Flexible workplace policies: Lessons from the federal alternative work schedules act

This case study uses a feminist framework to examine the 7-year process by which the Federal Alternative Work Schedules Act (1978 - 1985) became law and the reasons for reenergized implementation in the 1990s. We analyze the legislative discourse for rationale in support of and opposition to this policy, connect findings to current flexible work research, and identify criteria for evaluating the impact of flextime policies with attention to intersections of gender and socioeconomic status. Unexpectedly, traditional views on hierarchical manager-worker relations figured more prominently than gender in the Congressional debates.