Employees’ psychological health and the impact of flexible working arrangements

In this chapter we discuss the construct of psychological health and its relationship with enhanced organisational productivity. Unlike previous generations where workforces were primarily male and work locations were fixed, modern workplaces are characterised by a greater diversity in personnel and locale. Many organisations have adopted flexible work arrangements (FWAs) which assist employees to balance their competing responsibilities. Commitments to work can be constrained by other compelling commitments in people’s lives, commonly including demands arising from family responsibilities, sports activities, study, community work, and such like. However, in spite of the need, the take-up of FWAs can be varied. Many workers find alternative, but less satisfactory, ways of addressing the competing demands in their lives. In many cases, the reason for poor take-up is influenced by organisational cultures that covertly discourage employees from utilising FWAs (see, Cech and Blair-Loy, 2014; Fuller and Hirsh, 2018). Consequently, employees with few alternatives may experience a stigma when accessing FWAs, which can adversely affect their well-being and their career advancement. We begin this chapter by defining what we mean by psychological health and we discuss why organisations should be interested in their employees’ levels of psychological health. We discuss the commonly available FWAs and their demonstrated impacts for levels of employee engagement and productivity. Finally, we review the common gender and generational differences which impact FWA offerings, and we suggest key issues for the consideration of future researchers in this field.