Unmasking the other face of flexible working practices: A systematic literature review

ABSTRACT

Flexible working practice (FWP) has been acclaimed as the practice of the 21st century, and it is likely to continue as humans engage with new technologies in the world of work. Studies have signaled caution in the adoption of FWP, drawing attention to its many downsides. In this paper, we undertake an approximately 11-year systematic review (2011–mid-2021) of scholarship that has examined FWPs. We focus on the downsides and unintended consequences regarding this concept. Following the rapid growth in remote working arrangements in the digital era, we map out the intellectual structure of these studies and uncover the hidden costs of FWP as well as its implication for employees, managers of technological platforms, organizations, and society. We identify the gaps in understanding these pitfalls and propose a holistic approach with health, legal, and spatial dimensions while indicating directions for future research.