{"title":"Flexibility loss and worker well-being: what happens to job satisfaction when workers lose their telework usage?","authors":"Satoshi Araki, Jeremy Rappleye","doi":"10.1093/ser/mwae009","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"The association between flexible work arrangements (FWA) and worker well-being has been extensively investigated. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has generated a new phenomenon where workers return to inflexible workstyles after experiencing FWA. This article examines the consequence of this ‘flexibility loss’ with attention to telework and job satisfaction (JS). Using panel data collected by the Japanese government in 2020–2021, regressions and generalized structural equation modeling reveal (a) workers who frequently telework exhibit higher JS in both years; (b) on average, losing telework does not affect JS; and (c) workers who experienced telework-related challenges in 2020 and continue to work remotely next year report lower JS, whereas those who lost telework opportunities possess higher JS. These results suggest that a new type of labor stratification emerges based on the compound of workers’ FWA experience (upsides or downsides) and their FWA usage (continuation or withdrawal), which affects well-being either functionally or adversely.","PeriodicalId":47947,"journal":{"name":"Socio-Economic Review","volume":"19 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2000,"publicationDate":"2024-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Socio-Economic Review","FirstCategoryId":"96","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1093/ser/mwae009","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ECONOMICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The association between flexible work arrangements (FWA) and worker well-being has been extensively investigated. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has generated a new phenomenon where workers return to inflexible workstyles after experiencing FWA. This article examines the consequence of this ‘flexibility loss’ with attention to telework and job satisfaction (JS). Using panel data collected by the Japanese government in 2020–2021, regressions and generalized structural equation modeling reveal (a) workers who frequently telework exhibit higher JS in both years; (b) on average, losing telework does not affect JS; and (c) workers who experienced telework-related challenges in 2020 and continue to work remotely next year report lower JS, whereas those who lost telework opportunities possess higher JS. These results suggest that a new type of labor stratification emerges based on the compound of workers’ FWA experience (upsides or downsides) and their FWA usage (continuation or withdrawal), which affects well-being either functionally or adversely.
期刊介绍:
Originating in the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics (SASE), Socio-Economic Review (SER) is part of a broader movement in the social sciences for the rediscovery of the socio-political foundations of the economy. Devoted to the advancement of socio-economics, it deals with the analytical, political and moral questions arising at the intersection between economy and society. Articles in SER explore how the economy is or should be governed by social relations, institutional rules, political decisions, and cultural values. They also consider how the economy in turn affects the society of which it is part, for example by breaking up old institutional forms and giving rise to new ones. The domain of the journal is deliberately broadly conceived, so new variations to its general theme may be discovered and editors can learn from the papers that readers submit. To enhance international dialogue, Socio-Economic Review accepts the submission of translated articles that are simultaneously published in a language other than English. In pursuit of its program, SER is eager to promote interdisciplinary dialogue between sociology, economics, political science and moral philosophy, through both empirical and theoretical work. Empirical papers may be qualitative as well as quantitative, and theoretical papers will not be confined to deductive model-building. Papers suggestive of more generalizable insights into the economy as a domain of social action will be preferred over narrowly specialized work. While firmly committed to the highest standards of scholarly excellence, Socio-Economic Review encourages discussion of the practical and ethical dimensions of economic action, with the intention to contribute to both the advancement of social science and the building of a good economy in a good society.