Careers and temporal flexibility in the new economy: an Anglo‐Dutch comparison of the organisation of consultancy work

Abstract

Knowledge workers are widely considered to represent the vanguards of a new employment era, characterised by a greater degree of balance in the relationship between the employer and the knowledge worker. This fundamental shift in power relations is expected to lead to the emergence of a new group of so‐called ‘free’ or empowered portfolio workers, who share boundaryless career arrangements and internationally ‘universal’ forms of flexibility. However, such propositions have been made without extensive comparative research. This paper therefore examines the organisation of knowledge worker careers and the nature of the temporal flexibility available to knowledge workers through an Anglo‐Dutch case‐study of a multinational consultancy firm. The data collected by this study provides little evidence to support the notion of free/boundaryless career models and demonstrates that national context has a significant impact on the construction of consultancy careers and the availability, level and form of flexibility offered to consultants.

Characteristics of High Performance Organization and Knowledge Productivity of Independent Professionals

“…Professionals and organizations need flexibility -not as a goal in itself, but as a means to secure work and income, whilst maintaining their market and competitive positions (Donnelly, 2008;Fenwick, 2007;Vaiman et al, 2011). Moreover, a growing number of organizations prefer to have a core of staff in fixed employment surrounded by a flexible shell of workers with temporary or project-based contracts.…”

“…Moreover, a growing number of organizations prefer to have a core of staff in fixed employment surrounded by a flexible shell of workers with temporary or project-based contracts. It is expected that the work of organizations will be progressively more project-based and that IPs will play an increasingly important role in flexible shells (Donnelly, 2008).…”

The Organization of Working Time in the Knowledge Economy: An Insight into the Working Time Patterns of Consultants in the UK and the USA

“…Future research could expand upon this study to illuminate our understanding of the complexity of the organization of working time in different occupations and national economies. Such an understanding may provide an insight into the different ways in which the long working hours cultures in these occupations can be challenged and addressed (see, e.g Donnelly 2008…”

“…Over recent years, the literature on the organization and administration of working time has expanded, with increasing research into flexible working arrangements, trends observed among knowledge workers and national variations in working time (Altonji and Usui 2007; Donnelly 2008; Evans et al . 2004; Lee et al .…”

“…Full‐time working is strongly evident among consultants operating as organizational employees (see for example Donnelly 2008; Evans et al . 2004).…”