Flexibility for women returners in Cyprus: a competency‐based approach

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to use a competency‐based model to explore empirically the factors that influence the suitability of different flexible work arrangements (FWAs) in organizations and investigate whether these FWAs match the preferences of unemployed women, whom the authors conceptualize as competitive resources. Design/methodology/approach – Given the novelty of this model in FWA‐research, the authors conducted an in‐depth exploratory case study in a southern European country, Cyprus. Data were collected from both unemployed women and managers in organizations, using group interviews and questionnaires. Findings – Overall, it was found that the FWAs that managers perceive as suitable for their organizations differ from those preferred by unemployed women. Nonetheless, specific organizational competencies affect positively the suitability of women‐friendly FWAs for organizations. Research limitations/implications – The results raise implications for policy makers and managers who want to enhance female employability and organizational competitiveness, respectively. The paper provides a blueprint for testing the concept of unemployed women viewed as strategic resources and emphasises the need to take measures to improve the perceived suitability of women‐friendly FWAs for organizations. Nonetheless, this study was limited to the Cypriot context, to private sector organizations, and to managerial intentions. Future research may build on this study to address these limitations. Originality/value – This paper employs a competency‐based model to conceptualize unemployed women, who are neglected in extant research, as organizational resources. Further, it uses two different research samples to address its purposes and argues that FWAs differ in their ability to satisfy organizational and individual needs.