Why Do Employees Negotiate Personalised Work Arrangements? Examining the Motives and Outcomes of Idiosyncratic Deals in an Indian IT Industry Context

Abstract

Idiosyncratic deals (i-deals) are personalised work arrangements negotiated between employees and employers. In most contemporary organisations, i-deals have achieved desirable employee behaviour and positive work-related outcomes. Although recent literature has given increased attention to i-deals, a lack of clarity exists regarding what drives i-deal negotiations and the perceived outcomes of such individualised negotiations in emerging economies like India, which falls in the middle zone of negotiability. Therefore, the study investigates what motivates employees for i-deal negotiations and the outcomes of such i-deals from an employee perspective by following a qualitative methodology. Data for the study were collected through in-depth interviews among 30 IT sector employees in India who successfully negotiated i-deals. Axial coding was used for data coding, resulting in two main themes for the study: motives for i-deal negotiation and outcomes of those negotiations. The study findings show that career advancement and job autonomy are the critical drivers of i-deal negotiations. Besides, the benefits experienced by the employees from such negotiations include reduced work–family conflict, enhanced work engagement and job satisfaction. Theoretical and managerial implications are also discussed.