Flexible Work Arrangements Availability and their Relationship with Work‐to‐Family Conflict, Job Satisfaction, and Turnover Intentions: A Comparison of Three Country Clusters

TLDR

The study examined how the availability of flexible work arrangements relates to managers’ job satisfaction, turnover intentions, and work‑to‑family conflict across country clusters. Differences in flexible work arrangement availability were explained by varying levels of individualism and collectivism among Latin American, Anglo, and Asian clusters. Anglo managers reported the highest FWA availability, with flextime uniquely improving job satisfaction, reducing turnover intentions, and lowering work‑to‑family conflict; Latin American managers found part‑time work linked to lower turnover intentions and strain‑based conflict, while Asian managers observed telecommuting associated with higher strain‑based conflict and flextime unrelated to time‑based conflict, and overall cluster differences did not moderate compressed‑work‑week effects.

Abstract

The present study explored the availability of flexible work arrangements (FWA) and their relationship with manager outcomes of job satisfaction, turnover intentions, and work‐to‐family conflict (WFC) across country clusters. We used individualism and collectivism to explain differences in FWA availability across Latin American, Anglo, and Asian clusters. Managers from the Anglo cluster were more likely to report working in organisations that offer FWA compared to managers from other clusters. For Anglo managers, flextime was the only FWA that had significant favorable relationships with the outcome variables. For Latin Americans, part‐time work negatively related with turnover intentions and strain‐based WFC. For Asians, flextime was unrelated to time‐based WFC, and telecommuting was positively associated with strain‐based WFC. The clusters did not moderate the compressed work week and outcome relationships. Implications for practitioners adopting FWA practices across cultures are discussed.