Flexible Working as an effective tool of Organisational Commitment, Motivation & Productivity. The Quest for Employee Engagement & Work Life Balance using Flexible Work Arrangements

The study explores the advantages of flexibility in organisations and asks the question of “is flexibility in the workplace of benefit to employees and employers?” Employee engagement was a main focus while also this study considered work life balance. The research will focus on flexibility in the workplace and how this influences employee engagement. The research was based on an anonymous organisation and the interviews were carried out on employees within the company. Qualitative research was chosen for this study as it allowed opportunity to explore the research aims in greater detail by conducting semi-structured interviews which also allowed for further questions or probing to seek and gain insight to more information. This method was also the best approach to find and analyse any trends among the participants in the research by using the interview questions and gathering the data. The research focused on six employees establishing and focusing on employee flexibility within the organisation and their work life balance and their engagement and commitment towards work. The main aims of this research was to explore the advantages of flexibility within the organisation and to investigate the relationship between flexible working and employee engagement The challenges that were faced throughout the research included gaining trust from the interviewees. Work life balance and flexible working hours contribute significantly to many employees in the workplace and benefits greatly to many employees. Employees work must be valued and recognised by employers. Recognition by employers is very important in organisations as it shows its employees that they are valued, trusted and recognised for the work that they do. The findings suggested that the employees who availed of flexible working hours were highly engaged. Employee engagement links back to previous literature and according to Truss et al (2006) engagement not only benefits the organisation but also the employees and organisations that have their employees engaged. The interviews clearly indicated how important engagement is within the organisation