Exploring Employees' Perceptions of Flexible Working Hours and Their Impact on Productivity in a Saudi Arabian Organization

Flexible working hours (FWH) have become a significant topic in Human Resource Management (HRM), impacting work-life balance and organizational productivity. However, empirical research exploring the nuanced relationship between FWH and productivity, particularly from the employee perspective, remains limited, especially within specific cultural contexts. This study aims to fill this gap by focusing on a Saudi Arabian organization, a region with unique cultural and social factors that may influence employee perceptions and experiences with FWH. The research question guiding this study is: "What factors related to FWH contribute towards employees' positive attitude to productivity in a Saudi organization?" This question is crucial because understanding the employee perspective is paramount; they are the primary beneficiaries (or otherwise) of FWH policies. Unlike many HR studies that prioritize organizational issues, this research centers on the employees' needs and experiences as drivers of FWH demands. The study's significance lies in its contribution to the understanding of FWH's influence on productivity within a specific cultural context, offering valuable insights for HR practices in Saudi Arabia and potentially other similar cultural contexts. By examining both social and contextual factors surrounding FWH, the study aims to offer a more comprehensive understanding of its impact on employee attitudes and productivity than previously available.

Existing literature on FWH reveals a mixed impact on productivity. Some studies suggest that FWH can enhance employee well-being and, consequently, productivity, while others highlight potential negative impacts. However, much of this research lacks a comprehensive consideration of the cultural and social context. Previous studies have often employed quantitative methods focusing mainly on organizational issues, neglecting the employee perspective and the impact of social factors. This study addresses these shortcomings by adopting a qualitative approach and focusing on employee perspectives in a specific cultural context—Saudi Arabia. The study reviews existing research on work-life balance, flexible working arrangements, and their impact on employee engagement and productivity, highlighting the scarcity of research specifically addressing the Saudi Arabian context and the need for a more nuanced, employee-centric approach. The theoretical lens is Social Exchange Theory (SET), focusing on the reciprocity process and resources within employee-employer relationships, allowing for a more detailed understanding of the exchange relationship surrounding FWH.

This study utilizes a qualitative approach employing triangulation, combining semi-structured interviews and document analysis. This mixed-methods strategy enhances the study's validity and credibility by providing multiple perspectives on the research question. The semi-structured interviews, involving 32 participants, allowed for in-depth exploration of employees' experiences with FWH and its impact on their productivity. Interview questions, developed in alignment with SET's concepts of reciprocity and resources, provided flexibility to probe deeper into participants' experiences. The interview questions were designed to be short, simple, clear, and direct, presented in English. The document analysis comprised 278 comments from an internal company technological platform where employees discussed FWH over a two-year period. This provided a longitudinal perspective, complementing the cross-sectional data obtained from the interviews (three-month timeframe). The use of two different data collection methods helps to mitigate potential biases associated with single-method approaches, improving the objectivity and reliability of the findings. The document analysis, in particular, minimizes researcher bias as it involves employees' verbatim comments without researcher intervention. The combined data from both methods provide a rich understanding of employees' accumulated experiences with FWH. The triangulation approach strengthens the study's rigor by compensating for individual method limitations and creating a more comprehensive and robust understanding of the research topic. The choice of qualitative methods is justified by the research question, the need for in-depth understanding of employee perspectives, and the existing methodological gap in the literature regarding FWH within the Saudi Arabian context.

The study's key findings reveal a complex interplay of factors influencing employees' attitudes toward FWH and its impact on productivity. Employees perceived several benefits of FWH, including improved work-life balance, reduced stress, increased job satisfaction, and enhanced mindfulness. They associated these benefits with increased productivity and a more positive attitude toward their work. However, challenges were also identified, including concerns about work overload, difficulties maintaining work-life boundaries, and potential negative impacts on team collaboration. The qualitative data revealed that employees valued the autonomy and flexibility that FWH offered but emphasized the need for clear communication, supportive management, and appropriate training and technology. Employee perceptions of fairness in the implementation and application of FWH were also identified as an influential factor in determining their attitudes towards the policy's effectiveness. The analysis of employee comments from the organizational platform provided valuable insights into employees' experiences over time, highlighting the evolution of their perspectives on FWH and its impacts. The combination of interview and document data provided a rich and comprehensive understanding of the various factors impacting employee attitudes and the efficacy of the FWH policy within the organization.

The findings highlight the importance of adopting an employee-centric approach to FWH implementation. Simply offering FWH is insufficient; a supportive organizational culture, clear communication, and adequate training are crucial for maximizing its benefits. The study's findings suggest that FWH's effectiveness depends significantly on factors beyond the mere availability of flexible hours. The results underscore the critical role of organizational support, management practices, and employee training in ensuring that FWH policies successfully translate into improved productivity and a positive employee experience. The research contributes significantly to the existing literature by providing a detailed, context-specific understanding of FWH's impact, addressing the gap in research focusing on the employee perspective in the Middle Eastern context. The findings provide valuable insights for HR managers in Saudi Arabia and potentially other cultural contexts where similar factors might influence employee attitudes toward FWH.

This study offers valuable insights into the relationship between FWH and employee productivity in a Saudi Arabian organization. The findings emphasize the crucial role of organizational support, effective communication, and appropriate training in maximizing the benefits of FWH. The research highlights the need for a holistic approach to FWH implementation, considering not only the availability of flexible working arrangements but also the broader organizational context and cultural factors. Future research could investigate the impact of FWH across diverse organizational settings and industries in Saudi Arabia and other similar contexts to generalize the findings. Further research exploring the long-term effects of FWH on both individual employee well-being and organizational outcomes would also be valuable.

The study's findings are limited to a single organization in Saudi Arabia. This limits the generalizability of the results to other organizations and cultural contexts. While the study uses triangulation for enhanced rigor, the qualitative nature of the data inherently limits the extent to which numerical, statistically significant results can be obtained. Future research would benefit from replicating the study in multiple organizations across different industries to enhance generalizability and explore whether the findings hold true across different cultural and organizational contexts.