Influence of Flexible Work Arrangement on Organizational Performance in the Banking Industry in Kenya

In the current global work environment, there is intense competition for talented employees and for market share based on higher product quality and lower prices in order to realize strategic advantage. Customer satisfaction and customer service being the prime work in the banking sector has evoked changes which consequently have brought changes in work setups (Korir, 2015). For example employees in the banking sector in Kenya are more involved in their jobs, working longer hours more than 48 hours (ILO, 2010) hence making it difficult for employees to keep a balance between job, family and other personal issues. This has resulted in work life conflicts which has been found to be associated with mental health issues like stress and depression. The study objective was to determine the influence of flexible work arrangement on performance of the banking industry in Kenya. The target population was 36,212 employees from all 43 commercial banks in Kenya focusing on branches in Nairobi.This study adopted survey research design using both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Primary data was collected using questionnaire that had both structured and unstructured questions. On data analysis, multiple regression analysis was used to regress relationship between flexible work arrangements and performance. It was found that flexible work arrangement was strongly related to performance of the banking industry in Kenya. This means flexibility can be used to meet their business objectives and facilitate employee effectiveness on the job. The study concluded that consideration of flexible work arrangements aspects to employees can greatly influence performance in banks in Kenya. Flextime, flexible career paths and job had a positive and significant linear relationship on the measures of performance which were customer satisfaction, target standards, employee satisfaction. The study recommends that managers should provide flexible work arrangements considerations such as giving employees flexibility on when to begin and end work as long as they meet the target since this influences performance.