dministration and management, however, have been justifiably concerned over the potential effects of flexible working arrangements on productivity. Productivity is affected not only by the efficiency with which an organization's human resources work, but also is affected by ancillary costs associated with an organization's human resources. One study found that the introduction of flextime and position sharing reduced organizational costs for employee medical care because these human resource management innovations reduced stress levels among those employees availing themselves of flexibility in work scheduling (Tarkan, 1991, pp. 76, 78). Another study found that implementation of flextime job sharing led to a reduction in job-related accidents, thereby reducing costs and increasing productivity (Thomas & Thomas, 1990, pp. 31-41).
Flexible working arrangements such as position-sharing also can lead to reductions in conflicts between professional and family responsibilities. Two of the more significant family responsibilities that frequently conflict with work demands are child care and elder care. The need for child day care and the need for elder care stem from two separate problems. The responsibility for addressing each of the problems, however, most often falls to the same group of people--persons employed outside of the home. Thus, responses to each of the problems hold implications for employers.
Child care and elder care problems experienced by employees can often be addressed effectively through alternative work week schedules to the standard 40-hour, five-day work week. Such schedules for both a husband and a wife provide significant flexibility in the development of care arrangements for children and elderly relatives.
Some organizations have found that the flexible work schedules have a positive impact on an organization's productivity, as well as having a positive impact on employee desires to remain with the...