and after the implementation of a so-called “Results Only Work Environment”
(ROWE) workplace initiative. Best Buy introduced the ROWE initiative at its Richfield, Minn., headquarters in 2005. ROWE redirected the focus of em-
ployees and managers towards measur- able results and away from a set work schedule and location. Employees could routinely change when and where they worked without seeking permission from a manager or even notifying one. Moen and Kelly examined whether the initiative affects work-family conflict, whether schedule control plays a role in these effects, and whether work de- mands (including long hours) moderate the initiative’s effects on work-family outcomes. “Previous research has not been able
to assess whether workplace policies or initiatives succeed in reducing work- family conflict or increasing work-fam- ily fit,” Kelly says. “The study points to
the importance of schedule control for understanding job quality and for man- agement policies and practices,” Moen says.
“With these changes in the workplace, employees gained control over the time and timing of their work in ways that benefitted them and, by extension, their families and communities,” Kelly says. “It is feasible to broaden access to sched- ule control and thereby relieve work- family conflicts and improve work-fam- ily fit for more workers,” Moen says. The research also demonstrates posi-
tive impact of the ROWE initiative for the company. The researchers found that ROWE reduced turnover by 45%—after controlling for multiple factors like job level, organizational tenure, job satisfac- tion, income adequacy, job security, and other turnover intentions. Specifically, only 6% of ROWE participants left the company during the eight month study period while 11% of the comparison group left. ROWE also reduced turn- over intentions among those remaining with the corporation. “By showing that a policy initia-
tive like ROWE can reduce turnover, this research moves the ‘opting out’ argument—whether one chooses fam- ily over work—from a private issue to an issue of how employers can change the workplace to better meet the needs of employees,” Moen says.
Additional key findings:
ƒ ROWE reduced turnover for all types of employees. Moen and Kelly found no differences in the ROWE turnover effects by employees’ gender, life stage, organizational tenure, job satisfac- tion, income adequacy, or perceived job security. This finding is important
58 HISPANIC NETWORK MAGAZINE Celebrating 19 Years of Diversity
www.HispanicNetworkMagazine.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84