Thebalance will change but will still have to bestruck.2018 The Author

Such remote operations of facilities andequipment will without doubt usher in thenext stage of remote working and collabora-

We had to integrate 10 different subsystems into the lab

urther technical development

searchers

One major impediment, atleast for the life sciences, is thelimited scope for automationand remote operation in wetlab work

ntapped potent

I also haveindividual meetings every week with eachlab member

Nonetheless, scientists working remotely will usually have to become familiarwith tools more sophisticated than cellphones and chat channels, vital thoughthose ar

he need for subsequent face-to-faceinteractions after people have met can bereduced by videoconferencing platforms

Even in high-energy physics whereremote collaboration has long been established, it works best when all participantshave at least met face-to-face,

But remote [. ..J needs carefulmanaging to ensure that itenhances rather thandiminishes the quality of thework or the productivity ofthose who are still on site mostf h . ,,o t e time

largely,a lack of interaction, project managementand stimulation through face-to-face contact

increasing preponderance ofanalytics work using software tools that areoften available through Internet or cloudbased services

n additional benefit ofremote working is that it givesstudents and researchers accessto state-of-the-art equipmentrather than making do withageing lab facilitie

n an attempt to attract and retain talented employees and enhance their competitiveness, employers worldwide have increasingly adopted flexible work arrangements (FWAs) for the benefit of both the organisation and its employees

all for higherworkplace flexibility, force companies to unbind time and task from place, and raise theopportunity to adjust working practices to changing circumstances

esearch results revealed the main economic benefits of FWAs: more efficient use ofequipment, facilities, and office space; saving on electricity, water, paper and etc

The purpose of qualitative research was to find out employers’ attitude on the benefits ofFWAs in the context of sustainability

FWAs are really attractive for employees in economic, socialand environmental dimensions as they help to decrease costs for childcare, travelling towork, food, and outfit;

According to Gray (2014), the key to living more sustainably is mainly about the choicesthat individuals and society make, but having the option to adapt our work practices tosupport a more eco-friendly lifestyle can play a big part in enabling these choice

etter work-life balance tends to lead tolower levels of stress and higher levels of satisfaction, makes a positive effect on mentaland physical health

mployees clearly gain from workplace flexibility not only because of economic matters.Working fewer hours, having flexible start and finish times make it easier for people totake public transport, ride or walk travelling between home and the workplace.

WAs, when implemented after analysis and preparation effectively serve a triple purpos

lobal changes in technologies, economy, demography, composition of workforce andlife styles call for higher flexibility in work arrangement

While the benefits of FWAs are commonly recognized, in every caseintroduction of flexible working practice implies a chang

Flexible work structures can have different combinations of temporal and placeflexibility

ccording to Lambert, Marler, and Gueutal (2008), flexible work arrangement (FWA) isdefined as a set of employer provided benefits that permit employees some level ofcontrol over when and where they work outside of the standard workday

Demand for individualized, employee-oriented arrangements and practices those permittemporal and spatial flexibility in work processes and help to fit changing environmentsand needs is constantly increasin

Until now quite many today’s workarrangements still carry the imprint of the Industrial Revolution

ecentralized andflexible work arrangements have been proclaimed by different researchers as a way forcompanies to reduce expenses, cope with variations in demand, and be more attractivefor employees

he challenge is in integrating issues of sustainability with products, services, processesand work practices companies

employers can use flexible work to attract new talent, increase engagement and retain their best employees.

ere to sta

Not all employees enjoy working from home. They may feel increased pressure to be productive or feel like they are always on the clock.

Offering a flexible schedule allows employers to expand their talent search to include skilled workers in other locations and candidates who need to work from home for personal or family reasons.

art-time employment

w is the time to explore how flexible work arrangements can benefit your organization

ocus on results, not face time:

mproved Retention and Recruitmen

By allowing employees to work remotely, companies can reduce their office space requiremen

mproved Health and WellB

Moreover, the ability to work during one’s most productive hours can lead to increased engagement and improved performance

When employees feel trusted and empowered to manage their own time and workload, they are more likely to be satisfied with their jobs and engaged in their work

nhanced Work-Life Balan

If supervisors are notwilling to support FWAs or convey negative attitudes towards them, coworkers mayperpetuate these types of attitud

As employees often perceive organizational support through their supervisor, thisfinding suggests that organizational support is a construct of minimal influence whenemployees consider whether to leave the organization

Employees who telework can miss out on informal learning and interpersonal net-working, both of which can provide learning opportunities and potential careeradvancement

Supervisor awareness ofwork-family programs was found to influence the frequency of employee referralsmade to the programs

Both formal and informal methods can conveyto employees the level of support that the organization is willing to provid

found thatsupervisors who provided support and segmented the home and work domains wereperceived as strong work-life-friendly role model

Positive effects on job satisfaction and health outcomes have been demonstratedwhen managers are supportive of work-family program

When there is a perceived lack of supervisor support for FWAs, employees whoparticipate in FWAs may experience disparities in rewards when compared to peer

) found that employees whoparticipated in FWAs were perceived as having less organizational commitment andexperienced negative career effects. Organizations with a long-hours culture createunaccommodating attitudes that are likely to discourage employees from making useof available work-life programs

Therefore, inconsistencies can arisewhen organizations advocate for flexible work policies while simultaneously devalu-ing employees who use them

Flexibility availability has been defined as “theextent to which employees feel free to use such policies, whether formal or inform

pport for FWAs begins at the top (Martin & MacDonnell, 2012). Dick (2011) foundthat employee perceptions of organization support strongly influenced perceptions ofsupervisor support which was consistent with Shanock and Eisenberger’s (2006)results that perceived organizational support (POS) had a significant positive relation-ship with perceived supervisor support (PSS)

However, the probability of the father being primarilyresponsible for childcare was significantly higher if they had the capability to work fromhome

Descriptive results (Table B) showed that almost a quarter (23%) of the fathers reportedbeing the primary person responsible for childcare, while about a quarter shared respon-sibility equally (26%) and half indicated the mother being primarily responsible (51%).

Hypothesis 1:

ccordingly, they tend to protect the boundaries of their work-ing time and place even if working flexibly

Importantly, men in higher-income occupations tend to have more egalitarian views ongender roles

In contrast, men in lower-income occupations face higher sched-ule rigidity, frequent and unpredictable shift changes, and low organizational support

Fathers’ capabilities to work flexibly are further shaped by financial conditions.

but they can reduce barriers that mightotherwise limit fathers’ involvement (Chung and Booker, 2023). Notwithstanding, finan-cial circumstances further complicate this dynamic

Utilizing FWAs for care canexpose deviation from the prevailing expectation that fathers, as ‘ideal workers’, areunburdened by caring responsibilities typically taken up by the women in their lives.Subsequently, men might be perceived as less committed (Coltrane et al., 2013) and suf-fer negative career repercussions (

ccess to FWAs can be discouraged by managers, whostill commonly perceive FWAs as a ‘women’s issue’ (Borgkvist et al., 2021), but also byemployers and peers who tend to mock or oppose fathers who embrace active parenting

This research focuses on how gender(Beham et al., 2019; Chung, 2022; Kurowska, 2020) and financial conditions (Chung andBooker, 2023; Gerstel and Clawson, 2014) simultaneously shape fathers’ flexible workingvaluation, opportunities and use (Hobson and Fahlén, 2009).

s involvementrequires fathers’ presence and participation in children’s lives, capabilities to controltheir paid working time and place could help them prioritize childcare responsibilities.

Fathers increasingly have (and are expected to have) simultaneous aspira-tions to provide indirect care and resources as well as being direct (physical) carers (i.e.caring ambition; Bear, 2019

Using cross-sectional data capturing capabilities to care from Project CAPABLE, thisstudy explores how fathers’ actual opportunities for temporal flexibility (adjusting the

start/end time of their working day) and spatial flexibility (working from home) relate toprimary childcare responsibility.

This research aims to address this gap by providing a comprehensive frameworkthat integrates the literatures on fatherhood and flexibility through a capabilities lens

Yet, research indicates a positive connection between workplace flexibilityand childcare involvement primarily among lower-income workers

Particularly for fathers, work demands are inconstant tension with their caring ambitions, and thus their real opportunities for sig-nificant childcare involvement

Key barriers to men’s uptake of FWAs for care purposes include a lack of organiza-tional support and a fear of negative repercussions due to not conforming to ‘idealworker’ norms

Fathers’ involvement in childcare has transformed over the last decades. Beyond a bread-winner role, men increasingly expect and are expected to be caring, engaged fathers(Bear, 2019; Elliott, 2016).

mployees who telework can miss out on informal learning and interpersonal net-working, both of which can provide learning opportunities and potential careeradvancement (Cooper & Kurland, 2002).

Both formal and informal methods can conveyto employees the level of support that the organization is willing to provid

Immediatesupervisors can reduce the extent to which the work role of employees interferes withthe family role (Lapierre & Allen, 2006). Koch and Binnewies (2015) found thatsupervisors who provided support and segmented the home and work domains wereperceived as strong work-life-friendly role models.

Positive effects on job satisfaction and health outcomes have been demonstratedwhen managers are supportive of work-family progra

Organizations with a long-hours culture createunaccommodating attitudes that are likely to discourage employees from making useof available work-life programs (Beauregard & Henry, 2009).

Employees will not participate in FWAs if they feel that doing so will jeopardizejob security, work assignments, or promotional possibilities

Therefore, inconsistencies can arisewhen organizations advocate for flexible work policies while simultaneously devalu-ing employees who use them (Putnam et al., 2014)

Flexibility availability has been defined as “theextent to which employees feel free to use such policies, whether formal or informal”

Leschyshyn and Minnotte(2014) suggested that future research should pay closer attention to various forms ofsupport related to the enhancement of employee outcomes

Employers concerned about employee job satisfaction seek to provide opportuni-ties to enrich the workplace experience (Nicklin & McNall, 2013).

more efficient.

While the economy plunged, the needfor organizations to do what they could to keep progressing became imperative. As aresult, employees found themselves working from home, home-schooling their chil-dren, spending time on teleconference calls, changing their work completely to virtualinteractions, and logging in from home.