These data suggest that both psychological therapies aimed at improving coping skills and population-level anti-stigma interventions that reduce the occurrence of discrimination may provide some protection against suicide amongst individuals with mental health problems.

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Purpose Flexible work arrangements (FWAs) are routinely offered in organizational policy, yet employee access to FWAs is highly dependent upon support from their immediate supervisor. There is little empirical research that specifically investigates the role of the human resource function (HR) in supporting managers to implement FWA policy. Through the lens of HR systems theory, the purpose of this paper is to examine how HR supports managers to implement FWAs. Design/methodology/approach Using a case study in the Australian Insurance industry, this paper analyzes corporate documents and interviews with 47 managers, supervisors and HR staff across four diverse business units. Findings This study identifies supervisors’ perceived ability to implement FWAs as a potential barrier to utilization. Five mechanisms of HR support to overcome perceived barriers are identified in the data. An HR system that enables managers to support FWAs requires alignment of HR policies; the provision of supportive technology; an HR structure that facilitates proactive advice and support; HR business partners with influence; and managerial training on FWAs. Practical implications This paper provides HR practitioners with insights into the mechanisms that can support managers to implement FWAs or other devolved HR policies. Originality/value Applying HR systems theory, this case study utilizes the perspectives of senior managers, supervisors and HR staff to explain how the HR function supports or constrains managers in the effective implementation of FWAs.

Strategic workforce initiatives, such as flexible work arrangements (FWAs) are established at the executive level, yet executive support for FWAs has been given scant attention. This study applies Bowen and Ostroff's human resource (HR) process dimensions of distinctiveness, consistency, and consensus to explore how executives in a large Australian insurance company signal support for the implementation of flexible work policy to subordinate supervisors. The findings show that executives signal their support through explicit statements encouraging use of FWAs, through reporting, and by their own use of FWAs. Importantly, the findings also show that the strategic context influence how executives interpret and implement HR policy, in this case with an emphasis on profitability and risk aversion. This study contributes to knowledge about HR policy implementation and the role of executives in shaping a work environment supportive of FWAs.Keywords: executive, flexible work arrangements, human resource policy, strategic HRM, supervisor support Key points 1 A critical dimension of support for flexible work arrangements (FWAs) is for executives to send signals encouraging take-up. 2 Executives need to model the use of FWAs and monitor and explicitly encourage subordinate use. 3 Where policy is ambiguous, executives develop informal practices consistent with priorities in the business context. 4 To address policy-practice gaps in FWAs, human resource managers should work with executives to communicate policy intent.

While there is emerging research on the motivations of workers who engage with specific digital platforms, scant attention has been afforded to the contours of the digital economy as they affect workers in occupational or professional contexts. Drawing on interviews with 51 Australian photographers, the authors examined the extent to which, and why, photographers engage with or resist digital platform work. The photographic profession is an ideal context in which to examine such questions due to the fragmentation of the workforce and the recent proliferation of platforms. The findings revealed that the level of worker engagement is explained by platform control over price, service and product quality, and relationship management. The experiences of self-employed, freelance workers complicate our understanding of work afforded by digital platforms. Engaging with the political economy surrounding freelance creative labour, the study enables a richer theorisation of the experiences of platform-generated work in this context.