Discretionary Time and Employee Behavior, Motivation, Organizational Attachment, and Satisfaction

Abstract

This quasi-experimental investigation compared employee job satisfaction, intention to quit, work attendance, productivity, and work related motivation across four work schedules. The data were derived from four organizations operating in the insurance industry with similar production technologies. Hypothesized systematic and significant differences in these employee responses comprising a positive linear relationship with increases in discretionary time was not supported, yet enployee job satisfaction and absenteeism were significantly worse in the fixed hour group relative to the extended flexitime group. Employee perceptions of work scheduling discretion did reveal a significant and positive linear relationship with job satisfaction and a significant negative association with absenteeism.