Completed Projects

Dates and duration of research project
March 2000 - March 2002. 24 months 

Summary of findings from Phases One and Two
Read the executive summary for Phase One of the research here.
Read the executive summary for Phase Two of the research here.
Press releases for the project can be viewed on the ICAEW webpages.

Location of project
Manchester School of Management, UMIST and Manchester Metropolitan University

Funding organisation
Centre for Business Performance. Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales 

Names and titles of project directors
Professor Cary Cooper , Professor Suzan Lewis

Other staff
Dr Janet Smithson, Peter Brennan 

Contact persons
Suzan Lewis s.lewis@mmu.ac.uk Department of Psychology, MMU, Hathersage Road, Manchester M13 OJA 

Background

Changes in the nature of work and workplaces provide challenges and opportunities for new forms of workplace flexibility. Furthermore new regulations on, for example, parental leave and working time, require all employers to consider some aspects of working time flexibility. This is a study of flexible working and its impact. 

Flexible working arrangement can be defined as any policies and practices, formal or informal, which permit people to vary when and where work is carried out. There are a number of reasons why accountancy firms should be introducing, or if they have already done so, developing and evaluating, flexible working practices. Firstly, accountancy is one of the professions in which a long hours culture prevails. There is mounting evidence that long hours of work are associated with stress related illnesses poor quality of life and reduced performance and productivity. On the other hand, evidence is beginning to accumulate that flexible working solutions, if well implemented, can reduce these negative effects, enhance recruitment and retention, and increase productivity and commitment to the organisation. However, it is clear that formal flexible working policies alone are not sufficient; there is often a gap between policy and practice. The effectiveness of flexible working policies and practices appears to depend on a number of facts such as support from managers and co-workers and the extent to which employees feel they have autonomy and control over their working hours in practices. Flexible working appears to be most successful when there is mutual flexibility, that is, both employees and their managers are willing to be flexible to meet individual and business needs. 

Aims

The overall objective was to examine and develop effective flexible working policies in the accountancy profession. Specifically the project aimed to:

1. examine the need for flexible working practices and identify possible age, gender and job level differences; 
2. examine the extent and nature of flexible working practices and gaps in provisions, and identify the nature and extent of leading edge practices; 
3. monitor the effects of current working hours on members and their families, and the potential business impact; 
4. identify ways in which flexible working can support business strategies and contribute to business goals; 
5. establish and pilot a framework for evaluating the extent to which flexible working policies and practices are achieving their objectives and identifying any barriers to their success; 
6. build evidence based foundations for the development of effective flexible working practices and disseminate the findings widely to chartered accountants and the general public.

This leading edge project was the first to explore systematically, develop and evaluate flexible working in any of the professions. It will provide important information for chartered accountants and have implications for future research in other professions. 

Project design and method

Data on working hours and their perceived effects, flexibility needs and available supports were collected via a survey of a representative sample of members of the Institute, a survey of Human Resource Directors, and in depth semi structured interviews were conducted with a diverse group of volunteers. On the basis of these findings a framework is being developed to guide firms in the development of flexible working policies and practices and to enable them to evaluate the extent to which such practices achieve their objectives 

Publications

Read the executive summary for Phase One of the research here.
Read the executive summary for Phase Two of the research here.
Click here to go to the book: The Profitable and Flexible Workplace