Introduction

One of the key findings drawn from the previous chapter was that as flexible working becomes more widespread, people are less likely to hold stigmatised views against flexible workers, and it is less likely to lead to negative outcomes in terms of work-life balance. The results were based on cross-national studies which meant that although we do see strong associations we cannot guarantee the direction of the relationship (for example, which came first, stigma or prevalence of flexible working?). We also cannot be certain if the more widespread use of flexible working or changes in contexts are the real causes or if it has to do with something else we failed to observe. In other words, the question arises whether we would see positive changes to flexible working practices in countries like the UK and the US if we were to change some of the contexts. These are difficult questions to answer given that cultures, policies and the take-up of flexible working do not usually change rapidly enough for us to properly answer them.

Then the COVID-19 pandemic happened and provided us with a very unique experimental opportunity to answer some of these difficult questions: What happens if a large group of workers starts working from home? How would this sudden rise of flexible working change stigmatised views towards flexible workers? How would this change the flexibility paradox patterns we have observed previously? How would this change the gender dynamics of the outcomes of flexible working? Just to clarify, I am not making light of the devastating impact the pandemic had in terms of not only deaths but the health, mental health and economic impact it has had on millions of families. However, given the scope of this book, the COVID-19 pandemic provided us with a once in a lifetime opportunity to better understand how (drastic) changes in contexts may change much of our existing understanding about the nature and outcomes of flexible working. This chapter aims to explore these questions by summarising key studies carried out during the pandemic. The conclusion shows that the widespread use of flexible working helped change the perception towards flexible working to be more positive.