This paper discusses office design in the ‘new economy’. Office buildings of dot.com companies seem to be dominated by colourful materials, luxurious facilities such as gyms or lounge areas and gimmicks such as jukeboxes and pool tables. Employees ‘float’ around in these offices wherever...

In the early 1990s, a few organisations in the Netherlands began to experiment with flexible workplaces. Traditional cellular offices and the open‐plan offices or team‐oriented bullpen spaces in which everyone had their own fixed workplace were no longer a matter of course. Making use of...

This paper describes the implementation of flexible working at PPP Healthcare to increase productivity. The author sets out suggestions put to PPP staff on new ways to consider the workplace. This is followed by a short case study showing how PPP implemented a new way of working project.

This paper starts with the assumption that local authorities, under the new public management, may use job sharing as part of an equal opportunities policy in order to attract and retain experienced and professional employees. Data collected from 32 councils in England and Scotland have shown...

The study examined differences between voluntary and involuntary Canadian ( N = 224) temporary help employees (THEs). The hypotheses stated that compared to involuntary THEs, voluntary THEs, particularly those who see it as a long‐term employment arrangement, are more satisfied and involved...

Explores the issue of retirement and the rise in proportion of population who are still active after ceasing full‐time employment – in their “third age”. Outlines the present environment which shows that this growth presents significant economic and social problems. Suggests different...

Today, human resource managers do not have the luxury of operating and performing in a stable, predictable environment as political, social and economic changes are affecting all organizations and their human resource management activities. In particular, the dominant environmental uncertainties...

The length of the working week and the flexibility of working time are two aspects which impact on the international competitiveness of Australian industry. The popular view of the Australian worker is often couched in terms such as “lazy” and “slack”, and the “sickie” appears to...

For many years, the majority of workers in the industrialised West have shared a similar employment life‐course – one based on full‐time permanent work. However, over the last decade the number of such opportunities have started to decline and many more workers are participating in...