Elsevier

Journal of Business Research

Volume 142, March 2022, Pages 648-662
Journal of Business Research

Unmasking the other face of flexible working practices: A systematic literature review

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.01.024Get rights and content
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open access

Highlights

  • Only one-third of studies sampled reflect evidence of concerns with downsides.

  • FWP consists of remote, spatiotemporal, on-demand and self-directed work.

  • FWP poses multi-dimensional risks that are socio-cultural and socio-technical.

  • Studies on FWP pitfalls reveal focus on the Global North.

Abstract

Flexible working practice (FWP) has been acclaimed as the practice of the 21st century, and it is likely to continue as humans engage with new technologies in the world of work. Studies have signaled caution in the adoption of FWP, drawing attention to its many downsides. In this paper, we undertake an approximately 11-year systematic review (2011–mid-2021) of scholarship that has examined FWPs. We focus on the downsides and unintended consequences regarding this concept. Following the rapid growth in remote working arrangements in the digital era, we map out the intellectual structure of these studies and uncover the hidden costs of FWP as well as its implication for employees, managers of technological platforms, organizations, and society. We identify the gaps in understanding these pitfalls and propose a holistic approach with health, legal, and spatial dimensions while indicating directions for future research.

Keywords

Flexible working
Digital technologies
Remote work
Systematic literature review

Cited by (0)

Dr Lebene Richmond Soga is a Program Director and Lecturer in Entrepreneurship and Leadership at Henley Business School, UK. His research explores a range of themes, including the social aspects of digital technologies in organizational life, entrepreneurship ecosystems, and manager-employee relations. He regularly presents his research at international conferences for business leaders, academics, and policymakers to progress the understanding of various organizational challenges and the implications of new technologies for the practice of leadership. His insights are featured in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The Financial Times, CIPD, and ACCA Global. He has published in leading academic and practitioner outlets, including Harvard Business Review, MIT Sloan Management Review, European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, and Small Business Economics.

Dr Yemisi Bolade-Ogunfodun is a Program Director and Lecturer in Organizational Behavior at Henley Business School, UK. She is also a faculty member at the African European Centre for Investment and Trade (AECIT) and frequents international research symposia - regularly presenting her research to academics and policymakers - to advance societal understanding of cultural diversity and technology, particularly in relation to values that underpin work practices, such as productive job design. She has published seminal papers in leading academic and practitioner outlets including Harvard Business Review, MIT Sloan Management Review, Journal of Human Behaviour in the Social Environment, and Forbes. She also frequently contributes to published volumes with major publishing houses such as Emerald Publishing and Edward Elgar Publishing.

Dr. Marcello Mariani is a Full Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship at the Henley Business School, University of Reading (UK) and member of the Henley Center for Entrepreneurship, the Academy of Management and the European Institute for Advanced Studies in Management. His-current research interests include big data and analytics, digital platforms, digital business models, AI, automation, IoT, eWOM, and interfirm strategies. His-researches have been published in Industrial Marketing Management, Industrial and Corporate Change, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Journal of Business Research, Long Range Planning, Psychology & Marketing, Journal of Advertising, International Journal of Electronic Commerce, Tourism Management, Annals of Tourism Research, Journal of Travel Research, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, International Journal of Hospitality Management, European Accounting Review, and more.

Rita Nasr is a doctoral researcher at Henley Business School, UK. Her research explores the institutional role of middle level brokers in developing recycling practices. She also explores research themes that involve the role of digital technologies in work practices within organisations pre and post COVID-19 pandemic. She facilitates learning in the UK higher education sector at various levels and serves as editorial administrator for Planning Theory where she deploys her expertise in spatial transformation for governance in urban design, planning, and sustainable development. Rita holds a BA in Architecture and a Masters in Urban Planning. She participates regularly in international conferences where she presents on dynamic urban transformations and waste management practices.

Professor Benjamin Laker is a Professor of Leadership and Postgraduate Research Director of Leadership, Organisations and Behaviour at Henley Business School. His empirical inquiry, read by millions of people globally, has generated implications for law and legislation discussed extensively by The Economist, The Financial Times, Harvard Business Review, MIT Sloan Management Review, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and BBC newscasts including Newsnight and World News. His expertise has consequently been sought by seniors from Adidas, Apple, HM Treasury, the House of Lords, McKinsey and Morgan Stanley, among others. He has also received invitation to address political congress, including the Conservative Party Conference (UK), and contest policy debate with the Chief Regulator of Ofqual, Downing Street's Director of Communications and the Minister of State for School Standards in the UK.