If you can use them: Flexibility policies, organizational commitment, and perceived performance

This study links workplace flexibility policies-formal, informal, and perceived usable-to organizational commitment and self-reported productivity. Professional and technical employees of biotechnology firms were surveyed. Where employees could freely use policies, a positive association with outcomes is found. The article contributes a new measure to capture employees' organizational experience, relevant to work and family research. How do we keep people? Through flexibility, in part. We particularly need to retain people while the primary product is being developed, and sometimes the managers continue to want to [retain them] because they want to maintain a pipeline.... In small biotech firms, you know everyone well, you know thier personal situations, and you can make accommodations. I bend over backwards because individual people are our most important asset. I try to create an environment supportive of scientists, who are expressive and creative, like artists. Also, many managers are young, in their 40s but with young kids at home. When they are thinking of leaving, flexibility plays a big part. Also it helps me in hiring.