Leadership Interaction For this discussion, think of an event where you were the leader, or the person being led. 1. Provide a very brief description of the event. Using your Big Five score as a f

The Pursuit of Happiness

Jennifer Bacuylima

INP-4105-OL1

Professor Scott Gillig

September 14, 2025

Introduction

The case study “The Pursuit of Happiness,” Flexibility is a case detailing the use of Flexible Work Arrangements (FWAs) in organizations, including results-only work settings (ROWE) in which employees are permitted to work wherever and whenever they want so long as the work gets done. As the case exhibits, there are positive (increased productivity, fewer meetings, better customer development) and negative (adverse communication, isolation, worries about visibility) aspects. These dynamics reflect current debates in organizational psychology about how flexibility affects attitudes, stress, and workplace communication.

Are only certain individuals attracted to FWAs?

The attraction to FWAs depends on personal situations and character, but it does not belong to the small group of employees.

Responsibilities and stage in life. Workers who have caring responsibilities, long distances to work, or suffer from health issues will be more interested in flexibility. The surveys have also indicated that flexible schedules are particularly helpful to parents and older workers, as well as to individuals with disabilities (Allen et al., 2021).
Self-regulation and personality. Conscientiousness and self-discipline are some of the traits that predict success with FWAs. Naturally independent and satisfied with organizing their work themselves individuals tend to choose remote or flexible work, whereas those who are socialized tend to prefer the face-to-face environment (Riggio and Johnson, 2022).
Job characteristics. FWAs are more appealing to jobs that have independent work, low levels of interdependence, and quantifiable results. On the other hand, more individuals might not be attracted in flexible designs to occupations that need creativity, continuous cooperation, or emergent problem solving (Wang et al., 2021).

To conclude, although there are specific groups where FWAs are of great benefit, attraction is rampant with personal and job-related factors deciding on fit.

2. Which characteristic of FWAs contribute to job satisfaction?

Studies reveal that FWAs have some characteristics that lead to job satisfaction. These characteristics include;

Autonomy and control. The ability to decide on the amount of time and where one works adds to perceived autonomy that is among the most effective predictors of satisfaction (Riggio and Johnson, 2022).
Work–life balance. FWAs usually mitigate work-family conflict, stress in commuting, and time pressures, resulting in fewer burnout cases and increased satisfaction (Allen et al., 2021).
Productivity and task fit. Concentration and effectiveness can become better due to the possibility to concentrate in a self-selected environment, which will positively affect satisfaction and engagement (Choudhury et al., 2020).

Organizational support. Employees who work in organizations where FWAs are applied and there is fair access to the programs, training, and expectations end perceive greater levels of organizational trust and fairness, which adds to their satisfaction even more (Kelliher et al., 2020).

Meanwhile, the level of satisfaction can lower when the staff feels isolated in terms of societal functions or when progress opportunities do not appear as readily. Therefore, the issue of FWAs design and implementation is considerable.

How do FWAs Affect a company’s bottom line?

FWAs have the potential of affecting the financial performance in various ways.

Positive effects

Higher productivity. The empirical evidence indicates that remote and flexible work may boost the output because of decreased distractions and absenteeism (Choudhury et al., 2020).
Reduced costs. When workers are satisfied and committed, companies are able to save on office space, utilities and turnover costs (Wang et al., 2021).
Talent attraction and retention. The concept of flexibility is becoming a competitive edge in employee attraction, especially in knowledge-based fields (Allen et al., 2021).

Potential drawbacks

Collaboration challenges. FWAs could also lead to diminished spontaneous contact giving rise to innovation, where active efforts have to be made to invest in improvements of communication and teamwork (Wang et al., 2021).
Career equity concerns. Flexible workers can experience unintentional disadvantages thereof in case of promotion decisions being biased in favor of those that are physically visible.
Management demands. To assess performance measured in terms of results instead of hours at work, the supervisors have to be trained and it might require upfront expenses and cultural changes (Riggio and Johnson, 2022).

In general, in the event of the FWAs that are planned, goal-oriented, and backed by the management, productivity outcomes, retention, and economic benefits usually outweigh the risks.

Conclusion

Flexible working is also not a universal solution, but it can be an effective instrument in increasing satisfaction of employees and effectiveness of organizations. It is clear that FWAs are not so attractive to everyone, but evidence shows that it makes many workers appear to have a feeling of autonomy, work-life balance, and productivity. When organizations embrace FWAs fairly, clear, and performance-measures, chances are high that they will achieve returns to the bottom line and the welfare of the employees.

References

Allen, T. D., Johnson, R. C., Kiburz, K. M., & Shockley, K. M. (2021). Work–family conflict and flexible work arrangements: Deconstructing flexibility. Personnel Psychology, 74(1), 77–103. https://doi.org/10.1111/peps.12330

Choudhury, P., Foroughi, C., & Larson, B. (2020). Work-from-anywhere: The productivity effects of geographic flexibility. Strategic Management Journal, 42(4), 655–683. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.3251

Kelliher, C., Richardson, J., & Boiarintseva, G. (2020). All of us? Flexible working in the COVID-19 pandemic. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 39(5), 629–639. https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-07-2020-0170

Riggio, R. E., & Johnson, S. K. (2022). Introduction to industrial/organizational psychology (8th ed.). Routledge.

Wang, B., Liu, Y., Qian, J., & Parker, S. K. (2021). Achieving effective remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic: A work design perspective. Applied Psychology, 70(1), 16–59. https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.12290