The Flexibility Paradox: Why Flexible Working Leads to (Self-)Exploitation

Front Cover\nThe Flexibility Paradox: Why Flexible Working Leads to (Self- )Exploitation\nCopyright information\nDedication\nTable of contents\nList of figures, tables and box\nAcknowledgments\n1 Introduction: The flexibility paradox and contexts\n	Introduction\n	The contexts\n		Contexts of the increase in flexible working\n			Increase in female employment and demand for better work-life balance\n			Developments in digital technologies\n			Commuting, and office and travel costs\n			COVID-19\n		Contexts of self-exploitation\n			Always-on culture\n			Insecurity\n			Work-centred society\n			Passion\n	The book\n		Flexibility paradox\n		Background\n		Outline of the book\n		How to read this book\n		Quick word on methodologies\n	The take-home message\n	Notes\n2 The demand for and trends in flexible working\n	Introduction\n	What is flexible working?\n		Definitions\n		Flexibility as an arrangement or an approach?\n	The demand for and provisions of flexible working\n		The demand for flexible working\n		Government response to the demand for flexible working to date\n			European Commission directive on work-life balance\n			UK\n			The Netherlands\n			Italy\n			Finland\n			Australia\n			Korea\n		Empirical data on the use and provision of flexible working\n			Provision of flexitime across Europe11\n			Access to flexible working\n		Has there been a growth in flexible working?\n	Conclusion\n	Notes\n3 The dual nature of flexibility: family-friendly or performance-oriented logic?\n	Introduction\n	The dual nature of flexible working\n		Flexible working as a family-friendly arrangement\n		Flexible working as a high-performance management system\n	Theories on the determinants of flexible working provision and access\n		Principle of need/family-friendly demands\n		Principle of equity/expected performance outcome\n		Higher status\n		Bargaining power\n		Structural factors\n	Empirical data analysis results\n		Provision of flexitime – company-level analysis\n		Access to flexitime/working time autonomy – individual-level analysis\n		Outside Europe\n	Conclusion\n	Notes\n4 The outcomes of flexible working\n	Introduction\n	Summaries of existing studies\n		Performance outcomes\n		Workers’ well-being\n		Work-life balance\n		Enhancing employment of mothers and carers\n		Work-life balance satisfaction\n	Empirical analysis results\n		Data and variables\n	Conclusion\n	Notes\n5 The flexibility paradox: why more freedom at work leads to more work\n	Introduction\n	Theories behind the flexibility paradox\n		Gift exchange, enabled and imposed intensification\n		Self-exploitation\n		Organisational culture and self-exploitation\n		Entreprenurialisation of self and careers\n		Subjectification of self\n	Manifestations of the paradox: passion at work as the basis for self-exploitation\n		Passion\n		Busyness as a badge of honour\n		Passion paradox\n		Millennial burnout\n	Conclusion\n	Notes\n6 The empirical evidence of the flexibility paradox\n	Introduction\n	Evidence of flexible working and longer working hours\n		Association between flexible working and long hours of work\n		Flexible working leading to long hours of work\n		Flexible working, mental spill-over and additional work effort\n	Differences across groups of individuals\n		Gender and parental status\n		Occupational variations\n		Arrangement variations?\n	Conclusion\n	Note\n7 Gendered flexibility paradox\n	Introduction\n	Background context of the gendered nature of the flexibility paradox\n		Subjectification of self and the family\n		Intensive parenting\n		Intensive mothering and gender norms\n	Gendered flexibility paradox\n		Flexible working and the expansion of unpaid work\n		Empirical evidence of the gendered flexibility paradox\n		Exploitation model and traditionalisation of gender roles through flexible working\n		Class variations or arrangement variations?\n		Gendered nature of flexible working and access to flexible working\n	Conclusion\n	Notes\n8 Flexibility stigma and the rewards of flexible working\n	Introduction\n	Flexibility stigma and its prevalence\n		Defining flexibility stigma\n		Prevalence of flexibility stigma\n	Flexibility stigma and gender\n		Femininity stigma\n		Rethinking the gendered stigma\n		Evidence of the gendered flexibility stigma\n	Conclusion\n9 The importance of contexts\n	Introduction\n	Which contexts matter?\n		Work centrality\n		Gender norms\n		Family and social policy\n		Workers’ bargaining powers\n		Economic and labour market conditions\n		Prevalence of flexible working\n	Empirical evidence of the impact of national contexts\n		Provision of flexible working2\n		Use and access to flexible working\n		Flexibility stigma\n		Outcomes of flexible working4\n	Conclusion\n	Notes\n10 COVID-19 and flexible working\n	Introduction\n	COVID-19 context\n		COVID-19 global context\n		COVID-19 context in the UK\n	Flexible working during the pandemic\n		The prevalence of working from home during the pandemic\n		Changing the perception towards flexible working\n			Managers’ perception\n			Employees’ perception\n	Outcomes of flexible working during the pandemic\n		Long-hours work\n		Blurring of boundaries\n		Reduction of hours\n		The division of household labour and childcare\n	Conclusion\n	Notes\n11 Conclusion: Where do we go from here?\n	Introduction\n	Future scenarios of flexible working\n		Are we going to see a rise in flexible working?\n		Will flexible working be accessible for everyone in the future?\n		Will flexible working help tackle gender equality in the future?\n		What are the implications of flexible working on workers’ well-being?\n	What do we need to do? Policy recommendations for governments\n		Better rights and protection for flexible workers\n		Reshaping normative views around work-life balance and gender\n		Changing the long working hours culture\n		Recommendations for companies and managers13\n			Redefining productivity and KPIs\n			Ensuring a clearer boundary between work and non-work spheres\n			Removing the stigma around flexible working for care purposes\n		Recommendations for individuals and families\n			Maintaining clear boundaries\n			Gender division and housework, childcare\n			Doing less\n	Conclusion\n	Notes\n	Data used\n		European Company Survey 2013\n	European Working Conditions Survey 2015\n	Variables: European Working Conditions Survey\n		1643964843593_187\n			Flexitime, working time autonomy and schedule control\n			Teleworking/home working\n			Work-to-family, family-to-work conflict variables\n			Spill-over, work during free time variable\n			Work-family conflict index for Chapter 9\n			Control variables; access to and use of flexible working models\n			Control variables; work-family conflict models\n	Appendix Figures and Tables\n	Appendix to Chapter 3\n	Appendix to Chapter 4\n	Appendix to Chapter 6\n	Appendix to Chapter 9\n	Appendix to Chapter 10\n		COVID-19 data sets\n		UK\n		US\n		Canada\n		Australia\n		The Netherlands\n		Germany\n		Cross-European\nAppendix\n	Data used\n		European Company Survey 2013\n	European Working Conditions Survey 2015\n	Variables: European Working Conditions Survey\n		Flexitime, working time autonomy and schedule control\n		Teleworking/home working\n		Work-to-family, family-to-work conflict variables\n		Spill-over, work during free time variable\n		Work-family conflict index for Chapter 9\n		Control variables; access to and use of flexible working models\n		Control variables; work-family conflict models\n	Appendix Figures and Tables\n	Appendix to Chapter 3\n	Appendix to Chapter 4\n	Appendix to Chapter 6\n	Appendix to Chapter 9\n	Appendix to Chapter 10\n		COVID-19 data sets\n		UK\n		US\n		Canada\n		Australia\n		The Netherlands\n		Germany\n		Cross-European\nReferences\nIndex\nBack Cover