Joshua Barrantes, & Dr. Lindsey Trimble O’Connor
As contemporary workplaces experience dynamic shifts, the significance of flexible work schedules becomes increasingly pronounced increasing job satisfaction. Job satisfaction is very important because “lower job satisfaction was associated with less meaning in life, which in turn was associated with more symptoms of depression, anxiety and anger.” Student employees may be particularly appreciative of flexible work accommodates because may be overwhelmed at certain points in the semester and having the peace of mind that they can start/stop when needed and/or reduce work hours could impact their job satisfaction. My research question is “What is the influence of having access to flexible workplace polices (like flexible start/stop times, telecommuting, and allocated days off) on students employees levels of job satisfaction? My hypothesis is that students who work for organizations with flexible workplace policies will be more satisfied with their workplace than if they do not have flexible workplace policies. To study this, I used the 2016 National Study of the Changing Workforce. The entire sample size is 1,516 and of that I narrowed it down to 159 respondents that were enrolled in college. I estimated four Chi-Square tests using different measures of access to flexible work accommodations and whether or not the respondent was satisfied in their job. However, I found no support for my hypotheses; there was no connection between having flexible workplace policies and job satisfaction among student employees. An implication of my hypothesis being incorrect is that organizations may need to reevaluate their effectiveness of policies in enhancing job satisfaction among student employees. This might be by having companies focus on areas such as recognition or career development opportunities.