Flexibility at the Workplace: Does it impact empowerment and Quality of Life?

Authors

  • Geetha Subramaniam Faculty of Business Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Malaysia
  • Peck-Leong Tan Arshad Ayub Graduate Business School, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, 40450, Selangor Malaysia
  • Balasundram Maniam Department of Finance, Sam Houston State University, , TX 77340,United States
  • Ershad Ali AIS,St.Helens,Auckland,New Zealand

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21834/ajbes.v3i11.105

Keywords:

Empowerment, Flexible working arrangements, Quality of life, Workplace flexibility, Women in the labour market.

Abstract

Empowering women to participate in economic life is one way to improve the quality of life for women and families. However, many Malaysian women exit from the formal labour market resulting in women’s participation stagnating at around 40 percent since the 1990s. Using a mixed method approach, this study examines whether workplace flexibility may impact women’s empowerment and quality of life. A sample of 400 female employees from the services sector answered a self-administered questionnaire complemented by 30 interviews. Multivariate analysis and structured interviews showed that a workplace designed with flexibility has a positive impact on women’s empowerment and quality of life.

Keywords: Empowerment; Flexible working arrangements; Quality of life; Workplace flexibility; Women in the labour market.

eISSN 2398-4295 © 2018. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open-access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. 

http://dx.doi.org/10.21834/ajbes.v3i11.105

References

Almer, E.D, Cohen, J.R & Single, L.E.(2007). Factors Affecting the Choice to Participate in Flexible Work Arrangements, Journal of Auditing, 22, (1), 69-91.

Anthias, F., & Mehta, N. (2003). The intersection between gender, the family and self-employment: the family as a resource. International Review of Sociology/Revue internationale de sociologie, 13(1), 105-116.

Borjalilou, S, Nazemi, S, Mortazawi, S, Rahmanseresht, H (2013), Reflections of Post Feminist Viewpoints on Female Related Issues in Organisations, Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research In Business, February 2013, Vol 4, No 10

Borjas,G. (2009) Labor Economics, McGraw Hill, 5th Edition.

Chou, K. L., & Cheung, K. C. K. (2013). Family-friendly policies in the workplace and their effect on work–life conflicts in Hong Kong. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 1-14.

Durand, J. D., (1975). The Labor Force in Economic Development - A Comparison of International Census,1946-1966, Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Galea, C., Houkes, I., & De Rijk, A. (2013). An insider's point of view: how a system of flexible working hours helps employees to strike a proper balance between work and personal life. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 1-22.

Glass, J. L., & Estes, S. B. (1997). The Family Responsive Workplace. Annual review of sociology, 289-313..

Hair,J.F., Black, W.C., Babin, B.J., & Anderson. R. E., (2010) Multivariate Data Analysis A Global Perspective (Seventh Edition), Pearson Prentice Hall, New Jersey, USA,

Kaur, Amarjit, (2004). Costed Not Valued: Women Workers In Industrialising Asia, New York, Palgrave Macmillan,

Kottis,P & Dimelis, S (1992). Labour Force Participation and Earnings of Women University Graduates in Greece: a Two-step Analysis, International Journal of Manpower, 13(9), 47 – 64.

Liechty, J. M., & Anderson, E. A. (2007). Flexible Workplace Policies: Lessons from the Federal Alternative Work Schedules Actâ€, Family Relations, (56), 304-317.

Lijphart, Arend, (1971). Comparative Politics and the Comparative Method, American Political Science Review, Vol. 65, (3).

Malaysia, Labour Force Survey Report , Department of Statistics, Malaysia. Various Issues.2010,2011,2012.

McDowell, L. M. (2013). Skills and Labour market change.

Noor, S.M. & Abdullah, M.A. (2012) . Quality Work Life among Factory Workers in Malaysia. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 35, 739 – 745.

Subramaniam, G, Mohamad, S & Selvaratnam, D. P. (2010). “Why Do Some Women Leave The Labour Force?- A Micro Perspective from Malaysiaâ€, Economic Bulletin, Volume 11.

TUC (2013) Home-working on the increase despite the recession, retrieved from http://www.tuc.org.uk/workplace/tuc-22217-f0.cfm

UNESCAP (2011). United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, annual report.

United Nations (2010) The World’s Women 2010 Trends and Statistics.

Wattis, L., & James, L. (2013). Exploring order and disorder: Women’s experiences balancing work and care. European Journal of Women's Studies.

Zhu, H., Khan, H. G. A., & Ilyas, M. (2012). Challenges and risks faced by the working women in government organizations: An insight from Asian countries. African Journal of Business Management, 6(45), 11368-11374.

Zimmerman, T. S. (2003). Intimate partnership: Foundation to the successful balance of family and work. American Journal of Family Therapy, 31(2), 107-124.

Downloads

Published

2018-05-20

How to Cite

Subramaniam, G., Tan, P.-L., Maniam, B., & Ali, E. (2018). Flexibility at the Workplace: Does it impact empowerment and Quality of Life?. Asian Journal of Behavioural Studies, 3(11), 97–106. https://doi.org/10.21834/ajbes.v3i11.105

Issue

Section

Articles