Abstract
Orientation: The COVID-19 pandemic forced organisations to expedite the implementation of flexible work practices. As employees and organisations were essentially compelled to apply different forms of work flexibility, it stood to reason that these new work arrangements would influence the dynamic between employees’ work and home, ultimately affecting their well-being.
Research Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate whether flexible work mediated the relationships between (a) work-to-family conflict and workplace well-being variables (i.e., work engagement, job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion) and (b) family-to-work conflict and workplace well-being variables (i.e., work engagement, job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion).
Motivation for the Study: The flexible work practices instituted by organisations rather rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic warrants research into the effects that flexible work practices have on the well-being of employees. With more individuals working from home, it was considered important to investigate flexible work as a resource that employees can use to manage the effects of work–family conflict on their levels of well-being.
Research Design, Approach, and Method: A quantitative, cross-sectional survey research design was used. Surveys were distributed electronically via email and social media, and a final sample size of 334 South African individuals was obtained. The measuring instruments included the flexibility scale (Porter et al., 2010), work–family conflict scale (Netemeyer et al., 1996), job satisfaction scale (Spector, 1985), emotional exhaustion subscale (Asiwe et al., 2014), and the Utrecht work engagement scale-9-item (Schaufeli et al., 2006). Pearson’s product–moment correlation and mediation analyses using Hayes’ Process macros in SPSS were conducted.
Main Findings: Statistically significant correlations were found between work-to-family conflict, family-to-work conflict, flexible work, work engagement, job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion. Furthermore, flexible work mediated the relationship between a) work-to-family conflict and work engagement, job satisfaction, and emotional exhaustion,
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respectively, as well as the relationship between b) family-to-work conflict and work engagement, job satisfaction, and emotional exhaustion, respectively.
Implications: Organisations should consider the utility of flexible work practices in mitigating the negative effects that work–family conflict has on employees’ well-being.
Keywords: Work flexibility, flexible work arrangement, work-to-family conflict, family-to-work conflict, well-being, work engagement, job satisfaction, emotional exhaustion, mediation