Flexible and compressed workweek schedules: A meta-analysis of their effects on work-related criteria.

TLDR

The authors performed a meta‑analysis to estimate the effects of flexible and compressed workweek schedules on productivity, job satisfaction, absenteeism, and work‑schedule satisfaction. Both flexible and compressed schedules generally improve work outcomes, but their benefits differ by criterion—compressed schedules do not reduce absenteeism, and the positive effects of flextime decline over time and are moderated by program flexibility.

Abstract

Meta-analytic techniques were used to estimate the effects of flexible and compressed workweek schedules on several work-related criteria (productivity/performance, job satisfaction, absenteeism, and satisfaction with work schedule). In general, the effects of both schedules were positive. However, the effects of both flextime and compressed workweek schedules were different across the outcome criteria (e.g., compressed workweek schedules did not significantly affect absenteeism). Thus, the level of positive impact associated with either schedule is dependent on the outcome criterion under consideration. Further, several variables were found to be moderators of flexible work schedules. For example, highly flexible flextime programs were less effective in comparison to less flexible programs, and the positive benefits of flextime schedules were found to diminish over time.