Georgia Competitiveness Initiative Report Prepared by .docx

Georgia Competitiveness Initiative Report
Prepared by
Student Name
The Georgia Chamber of Commerce
July 2012
INTRODUCTION: GEORGIA—THE ECONOMIC LEADER OF
THE SOUTH……..1
Areas of
Focus...........................................................................11
Business Climate.........................................................12
Education & Workforce Development..............14
Innovation.......................................................................16
Infrastructure................................................................18
Global Commerce.....................................................20
Government Efficiency...........................................22
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
REFERENCES
INTRODUCTION: GEORGIA—THE ECONOMIC LEADER OF
THE SOUTH
Throughout Georgia’s history, state government and the
business community have worked together to grow the economy
and create a high quality of life for those who call our state
home. As a result of that partnership, Georgia has been the
economic leader of the South, one with an enviable logistics
system, top tier research universities, world class technical
education, a robust agricultural sector, abundant natural
resources and a positive global reputation–all of which
contribute to our ability to attract, retain and grow both jobs

and investment.
To ensure that Georgia’s future is bright, the state must focus
not only on what is needed to successfully emerge from the
recent recession but also to remain competitive for decades to
come. The Georgia Competitiveness Initiative–a partnership
between public and private sectors– was created by Governor
Nathan Deal to enhance the state’s economic development
strategy.
As a result, the Initiative centered on six key areas that,
together, have and will continue to form the foundation for
long-term economic success. These are also the key areas that
site selection consultants use to evaluate locations:
Business Climate
Education and Workforce Development
Innovation
Infrastructure
Global Commerce
Government Efficiency and Effectiveness
Business Climate
Georgia’s reputation as a business-friendly state has been
demonstrated through both past economic success and numerous
national rankings and accolades. Maintaining that climate – one
that supports existing industry, new corporate locations, small
business and entrepreneurs – must remain at the heart of any
economic development strategy. By modernizing incentives,
revising tax provisions, and leveraging our quality of life,
Georgia can ensure continued success in the future. “Provide
incentives that reward growth and support established industry
to increase Georgia’s ability to compete with other states in
attracting new companies or expanding existing ones.”

Education & Workforce Development
A supportive business climate, sound economic development
strategy, and world-class infrastructure are of little value to
business without a dependable pipeline of qualified workers.
Insisting on excellence, promoting post-secondary options for
learning, and ensuring that Georgia’s curriculum is adequately
preparing future employees are all critical components to
creating a workforce that will attract quality jobs. “Focus on
adaptability and flexibility within the pre-K through 12 system
so that students are prepared to work or be trained to work upon
graduation.”
Innovation
Innovation plays an important strategic role in both the growth
of traditional industries and the continued diversification of the
state’s economy. Georgia is fortunate to have multiple
incubators for cutting-edge research and start-up companies but
lacks the infrastructure needed to fully leverage these
opportunities. Georgia can grow into a more attractive and
permanent home for entrepreneurs and new industries through
an increased focus on providing support, an infusion of
available capital, as well as the creation of an environment
where entrepreneurs and new industries can thrive. “Stop brain
drain. Students take Georgia investments out of our state. We
need to coordinate programs to keep them in Georgia.”
Infrastructure
For half a century, Georgia’s transportation assets, affordable
energy, expansive telecommunications networks, and abundant
natural resources were highlights of successful economic
recruitment efforts. As other states and nations made
investments in their own infrastructure in order to compete,
Georgia maintained the status quo and that advantage is
diminishing. Reinvestment in and expansion of these assets,
including long-term planning, is critical to the state’s economic

future.
Global Commerce
The 1996 Olympics placed Georgia on a global stage that,
combined with world-class logistics assets such as the ports and
international airport, has resulted in increased exports, foreign
direct investment, and companies doing business globally.
Ensuring that Georgia companies are ready to maximize
international opportunities for growth, identifying emerging
markets, and promoting the state as a great place for tourism are
all key to continued growth.
Government Efficiency
Businesses depend on state government to operate in an
efficient manner, providing services and support in a way that
does not impede growth. Georgia has been fortunate to have
been recognized for such efficiency in the past, consistently
receiving AAA bond ratings and accolades from national
business and government experts. Retaining and enhancing that
reputation is key to attracting new investment and job creation.
“Reduce red tape or bureaucratic issues that impede progress of
economic development.”
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Despite a state government that is consistently recognized for
its efficiency and pro-business environment, Georgia was hit
particularly hard by the recent economic recession. Multiple
signs point toward recovery. State revenues have trended
upward since mid-2010. Traffic to the ports continues to
increase. The Georgia Department of Economic Development
(GDEcD) has announced numerous location and expansion
projects throughout the past year. However, business still faces
challenges.
To ensure that Georgia’s future is bright, the state must focus
not only on what is needed to successfully emerge from the

recent recession but also to remain competitive for decades to
come. The Georgia Competitiveness Initiative–a partnership
between public and private sectors– was created by Governor
Nathan Deal to enhance the state’s economic development
strategy.
REFERENCES
Allen, I., & Seaman, J. (2010, November). Class difference$:
online education in the united states, 2010. Retrieved from
http://sloanconsortium.org/ publications/
survey/class_differences.
Bocchi, J., & Eastman, J. K. (2004). Retaining the online
learner: Profile of students in an online MBA program and
implications for teaching them. Journal of Education for
Business, 79(4), 245-245-253. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/202820993?accountid=1296
2.
Hegarty, N. (2010). Application of the academic motivation
scale to graduate school students. The Journal of Human
Resource and Adult Learning, 6(2), 48-48-55. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/867401296?
accountid=12962.
Irani, T., Telg, R., Scherler, C., & Harrington, M. (2003).
Personality type and its relationship to distance education
students' course perceptions and performance. Quarterly Review
of Distance Education, 4(4), 445-445-453. Retrieved from
2.

Mupinga, D. M., Nora, R. T., & Yaw, D. C. (2006). The
learning styles, expectations, and needs of online students.
College Teaching, 54(1), 185-185-189. Retrieved from
2.
Relationships of gender, family
responsibility and ¯exible work hours
to organizational commitment and
job satisfaction
TERRI A. SCANDURA
Department of Management, University of Miami, Coral Gables,
FL 33124-9145, U.S.A.
AND
MELENIE J. LANKAU
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, U.S.A.
Summary Psychological contract theory (Rousseau, 1995)
suggests that women and those with
family responsibilities may negotiate new psychological
contracts that include family-
responsive bene®ts such as ¯exible work hours. Relationships
of gender, family
responsibility, and ¯exible work hours to organizational
commitment and job satis-

faction were examined among 160 matched male and female
managers in a cross-
organizational study. Results revealed that women who
perceived their organizations
o�ered ¯exible work hours reported higher levels of
organizational commitment and
job satisfaction than women who did not. Also, ¯exible work
hours were related to
higher organizational commitment and job satisfaction for those
having family
responsibilities. Implications of these results for future research
and organizational
policy are discussed. # 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
J. Organiz. Behav. 18: 377±391 (1997)
No. of Figures: 0 No. of Tables: 3 No. of References: 65
Introduction
Organizational responses to work±family con¯ict is an
increasing priority for management
(Ornstein and Isabella, 1993). In recent years, organizations
have introduced a number of family-
responsive policies and bene®ts, in large part, due to the
increasing number of women in the
workplace (Milliken, Dutton and Beyer, 1991; Rousseau, 1995;
Schwartz, 1989). Current data
indicate that 52 percent of women with children under age 6
work today as compared with
11 percent in 1960 (Lee, 1991). The increase in dual-career
families has also given rise to more
favorable attitudes of men toward `family-friendly' policies
since both partners must now be
CCC 0894±3796/97/040377±15$17.50 Received 13 June 1995
# 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Accepted 14 April 1996

JOURNAL OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR, VOL. 18,
377±391 (1997)
Addressee for correspondence: Terri A. Scandura, Associate
Professor, Department of Management, 414 Jenkins
Building, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33124-9145,
U.S.A., tel: (305) 284-5846 (o�ce), (305) 663-6547 (home
o�ce), e-mail: [email protected] (internet).
¯exible to meet child-care or dependent-elderly care demands
(Lee, 1991). Scharlach and Boyd
(1989) reported a sizable percentage of workers were providing
assistance to elderly family
members and that formal organizational supportive programs
were considered extremely helpful
in managing caregiving and work responsibility con¯icts.
O�ering of such programs may a�ect
work attitudes of employees, including organizational
commitment and job satisfaction. Such
policies may be related to employee loyalty to the organization
because the organization is
perceived to be a `family friendly' environment to work in.
Reasons cited by organization decision-makers for
implementing ¯exible work hours are to
improve motivation and morale and to enable employees to
better balance work and family
(Kush and Stroh, 1994). Ultimately this ¯exibility may relate to
improved productivity as well.
Osterman (1995) found strong support for the link between the
implementation of work±family
policies and direct e�orts on the part of employers to improve
employee commitment.

Literature Review and Research Hypotheses
Flexible work hours as a family-responsive policy
Higgins, Duxbury and Irving (1992) found that con¯ict between
work and family roles diminish
employees' perceptions of quality of work life and the quality of
family life which, in turn, can
impact organizational outcomes such as productivity,
absenteeism and turnover. They suggest
that organizations could possibly reduce work±family con¯icts
by o�ering alternative work
arrangements. This research indicated `that the structure of
work has a strong in¯uence on
family life and suggests that there should be recognition on the
part of employers that the family
consequences of work environment decisions are real and that
they need to be considered' (p. 71).
Organizational policy-makers are beginning to realize the e�ect
of the changing demographics
of their workers and are responding with the implementation of
family-oriented programs
(Galen, Palmer, Cuneo and Maremont, 1993). In a 1991 study of
188 of the largest companies in
30 industries, 100 percent of the companies reported that they
o�ered maternity leave, 88 percent
o�ered part-time work, 77 percent o�ered ¯exible work hours,
and 48 percent of the companies
reported that they had a job-sharing program (Galinsky,
Friedman and Hernandez, 1991). These
types of programs are designed to help employees manage their
work and family responsibilities.
Research has shown family-responsive policies to be associated
with the job-related attitudes and

personal well-being of employees (Greenberger, Goldberg,
Hamill, O'Neil and Payne, 1989;
Solomon, 1994). One of these policies is ¯exible work hours
(abbreviated to FWH and sometimes
referred to as `¯ex-time'). Under ¯exible work hour systems,
employees may choose when they
come to work and when they leave, as long as they work during
certain hours referred to as `core
hours'.
Advantages and disadvantages of ¯exible work hours have been
discussed (Christensen and
Staines, 1990; Glueck, 1979; Golembiewski and Proehl, 1978;
Kopelman, 1986; Kush and Stroh,
1994; Narayana and Nath, 1982; Pierce and Newstrom, 1983;
Rainey and Wolf, 1982). Major
advantages claimed include lowered stress, increased job
enrichment and autonomy, reduced
tardiness and absenteeism, and improved job satisfaction and
productivity. Major disadvantages
identi®ed include increased costs, problems with scheduling
and work coordination, di�culties
with supervising all employees on ¯exible work hours, and
changes in the organizational culture.
Golembiewski and Proehl's (1978) review of the literature on
¯exible work hours indicated that,
in sum, the positive bene®ts of ¯ex-time systems outweigh the
costs and that the applications
378 T. A. SCANDURA AND M. J. LANKAU
# 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J. Organiz. Behav. 18:
377±391 (1997)

generated few negative work behaviors. According to a 1993
survey of 80 top U.S. corporations
conducted by Work/Family Directions, ¯exible work hours was
the most frequently utilized
program (24 percent of employees used ¯ex-time) over
telecommuting, job sharing and part-time
schedule programs (Solomon, 1994).
Organizational commitment and job satisfaction
Organizational commitment and job satisfaction represent
possible bene®ts that may be associ-
ated with ¯exible work hours. Organizational commitment
represents an individual's identi®-
cation with the goals of the organization, how much the
individual values membership in the
organization and the degree to which they intend to work to
attain organizational goals
(Mowday, Steers and Porter, 1979). Job satisfaction is the
overall summary evaluation a person
makes regarding his/her work environment (Weiss, Dawis,
England and Lofquist, 1967). A broad
range of personal characteristics, job characteristics,
group±leader relations, organizational
characteristics and role states have been examined in the
literature as antecedents to organ-
izational commitment (cf. Mathieu and Zajac, 1990, for a meta-
analysis of antecedents, corre-
lates and consequences of organizational commitment). Job
satisfaction has been positively
correlated with organizational commitment (Mowday et al.,
1979) and recent research has
indicated a causal relationship between these two constructs
(Vandenberg and Lance, 1992). For
example, Williams and Hazer (1986) report that job satisfaction
is an antecedent to organiza-

tional commitment in an investigation employing structural
equation methodology.
With respect to individual and organizational outcomes,
research has shown that organiza-
tional commitment is positively related to performance (Aranya,
Kushnir and Valency, 1986)
and negatively related to turnover (Mathieu and Zajac, 1990;
Porter, Steers and Mowday, 1974)
and turnover intentions (Williams and Hazer, 1986). In addition,
organizational commitment
has been shown to be positively related to participation, power,
teamwork and professionalism
(Welsch and LaVan, 1981).
Psychological Contracts
Flexible work hours as a part of the
psychological contract
Rousseau (1995) suggests that psychological contracts (both
written and unwritten) are
pervasive in organizations. She de®nes a `psychological
contract' as a set of `. . . individual
beliefs, shaped by the organization, regarding terms of an
exchange agreement between indivi-
duals and their organization' (p. 9). Rousseau also notes that
human resource (HR) practices,
such as recruitment, performance appraisal and compensation,
play an important role in the
psychological contracting process between employees and
employers. Although a number of
variables have been investigated as possible aspects of
psychological contracts in organizations,
the relationship between ¯exible work hours and employee
responses (organizational commit-

ment and job satisfaction) has not been examined. Perceptions
of ¯exible work hours in the
workplace may increase employee loyalty and satisfaction due
to positive feelings associated with
working for an organization that visibly cares about the well-
being of its employees. Since
psychological contracts `. . . refer to beliefs that individuals
hold regarding promises made,
accepted, and relied upon between themselves and another'
(Rousseau andWade-Benzoni, 1994)
FLEXIBLE WORK HOURS 379
377±391 (1997)
(p. 466), it is the perception of whether the person has ¯exible
work hours that drives the
psychological contracting process.
Perceptions of ¯exible work hours may result in increased
attachment to the organization and
overall satisfaction for several reasons. First, the individual
may perceive the organization's
o�ering of ¯exible work hours as representing the
organization's concern for work and family.
Employees may see this as an aspect of the psychological
contract since their ability to balance
multiple responsibilities is congruent with individual values
about work and family (i.e. `this
organization cares about people'). Second, ¯exible work hours
allows individuals to feel
increased control over their lives due to the opportunity to work
during times more suited to

personal needs (e.g. child-care or elderly-care obligations) or
personal biological clocks
(not everyone is most productive from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.).
Third, having ¯exible work hours
available improves employees' perceptions about their employer
and increases employees'
overall positive feeling toward the employer which impacts
organizational commitment and job
satisfaction. Fourth employees often engage in social
comparison processes (Adams, 1965) and
may compare their situation to peers in other jobs and/or
organizations that do not o�er ¯exible
work programs. Such comparisons should increase the value of
the employees' psychological
contract with their organization. Crooker and Grover (1993)
noted that providing family
bene®ts to employees positively in¯uences their attachment to
work through the symbolic action
of the employer providing policies that are responsive to
employees' needs. In response to the
o�ering of ¯exible work hours, employees may reciprocate with
greater loyalty to the employer
and better morale. Based upon the idea that ¯exible work hours
represent an aspect of the
contract between employees and employers and the previous
literature, we expect the perception
of ¯exible work hours to be related to organizational
commitment (loyalty to the employer) and
job satisfaction (morale). Hence, the following hypothesis is
proposed.
H1: Individuals that perceive ¯exible work hours will report
higher levels of (a) organ-
izational commitment and (b) job satisfaction than individuals
who do not.

Gender and the psychological contract
There has been scant research on possible gender di�erences in
responses to psychological
contracts in organizations (Rousseau, 1995). An examination of
research on gender di�erences in
organizational commitment is not conclusive, however (Mathieu
and Zajac, 1990). Some studies
report that women are more committed than men (Angle and
Perry, 1981; Baugh, 1990; Gould,
1975; Grusky, 1966; Hrebiniak and Alutto, 1972) and others
suggest that women are less
committed than men (Aranya et al., 1986; Chusmir, 1982;
Euchs, 1971; Graddick and Farr,
1983). Still others report no gender di�erences in
organizational commitment (Fry and Grenfeld,
1980; Cromie, 1981; Stevens, Beyer and Trice, 1978; Bruning
and Snyder, 1983). One of the
criticisms of research that has previously examined gender-
related di�erences in the study of
job attitudes has been the lack of control for the e�ects of
demographic variables such as age and
level of education (Lefkowitz, 1994). In a study of a
heterogeneous group of 832 men and
women, Lefkowitz (1994) found that many gender-related
di�erences in job reaction and
dispositional variables such as job satisfaction disappear when
di�erences in perceived job
characteristics, age, tenure, education, income, and occupational
level were controlled. He con-
cludes that studies involving the examination of gender
di�erences should control statistically or
procedurally for the e�ects of demographic variables. We agree
with this noted limitation of
research on gender-related di�erences, and follow the
suggestion of Sekaran (1990), that

matched samples are an e�ective research design for
researching such di�erences.
377±391 (1997)
Mathieu and Zajac (1990) suggest that gender may impact
employee's perceptions of the
workplace and their attitudinal reactions to the organization.
They also suggest that gender may
impact whether individuals become more committed to
organizations that o�er various kinds of
opportunities such as ¯exible work hours. Family-oriented
programs may be more salient to
women who must balance work and family demands and
consequently, face more work±family
con¯icts than men (Greenhaus, Parasuraman, Granrose,
Rabinowitz and Beutell, 1989). Gender
theory suggests that most women are socialized to view their
primary role as within the family
(Baugh, 1990). Also, women's experiences in the workplace
such as discrimination and sex-role
stereotyping may reinforce the relative importance of the family
role over the work role (Kanter,
1977; Terborg, 1977). Thus, women are expected to have
di�erent responses to work than men in
terms of organizational commitment and job satisfaction when
family-responsive policies are
o�ered.
Women may develop di�erent psychological contracts with
organizations than men. They

may be more committed and satis®ed with work when they
perceive that their organization o�ers
policies that are consonant with the family role, in comparison
to men. Flexible work hours may
enable women to better balance the con¯icting demands between
work and family roles (Frone,
Russell and Cooper, 1992). Research has indicated that women
have retained primary respons-
ibility for home and family duties, in addition to being
employed full-time (Hoschild, 1989;
Bielby and Bielby, 1988). Hence, the perception that the
organization supports them in their need
to manage both their career and their family may increase their
feelings of organizational
commitment and morale (Rousseau, 1995). As more women
have entered the workforce, the
nature of bene®ts o�ered to employees have changed. Today,
on-site day-care centers, parental
leave and ¯exible work hours are often part of the psychological
contracts o�ered to employees.
In response to such contract `packages' (Rousseau, 1995),
employees may be more satis®ed and
connected to the organization. Flexible work hour bene®ts may
be an important element in an
individual's decision to work for a particular organization. Sims
(1994) notes that human
resource personnel will have to o�er innovative employment
options to attract and retain
younger employees. Maximizing employees' sense of control
over their lives and their changing
needs is a goal addressed by ¯exible work hour systems.
Therefore, we expect interaction e�ects for gender and ¯exible
work hour policies with respect
to organizational commitment and job satisfaction. Women
should be more likely to report

higher levels of organizational commitment and job satisfaction
than men when they perceive
that a family-responsive policy is present in their organization
than when it is not. We hope to ®ll
a gap in the current research on women in management by
examining the di�erential e�ects of a
family-responsive policy (i.e. ¯exible work hours) on the
satisfaction of females and males using a matched sample
design (Sekaran, 1990). Hence, the
following hypothesis is proposed.
H2: The relationship between the perception of ¯exible work
hours and (a) organizational
commitment and (b) job satisfaction will be stronger for women
than for men.
Family responsibility and the psychological contract
Attitudes have changed regarding employees' willingness to
sacri®ce family for work (Rodgers,
1992). Today's employees often look for signals that the
organization provides for balance
between work and family (Osterman, 1995). Guzzo and Noonan
(1994) suggest that human
resource practices, such as ¯exible work hours communicate
that the organization is concerned
about employee well-being. Such practices have been
considered part of the psychological
377±391 (1997)

contract o�ered to employees. Flexible work hours may be
o�ered as part of the human resource
bene®t `package' o�ered to employees or negotiated one-on-
one with one's supervisor. In either
event, the employee may reciprocate with increased loyalty and
work performance. Also, the
perception of having ¯exible work hours may enhance the
employer±employee `bond' and
increase job satisfaction. Rousseau (1995) suggests that a recent
trend in psychological con-
tracting is increased negotiation regarding work and family
issues for both women and men. As
more women have entered the U.S. workforce creating an
increase in dual-career families, the
expectations that employers will assist or be ¯exible regarding
work±family con¯icts has also
increased. Thus, ¯exible work hours may be viewed as part of
the psychological contract for
employees that have family responsibilities.
Employees who stand to bene®t from family responsive
programs may hold more positive
attitudes toward the organization (Crooker and Grover, 1993).
Therefore, employees who have
children and are confronted with work and family demands may
prefer having a choice of
work hours associated with ¯exible work hour programs and
may feel more attached to the
organization for o�ering these policies. This attachment should
be re¯ected in feelings of
organizational commitment and job satisfaction. Beauvais and
Kowalski (1993) found that
`. . . the more salient one's family role, the more likely one
would engage in family-supportive
behaviors' (p. 10). Thus, having children at home represents a

level of family responsibility and
the following hypothesis is proposed.
H3: The relationship between perceptions of ¯exible work hours
and (a) organizational
commitment and (b) job satisfaction will be stronger for
individuals with family respons-
ibilities than those without.
Method
Sample and procedure
Despite investigations of antecedents of organizational
commitment using a variety of ®eld
samples (Hrebiniak, 1974; Lee, 1971; Steers, 1977; Koch and
Steers, 1976; Porter et al., 1974;
Mowday et al., 1979; Graddick and Farr, 1983; Welsch and
LaVan, 1981), research has yet to
examine organizational commitment using matched samples of
male and female managers. Yet,
the development of psychological contracts of managers is
important because of their ability to
in¯uence key decisions in the overall human resource strategy
of the organization and processes
of recruitment, hiring and promotions (Rousseau and Wade-
Benzoni, 1994). In addition,
Milliken et al. (1991) note that the attitudes of the `top
management team' (p. 101) regarding
work±family issues could be crucial in determining
implementation of family-responsive
policies.
To obtain a sample of women in management positions,
potential participants were obtained
from mailing lists, provided by the American List Council, of

women with job titles of general
manager, vice president or president/CEO. A random sample of
1200 potential participants were
screened for their willingness to take part in the survey and
ability to identify a male peer at their
level. Four hundred and forty-three women indicated their
willingness to participate in the study
and were mailed two copies of the survey and postage-paid
return envelopes. A total of 275
(176 from women and 99 from men) usable surveys were
returned for a response rate of
39.7 percent for the women, and the matching strategy resulted
in a ®nal sample of N � 160,
377±391 (1997)
constituted by N � 80 matched pairs1. Ninety-three di�erent
organizations were represented in
the sample (67 women identi®ed peers in the same organization
and 13 identi®ed peers in
di�erent organizations).
While the initial female executive sample was randomly drawn,
it is still possible that some
di�erences existed between respondents and non-respondents.
To address the issue of possible
non-response bias, a preliminary step in the data collection
process included a postage-paid
business reply postcard which asked the female respondents to
designate whether or not they
wanted to participate in the study. Information regarding the

number of levels between the female
respondent's job and the top level of the organization, the
number of persons they supervise, and
the type of organization (government, service, manufacturing,
small business or other) was
collected via the postcard. Non-response bias was evaluated by
comparing the postcard responses
of those who completed the survey (N � 176) with those who
indicated they did not wish to
participate (N � 534). No statistically signi®cant di�erences
were found between these two
groups for the number of levels between their position and the
top level in the organization
(t value � 1:64; p � 0:102), the number of persons they
supervised (t value � 1:12; p � 0:228), or
type of organization (�2� 7:17; p � 0:127). In addition, the
geographic location of the employing
organization (South, Northeast, Midwest and West) was
examined for respondents and non-
respondents and no signi®cant di�erences were found (�2�
3:15; p � 0:370).
A demographic pro®le of respondents is shown in Table 1. The
majority of respondents were
married, employed full time, and Caucasian; approximately 74
percent of the women and
87 percent of the men had at least a bachelor's degree; and 80.7
87.5 percent of the men were employed by small- or medium-
sized organizations (500 employees
or less). Since the literature has demonstrated various personal
characteristics to be related to
organizational commitment and di�erences between males and
females to confound studies of
gender di�erences in reactions to work (Mathieu and Zajac,
1990; Lefkowitz, 1994), analyses

were conducted on all demographic variables to determine
whether the matched sample
procedure was e�ective in procedurally controlling for
di�erences in the personal characteristics
of respondents. t-tests, chi-square tests, and Del tests (Drazin
and Kazanjian, 1993) indicated no
signi®cant gender di�erences for age, ethnicity, education,
years of experience, salary, size of
budget, number of persons supervised, weekly hours of work,
size of employer or type of
industry, supporting the e�ectiveness of the matching strategy.
The only di�erences in the sample
were that women were more likely to be single than men (Del �
0:16; p < 0:05) and more males
reported having children under 18 living at home than women
(Del � 0:2; p < 0:05). For this
analysis, the Del technique was used in conjunction with the
chi-square test (cf. Drazin and
Kazanjian, 1993), because we hypothesized that men would be
more likely to have children than
women, given results of previous research utilizing dependent
children as a variable in the
examination of careers of men and women (Lobel and St. Clair,
1992).
Measures2
Organizational commitment
Mowday et al.'s (1979) 15-item Organizational Commitment
Questionnaire (OCQ) was used and
respondents indicated their level of agreement with these items
using a 5-point scale ranging from
1 Response rates among executives typically are under 25

percent (cf. Hall, 1992; Powell, 1992).
2 Data on ¯exible work hours and organizational commitment
were collected as part of a larger survey on careers of
women in management.
377±391 (1997)
1 � strongly disagree to 5 � strongly agree. Representative
items in this measure included `For
me, this is the best of all possible organizations for which to
work' and `I ®nd that my values and
the organization's values are very similar'. The coe�cient alpha
reliability computed for the
OCQ in this sample was 0.90.
Job satisfaction
Overall Job Satisfaction was measured using the Minnesota
Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ)
(Weiss et al., 1967). Respondents indicated their satisfaction
with 20 aspects of their jobs using a
5-point scale ranging from 1 � very dissatis®ed to 5 � very
satis®ed. Representative items in this
measure included `Being able to keep busy at all times' and `My
pay and the amount of work I
do'. The coe�cient alpha reliability computed for the MSQ in
this sample was 0.90.
Table 1. Demographic characteristics: female and male
managers
Characteristic Female Male Characteristic Female Male

(N � 80) (N � 80) (N � 80) (N � 80)
Age (years)
Mean 44.2 42.5
Standard deviation 10.3 10.3
Ethnicity (%)
White 95.0 97.5
Afro-American 0.6 1.2
Hispanic 1.7 0.0
All other 2.7 1.2
Education (%)
Bachelor 43.2 55.0
Post-Bachelor 16.9 15.0
Masters 12.5 15.0
Doctorate 1.7 2.5
Marital status (%)*
Single 9.7 6.3
Married 77.2 85.0
Divorced 7.4 8.7
Widowed 3.2 0.0
Children under 18 (%){ 43.8 63.8
Employment status (%)
Full time 95.5 96.2
Part time 4.0 2.5
Years of respondent experience in current type of
work (years)
Mean 12.7 13.1
Respondent's current salary ($)

Mean 61000 60200
Standard deviation 51590 39000
Size of budget over which respondent exercises
authority ($)
Mean 2554000 2931000
Number of months since respondent's last promo-
tion (%)
1±12 42.0 36.2
12±24 13.6 20.0
24±36 15.3 15.0
More than 36 12.6 20.5
Number of persons directly reporting to respondent
Mean 36.8 42.4
Weekly hours of work
Mean 47.5 50.3
Size of respondent's current employer (%)
(number of employees)
1±10 44.3 53.7
11±50 30.1 27.0
51±100 4.0 4.1
101±500 2.3 2.7
Over 500 12.5 8.1
Industry of respondent's current employer (%)
Service 46.3 53.9
Manufacturing 26.3 25.0
Government 5.0 2.0
Retailing 2.5 2.5

Small business 13.8 7.5
t-tests and chi-square tests indicated no signi®cant di�erences
between female and male respondents (excluding children
under 18 variable and marital status variable).
*�2 � 8:51; p4 0:05; Del � 0:16; p4 0:05.
{�2� 6:44; p4 0:05; Del � 0:2; p4 0:05.
377±391 (1997)
Gender, family responsibility,
and ¯exible work hours
Respondents were asked to indicate whether they were male or
female and whether they had
children under 18 living with them at home (age 18 was chosen
since parents still have respon-
sibilities and obligations for high school age children). To
assess the status of the organization's
family-responsive policies, survey respondents indicated
whether their organization o�ered a
¯exible work hours program. Respondents were asked to circle
yes or no if they perceived that
the organization o�ered ¯exible hours3. These variables were
dummy-coded as no � 0 and
yes � 1.
Analyses
To test hypotheses H1(a,b), H2(a,b) and H3(a,b), a 26262
multivariate analyses of variance
(MANOVA) procedure was performed for the dependent
variables, organizational commitment
and job satisfaction: gender (male/female) by family

responsibility (no/yes) by perception of
¯exible work hours in organization (no/yes).
Results
Results from the MANOVA revealed a signi®cant multivariate
e�ect for the perceptions of
¯exible work hours (Wilks' lambda � 0:956, F�2; 151� �
3:44; p � 0:035). Results for the uni-
variate F-tests (shown in Table 2)4 indicated signi®cant e�ects
for both organizational commit-
ment and job satisfaction. Hypotheses 1a and 1b were supported
(F � 5:48 and F � 6:07
respectively) for the main e�ect of perception of ¯exible work
hours in the organization.
Individuals who perceived their organizations o�ered a ¯exible
work hours program (N � 86)
reported a signi®cantly higher level of organizational
commitment (mean � 60:33) than individ-
uals who perceived that their organizations did not o�er such a
policy (N � 74; mean � 55:58).
Also, those who perceived that they had ¯exible work hours
were more satis®ed (mean � 82:63)
than those who did not (mean � 77:38).
The MANOVA showed a signi®cant interaction e�ect for
gender and ¯exible work hours
(Wilks lambda � 0:956; F�2; 151� � 3:46; p � 0:034).
Univariate F-tests (shown in Table 2)
revealed signi®cant e�ects for both organizational commitment
(F � 5:57) and job satisfaction
(F � 6:07). Thus, hypotheses 2a and 2b were supported. A
summary of means is shown in
Table 3. Planned comparison tests of the signi®cance of these
mean di�erences indicated that
female managers who perceived that their organizations o�ered

¯exible work hours
(mean � 62:49) reported signi®cantly higher levels of
commitment than females who did not
3 Information was collected on other family-responsive policies
as part of this investigation. Day-care programs
(community-based, on-site and vouchers) were not signi®cantly
related to organizational commitment nor job satisfac-
tion (however, only 13 per cent of respondents reported that
they perceived having these). Part-time jobs and paternal
leave had signi®cant main e�ects on organizational
commitment and job satisfaction. Dependent care had a
signi®cant
main e�ect on job satisfaction. No interaction e�ects for
gender or family responsibility were found.
4 Additional analyses were also conducted: (a) with marital
status as a covariate since respondents di�ered in this
demographic variable; the results indicated that marital status
was not a signi®cant covariate and ANCOVA was not
necessary; (b) with salary as a covariate, results indicated that
salary was not signi®cant as a covariate; and (c) a three-
way ANOVA examining age, family responsibility and ¯exible
work hours system, since younger persons may have
younger children, and thus more responsibility. The three-way
interaction was not signi®cant.
377±391 (1997)
perceive the availability of ¯exible work hours in their
organizations (mean � 54:60). Males
reported similar levels of organizational commitment regardless

of whether they perceived
¯exible work hours to exist or not in their organizations (means
� 58:69 and 56:94, respectively).
A signi®cant planned comparison among the means was also
found for job satisfaction. Females
who perceived ¯exible work hours in their organization reported
higher levels of job satisfaction
(mean � 85:00) when compared to women who did not perceive
¯exible work hours to exist in
their organizations (mean � 76:14). Again, males that perceived
¯exible work hours reported
similar levels of job satisfaction (means � 80:84) as males who
believed their organizations did
not o�er a policy (mean � 79:10).
Results of the MANOVA also indicated a signi®cant
multivariate e�ect for the inter-
action term of family responsibility and ¯exible working hours
(Wilks' lambda � 0:947;
F�2; 151� � 4:20; p � 0:017). The univariate F-tests were
signi®cant for both dependent variables
(F � 5:70 for organizational commitment and F � 8:04 for job
satisfaction) providing support
for hypotheses 3a and 3b. Planned comparisons of the means
(shown in Table 3) revealed that
respondents with family responsibility (children under 18 living
at home) who perceived their
organizations had a ¯exible work hours policy reported higher
levels of organizational
commitment and job satisfaction than those individuals with
family responsibility who perceived
no availability of ¯exible work hours. Those individuals without
family responsibility reported
similar levels of organizational commitment and job satisfaction
regardless of whether they
perceived ¯exible work hours to be present or not in their

organizations.
Table 2. Summary of univariate analysis of variance: gender by
family responsibility by ¯exible work hours
Source Organizational Job
commitment satisfaction
F F
Gender 0.15 0.10
Family responsibility 0.89 1.80
Flexible work hours 5.48* 6.07*
Gender by family responsibility 1.48 2.17
Gender by ¯exible work hours 5.57* 6.07*
Family responsibility by ¯exible work hours 5.70* 8.04*
Gender by family responsibility by ¯exible work hours 2.78
0.60
* p < 0:05.
Table 3. Summary of means
Flexible work hours Respondent gender Family responsibility
Male Female No Yes
No 56.94 54.60 58.28 53.52
N � 31 N � 43 N � 32 N � 42
Yes 58.69 62.49 59.45 61.16
N � 49 N � 37 N � 42 N � 44

Job satisfaction
No 79.10 76.14 81.34 74.36
N � 31 N � 43 N � 32 N � 42
Yes 80.84 85.00 81.71 83.50
N � 49 N � 37 N � 42 N � 44
377±391 (1997)
Discussion
Results of this study of ¯exible work hours and employee
attitudes among women and men
indicate that family-responsive policies o�ered by employers
may a�ect work-related attitudes of
employees. Speci®cally, the existence of ¯exible work hour
programs was shown to be
signi®cantly related to organizational commitment and job
satisfaction of female managers.
Female managers reported higher levels of organizational
commitment and job satisfaction if
they were working for an organization that they believed
included ¯exible work hours in their
psychological contract. The o�ering of such family-responsive
policies may represent an organ-
izational culture which is supportive of families and shows
sensitivity to career±family demands.
Our results are in agreement with those of Beauvais and
Kowalski (1993) who found that
individuals who perceived their organizational culture to be
supportive of employees' involve-
ment in the family domain experienced lower levels of

work±family con¯ict. Thus, organizations
may be able to play a more active role in reducing work±family
con¯ict and improving employee
attitudes by creating a family-friendly environment. Further
research on the e�ects of family-
responsive policies and organizational culture appears to be a
fruitful area for future research.
It is also noteworthy that the perceptions of existence of the
policy was signi®cantly associated
with higher organizational commitment, regardless of whether
or not the employee had actually
utilized the program. Approximately 60 percent of employees
who reported that ¯exible work
hour systems existed in their employing organizations actually
reported utilizing the program.
Additional analyses examining organizational commitment and
job satisfaction between those
who used the program and those who had not showed no
signi®cant di�erences5. Perhaps the
perception of the presence of the program in the company, not
the actual impact on the individual,
may be a critical factor in that the presence of a ¯exible work
hours policy suggests that the
organization is willing to adapt to employee needs.
Furthermore, it has been suggested that
employees may be reluctant to use the policy when o�ered, due
to the perception that use of FWH
would be perceived by others in their organization as lack of
career commitment (Solomon, 1994;
Beauvais and Kowalski, 1993). Rodgers (1992) found `than
when employees request the very set
of ¯exibility solutions that make it possible to balance these
(work and family) responsibilities,
they are likely to be penalized as not being serious about their
jobs' (p. 190). Future research

should examine the barriers to the utilization of family-
responsive policies, and the usage patterns
of family-responsive policies longitudinally to determine how
and why ¯exible work hours are
utilized and the impact of such usage on job-related attitudes
and career outcomes.
The results of this study indicate that women may be more
sensitive to the attitudinal e�ects of
their organization o�ering family-responsive policies such as
¯exible work hours. The existence
of a ¯exible work hours system did not have a di�erential
impact on the attitudes of men. These
results suggest that women may have a greater appreciation for
the availability of family-
responsive policies due to the often con¯icting roles of
manager, spouse and parent, which is
suggested in the literature on women in management (Hoschild,
1989; Hunsaker, 1985). Future
research could examine outcomes associated with other family-
responsive policies, such as day
care, elder care, reduced work weeks, and working from the
home.
5 A 26262 multivariate analysis of variance was performed with
organizational commitment and job satisfaction as the
dependent variables and gender, family responsibility and
utilization of ¯exible work hours (yes/no) as independent
variables. The main e�ect for utilization of ¯exible work hours
nor any of the interactions involving utilization were
signi®cant.
377±391 (1997)

The analysis for respondents who reported having children
under 18 indicated that having
dependent children signi®cantly moderated the relationship
between ¯exible work hours and
organizational commitment and job satisfaction. As expected,
the existence of the FWH policy
was related to higher organizational commitment and job
satisfaction when the respondent had
children under 18. This supports previous theory and research
that suggests that family-
responsive policies will be more salient when children are
present (Beauvais and Kowalski, 1993;
Crooker and Grover, 1993; Hoschild, 1989; Hunsaker, 1985).
Study limitations
This study assessed whether employees perceived that they had
¯exible work hours and not
whether the program was actually o�ered. However, consistent
with psychological contract
theory (Rousseau, 1995), it is the beliefs regarding aspects of
contracts that drive related attitudes
such as loyalty and morale. Thus, it is our suggestion that future
research not only rely on reports
from the human resources department regarding whether or not
¯exible work hours are o�ered,
but also include reports from respondents. Respondents may
negotiate this with their super-
visors, regardless of the existence of a formal policy. In our
sample there was 67 percent agree-
ment between respondents from the same organizations,
suggesting that di�erent contracts were
perceived within the same organization regarding ¯exible work

hours. An interesting area for
future research would be to compare employees' perceptions of
¯exible work hours with whether
or not the policy is actually o�ered as a human resource
practice as viewed by representatives
from the human resource department.
The analyses in this study do not permit causal explanations and
further study into why these
di�erences exist seem warranted. An additional limitation of
this study is potential bias in the
information collected since only self-report measures were
utilized for all variables, however,
categorical variables such as gender are less susceptible to bias
(Nunnally, 1978) and existence of
¯exible work hour systems and whether the respondent had
children under 18 are based on facts
rather than judgments or perceptions.
Another limitation of the current study concerns the matched
sample research design.
Although the design resulted in very few di�erences in
demographic and organizational vari-
ables, the sample of male and female managers may have
di�ered on other variables not studied,
such as perceived personal competence which has been shown
as an antecedent to organizational
commitment (Mathieu and Zajac, 1990). Future research should
attempt to incorporate as many
of the variables shown in the literature to be antecedents of job
attitudes so that alternative
explanations for results are minimized. Additionally, the
participants in this study were
employed in small- or medium-sized organizations and were in
managerial positions which limits
the generalizability of the study's ®ndings. Future research

should explore the relationships of
gender, family responsibility, ¯exible work hour systems and
job satisfaction among men and women in di�erent
organizational ranks, larger organizations,
and in di�erent occupations such as male-dominated in
comparison with female-dominated.
Implications of the study
The results of this study have practical implications for
organizations interested in implementing
family-responsive policies. Given the literature demonstrating
the outcomes associated with high
levels of organizational commitment (Mowday et al., 1979),
family-responsive policies such as
377±391 (1997)
¯exible work hours may also reduce absenteeism and turnover
(Kush and Stroh, 1994). Our
results suggest that these policies may increase levels of
commitment and overall satisfaction for
both men and women, but that women may be more a�ected by
¯exible work hours as well as
individuals with child-related responsibilities and multiple
commitments. It is hoped that these
results encourage further investigations and applications of
family-responsive policies in organ-
izations, especially in light of the increasing trend of women in
the workplace and the challenge

facing organizations to retain talented, hard-working and
committed employees.
References
Adams, J. S. (1965). Ìnequity in social exchange'. In:
Berkowitz, L. (Ed.) Advances in Experimental Social
Psychology, Academic Press, New York.
Aranya, N., Kushnir, T. and Valency, A. (1986).
Òrganizational commitment in a male-dominated
profession', Human Relations, 39, 433±448.
Angle, H. L. and Perry, J. L. (1981). Àn empirical assessment
of organizational commitment and organ-
izational e�ectiveness', Administrative Science Quarterly, 26,
1±14.
Baugh, S. G. (1990). `Gender in¯uences on organizational
commitment'. In: Ray, D. F. (Ed.) Proceedings
of the Southern Management Association, pp. 204±206.
Southern Management Association Meeting.
Beauvais, L. L. and Kowalski, K. B. (1993). `Predicting
work/family con¯ict and participation in family-
supportive work behaviors: A competing test of two theories'.
Paper presented at the National Academy
of Management meetings, Atlanta, GA.
Bielby, D. D. and Bielby, W. T. (1988). `She works hard for the
money: Household responsibilities and the
allocation of work e�ort', American Journal of Sociology, 93,
1031±1059.
Bruning, N. S. and Snyder, R. A. (1983). `Sex and position as
predictors of organizational commitment',

Academy of Management Journal, 26, 485±491.
Christensen, K. E. and Staines, G. L. (1990). `Flextime: A
viable solution to work/family con¯ict?' Journal
of Family Issues, 4, 455±477.
Chusmir, L. H. (1982). `Job commitment and the organizational
women', Academy of Management Review,
7, 595±602.
Cromie, S. (1981). `Women as managers in Northern Ireland',
Journal of Occupational Psychology, 54,
87±91.
Crooker, K. J. and Grover, S. L. (1993). `The impact of family
responsive bene®ts on selected work
attitudes'. Paper presented at the National Academy of
Management meetings, Atlanta, GA.
Drazin, R. and Kazanjian, R. K. (1993). Àpplying the del
technique to the analysis of cross-classi®cation
data: A test of CEO succession and top management team
development', Academy of Management
Journal, 36, 1374±1399.
Frone, M. R., Russell, M. and Cooper, M. L. (1992).
Àntecedents and outcomes of work±family con¯ict:
Testing a model of the work±family interface', Journal of
Applied Psychology, 77, 65±78.
Fry, L. W. and Grenfeld, S. (1980). Àn examination of
attitudinal di�erences between policewomen and
policemen', Journal of Applied Psychology, 65, 123±126.
Fuchs, R. (1971). `Di�erent meanings of employment for
women', Human Relations, 24, 495±499.

Galen, M., Palmer, A. T., Cuneo, A. and Maremont, M. (1993).
`Work and family', Business Week,
No. 3325, 80±88.
Galinsky, E., Friedman, D. and Hernandez, C. (1991). Corporate
Reference Guide to Work/Family
Programs, Families and Work Institute, New York.
Glueck, W. F. (1979). `Changing hours of work: A review and
analysis of the research', The Personnel
Administrator, March, 44±47, 62±65.
Golembiewski, R. T. and Proehl, C. W. (1978). `A survey of the
empirical literature on ¯exible work hours:
Character and consequences of a major innovation', Academy of
Management Review, 3, 837±853.
Gould, S. (1975). `Correlates of organization identi®cation and
commitment'. Unpublished doctoral
dissertation. East Lansing: Michigan State University.
377±391 (1997)
Graddick, M. M. and Farr, J. L. (1983). `Professionals in
scienti®c disciplines: Sex-related di�erences in
working life commitments', Journal of Applied Psychology, 68,
641±645.
Greenberger, E., Goldberg, W. A., Hamill, S., O'Neil, R. and
Payne, C. K. (1989). `Contributions of a
supportive work environment to parents' well-being and

orientation to work', American Journal of
Community Psychology, 17, 755±783.
Greenhaus, J. H., Parasuraman, S., Granrose, C. S., Rabinowitz,
S. and Beutell, N. J. (1989). `Sources of
work±family con¯ict among two-career couples', Journal of
Vocational Behavior, 4, 133±153.
Grusky, D. (1966). `Career mobility and organizational
commitment', Administrative Science Quarterly,
10, 488±503.
Guzzo, R. A. and Noonan, K. A. (1994). `Human resource
practices as the communications and the
psychological contract', Human Resource Management, 33,
447±462.
Hall, R. (1992). `The strategic analysis of intangible resources',
Strategic Management Journal, 13,
135±144.
Higgins, C. A., Duxbury, L. E. and Irving, R. H. (1992).
`Work±family con¯ict in the dual-career family',
Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 51,
51±75.
Hoschild, A. (1989). The Second Shift, Viking, New York.
Hrebiniak, L. G. and Alutto, J. A. (1972). `Personal and role-
related factors in the development of
organizational commitment', Administrative Science Quarterly,
17, 563±573.
Hrebiniak, L. G. (1974). `E�ects of job level and participation
on employee attitudes and perceptions of
in¯uence', Academy of Management Journal, 17, 649±662.

Hunsaker, J. S. (1985). `Work and family life must be
integrated'. In: Stead, B. A. (Ed.) Women in
Management, 2nd edn, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cli�s, NJ, pp.
68±74.
Kanter, R. M. (1977). Men and Women of the Corporation,
Basic Books, New York.
Koch, J. L. and Steers, R. M. (1976). Job Attachment,
Satisfaction, and Turnover Among Public Employees,
Technical Report No. 6, O�ce of Naval Research, University of
Oregon.
Kopelman, R. E. (1986). Àlternative work schedules and
productivity: A review of the evidence', National
Productivity Review, Spring, 150±165.
Kush, K. S. and Stroh, L. K. (1994). `Flextime: Myth or
reality?' Business Horizons, 37, 51±55.
Lee, S. M. (1971). Àn empirical analysis of organizational
identi®cation', Academy of Management
Journal, 14, 213±226.
Lee, C. (1991). `Balancing work and family', Training, 28,
23±28.
Lefkowitz, J. (1994). `Sex-related di�erences in job attitudes
and dispositional variables: Now you see
them', Academy of Management Journal, 37, 323±349.
Lobel, S. A. and St. Clair, L. (1992). È�ects of family
responsibilities, gender, and career identity salience
on performance outcomes', Academy of Management Journal,
35, 1057±1069.
Mathieu, J. E. and Zajac, D. M. (1990). À review and meta-
analysis of the antecedents, correlates and
consequences of organizational commitment', Psychological

Bulletin, 108, 171±194.
Milliken, F. J., Dutton, J. E. and Beyer, J. M. (1991).
Ùnderstanding organizational adaptation to change:
The case of work±family issues', Human Resource Planning, 13,
91±107.
Mowday, R. T., Steers, R. M. and Porter, L. W. (1979). `The
measurement of organizational commitment',
Journal of Vocational Behavior, 14, 244±247.
Narayana, V. K. and Nath, R. (1982). À ®eld test of some
attitudinal and behavioral consequences of
¯exitime', Journal of Applied Psychology, 67, 214±218.
Nunnally, J. C. (1978). Psychometric Theory, McGraw-Hill
Book Company, New York.
Ornstein, S. and Isabella, L. A. (1993). `Making sense of
careers: A review 1989±1992', Journal of
Management, 19, 243±267.
Osterman, P. (1995). `Work/family programs and the
employment relationship', Administrative Science
Quarterly, Vol. 40, No. 4, 681±700.
Pierce, J. L. and Newstrom, J. W. (1983). `The design of
¯exible work schedules and employee responses:
Relations and process', Journal of Occupational Behavior, 4,
247±262.
Porter, L. W., Steers, R. M. and Mowday, R. (1974).
Òrganizational commitment, job satisfaction, and
turnover among psychiatric technicians', Journal of Applied
Psychology, 59, 603±609.
Powell, T. C. (1992). Òrganizational alignment as competitive

advantage', Strategic Management Journal,
13, 139±144.
Rainey, G. W. and Wolf, L. (1982). `The organizationally
dysfunctional consequences of ¯exible work
hours: A general overview', Public Personnel Management
Journal, Summer, 165±175.
Rodgers, C. S. (1992). `The ¯exible workplace: What have we
learned?' Human Resource Management, 31,
183±199.
377±391 (1997)
Rousseau, D. M. (1995). Psychological Contracts in
Organizations: Understanding Written and Unwritten
Agreements, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA.
Rousseau, D. M. and Wade-Benzoni, K. A. (1994). `Linking
strategy and human resource practices:
How employee and customer contracts are created', Human
Resource Management, 33, 463±489.
Scharlach, A. E. and Boyd, S. L. (1989). `Caregiving and
employment: Results of an employee survey',
The Gerontologist, 29, 382±387.
Schwartz, F. N. (1989). `Management women and the new facts
of life',Harvard Business Review, January±

February, 65±76.
Sekaran, U. (1990). `Frontiers and new vistas in women in
management research', Journal of Business
Ethics, 9, 247±255.
Sims, R. (1994). `Human resource management's role in
clarifying the new psychological contract', Human
Resource Management, 33, 373±382.
Solomon, C. M. (1994). `Work/family's failing grade: Why
today's initiatives aren't enough', Personnel
Journal, 73, 73±85.
Steers, R. M. (1977). Àntecedents and outcomes of
organizational commitment', Administrative Science
Quarterly, 22, 46±56.
Stevens, J. M., Beyer, J. M. and Trice, H. M. (1978). Àssessing
personal role, and organizational
predictors of managerial commitment', Academy of Management
Journal, 21, 380±396.
Terborg, J. R. (1977). `Women in management: A research
review', Journal of Applied Psychology, 62,
647±664.
Vandenberg, R. J. and Lance, C. E. (1992). Èxamining the
causal order of job satisfaction and
organizational commitment', Journal of Management, 18,
153±167.
Weiss, D. J., Dawis, R. V., England, G. W. and Lofquist, L. H.
(1967). Manual for the Minnesota
Satisfaction Questionnaire, Industrial Relations Center,
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.

Welsch, H. P. and LaVan, H. (1981). `Inter-relationships
between organizational commitment and job
characteristics, job satisfaction, professional behavior, and
organizational climate',Human Relations, 34,
1079±1089.
Williams, L. J. and Hazer, J. T. (1986). `Antecedents and
consequences of satisfaction and commitment in
turnover models: A reanalysis using latent variable structural
equation methods', Journal of Applied
Psychology, 71, 219±231.
377±391 (1997)
Relationships of gender, family
responsibility and ¯exible work hours
to organizational commitment and
job satisfaction
TERRI A. SCANDURA
Department of Management, University of Miami, Coral Gables,
FL 33124-9145, U.S.A.
AND
MELENIE J. LANKAU
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, U.S.A.
Summary Psychological contract theory (Rousseau, 1995)

suggests that women and those with
family responsibilities may negotiate new psychological
contracts that include family-
responsive bene®ts such as ¯exible work hours. Relationships
of gender, family
responsibility, and ¯exible work hours to organizational
commitment and job satis-
faction were examined among 160 matched male and female
managers in a cross-
organizational study. Results revealed that women who
perceived their organizations
o�ered ¯exible work hours reported higher levels of
job satisfaction than women who did not. Also, ¯exible work
hours were related to
higher organizational commitment and job satisfaction for those
having family
responsibilities. Implications of these results for future research
and organizational
policy are discussed. # 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
J. Organiz. Behav. 18: 377±391 (1997)
No. of Figures: 0 No. of Tables: 3 No. of References: 65
Introduction
Organizational responses to work±family con¯ict is an
increasing priority for management
(Ornstein and Isabella, 1993). In recent years, organizations
have introduced a number of family-
responsive policies and bene®ts, in large part, due to the
increasing number of women in the
workplace (Milliken, Dutton and Beyer, 1991; Rousseau, 1995;
Schwartz, 1989). Current data
indicate that 52 percent of women with children under age 6
work today as compared with

11 percent in 1960 (Lee, 1991). The increase in dual-career
families has also given rise to more
favorable attitudes of men toward `family-friendly' policies
since both partners must now be
CCC 0894±3796/97/040377±15$17.50 Received 13 June 1995
# 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Accepted 14 April 1996
JOURNAL OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR, VOL. 18,
377±391 (1997)
Addressee for correspondence: Terri A. Scandura, Associate
Professor, Department of Management, 414 Jenkins
Building, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33124-9145,
U.S.A., tel: (305) 284-5846 (o�ce), (305) 663-6547 (home
o�ce), e-mail: [email protected] (internet).
¯exible to meet child-care or dependent-elderly care demands
(Lee, 1991). Scharlach and Boyd
(1989) reported a sizable percentage of workers were providing
assistance to elderly family
members and that formal organizational supportive programs
were considered extremely helpful
in managing caregiving and work responsibility con¯icts.
O�ering of such programs may a�ect
work attitudes of employees, including organizational
commitment and job satisfaction. Such
policies may be related to employee loyalty to the organization
because the organization is
perceived to be a `family friendly' environment to work in.
Reasons cited by organization decision-makers for
implementing ¯exible work hours are to
improve motivation and morale and to enable employees to

better balance work and family
(Kush and Stroh, 1994). Ultimately this ¯exibility may relate to
improved productivity as well.
Osterman (1995) found strong support for the link between the
implementation of work±family
policies and direct e�orts on the part of employers to improve
employee commitment.
Literature Review and Research Hypotheses
Flexible work hours as a family-responsive policy
Higgins, Duxbury and Irving (1992) found that con¯ict between
work and family roles diminish
employees' perceptions of quality of work life and the quality of
family life which, in turn, can
impact organizational outcomes such as productivity,
absenteeism and turnover. They suggest
that organizations could possibly reduce work±family con¯icts
by o�ering alternative work
arrangements. This research indicated `that the structure of
work has a strong in¯uence on
family life and suggests that there should be recognition on the
part of employers that the family
consequences of work environment decisions are real and that
they need to be considered' (p. 71).
Organizational policy-makers are beginning to realize the e�ect
of the changing demographics
of their workers and are responding with the implementation of
family-oriented programs
(Galen, Palmer, Cuneo and Maremont, 1993). In a 1991 study of
188 of the largest companies in
30 industries, 100 percent of the companies reported that they
o�ered maternity leave, 88 percent
o�ered part-time work, 77 percent o�ered ¯exible work hours,

and 48 percent of the companies
reported that they had a job-sharing program (Galinsky,
Friedman and Hernandez, 1991). These
types of programs are designed to help employees manage their
work and family responsibilities.
Research has shown family-responsive policies to be associated
with the job-related attitudes and
personal well-being of employees (Greenberger, Goldberg,
Hamill, O'Neil and Payne, 1989;
Solomon, 1994). One of these policies is ¯exible work hours
(abbreviated to FWH and sometimes
referred to as `¯ex-time'). Under ¯exible work hour systems,
employees may choose when they
come to work and when they leave, as long as they work during
certain hours referred to as `core
hours'.
Advantages and disadvantages of ¯exible work hours have been
discussed (Christensen and
Staines, 1990; Glueck, 1979; Golembiewski and Proehl, 1978;
Kopelman, 1986; Kush and Stroh,
1994; Narayana and Nath, 1982; Pierce and Newstrom, 1983;
Rainey and Wolf, 1982). Major
advantages claimed include lowered stress, increased job
enrichment and autonomy, reduced
tardiness and absenteeism, and improved job satisfaction and
productivity. Major disadvantages
identi®ed include increased costs, problems with scheduling
and work coordination, di�culties
with supervising all employees on ¯exible work hours, and
changes in the organizational culture.
Golembiewski and Proehl's (1978) review of the literature on
¯exible work hours indicated that,
in sum, the positive bene®ts of ¯ex-time systems outweigh the
costs and that the applications

377±391 (1997)
generated few negative work behaviors. According to a 1993
survey of 80 top U.S. corporations
conducted by Work/Family Directions, ¯exible work hours was
the most frequently utilized
program (24 percent of employees used ¯ex-time) over
telecommuting, job sharing and part-time
schedule programs (Solomon, 1994).
Organizational commitment and job satisfaction
Organizational commitment and job satisfaction represent
possible bene®ts that may be associ-
ated with ¯exible work hours. Organizational commitment
represents an individual's identi®-
cation with the goals of the organization, how much the
individual values membership in the
organization and the degree to which they intend to work to
attain organizational goals
(Mowday, Steers and Porter, 1979). Job satisfaction is the
overall summary evaluation a person
makes regarding his/her work environment (Weiss, Dawis,
England and Lofquist, 1967). A broad
range of personal characteristics, job characteristics,
group±leader relations, organizational
characteristics and role states have been examined in the
literature as antecedents to organ-
izational commitment (cf. Mathieu and Zajac, 1990, for a meta-
analysis of antecedents, corre-
lates and consequences of organizational commitment). Job

satisfaction has been positively
correlated with organizational commitment (Mowday et al.,
1979) and recent research has
indicated a causal relationship between these two constructs
(Vandenberg and Lance, 1992). For
example, Williams and Hazer (1986) report that job satisfaction
is an antecedent to organiza-
tional commitment in an investigation employing structural
equation methodology.
With respect to individual and organizational outcomes,
research has shown that organiza-
tional commitment is positively related to performance (Aranya,
Kushnir and Valency, 1986)
and negatively related to turnover (Mathieu and Zajac, 1990;
Porter, Steers and Mowday, 1974)
and turnover intentions (Williams and Hazer, 1986). In addition,
organizational commitment
has been shown to be positively related to participation, power,
teamwork and professionalism
(Welsch and LaVan, 1981).
Psychological Contracts
Flexible work hours as a part of the
psychological contract
Rousseau (1995) suggests that psychological contracts (both
written and unwritten) are
pervasive in organizations. She de®nes a `psychological
contract' as a set of `. . . individual
beliefs, shaped by the organization, regarding terms of an
exchange agreement between indivi-
duals and their organization' (p. 9). Rousseau also notes that
human resource (HR) practices,
such as recruitment, performance appraisal and compensation,

play an important role in the
psychological contracting process between employees and
employers. Although a number of
variables have been investigated as possible aspects of
psychological contracts in organizations,
the relationship between ¯exible work hours and employee
responses (organizational commit-
ment and job satisfaction) has not been examined. Perceptions
of ¯exible work hours in the
workplace may increase employee loyalty and satisfaction due
to positive feelings associated with
working for an organization that visibly cares about the well-
being of its employees. Since
psychological contracts `. . . refer to beliefs that individuals
hold regarding promises made,
accepted, and relied upon between themselves and another'
(Rousseau andWade-Benzoni, 1994)
377±391 (1997)
(p. 466), it is the perception of whether the person has ¯exible
work hours that drives the
psychological contracting process.
Perceptions of ¯exible work hours may result in increased
attachment to the organization and
overall satisfaction for several reasons. First, the individual
may perceive the organization's
o�ering of ¯exible work hours as representing the
organization's concern for work and family.
Employees may see this as an aspect of the psychological

contract since their ability to balance
multiple responsibilities is congruent with individual values
about work and family (i.e. `this
organization cares about people'). Second, ¯exible work hours
allows individuals to feel
increased control over their lives due to the opportunity to work
during times more suited to
personal needs (e.g. child-care or elderly-care obligations) or
personal biological clocks
(not everyone is most productive from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.).
Third, having ¯exible work hours
available improves employees' perceptions about their employer
and increases employees'
overall positive feeling toward the employer which impacts
satisfaction. Fourth employees often engage in social
comparison processes (Adams, 1965) and
may compare their situation to peers in other jobs and/or
organizations that do not o�er ¯exible
work programs. Such comparisons should increase the value of
the employees' psychological
contract with their organization. Crooker and Grover (1993)
noted that providing family
bene®ts to employees positively in¯uences their attachment to
work through the symbolic action
of the employer providing policies that are responsive to
employees' needs. In response to the
o�ering of ¯exible work hours, employees may reciprocate with
greater loyalty to the employer
and better morale. Based upon the idea that ¯exible work hours
represent an aspect of the
contract between employees and employers and the previous
literature, we expect the perception
of ¯exible work hours to be related to organizational
commitment (loyalty to the employer) and
job satisfaction (morale). Hence, the following hypothesis is

proposed.
H1: Individuals that perceive ¯exible work hours will report
higher levels of (a) organ-
izational commitment and (b) job satisfaction than individuals
who do not.
Gender and the psychological contract
There has been scant research on possible gender di�erences in
responses to psychological
contracts in organizations (Rousseau, 1995). An examination of
research on gender di�erences in
organizational commitment is not conclusive, however (Mathieu
and Zajac, 1990). Some studies
report that women are more committed than men (Angle and
Perry, 1981; Baugh, 1990; Gould,
1975; Grusky, 1966; Hrebiniak and Alutto, 1972) and others
suggest that women are less
committed than men (Aranya et al., 1986; Chusmir, 1982;
Euchs, 1971; Graddick and Farr,
1983). Still others report no gender di�erences in
organizational commitment (Fry and Grenfeld,
1980; Cromie, 1981; Stevens, Beyer and Trice, 1978; Bruning
and Snyder, 1983). One of the
criticisms of research that has previously examined gender-
related di�erences in the study of
job attitudes has been the lack of control for the e�ects of
demographic variables such as age and
level of education (Lefkowitz, 1994). In a study of a
heterogeneous group of 832 men and
women, Lefkowitz (1994) found that many gender-related
di�erences in job reaction and
dispositional variables such as job satisfaction disappear when
di�erences in perceived job
characteristics, age, tenure, education, income, and occupational

level were controlled. He con-
cludes that studies involving the examination of gender
di�erences should control statistically or
procedurally for the e�ects of demographic variables. We agree
with this noted limitation of
research on gender-related di�erences, and follow the
suggestion of Sekaran (1990), that
matched samples are an e�ective research design for
researching such di�erences.
377±391 (1997)
Mathieu and Zajac (1990) suggest that gender may impact
employee's perceptions of the
workplace and their attitudinal reactions to the organization.
They also suggest that gender may
impact whether individuals become more committed to
organizations that o�er various kinds of
opportunities such as ¯exible work hours. Family-oriented
programs may be more salient to
women who must balance work and family demands and
consequently, face more work±family
con¯icts than men (Greenhaus, Parasuraman, Granrose,
Rabinowitz and Beutell, 1989). Gender
theory suggests that most women are socialized to view their
primary role as within the family
(Baugh, 1990). Also, women's experiences in the workplace
such as discrimination and sex-role
stereotyping may reinforce the relative importance of the family
role over the work role (Kanter,
1977; Terborg, 1977). Thus, women are expected to have

di�erent responses to work than men in
terms of organizational commitment and job satisfaction when
family-responsive policies are
o�ered.
Women may develop di�erent psychological contracts with
organizations than men. They
may be more committed and satis®ed with work when they
perceive that their organization o�ers
policies that are consonant with the family role, in comparison
to men. Flexible work hours may
enable women to better balance the con¯icting demands between
work and family roles (Frone,
Russell and Cooper, 1992). Research has indicated that women
have retained primary respons-
ibility for home and family duties, in addition to being
employed full-time (Hoschild, 1989;
Bielby and Bielby, 1988). Hence, the perception that the
organization supports them in their need
to manage both their career and their family may increase their
feelings of organizational
commitment and morale (Rousseau, 1995). As more women
have entered the workforce, the
nature of bene®ts o�ered to employees have changed. Today,
on-site day-care centers, parental
leave and ¯exible work hours are often part of the psychological
contracts o�ered to employees.
In response to such contract `packages' (Rousseau, 1995),
employees may be more satis®ed and
connected to the organization. Flexible work hour bene®ts may
be an important element in an
individual's decision to work for a particular organization. Sims
(1994) notes that human
resource personnel will have to o�er innovative employment
options to attract and retain
younger employees. Maximizing employees' sense of control

over their lives and their changing
needs is a goal addressed by ¯exible work hour systems.
Therefore, we expect interaction e�ects for gender and ¯exible
work hour policies with respect
to organizational commitment and job satisfaction. Women
should be more likely to report
higher levels of organizational commitment and job satisfaction
than men when they perceive
that a family-responsive policy is present in their organization
than when it is not. We hope to ®ll
a gap in the current research on women in management by
examining the di�erential e�ects of a
family-responsive policy (i.e. ¯exible work hours) on the
satisfaction of females and males using a matched sample
design (Sekaran, 1990). Hence, the
following hypothesis is proposed.
H2: The relationship between the perception of ¯exible work
hours and (a) organizational
commitment and (b) job satisfaction will be stronger for women
than for men.
Family responsibility and the psychological contract
Attitudes have changed regarding employees' willingness to
sacri®ce family for work (Rodgers,
1992). Today's employees often look for signals that the
organization provides for balance
between work and family (Osterman, 1995). Guzzo and Noonan
(1994) suggest that human
resource practices, such as ¯exible work hours communicate
that the organization is concerned
about employee well-being. Such practices have been
considered part of the psychological

377±391 (1997)
contract o�ered to employees. Flexible work hours may be
o�ered as part of the human resource
bene®t `package' o�ered to employees or negotiated one-on-
one with one's supervisor. In either
event, the employee may reciprocate with increased loyalty and
work performance. Also, the
perception of having ¯exible work hours may enhance the
employer±employee `bond' and
increase job satisfaction. Rousseau (1995) suggests that a recent
trend in psychological con-
tracting is increased negotiation regarding work and family
issues for both women and men. As
more women have entered the U.S. workforce creating an
increase in dual-career families, the
expectations that employers will assist or be ¯exible regarding
work±family con¯icts has also
increased. Thus, ¯exible work hours may be viewed as part of
the psychological contract for
employees that have family responsibilities.
Employees who stand to bene®t from family responsive
programs may hold more positive
attitudes toward the organization (Crooker and Grover, 1993).
Therefore, employees who have
children and are confronted with work and family demands may
prefer having a choice of
work hours associated with ¯exible work hour programs and
may feel more attached to the

organization for o�ering these policies. This attachment should
be re¯ected in feelings of
organizational commitment and job satisfaction. Beauvais and
Kowalski (1993) found that
`. . . the more salient one's family role, the more likely one
would engage in family-supportive
behaviors' (p. 10). Thus, having children at home represents a
level of family responsibility and
the following hypothesis is proposed.
H3: The relationship between perceptions of ¯exible work hours
and (a) organizational
commitment and (b) job satisfaction will be stronger for
individuals with family respons-
ibilities than those without.
Method
Sample and procedure
Despite investigations of antecedents of organizational
commitment using a variety of ®eld
samples (Hrebiniak, 1974; Lee, 1971; Steers, 1977; Koch and
Steers, 1976; Porter et al., 1974;
Mowday et al., 1979; Graddick and Farr, 1983; Welsch and
LaVan, 1981), research has yet to
examine organizational commitment using matched samples of
male and female managers. Yet,
the development of psychological contracts of managers is
important because of their ability to
in¯uence key decisions in the overall human resource strategy
of the organization and processes
of recruitment, hiring and promotions (Rousseau and Wade-
Benzoni, 1994). In addition,
Milliken et al. (1991) note that the attitudes of the `top
management team' (p. 101) regarding

work±family issues could be crucial in determining
implementation of family-responsive
policies.
To obtain a sample of women in management positions,
potential participants were obtained
from mailing lists, provided by the American List Council, of
women with job titles of general
manager, vice president or president/CEO. A random sample of
1200 potential participants were
screened for their willingness to take part in the survey and
ability to identify a male peer at their
level. Four hundred and forty-three women indicated their
willingness to participate in the study
and were mailed two copies of the survey and postage-paid
return envelopes. A total of 275
(176 from women and 99 from men) usable surveys were
returned for a response rate of
39.7 percent for the women, and the matching strategy resulted
in a ®nal sample of N � 160,
377±391 (1997)
constituted by N � 80 matched pairs1. Ninety-three di�erent
organizations were represented in
the sample (67 women identi®ed peers in the same organization
and 13 identi®ed peers in
di�erent organizations).
While the initial female executive sample was randomly drawn,
it is still possible that some

di�erences existed between respondents and non-respondents.
To address the issue of possible
non-response bias, a preliminary step in the data collection
process included a postage-paid
business reply postcard which asked the female respondents to
designate whether or not they
wanted to participate in the study. Information regarding the
number of levels between the female
respondent's job and the top level of the organization, the
number of persons they supervise, and
the type of organization (government, service, manufacturing,
small business or other) was
collected via the postcard. Non-response bias was evaluated by
comparing the postcard responses
of those who completed the survey (N � 176) with those who
indicated they did not wish to
participate (N � 534). No statistically signi®cant di�erences
were found between these two
groups for the number of levels between their position and the
top level in the organization
(t value � 1:64; p � 0:102), the number of persons they
supervised (t value � 1:12; p � 0:228), or
type of organization (�2� 7:17; p � 0:127). In addition, the
geographic location of the employing
organization (South, Northeast, Midwest and West) was
examined for respondents and non-
respondents and no signi®cant di�erences were found (�2�
3:15; p � 0:370).
A demographic pro®le of respondents is shown in Table 1. The
majority of respondents were
married, employed full time, and Caucasian; approximately 74
87 percent of the men had at least a bachelor's degree; and 80.7
87.5 percent of the men were employed by small- or medium-

sized organizations (500 employees
or less). Since the literature has demonstrated various personal
characteristics to be related to
organizational commitment and di�erences between males and
females to confound studies of
gender di�erences in reactions to work (Mathieu and Zajac,
1990; Lefkowitz, 1994), analyses
were conducted on all demographic variables to determine
whether the matched sample
procedure was e�ective in procedurally controlling for
di�erences in the personal characteristics
of respondents. t-tests, chi-square tests, and Del tests (Drazin
and Kazanjian, 1993) indicated no
signi®cant gender di�erences for age, ethnicity, education,
years of experience, salary, size of
budget, number of persons supervised, weekly hours of work,
size of employer or type of
industry, supporting the e�ectiveness of the matching strategy.
The only di�erences in the sample
were that women were more likely to be single than men (Del �
0:16; p < 0:05) and more males
reported having children under 18 living at home than women
(Del � 0:2; p < 0:05). For this
analysis, the Del technique was used in conjunction with the
chi-square test (cf. Drazin and
Kazanjian, 1993), because we hypothesized that men would be
more likely to have children than
women, given results of previous research utilizing dependent
children as a variable in the
examination of careers of men and women (Lobel and St. Clair,
1992).
Measures2
Mowday et al.'s (1979) 15-item Organizational Commitment

Questionnaire (OCQ) was used and
respondents indicated their level of agreement with these items
using a 5-point scale ranging from
1 Response rates among executives typically are under 25
percent (cf. Hall, 1992; Powell, 1992).
2 Data on ¯exible work hours and organizational commitment
were collected as part of a larger survey on careers of
women in management.
377±391 (1997)
1 � strongly disagree to 5 � strongly agree. Representative
items in this measure included `For
me, this is the best of all possible organizations for which to
work' and `I ®nd that my values and
the organization's values are very similar'. The coe�cient alpha
reliability computed for the
OCQ in this sample was 0.90.
Job satisfaction
Overall Job Satisfaction was measured using the Minnesota
Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ)
(Weiss et al., 1967). Respondents indicated their satisfaction
with 20 aspects of their jobs using a
5-point scale ranging from 1 � very dissatis®ed to 5 � very
satis®ed. Representative items in this
measure included `Being able to keep busy at all times' and `My
pay and the amount of work I
do'. The coe�cient alpha reliability computed for the MSQ in
this sample was 0.90.

Table 1. Demographic characteristics: female and male
managers
Characteristic Female Male Characteristic Female Male
(N � 80) (N � 80) (N � 80) (N � 80)
Age (years)
Mean 44.2 42.5
Ethnicity (%)
White 95.0 97.5
Afro-American 0.6 1.2
Hispanic 1.7 0.0
All other 2.7 1.2
Education (%)
Bachelor 43.2 55.0
Post-Bachelor 16.9 15.0
Masters 12.5 15.0
Doctorate 1.7 2.5
Marital status (%)*
Single 9.7 6.3
Married 77.2 85.0
Divorced 7.4 8.7
Widowed 3.2 0.0
Children under 18 (%){ 43.8 63.8
Employment status (%)
Full time 95.5 96.2
Part time 4.0 2.5

Years of respondent experience in current type of
work (years)
Mean 12.7 13.1
Respondent's current salary ($)
Mean 61000 60200
Size of budget over which respondent exercises
authority ($)
Mean 2554000 2931000
Number of months since respondent's last promo-
tion (%)
1±12 42.0 36.2
12±24 13.6 20.0
24±36 15.3 15.0
More than 36 12.6 20.5
Number of persons directly reporting to respondent
Mean 36.8 42.4
Weekly hours of work
Mean 47.5 50.3
Size of respondent's current employer (%)
(number of employees)
1±10 44.3 53.7
11±50 30.1 27.0
51±100 4.0 4.1
101±500 2.3 2.7

Over 500 12.5 8.1
Industry of respondent's current employer (%)
Service 46.3 53.9
Manufacturing 26.3 25.0
Government 5.0 2.0
Retailing 2.5 2.5
Small business 13.8 7.5
t-tests and chi-square tests indicated no signi®cant di�erences
between female and male respondents (excluding children
under 18 variable and marital status variable).
*�2 � 8:51; p4 0:05; Del � 0:16; p4 0:05.
{�2� 6:44; p4 0:05; Del � 0:2; p4 0:05.
377±391 (1997)
Gender, family responsibility,
and ¯exible work hours
Respondents were asked to indicate whether they were male or
female and whether they had
children under 18 living with them at home (age 18 was chosen
since parents still have respon-
sibilities and obligations for high school age children). To
assess the status of the organization's
family-responsive policies, survey respondents indicated
whether their organization o�ered a
¯exible work hours program. Respondents were asked to circle
yes or no if they perceived that
the organization o�ered ¯exible hours3. These variables were
dummy-coded as no � 0 and
yes � 1.

Analyses
To test hypotheses H1(a,b), H2(a,b) and H3(a,b), a 26262
multivariate analyses of variance
(MANOVA) procedure was performed for the dependent
variables, organizational commitment
and job satisfaction: gender (male/female) by family
responsibility (no/yes) by perception of
¯exible work hours in organization (no/yes).
Results
Results from the MANOVA revealed a signi®cant multivariate
e�ect for the perceptions of
¯exible work hours (Wilks' lambda � 0:956, F�2; 151� �
3:44; p � 0:035). Results for the uni-
variate F-tests (shown in Table 2)4 indicated signi®cant e�ects
for both organizational commit-
ment and job satisfaction. Hypotheses 1a and 1b were supported
(F � 5:48 and F � 6:07
respectively) for the main e�ect of perception of ¯exible work
hours in the organization.
Individuals who perceived their organizations o�ered a ¯exible
work hours program (N � 86)
reported a signi®cantly higher level of organizational
commitment (mean � 60:33) than individ-
uals who perceived that their organizations did not o�er such a
policy (N � 74; mean � 55:58).
Also, those who perceived that they had ¯exible work hours
were more satis®ed (mean � 82:63)
than those who did not (mean � 77:38).
The MANOVA showed a signi®cant interaction e�ect for
gender and ¯exible work hours
(Wilks lambda � 0:956; F�2; 151� � 3:46; p � 0:034).
Univariate F-tests (shown in Table 2)

revealed signi®cant e�ects for both organizational commitment
(F � 5:57) and job satisfaction
(F � 6:07). Thus, hypotheses 2a and 2b were supported. A
summary of means is shown in
Table 3. Planned comparison tests of the signi®cance of these
mean di�erences indicated that
female managers who perceived that their organizations o�ered
¯exible work hours
(mean � 62:49) reported signi®cantly higher levels of
commitment than females who did not
3 Information was collected on other family-responsive policies
as part of this investigation. Day-care programs
(community-based, on-site and vouchers) were not signi®cantly
related to organizational commitment nor job satisfac-
tion (however, only 13 per cent of respondents reported that
they perceived having these). Part-time jobs and paternal
leave had signi®cant main e�ects on organizational
commitment and job satisfaction. Dependent care had a
signi®cant
main e�ect on job satisfaction. No interaction e�ects for
gender or family responsibility were found.
4 Additional analyses were also conducted: (a) with marital
status as a covariate since respondents di�ered in this
demographic variable; the results indicated that marital status
was not a signi®cant covariate and ANCOVA was not
necessary; (b) with salary as a covariate, results indicated that
salary was not signi®cant as a covariate; and (c) a three-
way ANOVA examining age, family responsibility and ¯exible
work hours system, since younger persons may have
younger children, and thus more responsibility. The three-way
interaction was not signi®cant.

377±391 (1997)
perceive the availability of ¯exible work hours in their
organizations (mean � 54:60). Males
reported similar levels of organizational commitment regardless
of whether they perceived
¯exible work hours to exist or not in their organizations (means
� 58:69 and 56:94, respectively).
A signi®cant planned comparison among the means was also
found for job satisfaction. Females
who perceived ¯exible work hours in their organization reported
higher levels of job satisfaction
(mean � 85:00) when compared to women who did not perceive
¯exible work hours to exist in
their organizations (mean � 76:14). Again, males that perceived
¯exible work hours reported
similar levels of job satisfaction (means � 80:84) as males who
believed their organizations did
not o�er a policy (mean � 79:10).
Results of the MANOVA also indicated a signi®cant
multivariate e�ect for the inter-
action term of family responsibility and ¯exible working hours
(Wilks' lambda � 0:947;
F�2; 151� � 4:20; p � 0:017). The univariate F-tests were
signi®cant for both dependent variables
(F � 5:70 for organizational commitment and F � 8:04 for job
satisfaction) providing support
for hypotheses 3a and 3b. Planned comparisons of the means
(shown in Table 3) revealed that
respondents with family responsibility (children under 18 living
at home) who perceived their
organizations had a ¯exible work hours policy reported higher
levels of organizational

commitment and job satisfaction than those individuals with
family responsibility who perceived
no availability of ¯exible work hours. Those individuals without
family responsibility reported
similar levels of organizational commitment and job satisfaction
regardless of whether they
perceived ¯exible work hours to be present or not in their
organizations.
Table 2. Summary of univariate analysis of variance: gender by
family responsibility by ¯exible work hours
Source Organizational Job
commitment satisfaction
F F
Gender 0.15 0.10
Family responsibility 0.89 1.80
Flexible work hours 5.48* 6.07*
Gender by family responsibility 1.48 2.17
Gender by ¯exible work hours 5.57* 6.07*
Family responsibility by ¯exible work hours 5.70* 8.04*
Gender by family responsibility by ¯exible work hours 2.78
0.60
* p < 0:05.
Table 3. Summary of means
Flexible work hours Respondent gender Family responsibility
Male Female No Yes

No 56.94 54.60 58.28 53.52
N � 31 N � 43 N � 32 N � 42
Yes 58.69 62.49 59.45 61.16
N � 49 N � 37 N � 42 N � 44
Job satisfaction
No 79.10 76.14 81.34 74.36
N � 31 N � 43 N � 32 N � 42
Yes 80.84 85.00 81.71 83.50
N � 49 N � 37 N � 42 N � 44
377±391 (1997)
Discussion
Results of this study of ¯exible work hours and employee
attitudes among women and men
indicate that family-responsive policies o�ered by employers
may a�ect work-related attitudes of
employees. Speci®cally, the existence of ¯exible work hour
programs was shown to be
signi®cantly related to organizational commitment and job
satisfaction of female managers.
Female managers reported higher levels of organizational
commitment and job satisfaction if
they were working for an organization that they believed
included ¯exible work hours in their
psychological contract. The o�ering of such family-responsive
policies may represent an organ-

izational culture which is supportive of families and shows
sensitivity to career±family demands.
Our results are in agreement with those of Beauvais and
Kowalski (1993) who found that
individuals who perceived their organizational culture to be
supportive of employees' involve-
ment in the family domain experienced lower levels of
work±family con¯ict. Thus, organizations
may be able to play a more active role in reducing work±family
con¯ict and improving employee
attitudes by creating a family-friendly environment. Further
research on the e�ects of family-
responsive policies and organizational culture appears to be a
fruitful area for future research.
It is also noteworthy that the perceptions of existence of the
policy was signi®cantly associated
with higher organizational commitment, regardless of whether
or not the employee had actually
utilized the program. Approximately 60 percent of employees
who reported that ¯exible work
hour systems existed in their employing organizations actually
reported utilizing the program.
Additional analyses examining organizational commitment and
job satisfaction between those
who used the program and those who had not showed no
signi®cant di�erences5. Perhaps the
perception of the presence of the program in the company, not
the actual impact on the individual,
may be a critical factor in that the presence of a ¯exible work
hours policy suggests that the
organization is willing to adapt to employee needs.
Furthermore, it has been suggested that
employees may be reluctant to use the policy when o�ered, due
to the perception that use of FWH
would be perceived by others in their organization as lack of

Georgia Competitiveness Initiative Report Prepared by .docx

Georgia Competitiveness Initiative Report Prepared by .docx

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to Georgia Competitiveness Initiative Report Prepared by .docx

Similar to Georgia Competitiveness Initiative Report Prepared by .docx (20)

More from greg1eden90113

More from greg1eden90113 (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Georgia Competitiveness Initiative Report Prepared by .docx