Purpose

This paper aims to assess the design of national-level flexible work arrangement (FWA) policies, evaluating their potential to serve as an effective resource for employees to work flexibly depending on how they set the stage for flexibility claims that will be subject to industrial and workplace dynamics.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a capability approach, the authors conceptualize and operationalize two aspects of FWA policy design, namely accessibility and availability. The authors' analysis allows for an understanding of how the availability and accessibility of national FWA policies explicitly and implicitly restrict or facilitate flexible working in a structural manner. The study focuses on countries with differing working time regimes and gender norms on work and care: the Netherlands, Spain and Slovenia.

Findings

The authors' findings highlight how FWA accessibility is broader when national policy is specified and FWA availability is not conditional to care. In Spain and Slovenia, access to FWAs depends on whether employees have care responsibilities, which reduces accessibility and reinforces gender imbalances in care provision. In contrast, the Netherlands provides FWAs universally, resulting in wider availability and accessibility of FWAs for employees regardless of their care responsibilities. Despite this universal provision, gender imbalances remain.

Originality/value

The originality of this paper lies in its conceptualization and operationalization of FWAs at the national level using a capability approach. The study adds to the existing literature on flexible working and provides insights for policymakers to design more effective FWAs.

中文翻译：

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工作与生活平衡的弹性工作安排：能力视角下的跨国政策评估

目的

本文旨在评估国家级灵活工作安排（FWA）政策的设计，评估其作为员工灵活工作的有效资源的潜力，具体取决于他们如何为灵活要求奠定基础，而这些要求将受到行业和行业的影响。工作场所动态。

设计/方法论/途径

作者使用能力方法，概念化并实施了 FWA 政策设计的两个方面，即可访问性和可用性。作者的分析有助于理解国家 FWA 政策的可用性和可及性如何以结构性方式明确或隐含地限制或促进灵活工作。该研究重点关注在工作和护理方面工作时间制度和性别规范不同的国家：荷兰、西班牙和斯洛文尼亚。

发现

作者的研究结果强调，当国家政策明确且 FWA 的可用性不以护理为条件时，FWA 的可及性会更加广泛。在西班牙和斯洛文尼亚，获得 FWA 的机会取决于员工是否承担护理责任，这降低了可及性并加剧了护理服务中的性别不平衡。相比之下，荷兰普遍提供 FWA，从而使员工能够更广泛地获得 FWA，无论其护理责任如何。尽管有这项普遍规定，性别失衡依然存在。

原创性/价值

本文的原创性在于使用能力方法在国家层面对 FWA 进行概念化和操作化。该研究丰富了有关灵活工作的现有文献，并为政策制定者设计更有效的 FWA 提供了见解。