Flexibility i-deals for subtractive redesign and organisational change

Maria Simosi and Denise M. Rousseau

Chapter 5 in A Research Agenda for Flexible Working Arrangements, 2025, pp 69-82 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Personalised and flexible work arrangements are increasingly a workforce priority. We argue that subtraction is an overlooked aspect of flexibility. This is particularly true of the negotiation of flexibility i-deals, which typically remove rather than add employment conditions. As a design process in contemporary employment, subtraction allows experimentation with when, where, and how work is performed. This experimentation, typically initiated by the worker, offers a bottom-up approach to organisational redesign. Combining subtractive and additive change can resolve several contemporary workplace problems, including practices that no longer add value. Developing a capacity for virtuous subtraction that benefits workers and the organisation entails periodic revisiting, updating and redesign of arrangements. In doing so, employees and their managers can improve how work is organised and facilitate the sunsetting of practices that no longer work. Through flexibility i-deals, the lessons in subtractive change help workers and managers learn how to achieve organisational goals while supporting well-being.

Keywords: Flexibility i-deals; Subtraction; Work redesign; Dignity; Job design (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035317615
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