Creating flexible work arrangements through idiosyncratic deals.
A survey of 887 employees in a German government agency assessed the antecedents and consequences of idiosyncratic arrangements individual workers negotiated with their supervisors. Work arrangements promoting the individualization of employment conditions, such as part-time work and telecommuting, were positively related to the negotiation of idiosyncratic deals ("i-deals"). Worker personal initiative also had a positive effect on i-deal negotiation. Two types of i-deals were studied: flexibility in hours of work and developmental opportunities. Flexibility i-deals were negatively related and developmental i-deals positively related to work-family conflict and working unpaid overtime. Developmental i-deals were also positively related to increased performance expectations and affective organizational commitment, while flexibility i-deals were unrelated to either.
Hornung
Severin
S
Institute of Psychology, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany. hornung@wi.tum.de
Rousseau
Denise M
DM
Glaser
Jürgen
J
D003132:Commerce; D006801:Humans; D017008:Negotiating; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017132:Workplace