Flexible Work Practices and Firm Characteristics

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INTRODUCTION An increasing amount of companies are implementing flexible work practices as more US households have dual incomes, working longer hours, and labor force participation rates increase (Winder, 2009). Flexible work practices can enable workers with care giving responsibilities to perform at their peak capacity instead of conforming to standard work schedules that stifle their efforts to succeed (Glass, 2004). If, true the productivity of workers should rise with the use of flexible work practices and should be positively correlated with enhanced wage growth over time. This productivity enhancing effect should particularly lead to higher wage growth among those impeded by rigid work schedules and long hours of work, namely mothers of dependent children (Sharpe, Hermsen & Billings, 2002). However this may not be the case with women. Currently women are not on par dollar for dollar with men. Yet economists think that the gap between pay for women and men is due to different personal choices men and women make about personal fulfillment, child rearing and hours at work. Following this further, in the past women would choose to work less hours to allot more time to their children, but there is an increasing number of women who continue to work fulltime throughout motherhood with the help of flextime (Glass, 2004). However these women still encounter the same pattern of wage stagnation (McCrate, 2005). Parents are using flexible work options but mothers appear to be penalized for it. Previously in this paper it was stated that flextime enables workers to achieve the same or greater productivity levels than standardized schedules. So with other factors being accounted for such as personality, seniority, financial sta... ... middle of paper ... ...em? American Behavioral Scientist, 44(7), 1157-1178. Goldin, C. & Katz, L. (2011). The Cost of Workplace Flexibility for High-Powered Professionals. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 638(1), 1-23. McCrate, E. (2005). Flexible Hours, Workplace Authoirty. and Compensating Wage Differentials in the US. Feminist Economics, 11(1), 11-39. Ralson, D.A. (1989). The Benefits of flextime:Real or Imagined? Journal of Organizational Behavior, 10 (4), 369-373 Ralston, D. (1990). How flexitime eases work-family tensions. Personnel, 67, 45-48. Sharpe, D. L., Hermsen, J. M., & Billings, J. (2002). Gender differences in use of alternative full-time work arrangements of married workers. Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal, 31, 78-111. Winder, K. (2009). Flexible Work Arrangements and Wages: Do Firm Characteristics Matter.

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