Summary
The hypothesis of the study was to explore the acceptance of concept of flexible work in emerging economies as China and envisage how it is providing a greater work life balance to Chinese workers. While emergence of flexi work is a Western concept, it has found great acceptability in China over the years. A detailed survey of the literature on the subject, including a survey of many Chinese companies was carried out. In addition employees of two companies which had adopted flexi work, a Travel and Fashion magazine and a travel related web site were interrogated through a questionnaire. The management of these companies was also interviewed in detail. It was generally observed that the Chinese have adapted to flexi work with great ease. A large population in China in the rural areas is working on what could be called as traditional flexi work in the farms, while in the urban areas; some 50 million Chinese are being employed as flexible workers.
The advantages provided by flexi work, of better work life balance, reduction of stress at work and home and increase in productivity are substantial for management to embrace this concept for the overall benefit of the company as well as the employee. The limitations of the concept have also been well understood and accepted and its adaptation is being undertaken after due scrutiny and detailed analysis, training and other adaptive measures. The study has firmly established the acceptance of flexi work by the Chinese and its contribution to attaining greater work life balance amongst Chinese workers and families. It is likely that with greater permeation of the information and knowledge age, Chinese companies will increasingly adapt the flexi work model.
Chapter 1 – Introduction
Flexible employment in China has been defined as all forms of employment that are different from traditional main stream employment developed on the industrialized and factory format in terms of working hours, place, social insurance and so on. (Yulin, 2006). The Statistical Analysis of Flexible employment in China issued by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security in 2005 has indicated that there were about 50 million urban flexible employees in China. (Yulin, 2006). Thus it would be evident, that flexible work has been an accepted form of work in the Chinese labor environment as well as in the society. The emergence of the concept of flexible work has however essentially been a Western concept and has been principally driven by the growth of the information and knowledge society. It has developed out of the need to accommodate the talent of employees’ particularly female employees within the existing work philosophies.
Work life balance is another issue which has seen the growth of flexi work. As emerging economies as China grow apace, there is greater recognition of the need to ensure better work life balance for healthy growth of the family. This had not been a part of traditional Chinese communist philosophy over the years and in earlier days children in China were moved to community houses in the rural areas as their parents were working in factories. Over the years this concept is gradually changing and there is greater acceptance of flexible working options for parents. As the Chinese economy is growing so is the work culture. Thus China is no longer a cheap labor market. To exploit its potential fully, companies are increasingly turning to flexi work to meet their employee needs at lower cost. It is evident that this need is likely to grow and thus there is a need for a deliberate analysis of the phenomenon of flexi work in China.
Statement of the Research Problem
Flexible work as a trend is a novel concept which has emerged over the past decade or so. Its relevance is indicated in the context of establishing a balanced work life relationship. The model has been accepted in developed economies. However it is seen to have gained some acceptability in emerging economies as China. The contours of this phenomenon in the Chinese context are not fully explored. The level of its acceptance and relevance thus needs a detailed analysis. Another aspect which is leading to flexible work schedules in China is that of rising wages. The days when China was considered a hub of cheap labor are increasingly getting over. The large number of turnover of jobs, such as 20 % with the Emerson Climate Technologies Co has led companies increasingly think about flexible work schedules to attract better talent and make the jobs more appealing. (China Labor, 2006). The dimensions of the issue of flexi work in general and its contribution to Chinese employment are however relatively unexplored which will be attempted in the study.
Hypothesis and Research Questions
Hypothesis. The research will test the following hypothesis –
Flexible work concept has been accepted in emerging economies as China and is providing a greater work life balance to Chinese workers.
Research Questions. These will explore the permeation of the concept in China and its impact. The questions will include the following:-
(a) What is flexible work? How did it emerge and how is it being practiced by modern managers globally?
(c) What is the level of acceptance of flexible work in China?
(d) Is it providing a work life balance in China and how is it supporting development of human resources in the country?
Definitions of Key Terms
Flexible Employment. As the concept advocated and used by the Chinese government, “flexible employment” is defined as “the general term for various employment forms which are different from traditional leading employment forms established on the basis of industrialization and modern factory system in such several aspects (at least in one aspect) as work hours, income and remuneration, work sites, social insurance, labor relations and so on”. (Libin, 2005).
Flexi Time. Flexi time is an arrangement where essentially workers work the full day but have varied working hours. The core working day will continue to exist and total working hours are also not affected in flexi time. The core hours when all employees will be at work are established in advance thereby greater coordination is possible. (OSH Answers, 2002).
Reduced Hours or Part Time. In this the employees will work less than the standard 37.5 or 40 hours per week. Such arrangements could be worked out on a temporary or a permanent basis. The detailed arrangements are mutually worked out. The employees may not be able to avail all the benefits such as insurance, pension and so on which are available to others. (OSH Answers, 2002).
Compressed Work Week. The concept of compressed work week entails longer work hours of time per day of shift in exchange of an additional day off. Employees may start earlier or finish later than the normal work day. Compressed work weeks are generally initiated by the employee but can also be undertaken by the employer for better customer service or operational efficiency. (OSH Answers, 2002).
Telework or Telecommuting. Telework or telecommuting takes place when people do some of their work from home instead of the office. Details such as hours of work and communications between the workers and customers are worked out. (OSH Answers, 2002).
Job Sharing. Job sharing is another form of flexi work. It normally takes place when two or more people share one or more positions or set of duties. The arrangements for distribution of pay, benefits and holidays need to be worked out in advance. (OSH Answers, 2002).
Banking of Hours or Annualized Hours. Banking of hours is undertaken in which the employees choose between the days and hours of work which is set to the maximum period of time. This could be a weekly, monthly or even a yearly arrangement. (OSH Answers, 2002).
Gradual Retirement. This is a form of flexi work wherein an employee is allowed to work reduced hours over a period to gradually retire rather than leaving the job suddenly for retirement. (OSH Answers, 2002).
Significance of the study
Flexible work is said to be beneficial to businesses for many reasons. (Benefits, 2004). Microsoft believes that a flexible work arrangement can help to retain qualified people better and thus it proposes the use of such arrangements and actively seeks that companies undertake the same. (Office, 2006). The commonest reason for a flexible work option is a favorable work life balance. (Work, 2004). Rising wages to an extent in China is also leading to flexible work schedules. (China Labor, 2006). However there is considerable lack of understanding of this phenomenon which is some times thought of as a substitute to normal employment. As also the approach and attitude of Chinese employees to flexi work is not clearly established. A study on flexi work in China will thus provide an in depth in sight into various issues of the problem including the scope for flexi work in China, the measures which need to be undertaken to initiate the process and the benefits that are likely to accrue from the same. The study will thus be able to significantly contribute to this body of work.
Chapter 2 – Flexibility and Flexible Work
General Issues
Flexibility in employment is an essential attribute of a developed work culture and also implies availability of adequate alternate occupations for the people. Flexible work has been identified as one of the key practices which have particularly evolved with the knowledge economy of the 1990’s. (Murphy, 1996). There are a large number of options which are available to managers and human resources specialists to exploit the advantages of flexible work. (K. Kane-Zweber, K, 1997). The Monthly Labor Review in its September 1999 issue has indicated that the incidence of flexible work schedules has increased. (MLR, 1999). The application of flexible work and flexible working systems across the board such as in library management, where in open access to libraries at times which are convenient to the students can create excellent environment for learning in schools and colleges. (Ohlrich, 2001). Drawing from this experience it is evident that when applied to the work place, there are far greater benefits to be achieved of getting the best by exploiting the most productive hours of work of an individual.
One of the principal options of flexible work is telecommuting which provides opportunities to work at home or at a remote location as well. (Kugelmass, 1995). The work has to be viewed not only from the sociological and organizational behavior focus but also from the managerial point of view, wherein practical approach to the issue is felt necessary. Flexible work is said to be alternate arrangements or schedules from the traditional method of work per day and week. Sometime flexible work schedules are categorized as alternative work schedules and then further sub divided into flexible work schedules and compressed flexible work schedules which are voluntary work schedules. (Alternative, 2004). Flexible work schedule can be selected by employees to meet their personal and family needs. In addition to meet the customers needs, employers may initiate different scedules which will also be related to flexible work. (OSH Answers, 2002). The business press and conservative politicians are said to be highly favorable to a flexible work arrangements. (Workers Guilds, 2004). There are many benefits cited for offering flexible work arrangements. These include the ability to attract, retain and motivate high performing and experienced employees, reduce absenteeism, enable employees to manage a good work life balance, increase job satisfaction, generate greater energy, creativity and improve the habit to handle stress. (OSH Answers, 2002).
A detailed study on flexible employment in China and the social insurances available has revealed that flexible employment has been a gradually accepted mode of employment in China. It includes part time employment, temporary and multiple job holding, contract employment as well as work from home. (Yulin, 2006). The total number has probably reached 96.90 or 30 percent in 2000. The key issue under discussion is that of social insurance which for urban flexible employees is very limited and the extension is also said to be slow.
Economic Context of Flexi work
Flexi working has a number of economic implications. The cost of implementation is one of the key issues. While there would be initial investments which will have to be made for implementation of flexi work, the costs will be more than recovered as per British Telecommunications (BT) which has been providing flexi work solutions for a long time, by recoveries made in savings from operational costs. (Maximizing flexibility, 2005). Savings in operational costs implies reduction in requirement of office space, expenses on staff travel as well as productivity losses in traveling time spend off the work space. A more satisfied employee also translates into cost advantage of greater productivity, longevity of service with the organization and thus lack of need for turnover, recruitment and so on with corresponding savings some of which may not be calculable in tangible terms. (Maximizing flexibility, 2005).
BT has adopted the flexi work model and is reported to have made savings to the tune of over ? 450 million per annum on property costs by placing 63,000 workers on the flexi rolls, with over 10,000 working from their homes. (Maximizing flexibility, 2005). This can be easily understood given the requirement of say a minimum space of even 10 square feet of area for each employee, the total savings in office space alone are likely to be upwards of 630,000 square feet. There are other savings in terms of environmental credits. BT itself is said to have achieved a saving of 12 million liters of fuel with reduced CO2 emissions of 54,000 tons as employees have not had to travel to work in the offices and the heating bills in offices have also been saved. (Maximizing flexibility, 2005).
There is however a necessity to ensure that the implementation of flexi work is planned properly and implemented with great deliberation as other wise there is a likelihood of cost overruns due to unforeseen expenditure. It would be better that the experience of other companies as BT be taken into account before such implementation is carried out to ensure that there is no additional incurrence of expenditure. (Maximizing flexibility, 2005).
Organizational Context of Flexi work
The need for greater flexibility and speed in response to consumers and organizational agility has made flexi working a possible solution for organizations, both large and small. Being available to the customer 24/7 is considered a prime requirement of modern organizations which are extremely demanding. Flexible working provides such an ability to enable organizations maintain their competitiveness. (Maximizing flexibility, 2005) BT has carried out a survey in its organization which has indicated that flexi work has contributed to 20 % organizational efficiency. (Maximizing flexibility, 2005). Flexible working however is a new concept which in the organizational context has to overcome the barriers of the culture of managements demanding that employees be present on the job for a given time whatever be the work load or efficiencies. BT has called this as the culture of, “presenteeism” the diffidence of managers that they would lose control over the employees in case they are out of sight. However project based working can be said to be more effective than time based approach of the past. This is possible through the model of flexible working. (Maximizing flexibility, 2005).
Flexible working is also said to be contributing to better employee retention as this has become a major incentive which can be offered to employees. The retention is also better for talented employees who are forced to absent themselves due to peculiar needs such as post maternity needs of young mothers. (Maximizing flexibility, 2005).
Considerable premium office space is saved through flexible working as the staff can be afforded the opportunity to work from home or even provided offices in less prime areas thereby scaling down the work space needs by as much as 50 %. In an increasingly environmental conscious era, it is also possible to ensure that the environmental regulations are met such as reduction in green house gas emissions by reducing physical meetings. (Maximizing flexibility, 2005).
Preparing for Flexible Work. Flexible work arrangements have to be undertaken with a lot of preparatory work as the infra structure to support flexible work has to be created. This has been the experience of the study of a task force for implementation of a flexible work program at the University of California. (Kugelmass, 1995). The experiment in California proved that when undertaken with adequate preparations, flexible work in the form of telecommuting can be a very beneficial experience for all those involved in it. The total concept of flexible work has to be thus worked out to include, choosing work centers, assigning supervisors, budgeting, policies and training and it is not just about assigning work to people at home. Thus a detailed background study has to be undertaken by an organization before adopting flexible work policies. (Kugelmass, 1995). Designing a flexible work is a deliberate process which should be undertaken with due care. Some of the aspects which should be considered include the costs of switching to the flexi work schedule, training and employee awareness campaign, work load management, customer attention, impact of the employee absence on the group and the terms and conditions of employment. (OSH Answers, 2002).
The employees are required to evaluate the flexible work options along with the managers. This joint evaluation is essential before working out the program. (FWO, 2004).
Employees at times need to convince their boss to allow them to do flexible work such as telecommuting, part time or job sharing. Other issues could be a compressed work week, maternity leave and so on. (Boss, 2006). It is essential that while planning flexible work arrangements, it should be made clear that the work results are more important than the number of hours worked. Thus the impact of flexible work time or work location of clients needs to be visualized. The benefits that will accrue to the organization and the employees also should be clearly understood. (Getting Started, 2006). The likely problems and how these would be dealt should also be considered. The option should be worked out in consultation with the employees and wide consultations should be held. Policies need to be formulated and options evolved. The change has to be correctly communicated and a trial pilot project run accordingly. (Getting Started, 2006).
Advantages of Flexible Work
Australian mothers in the paid work force use very little formal care for their children. This was revealed in a survey which found out that in women with children below 12 years only one third used formal care, one thrid used informal care of a relative or another person, while one third did not use formal or informal care. (Sherry, 2006). This has been feasilbe with flexible work practices. Thus 70 percent of women who worked have said that they use the work arrangement such as flexible hours or permanent part time work to balance the work and family commitments. This enables them to care for their children conveniently. Thus it is proposed that budgets should not just support permanent home care for working mothers, but part time jobs and flexible working hours instead which would be more beneficial. Such forward looking practices would benefit women in the work place far more than providing permanent day care facilities. (Sherry, 2006).
Work Life Balance
Work life balance is a concept which enables people to attain the best in both the worlds’ family and work life. (WLB, 2006). Flexible work is said to be the ideal means to promote work life balance. There are a large number of examples where work life balance has been achieved even by senior executives. (WLB, 2006). Progressively these programmes are seen as a part of the equity, diversity and flexibility that needs to be allowed at the work place and ones that should allow an employee to achieve a balance between their work and personal life. (Equity, 2001). The balance in people running out of time due to over work and others who do not have enough work in societies can be achieved by allowing flexible work. This will create equity in a work culture. (Bush, 2001). Some academic establishments as Duke University are at the forefront in allowing flexible work and offer alternative approaches to the faculty to get the work done. (Duke, 2005). Flexibility at work is also considered a diversity strategy which achieves a better work life balance. (Flexibility at Work/Home. 2006).
The UK Government too has a policy of encouraging flexible working and has brought out a number of times the benefits that accrue to both the companies as well as the employees from the same. (UK, 2004). Governments have also identified and promulgated in the labor laws, what flexible options can be used together such as compressed work schedule, credit hours, job sharing, part time and so on. (USDOJ, 2005). Some countries as New Zealand have evolved best practices through their Work and Age Trusts. (Work and Age Trust, 2005). Some Governments such as the US Department of Labor has evolved guide lines for a flexible work schedule. (US Labor, 2006). Even local councils are said to benefit a lot from flexi work policies. This enables them to use their properties more efficiently, reduce costs on travel, reduce absenteeism and increase efficiency. (Local, 2006).
Chinese women are increasingly accepting that their children can stay alone when they go for work. The women are also compelled to work as they would like to have a better life and hence the need to stay away from home occurs thereof. Chinese women are used to sending their children far away from home at an early age, as it had been a practice in China earlier and the present generation of parents have also spend time away when they were children and their parents worked at factories far away from home. The problem for Chinese women has been reasonably solved as they have access to free or low cost day care centers. (Hymowitz, 2005). Thus the need for Chinese women to have flexi work exists and could be fully exploited.
Cautionary Issues on Flexible Work
Flexible work schedules are however not considered appropriate for all staff positions and some may not be suited for the same. (Johns, 2004). It is commonly agreed that the formats of flexi work can also vary. (Formats, 2004). People also tend to think that flexible work practices are a special benefit or a privilege for a particular category which may not really be true. (Balancing, 2003). Some organizations require the employee to commit in writing to work flexible. A Flexible Work Hours Protocol is drawn up for the same. (Protocol, 2001). Some issues which do not favor a flexible work schedule is the lack of over time pay unlike a fixed schedule work, employees opting for flexible work schedule will not be able to gain advantage of a over time pay. (Handbook, 2004)
A research project which has weighed the flexible work patterns in various establishments and work practices such as printing and publishing industry, civil engineering, banking and insurance, decentralized health services and so on has also determined the communication links that are existing within these to establish a pattern in flexible work in various industries. (Flexcot, 1998). Such cross sectoral analysis will be essential across China to ensure that the applicability of the flexible work is valid across the board and is suggested as a follow up of the study.
Chapter 3 – Flexibility and Flexible Work in China
This chapter specifically covers a survey of literature on flexibility in the employment environment in China and state of flexible working. Chinese labor environment at present is highly dynamic and risk prone. There is incessant demand for greater employment, however lack of skills and qualifications has not kept pace with the type of jobs on offer as was revealed in a recent employment forum organized by the ILO in collaboration with the Chinese agencies. (Employment Forum, 2006). While the Chinese regard employment as a strategic task, its promotion and achievement still remains unclear. Thus it can be presumed that there is limited flexibility in employment in China in general while the scope of flexi working to engage a large portion of the labor force particularly women has not been considered so far.
That there are serious deliberations on alternative systems of employment is evident with flexible system considered as one of the essential tools to promote reemployment as per a People’s Daily report. (Flexible job system, 2002). The report has identified three categories of flexible jobs, ones which are temporary in nature offered by small home based establishments; a second are those which are created in the new economy such as off site workers and marketing agents and finally the market of free lance and home based workers. The purpose of flexible employment as per the report would be to engage low, skilled workers who have been laid off due to the recent up gradation of skills in various industries. (Flexible job system, 2002).
According to a China Daily Report, (White Collars, 2006) Chinese white collar workers are increasingly used to flexible working hours primarily in the information and telecommunication based knowledge industries such as the IT, advertisement, media and consultancies. The white collar workers themselves see their own lives as relatively unexciting and they see that their work is increasingly impinging on their personal lives. Though other workers envy this class, the lack of work life balance despite the excellent work environment and the facilities as gyms, restaurants and so on that has been provided to the workers in the offices is considered a drawback by the workers in the sector. (White Collars, 2006). These are seen by the employees as a ploy to keep them going in their offices to increase productivity rather than an opportunity to achieve balance.
While flexible work is generally identified with new age workers, it can also be effectively utilized with retired workers. In China there is a growing realization of the significance of this category of workers and Chinese employers do recognize the value of older workers, many of them seeing them as more reliable, productive, loyal and technologically orientated. However, they have not evolved processes for offering flexible working options for older employees. They are among the least active at trying to recruit workers over the age of fifty. Chinese employers are also among those most in favor of being able to enforce a fixed retirement age. (Retirement, 2006).
The concept of flexi work in China is thus in its nascent stage and is under active consideration in the traditional area of white collar workers, retirees as well as to provide employment to casual workers. As another report in China Daily shows, there is increasing awareness of the need to have a flexible working schedule to achieve a favorable work life balance. This is gathering increased significance as there are reports of high levels of burnout in executives at a very young age, Thus apart form job and role designing, there is greater interest shown in developing flexible jobs. (Office Overload, 2006).
“Flexible employment” has also been defined in China as the employment which is actively supported by the labor departments and targeted at disadvantaged groups in the labor market. By disadvantaged groups, those people who are not subject to the protection by law or labor departments are covered. Once the disadvantaged groups disappear, there will be no need for flexible employment. (Libin, 2005). There are greater opportunities in China for flexible work every day. A number of companies are offering opportunities to people to work in their own time. This is being done in the form of volunteer programs. Thus companies are recruiting volunteers with specific skills such as the Travel China Guide.com has recruited volunteers with proficiency in English and interest in Chinese history and culture. These volunteers are employed to build the history of the Chinese country side, the cities, the towns and the monuments around. The volunteers are treated as friends of the company and have the option of working from home in flexi time and also have the choice of stopping to work at their own will when they so want. (www.TravelChinaGuide.com). such flexible policies benefit the individuals as well as the companies. The companies can obtain best resources that are available in the particular field, save expenditure in traveling allowance for its writers and also maximum output is obtained at minimum time. On the other hand, individuals gain by being able to utilize their talent productively at their own pace and time.
Another company in China offering volunteer flexible work is ChinaHighlights.com a travel and tourism company. It is offering a wide variety of jobs for volunteers such as proof reading of articles or web pages. Reviewing the articles for correctness of English to include the grammar, spelling, vocabulary. Providing adequate polish and marking focus to English material, reviewing content and making suggestions for additional content. Supervise the content on the web site, add in content, evaluate articles on the web site, share the travel experience with others, and help people understand China and so on. They are also openings for travel writers to collect information about China, photographs and other material. The volunteers can also act as travel advisors to the prospective customers assisting them in planning their tour and travel through China. (http://www.chinahighlights.com)
US Companies deployed in China are increasingly faced with the problem of cultivating commitment to the organization. This is significant given the rapid state of development of Chinese economy and its significance to the US companies. The growing demand for skilled personnel in China has also resulted in greater mobility. US companies in China are increasingly adopting varied strategies to make HR more attractive for the Chinese and to enhance their commitment. One of the aspects covered apart from greater bonuses and better perks is more flexible work schedules with a view to retain the best employees. Thus flexible work can offer considerable benefits of retaining loyalty and commitment of the worker to the company. (Chen, Dow Scott. Bishop. Nd)
Chapter 4 – Research Methodology
This chapter aims to illustrate the methodology of the research. It describes; common research philosophies, research approaches and the research strategy. In addition the research path chosen by the author will be discussed in detail. Finally, the problems that could arise during the research are being described.
What is Research?
Research is a well defined area of study of a particular problem or issue in its totality or in specific to a particular area of concern. (Veal, 2000). On the other hand Morgan (2000) has stated that research should entail the following characteristics, which will be kept in mind by the author while evaluating the research:-
(a) Systematic collection of data.
(b) Analytical interpretation of data.
(c) Developing a theory and conclusion.
The Research Philosophy
The research philosophy that is adopted should reflect the authors’ view point on development of knowledge. An author will thus have to decide on the means of collecting data, use of interviews and the main conceptual issues supporting the research. Modern research has three models; these are positivism, realism and interpretism. . (Cantrell, D. C. (n.d.)).The author will be looking at the two most widely used approaches which are as follows:-
Positivism
Positivism entails a scientific stance for research and interpretation of data. Thus only those phenomenon which are observable and measurable are regarded as knowledge. . (Cantrell, D. C. (n.d.)). Positivists maintain an independent and objective stance. They are interested in correlation of objects being studied and imply that these objects were present before they began their examination. There are more quantitative rather than qualitative facets in their research. . (Cantrell, D. C. (n.d.)).
Phenomenology (Interpretivism)
This is opposite of the positivistic approach and is known as interpretivism or phenomenology. This is used by social scientists with an attempt to comprehend people’s socially constructed interpretations which are subjective to reality. . (Cantrell, D. C. (n.d.)). Though positivist and interpretivism paradigm are two extremes, most researchers use elements of both practices, which are implied in realism. This approach is considered the most appropriate for the project as the study involves analysis of the human, sociological as well as managerial aspects of flexible work and work life balance in China. This will enable illustrating the broader picture. In addition, the researcher will make use of quantitative data which will be collected from the case study approach. Quantitative data in a business case study is necessary as it will substantiate the general trend observed with basic information over a period. (Morgan, 2000). Correlation of factors is also possible through a quantitative approach as it is easier to compare data which provides results which have greater visibility.
Research Approach
Having chosen a research strategy, the design must be evaluated for which there are two strands, which can be adopted, deductive and inductive. As per Trochim (2000) the deductive approach is used when a hypothesis is developed and the research design has to test that hypothesis. This is in relation to quantitative research and is developed in a way that facts and samples have to be obtained in sufficient numerical quantity for enabling generalization. The deductive approach is amplified by means of a diagram at Figure 1 (Trochim, 2000):-
Deductive Approach
Theory
Hypothesis
Confirmation
Figure 1
On the other hand the inductive approach is related to qualitative data, as a sample used in a case study as contrasting to the large quantum of data which is used in the deductive approach. (Trochim, 2000). A theory is said to be developed from data collection in this approach. A diagram showing the inductive approach is at Figure 2 below (Trochim, 2000). :-
Theory
Inductive Approach
Figure 2
The dynamic nature of the research will entail application of both approaches by the author as in practice almost all the research projects have elements of both the approaches in view of the importance of including both qualitative and quantitative findings.
Research Data
In general data contains information collected and recorded in note books, questionnaires, audiotapes, videotapes, models, photographs, films and test responses. (Veal, 2000). Research data in this case will be facts about the Chinese flexi work based on the reports, studies and date given out by the Chinese labor ministry.
Kinds of Research Data
The basic classification of research data is in terms of quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative research entails examination of numerical data by using mathematical models and statistical procedures. (Morgan, 2000). While qualitative research involves use of analysis and opinions to explain interviews and documents and explaining the phenomenon. It facilitates improvement of understanding of the phenomenon. There are as per Veal (2000) many methodologies and technologies assist the researchers in obtaining a better insight of various management issues. The study of flexi work in China requires a qualitative and some quantitative approach rather than a purely numerical one.
Data Collection Approaches
Data collection approaches can be primary and secondary.
Primary sources comprise of data which is unpublished and which has been gathered from the organization directly. (Veal, 2000). This can be carried out through a number of approaches as follows:
The survey approach
The interview approach
The case study approach
The action research (making changes in the status quo)
Secondary sources. Veal (2000) has indicated that secondary research contains two issues, statistical information collected by countries, organizations and institutions as well as descriptive documents. The author will use both approaches that will serve as the backbone of the dissertation. While studying the data, the following has been ensured:-
Factually accurate.
Material reliable.
Systematic
Purpose of collection.
Representative material.
Extensive research has been carried out in the Library for getting a theoretical view of the issue as well as bench marks available of similar studies in other countries. There are wide-ranging resources of great help to the research, such as books from all over the world on issues that can provide theoretical background from which the study will set off using analytical and comparison tools of great contribution.
Data Collection Strategies
The research strategy is the general method used. Employing the right data collection strategy is thus of paramount importance in order to obtain the desired results. The eight common strategies are stated below (Veal, 2000):-
Experiment:
Survey:
Case study:
Ground theory:
Ethnography:
Action research:
Cross sectional and longitudinal studies:
Exploratory, descriptive and explanatory:
In the present situation, interviews and questionnaires, data culled from trade and industry and other sources is considered significant to the study. However due to limitations of the subject, wherein it is of a contemporary nature, there has been some problem in collecting authentic data as the sector is considered very large for effective analysis at the current level of the study.
A case study is an enquiry which uses multiple sources of evidence. Potter (1996) has said that a case study evaluates a contemporary phenomenon in real life context within the boundaries of the phenomenon and when the context is not clearly evident. A peer group case study approach is considered best suited than other techniques to implement this research, as it will concentrate on an empirical, contemporary problem. It will also enable answering the questions as, “why” and, “how” to understand the underlying motivations. It will generate empirical data and interesting information specific to the phenomenon under study. Research cases offer a unique tool to testing theory by examining phenomena which are beyond the traditional statistical approaches. (Potter, 1996). The author considers case study research as useful to the research aims because the degree to which a case study produces valid and credible information is generally higher than qualitative research in a more general survey.
Limitations of Case Study
One of the limits of case studies is the difficulty of generalizing their findings. If the case design is sound and if the researcher is careful to be explicit about the phenomenon and the context of the study, then results can be generalized. There are several issues that must be addressed in the design phase of case study research. (Potter, 1996). The research case must be explicit about limitations. Furthermore, care must be taken in the design and execution of the case study research, so that the analysis is robust and readers have confidence in the results and conclusions. Another limit of case studies is that they generate a lot of information that needs to be logically handled to strengthen the argument presented in order to develop credible conclusion. (Potter, 1996) In this dissertation, the use of a case study is therefore elucidative. The author will apply the theoretical framework to the data and observations on flexi work in China.
Research Instruments
Primary data is collected for the research study to answer a specific question. Ways of collecting this kind of information includes surveys, observation or controlled experiments. Potter (1996) states that surveys are one of the most common ways to collect data, where the subject can be contacted through mail, telephone or directly in personal interviews. It entails sending questionnaires, interviews and non-formal enquiries made to people. By carrying out interviews of a significant number of individuals a broad perspective can be provided.
Questionnaires
(You can include the blue portion here which your teacher has probably missed out and to which I have now made some additions or you can shift it before Appendix A. Before your submit your work, please delete one of these. Also please delete all red remarks.)
Questionnaires based on multiple responses have been prepared and administered to assess the state of flexi work in China and work life balance. The Questionnaires are at Appendix A and B respectively. These were administered to a selected sample of employees of a fashion magazine and another to a travel web site. While preparing the questions, due care has been taken to ensure that the responses provide the widest possible variations. As also in a questionnaire, some questions have been included to get confirmatory responses to the trends as it is always found that some responders will give vague and at times incoherent answers to some questions, which gets balanced if we have confirmatory questions. Due care has been taken to avoid asking questions which appear loaded, limiting the responses. A number of derived response questions have been included. The aim of such questions is to derive responses from the answers provided by the responders. The researcher will be able to derive deductions from their responses.
Limitation of the questionnaires
On an average the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, but a key drawback is low response rate. This will result in low level of confidence and distort the analogy of statistical information. As per Veal (2000) another weakness of questionnaire is the fact that it is a structured format and allows little room for flexibility with respect to reply by the respondents.
Observations
Observations of flexi work in the companies where the questionnaire has been administered were also carried out in relation to the employee’s attitudes, work efficiencies, advantages accrued and contribution to work life balance.
Interview
Interviews will form an interactive part of this study and were being carried out after the secondary research is done. When doing these interviews it will be important to keep a neutral view of the research topic, where the actual behavior instead of an intended behavior needs to be identified. Interview methodology involves a number of stages such as, interviewee selection, questions to ask and response recording. (Veal, 2000). Interviews of the management of the fashion and travel magazine and travel web site were conducted to get a management perspective of the issue. Questions are open-ended. Interviewees will also be given the opportunity to express their thoughts on the topic of interest as freely as possible. This will allow any relevant information on the topic to surface. Interviewees will be asked to permit audio tape recording and the author will also take written notes during the interviews. Analysis of material was carried out shortly after meeting with the interviewees. Notes were reviewed the same day or the day after with the interviewee. The taped interviews were not re-transcribed since it would be too time consuming. Instead tapes will be carefully listened to over and over again and summarized into abstracts.
The following issues were covered during the interview:-
(a) Employee Response to Flexi Work.
(b) Management Response to Flexi Work.
(c) Benefits that accrue of Flexi Work.
(d) Disadvantages of Flexi Work.
(e) Recommendations for Adoption.
Limitations of interviews
Despite the advantages associated with interviews, a number of limitations must also be acknowledged. For example they are time-consuming; one of the biggest weaknesses could be the ability to interview only a sample population, raising concerns with the generalization of findings. Furthermore, there are several issues that must be addressed in the interview process as, validity, reliability and interviewer bias, since it is likely that response gathered by qualitative means such as interviews could be interpreted differently depending on the personal bias of the researcher. (Veal, 2000). As a consequence, in this investigation, the use of multiple sources of data has been conceived to validate qualitative data, as the degree to which archival data, interviews, and document analysis converge makes the conclusions about the phenomenon more convincing.
The Method in which Conclusions will be derived
The most important issue in case study research is that the process is not a sequential one. No conclusion can be drawn until there is a clear data display. (Miles.Huberman,1994). Consequently, after having implemented within-case analysis, the findings from narrative case study will be compared with review of literature to determine the real causes and its effects on the fall of the company. This is shown in Figure 3 below (Miles.Huberman,1994):-
Figure 3
Limitations
A number of limitations are envisaged in this research as it is on a contemporary subject with varied biases. However attempt will be to analyze the available data and seek opinions and views of a cross section of the company. Some of the limitations which were observed during the study are as given below:-
· It was quite time consuming.
· No control over quality of data as sources of secondary research may be biased. In order to overcome this problem the author attempted to utilize articles which are available from reputable sources.
· Many statistics do not come in tables, which will take a lot of time to compile.
· The cooperation of government officials, company employees, business leaders and others was not easily forthcoming.
Sampling and Data Collection:
20 employees of the two companies were selected. The employees of the Travel and Fashion magazine and the Travel web site were selected after simple random sampling. The size of the sample of 20 employees each, thus making a total sample of 40 employees was considered adequate for the study. The samples were drawn by the simple random sampling method from the list provided by the HR managers of the concerned companies.
These companies were contacted with the authority letter regarding study. They were instructed that their HR managers allow the survey with their employees and send the completed questionnaires to the researcher directly. Questionnaire was administered with the help of HR managers of each identified company. Employees were informed that the purpose of the exercise was to assess their feelings and thoughts on various aspects of flexi work and that as such there were no right or wrong answers to questions included in the survey. Respondents were assured of the strict confidentiality of their responses and were also told that the completed questionnaires will be sent directly to the researcher. No one in their organization would ever see the completed questionnaire. To increase the response rate and to encourage objective and truthful responses an envelope was provided along with each questionnaire so that the employee could insert the complete questionnaire in the envelop, seal the envelop and return it to the box placed in the HR department. Employees were also given choice of mailing the completed questionnaire directly to the researcher.
Chapter 5 – Analysis Data
Questionnaire – Flexi Work
The response to the questionnaire on Flexi Work by the Fashion and Travel Magazine in percentages is tabulated as below-
Question
Positive Response
Negative Response
Neutral Response
Marginal Response
What is your general impression about the concept of flexi work?
67
21
10
2
If your job involves flexible working, how long have you been working on flexi work?
Maximum people surveyed were working for two years.
–
–
–
Average time per week devoted to work by flexi workers.
Average time was between 35 to 40 hours which is equivalent to regular workers and there is no difference thus
–
–
–
Why did you opt for flexi work?
65
23
10
2
Do you think flexible work has improved your productivity?
66
25
6
3
What is the impact of flexi work on your family life?
76
8
11
5
Do you think flexi work can be applied in all contexts of work environment?
21
63
12
4
Do you feel flexi work is ethically correct, when all your colleagues are working 9 to 5?
64
23
10
3
Is the management fully supportive of your decision for flexi work?
71
11
9
9
Is your family fully supportive of the flexi work?
76
11
9
4
Questionnaire – Work Life Balance – Travel Related Web Site
The response to the Questionnaire on Work Life Balance by the employees of the Travel Web Site percentage wise is as given below.
Question
Positive Response
Negative Response
Neutral Response
Marginal Response
What is your general impression about the concept of flexi work?
77
11
8
4
How long have you been working on flexi work?
In general the people in the company had been working for three years
–
–
–
What is the average time per week that is devoted to work
Average time per week was 35 hours
–
–
–
Why did you opt for flexi work?
65
23
12
–
Has flexi work provided you more time to concentrate on your family –
76
11
3
10
Has flexi work reduced your focus on work?
73 (Not Reduced focus on work)
23
2
2
Has flexi work improved your efficiency at work?
66
27
10
7
Has flexi work contributed to a better work life balance?
78
12
5
5
Will you opt for flexi work after you switch over to another job?
77
10
9
4
Who has benefited the maximum by your adoption of flexi work?
Maximum 76 percent responded it as overall beneficial to all concerned
Interview Management
The response of the management to the interview conducted on various aspects of flexi work is as per succeeding paras.
(a) Employee Response to Flexi Work. The management in the companies, the magazine as well as the travel related web site was unanimous that the employee response to flexi work was positive.
(b) Management Response to Flexi Work. The management in general was also very satisfied with the flexi work. However it was observed that this response was not as positive as that of the employees. This gave an impression that in general it is more beneficial to the employees than the management. However when probed on whether they would prefer employees to seek normal vis a vis flexi work, the management preferred flexi work.
(c) Benefits that accrue of Flexi Work. The benefits that accrue of flexi work were listed out by the management as that of saving of office space and facilities, greater saving on social and insurance costs, overtime and other overheads. The benefits accruing of say greater efficiency, effectiveness and others were however not listed by the management.
(d) Disadvantages of Flexi Work. The disadvantages listed were essentially inability for recall of employee in case of urgent work, lack of emergency response, a general laissez faire culture at times and perceived lack of commitment.
(e) Recommendations for Adoption. The recommendations for adoption included implementation after a detailed analysis of viability, feasibility and preferably a pilot project. In addition it was recommended that flexi work should be undertaken essentially for those jobs which do not involve too much of team work, which can be done on line and which have a strong knowledge and information content. Applicability across the board was to be resisted.
Chapter 6 – Conclusions
A detailed analysis of the data culled from the questionnaires, the interview of the employers and review of the literature on the subject has conclusively proved the hypothesis that flexible work concept has been accepted in emerging economies as China and is providing a greater work life balance to Chinese workers. The concept of Flexi work is wide and varied. Flexible work schedules are also known as alternative work schedules when the timings are different or when there are various options for people to complete their task or work. (Flexible and Alternate, 2004). It has emerged with the growth of the knowledge and service economy and with a reduced emphasis on factory type of assembly line work. The automation of production has also contributed substantially to flexi work. Some organizations fully work on the principle of flexible work, particularly those that are working in the social sector, in mentoring, dealing with people with disability and so on. (Flexible Work Practices, 2004)
Developed countries as Britain have taken extensive initiatives for flexible working. A review of the same reveals that the culture seems to have caught up in UK with reports that of the 4000 graduate job seekers in Britain at any one time, over 70 percent are said to have opted for flexi work. (Maximizing flexibility, 2005). It was also reported that this form of functioning has contributed to organizational efficiency against all popular beliefs, the costs of which are not easily calculable. (Maximizing flexibility, 2005). The culture is so evident in UK that it has now become mandatory to offer parents of children under six and disabled below 18 to be offered flexible working hours. (Maximizing flexibility, 2005). This has provided it with greater flexibility in deployment of its work force as well as savings in costs and effective organizational redesign. BT alone is said to have made annual savings of ? 450 million. A similar trend is seen to gradually permeate to other countries and China is no exception.
The concept of flexi work is universally accepted in China and there is greater focus on working flexibly than perhaps in many other developing countries. The large number of employees who have adopted flexi work in the urban areas at 50 million will tend to support the acceptance of this style of work in China. (Yulin, 2006). Traditionally the Chinese are extremely hard working and the spouses are known to support each other in work. The emergence of flexi work is providing a more effective work life balance in the country as opposed to the traditional work culture which had seen the children being sent to rural community homes while the parents worked in factories or at farms.
A detailed review of the concept was carried out in conjunction with the employees as well as management of a fashion and travel magazine and a travel related web site. It was seen that there was considerable congruence of views on the benefits of flexi work both in the management as well as in the employees. It appeared to benefit the employees more than the management, though the management did not appreciate that flexi work as a concept could also result in substantial savings in establishment and administrative costs, primarily as it appeared that they had not initiated changes to partake of these benefits. Poor emergency response was the key disadvantage which was highlighted by the management, while employees found that there was lack of social benefits and insurance which was the most significant draw back. The Chinese government is addressing this issue and it is expected that the benefits of social security are likely to be extended to the flexi work sector in a few years.
The employees of Travel and Fashion magazine on questioned on flexi work were fully satisfied with the concept with only 21 percent giving a negative response. A maximum had opted for flexi work for personal reasons and have invariably indicated that they were able to devote the same amount of energy and attention to their tasks as otherwise. There has been very positive impact of flexi work on their family lives and they were invariably in praise of the same in providing them greater work life balance. The employees were pragmatic enough to understand that it was a concept which was not universally applicable as there remained many jobs which needed standard routine working pattern. There were no guilt pangs in the workers on the issue of flexible work and only 23 percent felt that it was ethically wrong to work flexi hours when the colleagues were doing a 9 to 5 job. The management was fully supportive of the concept as per employees, 71 percent indicating the same, while family support was marked at 76 percent.
The employees of the travel related web site also had a positive impression of flexi work and were specifically probed on attaining a work life balance. It was indicated that it enabled more time and concentration for the family without reducing the focus on work. It is said to have increased the efficiency at work with 66 percent indicating the trend. The maximum impact has been in reducing stress at home. While a large percentage, 77 percent indicated that they would opt for flexi work even after they switch over to other jobs. This confirmed the observations made through a survey of the literature that flexi work contributed positively to work life balance in China.
Flexi work is increasingly accepted as a standard form of work all across the globe. Governments are increasingly supporting flexi work in diverse places as Australia, the United Kingdom to China. The Chinese government is adopting its policies for greater accommodation of flexi work. Companies which are established businesses in China are increasingly resorting to flexi work as the cost of labour in the country is no longer as cheap as it was when they entered. An average increase of 20 percent has been seen over the years and since these companies are operating at very low margins, they have a need for greater cost cutting, which has been provided by flexi work.
While a review of flexi work supporting development of human resources in the country was considered, practical conclusions could not be arrived at as the scope of the same was found to exceed the present study and this could be included as a follow up which is recommended.
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Appendix A
Questionnaire Flexi Work (Fashion and Travel Magazine)
(The issues raised by your teacher have already been included in the Chaper Research Methodology, see sub heading Questionnaire – as indicated – Questionnaires prepared and administered to assess the state of flexi work in China and work life balance are proposed. The Questionnaires are at Appendix A and B respectively. These were administered to a selected sample of employees of a fashion magazine and another to a travel web site. )
(Please see Sampling and Data Collection in Chapter on Research Methodology – reiterated herein – 20 employees of the two companies were selected. The employees of the Travel and Fashion magazine and the Travel web site were selected after simple random sampling. The size of the sample of 20 employees each, thus making a total sample of 40 employees was considered adequate for the study. The samples were drawn by the simple random sampling method from the list provided by the HR managers of the concerned companies.
These companies were contacted with the authority letter regarding study. They were instructed that their HR managers allow the survey with their employees and send the completed questionnaires to the researcher directly. Questionnaire was administered with the help of HR managers of each identified company. Employees were informed that the purpose of the exercise was to assess their feelings and thoughts on various aspects of flexi work and that as such there were no right or wrong answers to questions included in the survey. Respondents were assured of the strict confidentiality of their responses and were also told that the completed questionnaires will be sent directly to the researcher. No one in their organization would ever see the completed questionnaire. To increase the response rate and to encourage objective and truthful responses an envelope was provided along with each questionnaire so that the employee could insert the complete questionnaire in the envelop, seal the envelop and return it to the box placed in the HR department. Employees were also given choice of mailing the completed questionnaire directly to the researcher.)
As you would have seen these have been appropriately explained in the above sections hence adding here would be a repetition. You may like to politely draw the attention of your teacher to the above as it is obvious that he has not read it carefully, as also from his remarks on Questionnaire for Work Life Balance it is apparent that he has not observed that this is being addressed to a different sample from a different company, Travel
Web Site, hence there has been some repetition. You may like to bring these to his notice very politely, as I am sure you will be able to as you are having good rapport or tell him you have included it in the relevant sections. However in case he insists I have also given the option of stating these as given below in blue.
(You can include the blue portion here if you want rather than at Chapter on Research Methodology which your teacher had missed out. Before your submit your work, please delete one of these. Also please delete all red remarks.)
Questionnaires based on multiple responses have been prepared and administered to assess the state of flexi work in China and work life balance. The Questionnaires are at Appendix A and B respectively. These were administered to a selected sample of employees of a fashion magazine and another to a travel web site. While preparing the questions, due care has been taken to ensure that the responses provide the widest possible variations. As also in a questionnaire, some questions have been included to get confirmatory responses to the trends as it is always found that some responders will give vague and at times incoherent answers to some questions, which gets balanced if we have confirmatory questions. Due care has been taken to avoid asking questions which appear loaded, limiting the responses. A number of derived response questions have been included. The aim of such questions is to derive responses from the answers provided by the responders. The researcher will be able to derive deductions from their responses.
Question 1
What is your general impression about the concept of flexi work? Which of the following best reflects your view on the concept of flexible working; it is
a. Excellent.
b. Good
c. Satisfactory
d. Poor
Question 2
Does your job involve flexible working? If yes how long your job involved flexible working?
a. More than six months.
b. 1 year.
c. 2 years.
d. 3 years.
Question 3
What is the average time per week that is devoted to work? (We are asking this to see if there is a reduction or increase in the working hours due to flexi work. Normally it is felt quite incorrectly that flexi work means reduction in working hours, but that is not so as it implies same number of working hours but with the choice of working hours left to the worker dully agreed to by the manager. That is the background please, you can explain accordingly).
a. More than 40 hours.
b. Less than 40 hours
c. More than 30 hours
d. Less than 30 hours.
Question 4
Why did you opt for flexi work?
a. Personal reasons.
b. Professional reasons (This also could imply forced by management hence combined)
c. To Try A New Concept.
d. Any other reason, please specify.
Question 5
Do you think flexible working has –
a. Increased productivity substantially.
b. Increased productivity a little
c. Decreased productivity
d. Had no impact
Question 6
What is the impact of flexi work on your family life? (Yes this is related to not just family life of married workers but also unmarried workers who will have family commitments. There would be a negligible percentage who would have no family commitment, particularly in China.)
a. No Impact
b. Marginal Impact
c. Increased attention to family.
d. Substantially improved family life.
Question 7
Do you think flexi work can be applied in all contexts of work environment?
a. Yes all types of work environment are adaptable to flexi work
b. This will depend on the type of work and role of worker.
c. This will depend to the environment of work in the company.
d. No, work which has to be done in teams and/or some other types is not amenable to flexi work.
Question 8
Do you feel flexi work is ethically correct, when all your colleagues are working 9 to 5? (There is a feeling which is now gradually changing, that all those who are not working from 9 to 5 are actually not in regular jobs, are lazy and shirking work but are being paid equally for the same. It may thus not be ethically correct for them to work during hours which are not normal. This question addresses this issue).
a. Yes.
b. No.
c. Cannot decide.
d. Partially ethical.
Question 9
Is the management fully supportive of your request for flexi work?
a. Yes.
b. No.
c. Only limited support.
d. Managements support or otherwise is not consequential.
Question 10
Is your family fully supportive of the flexi work? (As indicated earlier, family includes the parental family of bachelors and spinsters and it is presumed that there will be negligible responders who do not have both. It should also be evident that flexi work is not just beneficial to the married with a family, even to others it provides greater choice, hence this and other questions related to family).
a. Yes.
b. No.
c. Only limited support.
d. It does not really matter.
Appendix B
Impact of Flexi Work on Work Life balance? (Employees of Travel Web Site)
(Please remember that we are asking these questions to a different set of people from a different company, a Travel Web Site, as have been brought out in the pertinent portion of Research Methodology, see questionnaire part, hence some questions will have to be repeated. I have now included this in the headings of the questionnaire in brackets. Secondly we cannot jump straight to work life balance, but have to co relate flexi work to these new set of people and then ask them questions of work life balance, hence the teacher would have found some repetition and what he thought are irrelevant questions. As also in a questionnaire, some questions are placed to get confirmatory responses to the trends as it is always found that some responders will give vague and at times incoherent answers to some questions, which gets balanced if we have confirmatory questions. Thirdly we cannot ask them direct questions on work life balance as these will appear to be loaded ones expecting a preferred response. I have explained this in the Questionnaire section of Chapter on Research Methodology. Thus Questions 1to 4 and 7 have been repeated. These aspects would have to be explained by you to the teacher very politely.)
(Thus I have amended Question 5, 6, 8 where your teacher has commented on the questions and the answers not related to repetition. I have given the reasons for Questions 9 and 10 separtely.)
Question 1
What is your general impression about the concept of flexi work?
a. Excellent.
b. Good
c. Satisfactory
d. Poor
Question 2
How long have you been working on flexi work?
a. More than six months.
b. 1 year.
c. 2 years.
d. 3 years.
Question 3
What is the average time per week that is devoted to work?
a. More than 40 hours.
b. Less than 40 hours
c. More than 30 hours
d. Less than 30 hours.
Question 4
Why did you opt for flexi work?
a. Personal reasons.
b. Professional reasons
c. Forced by Management.
d. To try a new concept
Question 5
Has flexi work provided you more time to concentrate on your family -?
a. Yes, I could devote additional time to my family.
b. No, not necessarily.
c. It has only made a marginal difference.
d. No. This does not provide me additional time for the family.
Question 6
Has flexi work reduced your focus on work?
a. Yes it is quite diffused now.
b. No. I continue to remain focused on work.
c. Yes, it has marginally reduced my focus on work.
d. There is no difference than when I was working regular hours.
Question 7
Has flexi work improved your efficiency at work?
a. Yes
b. No
c. Marginally
d. No difference
Question 8
Has flexi work contributed to a better work life balance?
a. Yes. I have achieved ideal work life balance.
b. No. I have not achieved work life balance.
c. Yes but only marginally.
d. No, there has been no difference to work life balance.
Question 9
Will you opt for flexi work after you switch over to another job? (This is a derived response question. The aim of the question is to derive from the answer if there has been a better work life balance due to flexi work. In case the responders opt for flexi work even after switching it would be a positive indicator, while if they do not do so it would imply that they are more satisfied with regular working hours as it provides them some continuity in work and life and so on. As a researcher we should be able to derive these responses).
a. Yes.
b. No.
c. Cannot decide.
d. Not very important.
Question 10
Who has benefited the maximum by your adoption of flexi work? (Once again a derived question, in case the response is a, b, c or d an appropriate assumption can be made. Response c and d clearly indicate that there has been a better work life balance as the person has benefited or all the principal affected have been benefited, indicating work life balance. On the other hand response a and b indicate that there has been no balance, please).
a. The family
b. The company
c. Personally you
d. All have benefited equally.
(All the responses in analysis of data section have been amended based on the revised questionnaire).
Having read your piece what I’d say is that on the research methodology there is much that is fine, however, you do not need to be so general in
writing on research. Instead it is enough for you to write about YOUR approach to doing the research you do – so what is your apporach to the
research and why is it an approach to take for the sorts of research question(s) you are seeking to address? I would also suggest you add in some relevant references on methodology/methods as you currently have none. In terms of chapter 5
there is not enough there for me to comment.
