Organizational Behavior: Implications of Flexible Work Arrangements on Employee Motivation

This report analyzes the different kinds of motivational theories and approaches which are efficient and essential in managing the employees. Furthermore, the different kinds of OB theories along with aspects of motivating employees have been taken into consideration that has helped the companies in maintaining and enhancing the motivation among the different employees in an appropriate manner.

Running head: ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
Organizational Behavior
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

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Executive Summary
The report has helped in analyzing the different kinds of motivational theories and
approaches which are efficient and essential in managing the employees. Furthermore, the
different kinds of OB theories along with aspects of motivating employees have been taken
into consideration that has helped the companies in maintaining and enhancing the motivation
among the different employees in an appropriate manner. Lastly, the different aspects of
employee motivation and retention approaches have been taken into consideration which
helped in gaining huge productivity.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Workplace Trend........................................................................................................................3
Implications of Flexible working Arrangements on Employer-Employee Relationships.........4
Implications of Flexible Working Arrangements for Motivation of Employees.......................5
Theories of Motivation and Implications...................................................................................6
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs................................................................................................7
Herzberg’s Two Factor Motivation Theory.........................................................................10
Recommendations....................................................................................................................12
Conclusion................................................................................................................................13
References................................................................................................................................14

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Introduction
The report helps in analyzing the different kinds of methods of motivating the
different employees who are working in the organization. Motivation is one of the special
elements which is required to be taken into consideration as this will help in improving the
overall morale of the employees and the entire organization will help in increasing their
productivity efficiently as well. In this report, the workplace trend is required to be selected
and the implications of the chosen trend for changing nature of employee-employer
relationship is required to be discussed. With the implementation of literature on different
organizational behavior theories, the entire approach will be discussed.
Workplace Trend
The workplace trend that has been taken into consideration in the respective report is
Flexible Work Arrangements. As per the Workplace Flexibility 2010, this is one of the
spectrums of the structure of the work which helps in altering time or place wherein this has
been seen that work is getting done on a regular basis. Furthermore, the flexible kind of work
arrangements is inclusive of the following:
 There will be flexibility in the scheduling o hours which have been worked by the
employees which is inclusive of alternative schedule of work
 Flexibility in the amount of the hours worked which is inclusive of part time work
with sharing of job or performing full time work (Wu, Straub & Liang, 2015)
 Flexibility in place of work such as options are available which is inclusive of
working at home or at the office
According to Leary and Baumeister (2017), this has been seen and identified that the
different workplaces today offer wide range of work arrangements which are flexible in

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nature and this helps in increasing the motivation among the different individuals working in
the organization. Furthermore, Corvellec (2018), has commented that there is flexibility in
the place of work which is being performed by the employees in the organization. This has
been noticed that there are few organizations which have started introducing work from home
options for the employees when there is any kind of issue which is being faced by the
employees.
On the other hand, Petrenko et al., (2016), has commented and hypothesised that there
is flexibility in the amount of the hours which is being worked by the employees. There are
different companies which have introduced the part time or job shares approach in their
offices and this helps in managing the different tasks in an appropriate manner.
For example- There are few employees who are studying and working in an
organization side by side. This is one of the aspects which is flexible in nature and this helps
in introducing flexible shifts for employees which will improve the overall productivity of the
organization and employees as well.
Moreover, job share is the aspect wherein two persons share the duties of one person
and they both work on a part time basis. In this respective case, this can be analysed that there
is one person who works on Monday/Tuesday and the other employee work on
Friday/Wednesday. With the help of these aspects, the employees are being motivated and
this helps the employees in becoming successful in completion of the different tasks in the
appropriate time (Gunasekaran et al., 2017).
Implications of Flexible working Arrangements on Employer-Employee Relationships
There are various kinds of implications of flexible working arrangements on the
relationships of employer and employees working in the organization (Bakker & Demerouti,

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2017). When the organization implements the flexible working environment, this helps in
maintaining strong employer and employee relationship which is the key success of the
organization which will increase the overall productivity of the organization and efficient in
nature. With the help of the different kinds of flexible working schedule, this will improve
the overall growth of the organization.
When there are flexible working hours and there is different other flexibility which is
included in the tasks performed by the individuals, the FWA which is inclusive of flexibility
in timing will help in reducing the workplace conflicts (Valmohammadi & Roshanzamir,
2015). Furthermore, this has been noticed that with implementation of flexibility in the
workplace, this will help in attracting the talent and this will help in retaining the valued
employees in the organization. With flexibility in workplace, this will improve the
communication and bond between employees and employer.
Implications of Flexible Working Arrangements for Motivation of Employees
There are different kinds of implications of flexible working arrangements on
increasing the motivation among the different individuals. With flexible work schedules, the
employees experience various kinds of benefits along with disadvantages as well. The entire
analysis is done in the following manner:
Advantages
 This helps in generating flexibility to meet the different family needs and this helps in
avoiding traffic along with stresses of commuting during the rush hours.
 This helps in allowing the individuals to work when they accomplish the goals and
enjoy the working environment of the office as well (Shin & Konrad, 2017)

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 Furthermore, with the implementation of flexible working hours, this helps the
employees in fixing the different other commitments along with activities and make
better use of their free time.
 With the implementation of flexible working environment, this will help and ensure
that the employees are provided with different opportunities to work from home at
time of emergencies and this helps in improving the overall efficiency of the
employees in an efficient manner (Petty, 2014).
Disadvantages
On the other hand, there are different kinds of disadvantages which can be faced by
the employees who are working in the organization in a negative manner. The different cons
for the flexible working arrangements are as follows:
 The different employees who thrive in the office environment is difficult for them to
work when the other colleagues do not hold the same kind of schedule and this is the
main reason for the core working hours which is essential in managing the different
tasks in an effective manner (Lazaroiu, 2015)
 Furthermore, the major issue in the concept of work from home is that the different
relatives or friends may feel that the person is not working and this can cause
problems with relationships (Chen et al., 2014).
These are the major pros and cons of the flexible working arrangements in the
organizations. Furthermore, this has been noticed that there are different kinds of issues
which are being faced by the different employees which can affect the overall motivation
among employees in performing the different kinds of tasks in an ineffective manner.

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Theories of Motivation and Implications
Motivation is one of the crucial parts in the organization which helps the employees in
performing well and this increases the overall productivity of the organization in an
appropriate manner as well. Motivation helps in putting human resources in to action which
will improve the overall effectiveness of the organization (Para-González, Jiménez-Jiménez
& Martínez-Lorente, 2018). This has been noticed that motivational approach among the
employees and employer, this helps in improving the level of efficiency of the different
employees and this will increase the overall productivity of the organization in an appropriate
manner.
Jing & Avery (2016), has commented that motivation helps in building friendly
relationship and brings satisfaction among the different employees in the organization. The
different kinds of motivational approaches are as follows:
 Non-monetary and monetary incentives
 Opportunities and Promotions for employees
 Disincentives for the different inefficient employees working in organization
Steers & Sánchez‐Runde (2017), has hypothesised that in order to build cordial
relationship among the different employees in the workplace, this is essential in nature to
incorporate co-operation which helps in bringing stability in the organization. Furthermore,
the industrial dispute and unrest will be reduced among the employees and this will make the
employees adoptable to the different changes which are occurring in the workplace and this
will help in gaining competitive advantage in the entire workplace.

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Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow developed the hierarchy of five needs theory in the year 1943 and he
postulated the human motivation has acted in order to satisfy the different needs of the
different individuals. There are different strengths and weaknesses of the respective theory
which is being applied in the organization and this affects the overall motivation among the
employees in performing the different kinds of tasks (Birasnav, 2014). The respective theory
mainly focuses on the different kinds of needs of the individuals which is inclusive of the
self-esteem, physiological, social and security needs of the employees.
Figure 1: Maslow’s Hierarchy Needs

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(Source: Van der Wal, 2015)
Strengths
 Maslow’s theory has natural kind of appeal which can be adopted along with
implemented in an uncomplicate kind of technique
 The most unique advantage of the respective theory is that this provides perceptive
insight into the entire nature of the human beings (Arora, Arora & Sivakumar, 2016)
 Furthermore, the respective theory has huge relevance towards the different
applications of the modern-day activities and this helps in assisting as to interpret the
motivation along with the behaviour of the human beings as well
 Lastly, the respective theory helps in providing advantageous summary of the
different needs of the human needs which is helpful in planning, positioning and
pricing of the products in an effective manner (Abeysekera & Dawson, 2015)
Weaknesses
There are various criticisms for the Maslow’s Hierarchy Theory which has been done
by the different researchers and this affects the advantages of the theory. The different
weaknesses are as follows:
 The various researchers have commented that there is lack of the hierarchical
structure of the different needs as this has been noticed that every individual have
their own perception of the needs (Abeysekera & Dawson, 2015)
 The other issue is that there is lack of the direct cause and effect relationship between
the behaviour and needs.

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 Maslow considered only a narrow segment of the human population and this is
difficult for the different researchers to measure the needs as this will generalize them
across the human population as well.
Application
There are different kinds of applications of the respective theory as per the
organizational behaviour trends which are as follows:
 There is sense of belongingness which is consistent in nature and this helps in
motivating the employees in an efficient manner. The ethos of company are of
fundamental kind of importance which helps employees in becoming more efficient in
performing the different tasks.
 Secondly, the social needs are wherein the employer is required to create opportunity
for shared time in social environment such as the employer and employee can have
lunch together and this will create huge impact on motivating employees (Abeysekera
& Dawson, 2015)
 The self-respect and the status can be enhanced with usage of right techniques of
communication and this will help in motivating the employees effectively.
 Applying the principle of the self-fulfilment needs can be developed by the employees
with proper development plan which is personal in nature.
Herzberg’s Two Factor Motivation Theory
With the implementation of the two-factor theory of Herzberg, the different aspects
can be analysed and ascertained in an efficient manner. there are different criticisms,
strengths along with applications of the respective theory in the workplace which is explained
below:

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Strengths
 The respective theory mainly focuses on the different kinds of motivation and hygiene
aspects which are taken into consideration by the organization
 The different motivational factors help in motivating the different employees and this
provides the manager with the insight which will help in improving the personal and
professional life of the individuals working in the organization
Weaknesses
 The concept or theory is generalized in nature which may not be appropriate for all
the employees who are working in the organization
 The applications of the respective theory is not directly applicable to vast group of the
individuals working in the organization and this affects the overall productivity of the
organization and employees
Application
There are various applications of the Herzberg’s theory in the workplace which helps
in taking care of the different kinds of personal and professional motivational aspects which
is required to be taken into consideration in order to generate huge outcome for the company
in a positive manner.

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Figure 2: Application of Two Factor Theory in Practice
(Source: Corvellec, 2018)
The different kinds of applications of the two-factor theory in the different workplaces are as
follows:
 The first aspect is that this is seen that the employer takes care of the various needs of
the employees working in the organization (Kim, Eisenberger & Baik, 2015)
 Pay an honest salary along with providing guarantee of job to the different employees
 It is required to make sure that the employees do worthwhile work in order to build up
the status of the different functions

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Recommendations
There are different kinds of recommendations which can be provided for
organizational practice which will improve the motivation among the employees in the
workplace is being described as follows:
Firstly, this is essential in order to learn and acknowledge the different personal career
objectives of the employees which will be helpful in managing the motivational approaches
in a positive manner. This is the main duty of the employer of organization to improve the
motivational aspects which is being provided to the different employees as this will increase
the overall productivity of the organization and employees.
It has been seen that most of the employees with great upward mobility are motivated
with leadership qualities. With the application of the different motivational theories, this will
help in motivating them and this will improve the morale of the employees to gain huge
productivity in the organization as well.
Secondly, this is essential in retaining high qualified employees in the organization
with the help of the sound practices of management which will improve the overall efficiency
of the organization along with employees. After investing a considerable amount of money in
recruiting and training employees, this is essential for the higher officials of the company to
remain loyal and help them through motivating them with different financial and non-
financial rewards.
This step is essential in the organization which will help the company along with the
employees in retaining the experienced employees and this can be solved with the help of the
strong leadership skills. The different keys to motivating the employees is strong leadership
and management practices and skills which will be efficient in nature in managing the

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different operations in such a manner which will assist in keeping the employees happy and
this will improve the productivity of the employees and organization.
Lastly, the affirm the job security is required to be analysed through managerial
support in every aspect of the job of the different employees. This is essential in nature for
the management along with the employer in providing job security to the employees who are
the loyal employees of the organization.
The security related to job plays an essential role in impacting the work ethics of the
employees and this will create an atmosphere and culture wherein the individuals p[refer to
work as this will improve the overall productivity and competence of the employees and
organization in an efficient manner.
Conclusion
Therefore, this can be concluded that employee motivation plays a major role in
managing the different employees and gain productivity. Furthermore, this has been seen that
there are different theories of motivation such as Maslow’s Hierarchy Theory along with
Herzberg’s theory which helped in managing the productivity of the employees and
organization in a positive manner and this will improve the overall efficiency of the firm in a
positive manner.

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