The document discusses new flexible employment forms like telecommuting and compressed work weeks, and also covers downsizing which refers to reducing a company's workforce. It notes both the advantages and disadvantages of flexible employment and downsizing. Guidelines are provided for how companies can implement flexible work policies and conduct downsizing in a fair and ethical manner that considers employee support and communication to external stakeholders.

1. New, Flexible Employment
forms and Downsizing
Le Thi Thu Thao
Ngô Gia Hue
Zhengwei Xu
Gábor Molnár

2. Contents
 Theorectical concepts and methods
 Current issues and challenges
 Ethical dilemmas and problems
 Practises
 Case study

3. Job flexibility
Flexibility
USA
Flexible labour market
Inflexibility
France
Rigid labour market

4. Flexible employment forms
Workplace flexibility (Work-Life Balance)
What do most of the top 100 best companies to work
for have in common?
They offer:
-Compressed Work Week,
-Job sharing,
-Telecommuting,
-Part-Time Work,
-Temporary Work.

5. Downsizing
In a business enterprise, downsizing means …
Downsizing is bad for everyone …
Negative aspects of downsizing
-During layoffs, employers and employees …
-Workers begin to seek better opportunities
-Employee loyalty is often significantly reduced.
-After downsizing the employees are faced with …
-Psychological impact on …

6. Outplacement and Severance
Pay
 Some of the services provided by group outplacement
include:
 A financial section that covers pension options, …
 Instruction in self-appraisal techniques, which …
 Tutoring in personal promotional techniques …
 Development of personal action plans and …
 Career guidance

7. New flexible working legislation
All employees will have a statutory right to
request flexible working for any reason.
Company has to ‘reasonably’ consider
flexible working requests.
The growing demand.
Increased mobility, technological advances that
make remote working easier, and demographic
shifts are driving the demand for employees to
work flexibly.

8.  A trickle or a wave?
 culture change
 Inputs vs. outputs
 poor performance management
 focus more on outputs and outcomes rather than
hours.

9. Why and how to downsizing
 in order to survive.
 fair and objective( Downsizing software )
 retain their most productive employees
 avoid costly litigation
 Providing support to those exiting the organisation
 keep the workforce motivated and engaged, so that they make a positive
difference to the future of the organisation
 Severance pay
 Outplacement

10. Advantages and Disadvantages
between Flexible and Downsizing
New, Flexible Employment
Forms
 Advantages:
 Flexible in time management
 Balance work-life related
 Disadvantages:
 Sale department  impossible to
implement
 You have to work whenever
customer call  not good
Downsizing
 Advantages:
 Reduce the cost
 Increase the efficiency
 Disadvantages:
 Moral
 Security

11. Problems That Arise After
Flexible Employment Forms
 Customer go into a deal  no
one to help him/her
 Poor empoyee’s relationship 
strong culture organization
impossble
Downsizing
 employee morale is going
to suffer
 Security issues also arise

12. How we deal with the potential
problem?
Flexible
 Appoint the substitute in
case of sudden problems
occur
 Assisting in management
and employee level
 Training  they need to
know what to do
Downsizing
 Assisting Employees After
Downsizing
 Assisting Management
After Downsizing
 Monitoring the Effects of
the Layoffs

13. What do companies communicate about their
practices to the external environment?

14. Represent good practice
 Maximum weekly working time
 Length of night work
 Health assessment for night workers and transfer of night
workers to day work
 Daily rest
 Weekly rest
 Rest breaks
 Holidays

15. Setting criteria for flexible working forms
 Attract high quality employees
 Retain existing high quality staff
 Minimise redundancies
 Reduce employee turnover
 Plan the resource you need
 Increase productivity

16. Best Practices In Downsizing
 Consider Alternatives To Downsizing
 Be Fair When Choosing Who To Let Go
 Think Ahead

17. Setting the layoff criteria
 Identify the essential skills…
 Identify the key individuals …
 Identify the top performers …
 Identify the high cost areas …
 Identify (or reassess) …
 Identify jobs or departments …
 Set the final criteria for …

18. References
 Pritchard, S. (2008). Downsizing and streamlining - how to get it right. Available at:
http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/hro/features/1016677/downsizing-streamlining (Accessed:
19 March November 2014)
 Franklin, M. (2010). Treat downsizing as a project with goals and deadlines - to reduce the
emotional turmoil. Available at:
http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/hro/features/1017771/treat-downsizing-project-goals-
deadlines-reduce-emotional-turmoil (Accessed: 19 March November 2014)
 Robinson, N. (2014). How next month's changes to flexible working law will affect you.
Available at: http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/hro/features/1144328/flexible-regime
(Accessed: 19 March November 2014)
 Hickman, A. (2014). Flexible working: Finding the right balance. Available at:
http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/hr/features/1146196/flexible-finding-balance
(Accessed: 19 March November 2014)
 ACAS. (2007). Flexible working and work-life balance. Available at:
http://www.acas.org.uk/media/pdf/a/o/B20_1.pdf (Accessed: 19 March November
2014)
 CIPD. (n. d.). Flexible working: Good business How small firms are doing it.
Available at: http://ageactionalliance.org/wordpress/wp-
content/uploads/2013/05/How-small-firms-are-doing-it..pdf (Accessed: 19
March November 2014)

19. Case Study
 Question A: Case summary.
 Question B: Do you think Maryam handled the downsizing
appropriately? Comment.
 Question C: What are the problems associated with
downsizing? And how can they be approached?
 Question D: Who are the stakeholders involved in the case?