The ANNALS of The American Academy of Political and Social Science Volume 638, November 2011, Work, Family, And Workplace Flexibility

Workplace flexibility, work-family conflict, and time famine have taken the spotlight in recent years as politicians from all sides of the political spectrum have pointed to the need for increasing workplace flexibility. In today′s economy and work environment, what does workplace flexibility mean; how does it affect different groups of people; and is it important to national security? This special issue addresses these questions with articles based on research papers presented at a national conference hosted by the Sloan Foundation and the Georgetown Law Center′s Workplace Flexibility 2010 program. The authors argue that current workplaces are not meeting the needs of today′s workers, and the lack of workplace flexibility is having huge human capital costs that are affecting every sector of society. They explore how flexibility, despite having fixed costs, can be an effective tool for attracting and retaining employees and increasing productivity―the key being to make the workplace flexible in ways that are profitable for employers and also engage workers to feel more satisfied and committed to their jobs. This volume will appeal to students of political sociology and industrial labor relations, and to a multidisciplinary scholarly audience in sociology, demography, psychology, and business administration and management.

Barbara L. Schneider, PhD, is the John A. Hannah University Distinguished Professor at Michigan State University. Her research focuses on the sociology of education specifically how context affects the life trajectories of youth.