Why Flexibility Sometimes Leads to More Work, Not Less

Flexibility in the work environment is sometimes seen as an advantage, an opportunity for workers to better manage their time. This would make work more manageable in theory, but things do not work out that way. Being flexible with work hours can make it confusing as to when work actually begins or ends. Workers who have flexible work hours end up working longer hours, even though the hours worked may not be consecutive, as per a report done by the International Labor Organization (2021). The structure is not there, but the work is.

Availability can be fluid with employees not being bound by a schedule. This means that messages are sent outside of working hours, and a response is often anticipated without being directly communicated. This creates a situation where work fills in the gaps of availability.

How constant connectivity impacts perceived workload, even when workload volume remains constant, was explored by a study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology (2020). Employees may also find themselves going back to a task multiple times in a day with a lack of boundaries, which creates a sense of a never-ending workload. This is in contrast to a schedule, where the end of a workday creates a pause.


Working in self-managed time creates an additional cognitive workload, according to a study published in Studies in Human Relations (2019). This is because an individual must make constant decisions regarding when to work and when to stop.

Flexibility still holds some advantages, but this does not necessarily equate to reduced effort. It changes the way in which effort is allocated and time is perceived. One works in a more flexible structure in which boundaries must be created rather than working within set boundaries. This is sometimes exhilarating and sometimes exhausting. The idea of flexibility is still attractive, but this is only insofar as it can interact with expectations and the lack of boundaries.