IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/woemps/v38y2024i5p1379-1402.html

Navigating Choppy Water: Flexibility Ripple Effects in the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Future of Remote and Hybrid Working

Author

Listed:
  • Daniel Wheatley

    (University of Birmingham, UK)

  • Matthew R. Broome

    (University of Birmingham, UK)

  • Tony Dobbins

    (University of Birmingham, UK)

  • Benjamin Hopkins

    (University of Birmingham, UK)

  • Owen Powell

    (York St John University, UK)

Abstract

This article investigates the challenges of navigating the adoption of remote and hybrid working for large organizations with diverse functions. Focus groups with employees of the UK business of a multinational organization identify conceptual contributions to the sociology of work and employment and empirical findings in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic that inform future policy and practice. Location-based flexible working has a potential unintended ‘ripple’ effect wherein application of individual-level flexibility has wider-reaching consequences throughout the organization. Findings emphasize that organizations need to recognize and respond to new realities of location-based flexibility. Management must navigate potential ‘ripples’ in the development of flexible working policies and practice, shaped by various tensions, including an overarching autonomy–control paradox. This requires a coordinated approach centred on ‘inclusive flexibility’ and ‘responsible autonomy’ that involves moving away from one-size-fits-all strategies towards a tailored approach offering employees choice, agency and voice in decision-making, while accommodating different stakeholder needs.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniel Wheatley & Matthew R. Broome & Tony Dobbins & Benjamin Hopkins & Owen Powell, 2024. "Navigating Choppy Water: Flexibility Ripple Effects in the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Future of Remote and Hybrid Working," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 38(5), pages 1379-1402, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:38:y:2024:i:5:p:1379-1402
    DOI: 10.1177/09500170231195230
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09500170231195230
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/09500170231195230?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Coenen, Marja & Kok, Robert A.W., 2014. "Workplace flexibility and new product development performance: The role of telework and flexible work schedules," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 564-576.
    2. Li Sun & Tao Liu & Weiquan Wang, 2023. "Working from Home in Urban China during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Assemblages of Work-Family Interference," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 37(1), pages 157-175, February.
    3. Richard Shearmur, 2021. "Conceptualising and measuring the location of work: Work location as a probability space," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 58(11), pages 2188-2206, August.
    4. Inga Laß & Mark Wooden, 2023. "Working from Home and Work–Family Conflict," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 37(1), pages 176-195, February.
    5. Julius Sim & Jackie Waterfield, 2019. "Focus group methodology: some ethical challenges," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 53(6), pages 3003-3022, November.
    6. Stefanie C Reissner & Michal Izak & Donald Hislop, 2021. "Configurations of Boundary Management Practices among Knowledge Workers," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 35(2), pages 296-315, April.
    7. Daniel Wheatley, 2021. "Workplace location and the quality of work: The case of urban-based workers in the UK," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 58(11), pages 2233-2257, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jean-François Stich & Antonio Díaz Andrade & Wendelin Küpers, 2026. "Holiworking: Perspectives on New Ways of Integrating Holiday and Work," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 40(2), pages 250-272, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Darja Reuschke & Carol Ekinsmyth, 2021. "New spatialities of work in the city," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 58(11), pages 2177-2187, August.
    2. Rainoldi, Mattia & Ladkin, Adele & Buhalis, Dimitrios, 2025. "Digital nomads' work-leisure management practices," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    3. Toshihiro Okubo, 2024. "Work from Home and Time Allocation: Evidence from Time-use Data in Japan," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 45(4), pages 598-630, December.
    4. Toshihiro Okubo, 2024. "Non‐routine tasks and ICT tools in telework," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 38(2), pages 177-202, June.
    5. Pui-Hang Wong & Karima Kourtit & Peter Nijkamp, 2025. "The teleworking paradox: the geography of residential mobility of workers in pandemic times," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 74(1), pages 1-27, March.
    6. Urban, Wieslaw & Buraczyńska, Barbara, 2025. "E-commerce enterprise flexibility leading to better customer perception," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    7. Aslam, Usman & Davis, Leon, 2024. "Analyzing consumer expectations and experiences of Augmented Reality (AR) apps in the fashion retail sector," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    8. Gawke, Jason C. & Gorgievski, Marjan J. & Bakker, Arnold B., 2019. "Measuring intrapreneurship at the individual level: Development and validation of the Employee Intrapreneurship Scale (EIS)," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 37(6), pages 806-817.
    9. Anna Matysiak & Agnieszka Kasperska & Ewa Cukrowska-Torzewska, 2025. "Mechanisms Underlying the Effects of Work from Home on Careers in the Post-Covid Context," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 39(5), pages 1103-1126, October.
    10. Stela Zhivkova, 2022. "Sustainability in the Companies Practices," European Journal of Marketing and Economics Articles, Revistia Research and Publishing, vol. 5, ejme_v5_i.
    11. Anne-Sophie Maillot & Thierry Meyer & Sophie Prunier-Poulmaire & Emilie Vayre, 2022. "A Qualitative and Longitudinal Study on the Impact of Telework in Times of COVID-19," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-20, July.
    12. Zubair, Hamza & Susilawati, Susilawati & Talei, Amin & Pu, Ziyuan, 2024. "Investigating the role of flex-time working arrangements in optimising morning peak-hour travel demand: A survival analysis approach," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    13. Ioana Gutu & Camelia Nicoleta Medeleanu, 2023. "Assessing Teleworkforce and Electronic Leadership Favorable for an Online Workforce Sustainability Framework by Using PLS SEM," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-32, September.
    14. Inga Laß & Esperanza Vera-Toscano & Mark Wooden, 2025. "Working from Home, COVID-19, and Job Satisfaction," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 78(2), pages 330-354, March.
    15. Prager, Fynnwin & Rhoads, Mohja & Martínez, Jose N., 2022. "The COVID-19 economic shutdown and the future of flexible workplace practices in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 241-255.
    16. Sima Sabahi & Mahour M. Parast, 2023. "An operations and supply chain management perspective to product innovation," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 808-829, June.
    17. Okubo, Toshihiro, 2022. "Telework in the spread of COVID-19," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    18. Choolwe Mweene & Austin Mwange, 2025. "An Examination of Factors Contributing to the Maize-Centric Procurement Approach in Zambia: Case of The Food Research Agency," African Journal of Commercial Studies, African Journal of Commercial Studies, vol. 6(1).
    19. Milenko Radonic & Valentina Vukmirovic & Milos Milosavljevic, 2021. "The Impact of Hybrid Workplace Models on Intangible Assets: The Case of an Emerging Country," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 23(58), pages 770-770, August.
    20. Te Li & Wen Yang, 2026. "How does remote work shape work–family balance? The interaction of work stress and leadership support," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 13(1), pages 1-16, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:38:y:2024:i:5:p:1379-1402. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.britsoc.co.uk/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.