Enhancing quality of work life in India: the role of workplace flexibility

Abstract

Purpose It has been claimed that workplace flexibility is beneficial for employees as well as employers. However, not many studies have attempted to examine the impact of workplace flexibility on employees. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of flexibility dimensions on quality of work life (QWL) of employees. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from a sample of 380 middle-level employees from service and manufacturing sector in India. Analyses were carried out using multiple regressions with the help of SPSS AMOS 21. Findings Flexibility in time and place as well as operations has a significant impact on QWL of middle-level employees. Additionally, flexibility in time and place is indicated to be a strong predictor for enhanced QWL particularly for married female employees as compared to their male counterparts. The type of organisation and sector also influences QWL of middle-level employees. Research limitations/implications This study has projected theoretical justification indicating how workplace flexibility satisfies needs of middle-level employees and promotes their QWL. It contributes to positive psychology literature by illustrating empirical evidence supporting the crucial role of flexibility at workplace in enhancing QWL of employees in India. Practical implications The findings may be valuable in all kinds of organisational settings when reviewing and proposing motivational employee well-being related policies. The empirical findings may have practical implications when it comes to designing jobs for enhanced work engagement. Originality/value The variables examined in this study reflect an understanding about how support mechanism at workplace creates a positive effect in employees’ well-being in unique cultural settings of India. Thus, this study is a significant contribution to the well-being literature in India.

The relationship between quality of work life and work-life-balance mediating role of job stress, job satisfaction and job commitment: evidence from India

“…Most of the studies India dealt with measuring various components of QWL and strategies for improvement such as self-managed work teams, job redesign and enrichment, effective leader behavior, job security and organizational justice (Harsish and Subhashini, 2014). The role of workplace flexibility was emphasized to improve QWL in Indian context (Rastogi et al , 2018). Though studies focused on the drivers of QWL in terms of working conditions, HR interventions, organizational commitment, surprisingly no study to date has attempted to examine the influence of QWL on WLB.…”

Review of work–life interface: a systematic literature analysis

“…Some work-related antecedents such as WFC (Gupta and Srivastava, 2020), work overload (Poulose and Dhal, 2020), longer working hours, tight deadlines and lack of supervisor support (Nath and Dwivedi, 2020) resulted in reduced career commitment, increased turnover intention, increased work-related strain, reduced job satisfaction and low perceived WLB. Some positive measures such as participative leadership ( Bhumika, 2020) and workplace flexibility (Rastogi et al , 2018) resulted in better work environment and welfare.…”

“…Rastogi et al (2018) used the “ Maslow need hierarchy theory ” to explain how a flexible work environment can meet the needs of employees and improve their work–life quality. Kaur and Randhawa (2021), Rastogi et al (2019) used “social exchange theory” to describe the definite rules of exchange between employee and employer.…”

Calidad de vida laboral y autoeficacia profesional en docentes de educación superior

“…a calidad de vida laboral (CVL) es un constructo positivo (Rastogi et al, 2018), con implicaciones en el bienestar de los trabajadores (Sirgy et al, 2001) y en el servicio que se brinda al interior de las instituciones (Gil-Monte, 2001). Por ende, se constituye en un aspecto importante para la cultura organizacional (Rastogi et al, 2018;Umamaheswara y Subrahmanyam, 2017).…”