answers
BUSM4558 Work in a Global Society
Week 6 ‘Flexibility’: a ‘win-win’?
Objectives:
Introduce definitions of different forms of employment (standard and non-standard) and relation to flexibility
Outline the historical context for the push towards increased flexibility
Explain how different forms of employment and flexibility are related
Introduce concepts of employer-orientated and worker-orientated flexibility; contingent work; and the precariat
Discuss the debates surrounding labour market ‘flexibility’
Highlight the tensions between flexibility and security
Highlight the gendered nature of workplace flexibility
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Traditional full-time permanent jobs no longer the norm
The Australian 28 May 2018
A 'third way': the controversial push for a new type of worker
The Sydney Morning Herald 15 February 2019
Research confirms working mums are ‘up to 40% more stressed’
Women’s Agenda February 2019
For this generation, work is not all about money
Human Capital, 15 February 2019
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The Rise of Flexible Work…
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Standard vs Non-standard Work
Zeytinoglu’s (1999) typology of employment contracts distinguishes between standard and non-standard forms of employment. The typology is based on two criteria:
Regularity (or continuity) of employment
Hours of work
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| Standard Employment | Non-Standard Employment | |
| Full-time work | Part-time work Temporary agency work Contract company employment Short-term employment Contingent work Independent contracting ‘Gig’ work |
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ILO 2016
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Context and Drivers of Non-Standard Work
Why is non standard employment on the rise? International Labour Organisation (2019)
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Linking Non-Standard Work, Job Security & Flexibility
Non-standard work contracts may be linked with job insecurity & working time insecurity
Great heterogeneity between different forms of NSE within & between countries (Hipp et al 2015; Zeytinoglu & Webber 2002)
Permanent part-time work (generally) more secure than casual work
Job security depends on employment regulation protections for non-standard workers
Non-standard work provides flexibility to employers & some workers
But ‘hides the costs to the state and families that stem from freeing employers from responsibilities to guarantee wage income, employment continuity and working hours and provide social contributions’ (Rubery et al 2016)
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.
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Flexible Work: Whose Flexibility?
National labour market level:
Industry practice: construction, horticulture, retail (Reilly et al 2018)
Employment regulation: greater protections for permanent /standard workers (de Stefano & Aloisi 2018)
Cohort ‘preferences’, constraints & trade offs: young people, women, migrants, long hours work (Tomlinson 2007; Campbell & van Wanrooy 2013)
Organisational level:
Occupation & place in workplace hierarchy shapes access to worker-orientated flexibility
The ‘price’ of flexibility: low-paid non-career flexible ‘ghettos’ eg banking
Organisational culture - highly significant factor in facilitating or blocking flexibility & influencing if workers request flexibility (Skinner et al 2016)
“Flexibility that enables working carers to exert some control over their working time or place is a crucial basis for good-quality employment over the life course” (Pocock and Charlesworth 2017: 36)
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Different Forms of Flexibility: Worker & Employer Centric Forms of Flexibility
Flexibility as demand-driven:
“Strategic initiative of employers to enhance the business requirements of the firm”
Employer perspective - flexibility by employees
Flexibility as supply-driven:
“Where employees have the ability to influence decisions about the nature of their work schedules for work-life balance”
Worker perspective – flexibility for workers
Sources: Zeytinoglu, Cooke & Mann (2009, p. 555); Peetz (2014)
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Forms of Employer Flexibilities: Managerial perspective
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| Type of Flexibility | Definition |
| Functional | “How is labour used?” |
| Numerical | “How much labour is used?” |
| Spatial | “Where can labour be used?” |
| Temporal | “When can labour be used?” |
| Technological | “What technology can labour be made to use?” |
| Remuneration | “How is labour remunerated?” |
Based on Cooper et al. (2009) and Kuruvilla and Erickson (2002)
Flexibility is (often) about Managerial Prerogative & Control
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The Rise of the Flexible Firm: Core vs. Periphery model
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Atkinson (1984), Manpower Strategies for Flexible Organisations
Pfeffer & Barron (1998) explain that firms decide to “externalize activities” for the following rationales:
Buffer for core workforce (numerical flexibility)
Budgetary constraints
Focus on ’core activities’
Reduce pressures for ‘homogenization of wages’
Cost reduction – poorer conditions for peripheral worker
Pressuring ‘core’ workers
Resist ‘unionization’
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Non-Standard/Flexible work: Part-time Work
Part-time work is regular wage employment in which the hours are less than full-time work (In Australia full-time work is 38 hours per week)
Changes in the extent & nature of part-time work
Before 1970s part-time work undertaken by women & young people who wanted to work part-time
Shift since 1970 there have been an increasing number of people in part-time work who would prefer to work full-time – rising underemployment
Shifts from supply driven (worker preference) to demand driven (employer preference) flexibility
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Voluntary Involuntary Part-timers Part-timers
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Rise of Part-Time Work
In Australia, 8.3% of workers (mainly part-time) underemployed (ABS 2018)
Of male employees 6.7% are underemployed vs 10.7% female employees
Community & personal service workers = 21% underemployed
Worker reasons for part-time work (Reserve Bank 2017)
So why do some employers prefer part-timers?
Cost-containment (less wages, less fringe benefits)
Meet staffing needs (‘temporal & numerical flexibility’)
Yet for part-time workers often a ‘part-time penalty’ (i.e. less pay for similar work) (e.g. Manning & Petrongolo 2008; Bardasi & Gornick 2008)
Most developed countries part-timers earn less per hour than full-timers, even when relevant factors taken into account
Australia a notable exception? (Booth & Wood 2008) - Preston & Yu (2014) find part-time wage gap for women affected by ’casual’ status
Workers may experience ‘part-time stigma’ (e.g. Fuchs Epstein et al. 1999)
Part-time work can have a ‘scaring’ effect on women workers careers (Biewen et al 2018)
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Part-time Employment Figures across the OECD
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Rise of ‘Contingent’ /Precarious Work
Contingent/precarious work may be defined as “any job in which an individual does not have an explicit or implicit contract for long-term employment or one in which the minimum hours worked can vary in a nonsystematic manner” (Polivka & Nardone 1989, p. 11 emphasis added).
The characteristics of contingent work:
Short-term
Unstable employment
Job-insecurity
Varies not only by form of employment but by occupation, gender & race (Vosko & Cranford 2008)
“I’m simply like a cover, weekend cover, that’s what they say and my contract is like that. I can tell them I don’t want to work. I don’t have to give them any notice, but they can also terminate my contract at any time.”
Source: McDowell, Batnitzky & Dyer (2009, p. 17)
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Non-Standard/Flexible work: Casual Work
In Australia casual employees are those who are not entitled to paid holiday or sick leave but who are entitled to a casual loading (25%)
“While many casual employees value the flexibility of arrangements which enable them to balance work with family, study or other non-work activities, others may find themselves in less than favourable employment arrangements.” (ABS 2010)
In 2018 casual employees made up around 24% (ABS 2018) of all employees – casual employment relatively static over last 20 years
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Casual Work in Australia
Screen Shot
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Non-Stndard/Flexible work: Casual Work
Source: Parliamentary Library 2018
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Gendered Face of Casual Work in Australia
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Source: Parliamentary Library 2018
Contract Employment
Subcontractors provide a product or service. Organizations' rationales for ‘contracting out’ work include:
Meet increased demand
Reduce costs
Source external expertise
Generally contractors supervise their own employees (in contrast to ‘temporary agency work’). However, contractor status can give rise to:
Safety issues on site
Reduced training opportunities employees
Trend of contracting out ‘non-core’ functions
E.g. cleaning, catering services
Concern about increasing trend of ’sham contracting’ / ‘false-self employment ’
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Definition: (1) Not employed by company and (2) responsible for own taxes (for more detailed criteria in Australia see Fair Work Ombudsman’s website
Generally given specific instructions for final product or result of work
Genuine contractors have a considerable level of discretion and control how work is performed
Advantages of ‘independent contractors’ for companies include:
Buying in specific service, knowledge, task
Contracting out of risk
Not vicariously liable for actions contractors
Potential cost advantages, such as Reduction tax & employment contributions (incl. payroll taxes, WorkCover, Super Annuation, etc.)
Independent Contractors
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‘Dependent’ contractors ‘Independent’ contractors
See Kalleberg (2000)
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Temporary Agency Work: Employment through Intermediaries
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Employment contract
Employees work under supervision of the organisation
Labour hire contract
’Triangular Employment Relationship’
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Temporary Agency Worker
Firm
Agency
Temporary Agency Work: Employment through Intermediaries
Exponential growth since the 1980s in temping & staffing
Functions as a “reserve labor army” (Kalleberg 2000)
Agencies employ workers and send them to customers on an hourly basis at the client’s premises and direction
Rise of long-term temping contracts. Temping becomes part of the HR strategy, creating a fragmentation of workforce
At times deliberately used to undermine existing labour standards and underpay workers – see e.g. Four Corners ‘Slaving Away’
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Fragmentation caused by ‘temping’ in the German Care Manufacturing Industry
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Temporary Agency Work: ‘Temps’ as “Managerial ‘Weapons”
Hatton (2014) analyzed how US employer used ‘temp’ workers to restructure their relations with their existing workforces and found that ‘temps’ could be used as a ‘management weapon’ in four ways:
To prevent existing worker from unionizing
To weaken existing unions in workplaces
To put pressure on unions and workers during collective bargaining
To intimidate or harass striking workers
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Why Workers opt for Non-Standard ‘Flexible’ Forms of Employment?
Heterogeneous group, hence differing motivations, including:
Work-family responsibilities
Search for permanent position
Temp-to-permanent conversion
Develop skills to transition to permanent job
Flexible work-practices suit lifestyle needs
e.g. older workers reducing # hours rather than retiring
Lack of alternative employment options
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The Rise of the Precariat
Professor Guy Standing discusses The Precariat
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Source: Standing (2010, 10)
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Supply Driven Flexibility Flexibility for Workers
Worker-centric flexibility revolves around temporal and spatial form of flexibility. (e.g. part-time work, flexi-time)
Why do people make requests for more flexible work arrangements?
Family-caring responsibilities, e.g. childcare
Study
Leisure
Work-life balance
Motivations are, however, gendered (Skinner & Pocock 2011, p. 74):
Women mainly seek flexibility for childcare and study needs
Men are more likely to be seek more interesting work or more pay or more hours.
Almost 1 in 3 Australian workers would like more flexible work arrangements (AWALI 2014)
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Work-Life Conflict
Lack of flexible work can result in work-life conflict (AWALI 2014)
Work-Life Conflict is the intersection of individual’s working and personal lives and potential conflicts between them. The quality/characteristics of (family/personal) “life” and work impact on each other. (Kirby et al. 2013, p. 377)
Henly & Lamber (2014) conducted research on work-life conflict in the retail industry and found that unpredictable work schedules are related to:
General work-life conflict
Time-based conflict
Strain-based conflict (employee stress).
Employees ability to influence work schedules, on the other hand, had a negative association with these outcomes.
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Right to Request Flexible Working Arrangements
What is it?
Procedural right. Adopted by number of countries, incl. UK and Australia
Workers can request management to consider flexible schedules, work hours, or alternative places of work to facilitate caring responsibilities.
Goal is that employee can engage in paid work & undertake family roles
Employer, however, has the ”right to refuse”
Research found that problems with existing provisions in Australia are that (Cooper & Baird 2015; Skinner & Pocock 2014; AWALI 2014) :
Certain workers are excluded because of the nature of their work
Because the right is procedural rather than substantive, there is only limited enforceability
“[The] provision has had absolutely no discernible effect on flexibility request-making by Australian workers: basically those who feel secure about asking, ask – and mostly get what they ask for. They have reciprocal respectful arrangements with their supervisor/employers – and they ask from a place of relative power. Those who do not, do not ask.” (Pocock 2016, p. 157)
Workplace flexibilities can result in increased levels of job satisfaction (Cotti, Haley & Miller 2014, p. 403).
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Is Flexicurity an Alternative ‘Win’-’Win’ Model?
From a societal perspective ‘flexibility’ and ‘security’ do not inherently have to be contradictory concepts, if properly designed they can be mutually supportive policies
It requires, however, complex and multidimensional political strategy to enhance both labour market flexibility and social security (aiming for ‘win’-’win’ approach) – rethinking the concepts of both and integration various policy areas.
Flexicurity model (simplified):
Easier to ‘hire-and-fire’ for employers
In return, generous welfare provisions for workers, including retraining opportunities
Crucial role for the State as facilitator
Countries that adopted aspects of flexicurity:
Denmark and the Netherlands
Flexicurity under austerity?
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See e.g. Madsen (2006); Wilthagen & Tross (2004), Hastings & Heyes 2018
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Conclusion
Rise in non-standard forms of employment since the 1980s.
These non-standard forms have direct implications for job security, and can pose a threat, to standard forms of employment because they are less protected or unprotected by labour laws
Growth of non-standard work increases pressure on core workers to accept more flexibility
Affects different groups of workers differently, worker-carers, young people, migrants
The trend towards these non-standard forms of employment should be considered in light of changing organisational strategies adopted in response to increased competitive pressures (incl. market liberalization, privatizations, and globalization) as well as new management theorizing.
Not all non-standard jobs low-quality jobs, but a large proportion of them are
Tensions between employment ‘security’ and workplace ‘flexibility’ (from a managerial perspective) nothing new
Need to distinguish between different forms of flexibility
Demand Driven Flexibilities: Employer centric
Supply Driven Flexibilities: Worker centric
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Key concepts and questions:
Concepts:
Types and forms of standard and non standard employment :
Employer and worker-orientated flexibility
The Flexible Firm
Contingent work
The Precariat
Questions:
Is flexibility a win for workers and a win for employers? Discuss drawing upon the debates raised in class and in the readings.
In what ways is non-standard work and precariousness becoming the ‘new normal’ in globalised labour markets and what are the implications of this development for workers and workers rights?
What are the challenges for different groups of workers, businesses, and society in relation to the rise of non-standard forms of work?
How might worker preferences for flexibility be accommodated while meeting the flexibilities sought by employers?
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Key Readings Week 6
Atkinson (1984), ‘Manpower Strategies for Flexible Organisations’, Personnel management, 16(8), p. 28-31.
AWALI (2014), ‘Australian Work and Life Index: The Persistent Challenge: Living, Working and Caring in Australia in 2014’, Centre for Work+Life.
International Labour Organization [ILO] (2016) Non-standard employment around the world: Understanding challenges, shaping prospectsKalleberg, A.L. (2000) ‘Non-standard employment relations: part-time, temporary and contract work’, Annual Review of Sociology, 26, 341-365,
Kalleberg, A. (2000) 'Non-standard employment relations: part-time, temporary and contract work', Annual Review of Sociology, p. 26, 341-365
Rubery, J., Keizer, A., & Grimshaw, D. (2016). Flexibility bites back: the multiple and hidden costs of flexible employment policies. Human Resource Management Journal, 26(3), 235-251
Standing, G. (2011) ‘Chapter 1. The Precariat’, in G. Standing, The Precariat: The New dangerous Class, Bloomsbury Academic, p. 1-25
Wooden, M. & Warren, D. (2004) ‘Non-standard employment and job satisfaction: evidence from the HILDA Survey’, Journal of Industrial Relations, 46, p. 275-297
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Lecture References
Atkinson (1984), ‘Manpower Strategies for Flexible Organisations’, Personnel management, 16(8), p. 28-31.
AWALI (2014), ‘Australian Work and Life Index: The Persistent Challenge: Living, Working and Caring in Australia in 2014’, Centre for Work+Life https://www.unisa.edu.au/siteassets/episerver-6-files/documents/eass/cwl/publications/awali_2014_national_report_final.pdf
Bardasi, E., & Gornick, J. C. (2008). Working for less? Women's part-time wage penalties across countries. Feminist economics, 14(1), 37-72.
Biewen, M., Fitzenberger, B., & de Lazzer, J. (2018). The role of employment interruptions and part-time work for the rise in wage inequality. IZA Journal of Labor Economics, 7(1), 10.
Booth, A. & Wood, M. (2006) ‘Back-to-front Down-under? Part-time/Full-time Wage differentials in Australia’. IZA DP No. 2268, Institute for the Study of Labor, p. 1-30
Campbell, I., & van Wanrooy, B. (2013). Long working hours and working-time preferences: Between desirability and feasibility. Human Relations, 66(8), 1131-1155.
Cranford, C. J., & Vosko, L. F. (2006). Conceptualizing precarious employment: Mapping wage work across social location and occupational context. Precarious employment: Understanding labour market insecurity in Canada, 43-66.
Fuchs Eptsein, C., Serron, C., Oglensky, B. & Sauté, R. (1999) ‘The Part-time Paradox: Time Norms, Professional Life, Family and Gender’, London, Routledge
Hastings, T., & Heyes, J. (2018). Farewell to flexicurity? Austerity and labour policies in the European Union. Economic and Industrial democracy, 39(3), 458-480.
Henly, J.R. & Lambert, S.J. (2014). Unpredictable work timing in retail jobs: Implications for employee work–life conflict. ILR Review, 67(3), p. 986-1016.
Hipp, L., Bernhardt, J., & Allmendinger, J. (2015). Institutions and the prevalence of nonstandard employment. Socio-Economic Review, 13(2), 351-377.
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Lecture References
International Labour Organization [ILO] (2016) Non-standard employment around the world: Understanding challenges, shaping prospects https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_534326.pdf
Kalleberg, A. (2000) 'Non-standard employment relations: part-time, temporary and contract work', Annual Review of Sociology, p. 26, 341-365
Kirby, E., Wieland, S. & McBride, M. (2013). Work–life conflict. In J. G. Oetzel & S. Ting-Toomey The SAGE handbook of conflict communication (pp. 377-402). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications Ltd. doi: 10.4135/9781452281988.n16
Madsen, P.K. (2006) ‘Flexicurity – a new perspective on labour markets and welfare states in Europe’ http://docs.minszw.nl/pdf/35/2006/35_2006_3_8623.pdf
Manning, A. & Petrongolo, B. (2008) ‘The Part-Time Pay Penalty for Women in Britain’, The Economic Journal, 11 (526), F28-F51
McDowell, L., Batnitzky, A., & Dyer, S. (2009). Precarious work and economic migration: emerging immigrant divisions of labour in Greater London's service sector. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 33(1), 3-25.
Parliamentary Library (2018) Characteristics and use of casual employees in Australia https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp1718/CasualEmployeesAustralia
Peetz, D (2014) ‘The Choices We Make: A ‘sliding doors moment’, Griffith Review, 45: 44-58.
Pocock, B., & Charlesworth, S. (2017). Multilevel work–family interventions: Creating good-quality employment over the life course. Work and Occupations, 44(1), 23-46.
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Lecture References
Polivka A.E. (1996) ‘Contingent and alternative work arrangments, defined’, Monthly Labor Review, 119 (10), p. 3-9
Preston, A. (2003). Gender earnings and part‐time pay in Australia, 1990–1998. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 41(3), 417-433.
Reserve Bank (2017) The Rising Share of Part-time Employment Bulletin September Quarter 2017 https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/bulletin/2017/sep/3.html.
Rubery, J., Keizer, A., & Grimshaw, D. (2016). Flexibility bites back: the multiple and hidden costs of flexible employment policies. Human Resource Management Journal, 26(3), 235-251.
Skinner, N. & Pocock, B. (2011) ‘Flexibility and Work-Life Interference in Australia’, Journal of Industrial Relations, 53(1), p. 65-82
Standing, G. (2011) ‘Chapter 1. The Precariat’, in G. Standing, The Precariat: The New dangerous Class, Bloomsbury Academic, p. 1-25.
Stanford, J. (2016) ‘A Portrait of Employment Insecurity in Australia: Infographic’, http://www.futurework.org.au/a_portrait_of_employment_insecurity_in_australia_infographic
Tomlinson, J. (2006). Women's work-life balance trajectories in the UK: Reformulating choice and constraint in transitions through part-time work across the life-course. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 34(3), 365-382.
Wilthagen, T. & Tros, F. (2004) ‘The concept of ‘flexicurity’: a new approach to regulating employment and labour markets’, Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, Vol 10 (2), p. 166 - 186
Zeytinoglu, I. U. & C. Weber (2002). “Heterogeneity in the Periphery: An Analysis of Non-standard Employment Contracts.” Flexible Work Arrangements: Conceptualizations and International Experiences. I. U. Zeytinoglu, ed. The Hague, The Netherlands: Kluwer Law International, 13–24.
Zeytinoglu, I.U. (1999) ‘Flexible Work arrangements: An Overview of Developments in Canada’, in I.U. Zeytinogle, Changing Work Relationships in Industrialized Economies, Amsterda, John Benjamins Publishing Company, p.41-58
Zeytinoglu, I.U., Cooke, G.B. & Mann, S.L. (2009). ‘Flexibility: Whose choice is it anyway?’ Relations Industrielles/Industrial Relations, 555-574.
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