WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., April 25 (UPI) -- Workers provided with increased work flexibility from one year to the next had fewer absences for illness and improved job commitment, a U.S. study said.
Researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine also found the workers provided with more flexibility were less likely to say that health problems affected their job performance.
Senior author Joseph G. Grzywacz said the findings are based on a health survey completed by 3,193 employees of a large multinational pharmaceutical company.
The researchers analyzed data obtained from health risk appraisals to determine how increases or decreases in perceived flexibility from one year to the next were associated with a variety of factors.
The study, published in the Psychologist-Manager Journal, indicated that an increase in perceived flexibility was associated with a decrease in sickness absences and work-related impairment, and improved job commitment. However, decreases in perceived flexibility over the year were associated with a significant increase in impairment and reduced job commitment, but had little impact on absence.
"For managers, the results suggest that implementing flexible work arrangements can contribute to the bottom-line," Grzywacz said in a statement.
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