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Literature Review of Evaluating Effects of Time Flexibility upon Work Efficiency in Oman Public Sector

Category: Arts & Education Paper Type: Case Study Writing Reference: HARVARD Words: 4300

            The literature review provide brief information for conducting the research. The literature review provides deep insights about the contribution of the other resrachers. Through literature review one can identify the research gap that exists in the literature and through latest research that gap can be filled with latest information. The literature review also helps the rewsrachers to not repeat the same information which the previous literature have provided. In this resrach study various resrach studies are evaluated to get the information about how working hour flexibility impacts the work efficiency.

            Various research article have been reviewed to know regarding the flexible working hours and why they are important in the organization. This secondary data will help the resrachers to generate results which are not only going to provide new information but also going to be reliable. This research is focusing on the public sector of Oman and the literature will help to understand how work efficiency can be increased through flexible working hours in the country of Oman. It is important to know the factors which influence the work hours flexibility. In different countries the factors are different.

        The research conducted by Ming Yin, Siddharth Suri and Mary L. Gray have provided deep insights about the value of flexibility and its impact on the demand crowdwork. According to the researchers the demand labor markets provide work flexibility to the workers however the researchers say that the the workers did not get much flexibility as it is assumed by various individuals. The researchers indicate most of the inflexibility at work occurs when the workers have to meet deadlines and have to finish the work as soon as possible. In the research study the researchers have conducted the experiment for evaluating how flexibility impacts the performance of the work (Yin, Suri, & Gray, 2018).

        The results of the study shows that the in task flexibility increase the quality and performance of the work. The results of the study shows that the workers who get control of the time platform their work more efficiently and the overall performance of the organization increases. The researcher have suggested to the businesses to provide control of time to the workers so that the worker and businesses both can take benefit from flexibility. The research has broad scope and can be used by the future researchers for further investigating the impact of flexibility on the work quality & performance (Yin, Suri, & Gray, 2018).

            The study conducted by Lydia Pleotis, Howell, Kimberly D. Elsbach and Amparo C. Villablanca Have provided detail information about the work life balance. The researchers have stated that the work life balance is highly significant for retaining the young employees in the organizations. In the research study the medical school scenario is discussed in which flexibility policies are not very efficient or effective. The study have stated that due to the face time bias the career progress of many employees get effected negatively and the chances of turnover increases. For conducting the study significant amount of data is gathered (Howell, Elsbach, & Villablanca, 2016).

            In the research the researchers have proposed novel compensation criteria through which the face time biased will be mitigated and will no longer become an issue in creating the incentives or salaries of the employees. When the specific criteria of organizational citizenship is going to be included in the compensation plan than the possibility exists that the culture of flexibility will immerge in the corporation. This research study has vast scope and provided brief detail regarding the flexibility I the medical sector. The future researchers can utilize the study for further investigating the topic of workplace flexibility (Howell, Elsbach, & Villablanca, 2016).

            The study conducted by Yvonne Lott have discussed briefly about the working time flexibility & autonomy. The research have been conducted in the perspective of Europe and the data is gathered from various European institutions. In the study the gender differences and autonomy is also included to provide a brief overview regarding the working environment conditions. The study have focused on the working environments of different European countries. According to the researchers the working time flexibility have significant impact on the work quality and overall the organizations able to achieve improvement through providing convenience of flexibility to their employees (Lott, 2015).

            The findings of the study shows that in UK the time suitability for employees occur when they work for fixed hours where as in Holland people consider work time autonomy more suitable. In different European countries the work time adequacy is different according to the preferences of the employees. It can be said that the organizations should address the concerns of their employees before implementing the work time schedule. The corporations can provide work time flexibility to the employees so that they can work according to their convenience. If the organizations are not going to provide convenience then the corporations might face decline in their efficiency (Lott, 2015).

            The researchers Ellen Ernst Kossek and Brenda A. Lautsch have critically evaluate the work life flexibility. The researchers have evaluated the work life flexibility in the perspective of middle, upper & lower level jobs. The researcher have stated that the work life flexibility provides the opportunity to the employees to control the work they performed in the corporation. In this research study the researchers have said that the on various job levels the level of work flexibility is not the same which cause job inequality. It is highly important for the organizations to provide equal opportunities on various level of jobs so that the organization can take maximum benefit (Kossek & Lautsch, Work–Life Flexibility for Whom? Occupational Status and Work–Life Inequality in Upper, Middle, and Lower Level Jobs, 2017).

            The findings of the research is showing that the various level of organizations such as upper, middle and lower level jobs does not get equal flexible working hours. Due to this inequality exists in the job and have negative impact on the efficiency & performance. In the study the researchers have provided implications and suggestions for improving the job inequality. According to the researchers it is highly important to provide flexible working environment to the employees so that businesses can flourish effectively. This research have vast scope because it has covered the topic extensively. Moreover the future researchers can also take benefit from this research study.

            In the research which is conducted by K. Agha, F.T. Azmi and A. Irfan have provide a brief overview regarding the work life balance and job satisfaction. According to the researchers if the employees unable to manage the work life & personal life effectively than the job satisfactions suffers. For gaining the job satisfaction the work life balance is highly significant. The study focuses on the higher education sector of Oman.  Significant amount of data was gathered for conducting the study. The study focuses on how the workers experience stress and other factors due to the lack of work life balance (Agha, Azmi, & Irfan, 2017).

            The findings of the study shows that the results which this study has provided are similar to the results of the previous studies. For higher job satisfaction the work life balance is important. The personal life should not cause problem for the professional life. In the study the researchers have proposed the ways through which the work life balance can be improved. In other words the researchers have advised the corporations to initiate such program which increase the awareness of the employees regarding the work life balance. The study is solely focused on the region of Oman therefore the study does have some limitations. However the future researchers have the opportunity to further investigate the topic. Although this research study have limitations but the creditability and the liability of the study cannot be questions. The study have not just provided information to the general public but also to the organizations & educational institutions.

            The study conducted by Hylco H. Hijp, Debby G.J. Beckers, Karina Van de Voorde, Sabine A. E. Geurts and Michiel A. J. Kompier have discussed the effect of working hours, work location on the job related outcomes. The researchers have explained the new ways of workings and test whether they have any impact on the job outcomes or not. For conducting the study Quasi experimental design approach was utilized. The factors which are analyzed in the study include, working hours, change control over the time, work location and various other job related factors (Hylco H. Nijp Behavioural Science Institute, 2016).

                The findings of the study shows that the new ways of working does not have much impact on the psychological factors of the employees such as fatigue and stress. The findings of the study shows that the new ways of working does not have much impact on the job related outcomes. The research have provided detail information however limitations exist. The future research would be required to analyze the impact of various ways of working on the organizations. The scope of the study is still vast and can be used by the future researchers for further enhancing the information regarding new ways of working.

            The study conducted by Brian W. Halpin have discussed the flexible employment and mock schedules. In the study the food service firm has be taken as case study. The industry in which the firm is working has to focus on various uncertainties. The success of the organization depends on work flexibility and precariousness. In the study the researcher have proposed the mock calendar which will help the management of the corporation to control various activities efficiently. Through mock calendar the managers can manipulate the tasks according to the need of the organization and through this the organization can achieve its desired goals (Halpin, 2015).

            In today’s environment it has become highly necessary to improve the relationship with employees. With the proposed strategy of mock calendar the organization ca save itself from various activities such as violations and wage thefts etc. It is highly important for the corporations to control the working environment for the organization. If the working environment of the corporation is not going to be controlled than it means that the organization can suffer from huge problems. The employees work efficiently when they know that the organizations recognize their work and care for them. If the organizations are not going to provide flexible hours than the level of motivation of the employees will decline up to lot of extent which would definitely effect the efficacy of the organization.

            In the study the job satisfaction is discussed in detail. newly recruited employees are the major victim of the problem. Although the same problem is observed by all employers, the major effects are the newly recruited employees. Moreover, the new employees need more training then the older employees. As a whole, the first actor is the newly recruited employees. For an organization, the satisfaction of employees is very important because skillful and fully satisfied employees are the major reason for the satisfaction of the employees. Moreover, there is thevarious reason which leads to the dissatisfaction of the employees, and one of them is the performance appraisal system. The performance appraisal system ensures the proper rewards and benefits for the employees on the basis of the past performance (Woodrow, 2014).

            The aim of the particular study is to explore the basic problem regarding the employees such as the training and development programs. Moreover, in particular, the certain possible solutions of the problem will also propose in the context of an enterprise. The new employees are the committed people and join the company with a lot of expectations. If they are not treated in a good manner, then their level of satisfaction become down and down. For instance, if the new recruits are not given proper training then the condition of dissatisfaction rises in the company which results in the increased turnover rate. Additionally, the problem is still same if the unskilled employees stay in the organization because it ruins the overall reputation of the company (Zarei, 2014).

            The comparison of the old and new system was necessary in order to observed and identify the improvement. The old system is the poor and manual system of the performance appraisal which doesn’t satisfy and meet the demand of the internal customers. Moreover, the employees are the internal customers of an organization. On the contrary, the new conceptual model is one of the best-suggestedmodels which includes the implementation of electronic and software-based performance appraisal system for the employees. However, the system which is suggested through conceptual model is a little bit costly but the result oriented as well.

            The engagement of the employees is not an easy task, the organization has to face various challenges in order to retain and engage employees. There are several reasons for the high turnover rate and the lack of trained employees. Firstly, the Hr. Department does not follow the proper system at the time of recruitment. Secondly, the training and development program does not update. Moreover, that particular weakness forces the employees to move. At last, there is no specific system for the future development of employees (Cummings, 2014). For that particular purpose, theorganization needs to develop certain policies which are beneficial for the organization and for the employee as well.

            To the extent the adaptability in the workplace is concerned, the adaptable workplace and the worker impetuses enables the general population to work harder and the prizes and rewards and the motivational factor for the representative. There are particular divisions which are intended to keep up a divine being connection amongst representatives and staff. The specific divisions are exclusively in charge of the coordination and keeps up a decent connection amongst manager and workers. Their essential obligation is to determine working environment question and deals with the sound working ecological which is valuable for representatives and association too. (Phillips, 2016).

                According to Kossek, Thompson, and Lautsch (2015) time flexibility has several benefits and one of the most prominent is retaining and attracting quality employees. Time flexibility allows employees to demonstrate their actual capabilities and just what they are really capable because time is not threatening their work. With the demonstration of required skills, the organization is favored which means that not only the employees but also organization is benefitted from time flexibility. Considering the fact that not many organizations emphasize on time flexibility as their required work practices, the organization that does focus on it is able to not only attract the best talents but is also able to retain them. When employees are retained, it decreases the turnover of employees. There is a chain of advantages that an organization acquire when an organization has a very low turnover rate. The most important one of them is high cost savings. What makes it even more effective is that employee turnover is low with workers who are able to perform up to their utmost.

            Time flexibility decreases absenteeism because employees often are not present because they have some other important tasks that they have to complete. Some other employees come late because they think that policy of time is very strict and due to it, they have to miss other important tasks. In addition, when workers arrive late, they are in a hurry and they consume a lot of time just to get stable in their work. This tendency is decreased when there is a practice of flexible time at the workplace. When workers are able to complete their other tasks without having to worry about arriving late, work efficiency is increased. This way, employees also consume less time to get indulged in their work. Therefore, time flexibility contributes a lot to this whole process (Kossek, Thompson, & Lautsch, 2015).

            Abid and Barech (2017) explain that flexible time and working hours are the advantageous accords between the employer and the employee in a reciprocal way for enhancing work efficiency and employee productivity for organization’s higher profitability. Considering the fact that basic necessities of the life are seemingly changing because of the economic, political, social, and financial constraints and individuals of all genders have tow work. Therefore, for having a work-life balance and maintaining a healthy life of family, flexible time is not only acceptable by female but also male workers. The strategy of flexi-hours if adopted with a proper planning of degree and formality will decrease the rising stress and bring a significant improvement in employee wellbeing. Through time flexibility, it allows the employees to schedule everything in accordance with the circumstances. It is actually a top that is rarely utilized for increasing work efficiency, job satisfaction, and productivity within an organization. It improves life quality while decreasing organization’s overtime cost.

            FWA or flexible work arrangement which differ from the present work pattern to 5 from 9 from for five days has several other feasible options. This arrangement allows the organization to gain a competitive edge because the company is able to focus its workforce on a specific peak period of work. Overtime costs are decreased because when work is less, there are no employees in the organization. Arrangements of flexible work will be supporting for the personal needs of employees. Flexible time options are offered by several businesses and workers are rapidly recognizing flexible time arrangement as a significant factor in taking a seat in the organization. Flexibility of time will also involve other benefits like increased morale, employee satisfaction, and environment where workers are happy with both their lives and their jobs (Abid & Barech, 2017).

            Belwal and Belwal (2014) explain that in Oman, women have begun serving organizational workforce in large numbers and they are managing their family and work simultaneously. Actually, this trend is only predicted to grow as the time passes and more women will register in higher vocational or educational institutes in the nation. At present, fifty-five percent of the total workforce in Oman is comprised of women and contribute a lot in banking, media, health, education, and other sectors of business. However, this great participation of women poses different sets of challenges to organization. For instance, it is significant for women to have a work-life balance because they have to not only work but manage their families as well. Work inefficiency is strongly related to how organizations impose rules associated with time. For instance, if women have to get early no matter what then they might not be able to prepare breakfast for their children and this is quite tough for them. In such a situation, they may not be able to perform well at workplace.

            That is why time flexibility plays an important role in increasing the work efficiency, especially when an organization has majority of women as its workforce. When there is time flexibility, the very first effect will be on the work-life balance. When they are able to maintain a balance in both their lives then obviously they will be satisfied with how their organization. Employee satisfaction is directly related with work efficiency which means that with a rise in the happiness of workers, efficiency of work will increase. Overall, this will favor the organization and over the course of time, it will contribute positively to organizational success. This way, time flexibility is not only significant for achieving organizational success but for maintaining employee satisfaction as well (Belwal & Belwal, 2014).

            Shagvaliyeva and Yazdanifard (2014) state that employers in different companies have seemingly introduced packages of flexible time for retaining, recruiting, and even attracting highly qualified workers in their organizations. With the capability of scheduling the work herself or himself, a worker feels that the employer carrs about not only the wellbeing but also the personal life of the owrker. It leads to higher satisfaction with the employer and job which results in higher commitment towards work. In accordance with some other studies, flexible time results in higher satisfaction of job, better commitment towards the organization, increase work efficiency, and employee loyalty. In addition, retaining and attracting becomes easier with flexible time in the organization. That is why, practices of flexible time are beneficial for both employers and workers, and hence when flexibility is embedded in the work, the efficiency of work increases significantly.

            Flexibility of time according to the authors is beneficial for employers and employees. In the first place, flexibility of time was introduced in organizations for helping workers who had children to take care of or employees who have to take care of their siblings and family. As time flexibility gives enough time for workers to handle all the tasks that they have, flexibility contributes to optimization in allocation of life responsibilities and work. That is why, workers may end up fulfilling her or his working as well roles of non-working. Lastly, effective achievement of work efficiency within an organization depends on time flexibility at present. Authors summarize that the utilization of practices associated with flexible time influence employee satisfaction positively along with work-life balance. From the perspective of an employer, time flexibility in the organization has brought some serious benefits with it. First of all, it has an effect on work efficiency because with time flexibility, workers don’t take a long time to be effective with their work. Their working skills are utilized fully when they don’t have an issue occupying their mind. Therefore, it can also be said that practice of time-flexibility contributes to employee wellbeing as well (Shagvaliyeva & Yazdanifard, 2014).

            Lott (2015) says that time is a significant determining element for combining life and work. Autonomous and flexible working time can allow workers to combine the activities and responsibility outside the work with their organizational work. Recent studies have indicated that schedules of autonomous and flexible working have positive impacts on the balance of work-life and negative effects on the conflict between work-family. In addition, flexible arrangements of time in terms of work are determined to lead to work efficiency, improve mental health, and job satisfaction. But since working time’s flexibilization of the working time is often driven by market and the advantage of such arrangements have also been questioned in the previous studies.

            When there is no flexibility in terms of time in organizations, it leads to overtime and intensification of work as well. Overloading of work is not beneficial for an organization at all because it takes a negative toll on the satisfaction of employee. Furthermore, the balance between life and work is also threatened by the overload of work. When time is being managed by the manager in such a way that workers are able to enjoy flexible time properly, there are no risks of work intensification. Often, overload of work causes the employee to be stressed out and it is not beneficial for his health. That is why, when flexible time is not prevalent in an organization, employee wellbeing is also affected negatively by it which is not beneficial for an organization (Lott, 2015).

References of  Evaluating Effects of Time Flexibility upon Work Efficiency in Oman Public Sector

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Agha, K., Azmi, F. T., & Irfan, A. (2017). Work-Life Balance and Job Satisfaction: An Empirical study Focusing on Higher Education Teachers in Oman. 164-171.

Belwal, S., & Belwal, R. (2014). Work-Life Balance, Family-Friendly Policies and Quality of Work Life Issues: Studying Employers’ Perspectives of Working Women in Oman. Journal of International Women’s Studies, 15(1), 96-117.

Bhate, R. (2013). Flexibility at work: Employees’ perceptions. The Generations of Talent Study. . Sloan Center on Aging & Work at Boston College.

Dhiaa Shamki, T. A. (2017). Factors Influence Internal Audit Effectiveness. International Journal of Business and Management;, 12(10).

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John, W. (2017). FLEXIBLE WORKING HOURS AND ORGANIZATIONAL PRODUCTIVITY: EXPLORING THE POTENTIAL LINKAGE. Journal of Management & Research.

Kossek, E. E., & Lautsch, B. A. (2017). Work–Life Flexibility for Whom? Occupational Status and Work–Life Inequality in Upper, Middle, and Lower Level Jobs. 12.

Kossek, E. E., Thompson, R. J., & Lautsch, B. A. (2015). Balanced workplace flexibility. California Management Review, 57(4).

Lott, Y. (2015). Working-time flexibility and autonomy: A European perspective on time adequacy. European Journal of Industrial Relations, 21(3), 259-274.

Mehboob Ullah, M. H. (2017). IMPACT OF TIME FLEXIBILITY ON EMPLOYEES’ PERFORMANCE:A STUDY OF TEACHING FACULTY IN GOVERNMENT COLLEGES OFMANAGEMENT SCIENCES PESHAWAR. City University Research Journal, 206-212.

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