The inclusion challenge with reduced-load professionals: The role of the manager

Increased interest in reduced-load (part-time) work among professionals who want to have a life beyond work has led to new challenges for managers who must sustain productivity while also supporting employees. However, to date, little attention has been focused on exactly how managers facilitate effective implementation of these alternative work arrangements. This study presents findings from an interview study of 83 cases of reduced-load professionals in 43 organizations in the United States and Canada. Analysis of the interviews with both professionals and their managers surfaced recurrent themes that led to identification of five clusters of behaviors and five clusters of dispositions that capture the nature of managerial support in implementing reduced-load work. The ten categories of behaviors and dispositions expand on existing notions of supervisory support and provide new insight into the role of managers in fostering inclusiveness. Additional quantitative analyses found significant relationships between the success of the reduced-load arrangements and specific managerial behaviors and dispositions. (c) 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.