FLEXIBILITY OF LABOR, WELL-BEING, AND STRESS

After a short introduction into the changing nature of our society and organizations, we outline two kinds of flexibility of labor: qualitat ive flexibility, that is the degree to which people who work in or for a certain organization can and do perform different tasks, and quanti tative flexibility, that is, varying the quantity of personnel and the ir working hours. Then, the different ways in which we organize our wo rk and organizations are dealt with in terms of quantitative and quali tative flexibility. Next, we survey these ways of organizing on the de gree to which they moderate the positive individual outcomes, or indiv idual goals, of work. It can be concluded that quantitatively flexible work, besides some minor positive consequences, may have serious nega tive consequences for one's well-being, health, and personal developme nt, while qualitative flexibility may have many more advantages, thoug h it may lead to a devastating task overload. Last,we explore some way s to alleviate these negative effects.