Employee Attitudes and Employer Family-Friendly Flexibility Policies: A Multi-Level Analysis
Leora Lawton, University of California, Berkeley
Nora Broege, University of California, Berkeley
Work-family strain has been oft-explored and often with some equivocal results regarding flexibility policies and their impact, particularly around telecommuting. Previous studies are limited by data that includes only the employees' input, or only a few companies, or is qualitative. Taking advantage of a unique data set of approximately 150 companies matched to a robust sample of their employees, for a total of approximately 12,000 employees, we conduct a multi-level analysis to disentangle and clarify these relationships. We find that not all flex policies are created equal: indeed, now telecommuting is the most successful at increasing employee satisfaction and loyalty. Employees with children are the most likely to be dissatisfied with flexibility arrangements. Additional analyses include a validation of the measurement for satisfaction with flexibility using qualitative comments from employees. We conclude that company-wide policies are more important for alleviating strain and increasing employee well-being.
Presented in Session 33: Effects of Governmental and Corporate Family-Friendly Policies