Flexible work arrangements permitting workers to work anytime and anywhere are increasingly common. This flexibility can introduce both challenges and opportunities for the organisation, as well as for worker work-life balance (WLB). This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the extent to which occupational factors (organizational, leadership and psychosocial) and individual work-related behaviours (over-commitment, overtime work and boundary management) are associated with WLB, and whether these associations are modified by the perceived level of flexibility at work (i.e., control over when, where, and how to do the work). In total, 2960 full-time office workers with flexible work arrangements at the Swedish Transport Administration participated. Associations were determined using linear regression analyses with adjustment for covariates. The strongest negative associations with WLB were found for over-commitment, quantitative job demands, expectations of availability, and overtime work. Strongest positive associations were found for boundary management, information about organizing work, social support, and relation-oriented leadership. Perceived flexibility was positively associated with WLB, and interacted with several of the examined factors, buffering their negative associations with WLB. Results suggest that WLB can be promoted by organizational initiatives focusing on minimizing excessive job demands, increasing psychosocial resources, supporting boundary management, and enhancing perceived flexibility.

Flexible work arrangements are common worldwide, but knowledge on how to achieve a sustainable work environment is sparse. The aim of this study was to use a participatory approach to identify concrete suggestions and key areas for improvement that were considered relevant, effective, and feasible for promoting good work environment and health at organizational, work group and individual level (O-G-I), among office employees with flexible work arrangements. Eight focus group interviews (including 45 employees) were conducted in a large Swedish government agency in 2017. By using a Tree diagram approach, employees made a total of 279 suggestions for improvements, which were sorted into O-G-I levels and mapped into 18 key areas. We found that 13 key areas addressed organizational level (e.g., improving leadership, policy, job demands, and work efficiency), two key areas addressed group level (create common rules of availability and activity-based working), and three key areas addressed individual level (e.g., individuals’ responsibility to clearly communicate their availability). The participatory process was effective in obtaining concrete suggestions and key areas in need of improvement, which may provide an action plan that can guide organizations in developing interventions to promote good work environment and health in flexible work. 

Background: Flexible work arrangements (FWA) are common, but knowledge on how to organize flexible work to reduce negative consequences and preserve positive aspects is currently sparse, which hampers organizational initiatives.  

Purpose: This study aimed at determining the extent to which work strategies, work-related ICT use outside regular working hours (i.e., use of laptop, tablet, or smartphone, to handle information and facilitate communication), productivity, expectations of availability, and clarity of expectations about availability, had changed among office-based employees with FWA two and four months after a participative two-step workplace intervention.

Methods: An intervention group (n=97) was compared to a control group working as usual (n=70). The intervention, initiated and approved by the top management of the organization, included individual education intended to change work strategies, and workshops developing common rules and routines for FWA within the work group.

Results: Participants were satisfied with the intervention and reported larger changes than the control group in work strategies. No statistically significant effects were, however, found on ICT use, productivity, or expectations of availability.

Conclusions: This participative workplace intervention was successful in changing employees work strategies but may not be effective in influencing ICT use outside regular working hours, productivity, expectations of availability, and clarity of expectations about availability.

Background Achieving work-life balance in flexible work arrangements is a challenge for both individuals and organizations, but intervention studies are sparse. We aimed to investigate the extent to which work-life balance, work-home interference, and home-work interference changed among office workers with flexible work arrangements after a workplace intervention. 

Methods Together with a large governmental agency in Sweden, we co-created an intervention with a focus on work strategies and common rules for flexible work in two steps: 1) an education to change individual work strategies and 2) a workshop to develop common rules and routines for flexible work within the workgroup. Two comparable departments participated, with 97 workers in the group receiving the intervention and 70 in a control group. Work-life balance and work-home/home-work interference were measured using questionnaires before the intervention (baseline), after the education (6-month follow-up), and after the workshop (12-month follow-up); and analyzed using linear mixed models with adjustments for covariates. 

Results We found no marked effects of the intervention on work-life balance, work-home interference, and home-work interference, with statistically non-significant effect estimates at both 6- and 12-months follow-ups. 

Conclusions Further studies are needed to evaluate whether other initiatives could be more effective in promoting work-life balance among office workers with flexible work arrangements.