Fairly Flexible: Preventing Perceptions of Unfairness in Enactment of Workplace Flexibility

Workplace flexibility — that is, individuals’ ability to affect when, where and how much they work — can be an effective approach to dealing with competing work and non-work demands (Bailyn, 1993; Johnson, Shannon, & Richman, 2008; Pitt-Catsouphes, Smyer, Matz-Costa, & Kane, 2007). As individuals attempt to enact flexibility, however, they encounter numerous challenges and obstacles (Bailyn, 1993; Barker, 1993; Blair-Loy & Wharton, 2002; Briscoe, 2007; Evans, Kunda, & Barley, 2004; Kelliher & Anderson, 2010; Kossek, Lewis, & Hammer, 2010; Lautsch, Kossek, & Eaton, 2009; Perlow, 1997, 1998; Powell & Greenhaus, 2006; Thompson, Beauvais, & Lyness, et al., 1999). This chapter adds to this emerging literature by studying concerns with fairness1 that also critically shape individuals’ coping with the competing demands of work, and life outside of work. When one person gets flexibility, another is likely to have to pick up the slack, be inconvenienced, or perceive that he or she has been somehow short-changed in comparison. Such concerns can limit individuals’ ability to manage the multitude of demands. Yet, many find ways to address fairness concerns while still enacting the desired flexibility. This chapter illuminates ways in which individuals do this and thus contributes to the theory of coping with work — non-work conflict, and provides practical ideas for those facing simultaneous work and non-work demands.