opting flexible working arrangements challenges the expectation that the “right” employee works full-time and long hours. However, in reality flexibility has not fully challenged this expectation and has not been able to ensure equality at work. Functional flexibility does not often meet the multiskilling of jobs but instead increases the workload of similar tasks but in a short timespan (Kirton and Greene, 2010). Even though there are several flexible working arrangements that organisations could use there has been an over-reliance on part-time work which is often low-paid and low-grade work (Blackwell, 2001). In the UK, 36.4% of females work part-time (OECD, 2020). If women and ethnic minorities want to have a “flexible” job then they are often expected to accept; lower pay, fewer employment rights, less training and chances in gaining a promotion (Kirton and Greene, 2010).

Quality

This dimension deals with the quality of employees, performance and HRM policies within the organisation. High-quality staff are seen to be the individuals who are strategically integrated, committed and are flexible and adaptable. If the organisation has a good reputation for having a high-quality workforce, then they will gain competitive advantage. Therefore, HRM needs to focus on; recruitment, selection, rewards, training, appraisal and goal setting to ensure this competitive advantage. These elements will ensure that high-quality staff are attracted and retained (Guest, 1987).

HRM is usually unable to solve the wider societal structures and systems which disadvantage certain individuals in the labour market, such as socially constructed stereotypes (Kirton and Greene, 2010). In an article talking about race in the workplace one person said, “I don’t think that a day goes by that I’m not reminded that I’m black” (Caver and Livers, 2009, p.81). Racial stereotypes are often created by historical and cultural preconceptions (ibid.). White managers can often expect less of their black employees. For example, a black marketing manager – Robert – hired a black individual and had recently promoted another black individual. Robert’s boss then asked for more reports and updates to ensure the credibility of Robert and his team’s work. The boss was now expecting that the team’s performance would drop due to the increase in black people. This stereotypical judgement resulted in Robert quitting his job as he was tired of needing to defend a team who were achieving quality work (ibid.).