Flexible working arrangement benefits and concerns in the Maltese 5-star hotel industry

Abstract

The shift from traditional working schedules and patterns to more flexible ones is definitely not a new phenomenon of this century. Organisations such as the International Labour Organisation and the European Commission have both issued standards regarding these work hours arrangements to safeguard the health and safety of the workers. This in return, should be reciprocated by higher productivity levels as a sense of gratitude towards the employers. The same argument was mentioned by Golden (2011) where he states that in organisations where FWA are granted, a positive link between FWA and performance and productivity occur. The improvement in the latter are not the only benefits that employers benefit from after adopting such measures, but there are also the reduction in turnover and a better talent pool and attrition rate (Lee and Hong, 2011). This study aims to see whether the 5-star hotel industry in Malta has been adopting and implementing these measures and to what extent. What do they trigger in employees and whether they can be considered as a win-win situation for both the employer and the employee. By the end of this study, the findings do give a positive indication that in most cases FWA are conducive to a win-win situation. The HR managers that were interviewed all came to a conclusion that the performance and commitment of the employees who were granted flexibility improved and the feeling was mutual for the employees that were interviewed. They all agreed that they feel more happy, motivated and loyal to their work/employer now that they were trusted with such responsibility. Apart from the benefits that they carry, FWA also present some challenges and limitations to both ends, such as the room for misuse and discrimination problems among employees who can and cannot work in a flexible manner. The ideas and suggestions that emerged from the employees themselves, together with the recommendations at the end of this study should act as a tool for managers who wish to explore further this unexploited area and understand better how these measures can be utilised to address the many issues that the hospitality industry is facing, the biggest one being recruitment.