The Use of Flexible Work Arrangements: Examining Experiences of Perceived Backlash Through the Lens of Diversity

Abstract

As more businesses have newly adopted or expanded flexible work arrangements (FWA) due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the current study aimed to investigate whether flexibility backlash (e.g., workers’ negative perceptions of promotion opportunities and work-to-life conflict) occurs in response to the use of FWA. Moreover, we tested if perceptions of flexibility backlash vary across subgroups of employees (i.e., as a function of gender, family responsibilities, and race), as well as their intersection. Using a lagged dataset of N = 414 currently employed U.S. workers collected at three-time points during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, we found that FWA use was not significantly associated with the subsequent perception of career opportunities, and no group differences were found in this relationship. Similarly, no main effect of FWA use on work-to-life conflict was found. However, among workers with more family care responsibilities, greater FWA usage was associated with more work-to-life conflict. Further, intersectionality analyses revealed men with greater family responsibilities and men who are racial minorities perceived more work-to-life conflict as they used more FWA than their counterparts. We discuss these findings through the lens of diversity in light of the ongoing need to reduce the backlash associated with the use of FWA.