Flexibility and Job Control Can Lead To Employees Having Good Mental Health and Low Absenteeism

Today’s best managers know that employees who have control over how their do their job can have higher mental health and lower absentee rates compared to employees who don’t have job control. Mental health and absentee rates can be even better for employees who have high levels of flexibility. Employees who are flexible have the ability to focus on the here and now, and to adjust their current actions in response to the present moment. Employees who lack flexibility tend not to “go with the flow.” Instead, inflexible employees try to alter, avoid, suppress, over analyze, or control their current situation at work.

Source: Bond, F. W., Flaxman, P. E., & Bunce, D. 2008. The influence of psychological flexibility on work redesign: Mediated moderation of a work reorganization intervention. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93, 645-654.