A Longitudinal Study of Flexi-Time Effects: Some Consequences of an OD Structural Intervention

Abstract

This study describes the implementation of a flexible work-hours program and analyzes some of its major effects, using both attitudinal and "hard" data. It thus both reports an unusual kind of OD intervention, i.e., a structural one, and discusses specific outcomes of a particular version of a design that is currently being widely applied, though typically on the basis of only anecdotal evidence and without the support of (OI) values and methods. The study yields a substantial optimism, but one rooted in caution: Both the "hard" and the "soft" data indicate that the structural intervention "worked," but the data do not tell us how much its obvious and persistent impact was the result of the intervention as a technique and how much it was a function of the culture of the host organization, which had been exposed to a range of activities based on OD values. The researchers believe that much of that impact derived from client acceptance of OD values, which found expression not only in the work-hours design itself but also in the dynamics of the implementation of that design. It is clear at least that Flexi-Time installations are intimately affected by the culture and values of organizations in which they are located. Hence the emphasis here on caution as well as optimism, inasmuch as definitive comparative research is not yet available.