Implications for Employees

Discuss about the Performance Management for Human Resource.

It is identified that flexible working practices are highly preferred by the employees in the current days. It is evident that the employees who work in the corporate office have to deal with increasing pressure at the workplace. This could sometime harm their personal or family life and even it could affect their performance. Therefore, some organizations have taken the initiatives to resolve such issues; thereby, the organizational productivity remains as desired. Thus, to expect desired outcome from the employees, it is essential to take care of the basic needs and demands of the employees. One such care would be the initiative of developing a flexible work practice for the employees. Some organizations think of their personal and family life. The firm provides them flexible working hours and develops open management style. Thus, the employees could openly discuss the issues with leaders that they face at the workplace. The major purpose of the report is to understand how the changes of work life flexibility that influence the work life balance. Such change could emerge with certain challenge for the employees, leaders and individuals at other significant positions. Conversely, it could bring in certain opportunities to all. Hence, the report focuses on those challenges and the opportunities providing an intensive analysis through evaluation.

It is identified that change of workplace flexibility are often proved to be effective especially for the employees. The employees sometimes report that they are more productive as well as more engaged in their work while they gain the ability to keep the balance of demands with the other aspects of their lives. As put forward by Putnam, Myers and Gailliard (2014), improvements in physical as well as mental health are associated with the workplace flexibility. There have been certain benefits associated with such change. The existing studies demonstrate that flexible work arrangements could reduce the stress since the employees tend to work flexibly are found to be more satisfied with the jobs as well as more satisfied with their lives. In such context, Coenen and Kok (2014) commented that the employees who have a high work-life fit fare better than the employees who have moderate as well as low levels of work-life fit.  These employees could engage themselves more effectively and less likely to search for a new job.

On the contrary, flexible working practices could do more harm than good to workers because they encourage an “always on” which carries a heavy psychological toll. Working away from the office or part-time could isolate employees from social networks as well as the career opportunities. Hence, Dastmalchian, Blyton and Adamson (2014) argued that flexible working polices could raise the risk of poor working conditions as well as cause the resentment among the colleagues. The existing findings are emerged with a blow that implies that organizations are in the attempt of enabling people to achieve an effective work-life balance in rich economies. However, the existing studies also ensure that flexible work practice helps to reduce negative spillover. Hence, the spillover is treated as the techniques by which attitudes as well as behavior carry over from one role to another. As opined by Berg, Kossek, Misra and Belman (2014), spillover between the work as well as family life could be considered as negative or positive. This may include the work-family conflict or the work-family enhancement. It is further identified that these two dimensions of spillover could co-exist to some extent. This indicates that a job that provides a high extent of negative. So, changes of work flexibility helps to keep this balance.

HRM Implications

Additionally, the existing studies have also focused on work-family balance due the changes in the work flexibility. Hence, Thomas  (2014) opined that work family balance has two different dimensions including the work interference with the family as well as family interference with the work. Based on this concept, it can be added that characteristics of the job as well as the workplace might have a positive as well as negative effect on family life. On the other side, aspects of an employee’s family conditions could affect employee’s performance as well as attitude towards the work. In addition to this, it is also observed that the availability of flexible work arrangements could help the employees to increase the work-family balance that could provide the organizations and thee employees with certain benefits.

As opined by Sheehan (2014) the flexibility is about an employee as well as the company making changes for the purpose of meeting the business goals and needs. To positively support this statement, Cooke, Saini  & Wang (2014) commented that  flexibility enables both individuals and the organization by applying changes on time with an effective manner. The studies confirm that flexibility needs to equally effective to organizations and the workers and provides the positive outcome. Human resource management specifies the practices used by the managers as well as HR workers and automated systems to deal with people. It is identified that HRM practices include performance management, training, payroll and employee benefits administration. Thus, changes of work flexibility may influence the HRM practices, as HR policies guide the overall performance of the employees.

As company Popaitoon and Siengthai (2014), HRM practices could satisfy employees as well as motivate them to contribute to organization’s intellectual aspects. When it comes to building a flexible workplace, the HRM practices are observed to be reflecting shifting demographics in the workplace. The workers in the current days expect different conditions than the employees who observed the corporate balance in the previous decades.  The organizations take the initiative of developing the diverse workplace and the impact of HRM on the diverse workplace can be related to employee flexibility. This happens the organizations want to retain workers, they provide flexible workplace, which may include flexible design of work environment and work assignment. The flexible work practice helps to develop the communication among the employees. The HRM policies are effective when the employees find flexibility in the workplace

Additionally, the HR managers and the employees could differently, as in flexible work environment, the people have less workplace issues. The employees significantly focus on their performance collaborating with HRM policies. In addition to this, if the HRM policies are effective for the employees or they provide the employees with certain benefits that meet their needs and demands, they could return positive outcome to the employer. However, Kramar (2014) commented that flexible work practice sometimes could damage the workflow as the employees are often observed to be negligent towards their job role and responsibilities. Nevertheless, the existing studies research efforts have mentioned that consensus has not been yet attained on the outcome of flexibility. At the organizational level, it is observed that previous studies report both positive as well as negative relationship between different aspects of flexibility and performance. Most importantly, HR managers have to perform large responsibilities including the flexible working hours to providing the employees appraisal based on their performance.

If the HR department of the firm is not able to perform the essential role, the flexible workplace could be a disaster for the organization. Thus, it can be added that HR managers have to play a significant in controlling the operation. The HR managers of the firm must have to keep a close eye on the performance of the employees to avoid the possible drawbacks.  The previous studies confirm that successful managers could implement HRM practices as well as help the individuals increase feelings of being competent and skilled in their position. This could also positively influence the employees. The workers under positive managers tend to feel encouraged.

Leading organizations understand realize that the profitability and variety of their business relies on their ability to positively influence the stakeholder groups that eventually determine the organization. As commented by Jackson, Schuler and Jiang (2014), if an organization treats its workers effectively, it could deal with the customers effectively; thus, the organizations gain the profits.  However, when the flexibility in the workplace are implemented, the leader’s responsibilities increase. The managers of the organizations have to measure the performance of the employees. The workers may carry a state of negligence towards the role and duties; additionally, the open management style could negatively affect the employees. Hence, the managers might not feel they are valued to the employees below their position. Thus, the leaders have to keep the track of all employee performance.

It is identified that Armstrong and Taylor (2014), most leaders consider that there are certain benefits for organizations as well as employees are the outcome of flexible working. As put forward by Chandra (2012), almost 85% of the employees feel that allowing employees to work flexibly improves employee wellbeing. On the contrary, Kossek et al., (2014) mentioned that it helps to retain the employees and increase organization’s ability to attract talent.  In addition to this, apart from appealing to employees as well as boosting their wellbeing, the managers also believe that flexibility helps to address the customer expectation of round-the-clock customer service. The managers of large organizations have seen to be believing that flexibility makes a positive environment. It is observed that with flexible working, the experience is the key to success. Thus, it can be mentioned that those who are inexperienced are possibly concerned about the impact; it might have on the teamwork and the productivity.

In addition to all these, it is also observed flexibility in the workplace is effective for the leaders, as when the organizations are in the need of implementing changes, they could easily implement the changes. It is found out that organizations often face the resistance of change from the employees due to autocratic leadership style in the firm. In such context, the leaders do not have to deal with any such large barriers when they need to implement the changes. Moreover, it is also learnt that managers could implement the possible small changes in the organizations. In fact, the small issues of the employees can be treated effectively with possible care. As put forward by Shanafelt et al., (2015), flexible work practice could save time for the managers. This means it could be time effective when the managers of the firms to implement sudden initiative. Additionally, by developing a flexible workplace, the organizations could understand their employees effectively. Hence, the managers play the role of enabling as well as embedding workplace flexibility. The managers of the organizations have to play the role of ensuring employees are aware of their rights and responsibilities around the flexible work. The leaders provide the workers with support as well as build a team culture based on their performance, loyalty and outcome.

Conclusion and Recommendation

On the completion of the report, it can be added that flexible work practice largely influences the work life balance of the workers. The workers gain the opportunities of learning skills and gaining knowledge, as the open management style is such platform where employees become helpful t each other. The above-presented discussion indicates that employees become beneficial because of the flexible work practice.

While applying flexible work practices in the workplace, it is necessary for the leaders or the firm to consider the mix approach. By implementing a mix approach in the workplace, the firm benefits the employees providing them with flexible working hours. Flexible working hours could largely be beneficial for the female workers, as they could manage their families. In addition to this, it is recommended that the organizations could develop the recruitment practices on how to stimulate the recruitment market for payment as well as high quality flexible workers. These high flexible workers should be hired for the organizations to avoid possible hazards in the workplace.

Reference List:

Armstrong, M., & Taylor, S. (2014). Armstrong’s handbook of human resource management practice. Kogan Page Publishers.

Berg, P., Kossek, E. E., Misra, K., & Belman, D. (2014). Work-life flexibility policies: Do unions affect employee access and use?. Industrial & Labor Relations Review, 67(1), 111-137.

Chandra, V. (2012). Work–life balance: eastern and western perspectives. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 23(5), 1040-1056.

Coenen, M., & Kok, R. A. (2014). Workplace flexibility and new product development performance: The role of telework and flexible work schedules. European Management Journal, 32(4), 564-576.

Cooke, F. L., Saini, D. S., & Wang, J. (2014). Talent management in China and India: A comparison of management perceptions and human resource practices. Journal of World Business, 49(2), 225-235.

Dastmalchian, A., Blyton, P., & Adamson, R. (2014). The Climate of Workplace Relations (Routledge Revivals). Routledge.

Jackson, S. E., Schuler, R. S., & Jiang, K. (2014). An aspirational framework for strategic human resource management. The Academy of Management Annals, 8(1), 1-56.

Kelly, E. L., Moen, P., Oakes, J. M., Fan, W., Okechukwu, C., Davis, K. D., … & Mierzwa, F. (2014). Changing work and work-family conflict: Evidence from the work, family, and health network. American Sociological Review, 79(3), 485-516.

Kossek, E. E., Hammer, L. B., Kelly, E. L., & Moen, P. (2014). Designing work, family & health organizational change initiatives. Organizational dynamics, 43(1), 53-63.

Kramar, R. (2014). Beyond strategic human resource management: is sustainable human resource management the next approach?. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 25(8), 1069-1089.

Popaitoon, S., & Siengthai, S. (2014). The moderating effect of human resource management practices on the relationship between knowledge absorptive capacity and project performance in project-oriented companies. International Journal of Project Management, 32(6), 908-920.

Putnam, L. L., Myers, K. K., & Gailliard, B. M. (2014). Examining the tensions in workplace flexibility and exploring options for new directions. Human Relations, 67(4), 413-440.

Shanafelt, T. D., Hasan, O., Dyrbye, L. N., Sinsky, C., Satele, D., Sloan, J., & West, C. P. (2015, December). Changes in burnout and satisfaction with work-life balance in physicians and the general US working population between 2011 and 2014. In Mayo Clinic Proceedings (Vol. 90, No. 12, pp. 1600-1613). Elsevier.

Sheehan, M. (2014). Human resource management and performance: Evidence from small and medium-sized firms. International Small Business Journal, 32(5), 545-570.

Thomas, K. J. (2014). Workplace technology and the creation of boundaries: The role of VHRD in a 24/7 work environment. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 16(3), 281-295.