Variables affecting managers' willingness to grant alternative work arrangements

Employees believe that some managers are more responsive than others to their subordinates' family needs (Duxbury, 1994; Galinsky, 1988). In the present study the effects of employee characteristics on managers responses were examined. Hypothetical scenarios were used to test whether managers' willingness to grant alternative work arrangements (AWAs) was influenced by employees' job position, gender, or type of responsibility for dependents. The sample of Canadian managers (N = 184) was more willing to grant reduced-hours AWAs to subordinate than to managerial employees, to women than to men, and to employees with responsibilities for children rather than for older relatives.