The relationship between fexible work arrangements, employee engagement and organisational commitment : analysing work-family enrichment of employees at the Central Bank of Malta

Abstract

Flexible work arrangements are gaining popularity by most organisations and employees alike. Organisations are becoming aware that due to demographic, social, cultural and technological changes, the needs of employees are changing. Therefore, employers should consider not only the needs of the organisation but also of their employees. The objective of this research is to determine whether flexible work arrangements are positively related to employee engagement and organisational commitment. The research also aims to identify whether there is a positive relationship between these two organisational outcomes and work-family enrichment. Literature review shows that other researchers have established a relationship between these variables. A total of 269 questionnaires were distributed to male and female employees working at the Central Bank of Malta. Questionnaires were sent by email to all Executives and Officers who completed and submitted the data through Google Forms. Descriptive and inferential statistics where then conducted to analyse the variables and to support the hypotheses or otherwise. After analysing the data, the results revealed that flexible work arrangements are quite popular in this organisation and employees have a positive attitude towards these arrangements. However, correlation tests reveal that the attitudes of employees towards flexible work arrangements are not positively related to employee engagement and organisational commitment. On the other hand, there is a significant positive correlation between employee engagement and organisational commitment. Moreover, results also show that employee engagement and organisational commitment are positively related to work-family enrichment. Results of this research give an indication that the organisation must analyse employee engagement and organisational commitment thoroughly because although employees have a positive attitude towards flexible work arrangements, it is clearly noticed that there is lack of engagement and commitment from employees. Therefore, the management together with Human Resources Department has to identify measures in order to involve the participation of employees so as to enhance their engagement and commitment.