The Social Context of Schedule Control: Flexible Work Practices in an Information Technology Workforce

Anne Kaduk, University of Minnesota

Using multilevel data on information technology employees at a Fortune 500 company (N=570 employees in 105 teams), we investigate predictors of employees’ flexible work practices and perceived schedule control in an industry and at a time when work/non-work boundaries are increasingly blurred. We measure employees’ need and status, the status of the manager and teams, and the institutionalization of flexible work practices within the team (i.e. whether practices are culturally accepted and integrated with other work processes). Employees tend to perceive more control over their schedule when they are in higher status locations and have relatively less intense work demands. Results also suggest that flexible work practices are more strongly associated with employees’ own family situation and work roles, but the team’s experience with flexible work practices may matter. Our analysis also points to the importance of clarifying differences between perceived schedule control and flexible work practices in the literature.