Editing Flextime (section)

== Empirical evidence ==
Flexible working was academically introduced in 1970{{citation needed|date=July 2021}} and since then this topic continues to be the interest of many research papers.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}

For four decades, academic papers have contributed to the increased knowledge and interest in flexible working. A descriptive background of the evolution of the concept of flexibility as well as highlighting the main factors contributed to its growth were the main focus of academic studies.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lambert |first1=Alysa D. |last2=Marler |first2=Janet H. |last3=Gueutal |first3=Hal G. |title=Individual differences: Factors affecting employee utilization of flexible work arrangements |journal=Journal of Vocational Behavior |date=August 2008 |volume=73 |issue=1 |pages=107–117 |doi=10.1016/j.jvb.2008.02.004 }}</ref> Also, they deliver evidence of the significant amount and the ongoing increase in the use of flexible working in many countries.<ref name=Chung2019>{{cite journal |last1=Chung |first1=Heejung |title=National-Level Family Policies and workers' Access to Schedule Control in a European Comparative Perspective: Crowding Out or In, and for Whom? |journal=Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice |date=January 2019 |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=25–46 |doi=10.1080/13876988.2017.1353745 |s2cid=158186015 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Studies examining access to flextime have shown that it is the high skilled/educated workers in higher occupational jobs, and supervisory roles that are most likely to have access.<ref name=Chung2019/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Golden |first1=Lonnie |title=Flexible Daily Work Schedules in U.S. Jobs: Formal Introductions Needed? |journal=Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society |date=January 2009 |volume=48 |issue=1 |pages=27–54 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-232X.2008.00544.x |ssrn=988200 }}</ref> Unlike what many assume, women do not have better access to flextime arrangements, and female-dominated workplaces have worse access to flextime compared to workplaces where there are more men or an equal number of men and women.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Chung |first1=Heejung |title='Women's work penalty' in access to flexible working arrangements across Europe |journal=European Journal of Industrial Relations |date=March 2019 |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=23–40 |doi=10.1177/0959680117752829 |s2cid=158083149 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Many studies examine the outcomes of flexible working. For example, a study by Origo and Pagani based on a sample of European countries, gave a deep analysis of the concept of flexible working by testing the level of heterogeneity in the effect of flexibility on job satisfaction, the study found some positive link with some aspects of the job while negative or no relation was found against other aspects.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Origo |first1=Federica |last2=Pagani |first2=Laura |title=Workplace flexibility and job satisfaction: some evidence from Europe |journal=International Journal of Manpower |date=12 September 2008 |volume=29 |issue=6 |pages=539–566 |doi=10.1108/01437720810904211 }}</ref> There is increasing evidence for the "business case" of flexible working. A meta-analysis of studies has shown that flexible working can provide a wide range of benefits for companies, including increase in performance, productivity, and reduction in absenteeism.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=de Menezes |first1=Lilian M. |last2=Kelliher |first2=Clare |title=Flexible Working and Performance: A Systematic Review of the Evidence for a Business Case: Flexible Working and Performance |journal=International Journal of Management Reviews |date=December 2011 |volume=13 |issue=4 |pages=452–474 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-2370.2011.00301.x |ssrn=1955099 |s2cid=143305758 |url=https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/8671/1/IJMR%200680%20Feb2011%20LdMCK.pdf }}</ref>

Flexible working can both prevent and create opportunities. There is generally a positive relationship between flexible working and perceptions of job quality in term of work–life balance, and helping to improve and control autonomy particularly for remote workers, but some factors such as opportunities for advancement will be negatively affected due to the variations on different dimensions of job quality.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kelliher |first1=Clare |last2=Anderson |first2=Deirdre |title=For better or for worse? An analysis of how flexible working practices influence employees' perceptions of job quality |journal=The International Journal of Human Resource Management |date=March 2008 |volume=19 |issue=3 |pages=419–431 |doi=10.1080/09585190801895502 |hdl=1826/4097 |s2cid=153442559 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Flexible working has also been linked to increased recruitment and retention of workers. Chung and van der Horst<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Chung |first1=Heejung |last2=van der Horst |first2=Mariska |title=Women's employment patterns after childbirth and the perceived access to and use of flexitime and teleworking |journal=Human Relations |date=January 2018 |volume=71 |issue=1 |pages=47–72 |doi=10.1177/0018726717713828 |pmid=29276304 |pmc=5714156 }}</ref> have shown that the use of flextime significantly reduces the likelihood of mothers decreasing their working hours after childbirth and reduces the likelihood of first-time mothers leaving their work altogether. Flexible employment is one of the vital factors in the European Union policy discourse. It is a means to reduce unemployment, increase economic and social cohesion, maintain economic competitiveness and enhance equal opportunities between women and men.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Perrons |first1=Diane |title=Flexible Working Patterns and Equal Opportunities in the European Union |journal=European Journal of Women's Studies |date=November 1999 |volume=6 |issue=4 |pages=391–418 |doi=10.1177/135050689900600401 |s2cid=143173961 }}</ref> However, flexible working has some problems. Studies have also shown that flexible working can lead to an increase in overtime hours.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lott |first1=Yvonne |last2=Chung |first2=Heejung |title=Gender Discrepancies in the Outcomes of Schedule Control on Overtime Hours and Income in Germany |journal=European Sociological Review |date=December 2016 |volume=32 |issue=6 |pages=752–765 |doi=10.1093/esr/jcw032 |doi-access=free }}</ref>