706674

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ARPXXX10.1177/0275074017706674American Review of Public AdministrationPark et al.

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American Review of Public Administration

Do Reform Values Matter? Federal Worker 1­–16

© The Author(s) 2017
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DOI: 10.1177/0275074017706674
https://doi.org/10.1177/0275074017706674
Dawn of the Trump Presidency journals.sagepub.com/home/arp

Sung Min Park1, Maria Ernita Joaquin2, Kyoung Ryoul Min1,

and Reginald G. Ugaddan1

Abstract
With heightened bureaucratic bashing and the planned reorganization of the U.S. federal bureaucracy, hiring is going to be
difficult, but what could make those already in the service satisfied and willing to stay in their jobs? How could flexible work
systems have an impact on worker job satisfaction and turnover intention? Using hierarchical linear modeling, we explore the
impact of alternative work systems on employee job satisfaction and turnover intention in the context of values underlying
managerial reforms. Flexible work systems are found to have a positive impact moderated by the kind of values promoted
by particular reforms. A discussion on the main findings, research, and practical implications for public human resource
management theory and practice is provided.

Keywords
management reform, alternative work schedules, job satisfaction, turnover intention, the U.S. federal bureaucracy

Introduction limited number of ways of regarding the findings in light of

current efforts to downsize the bureaucracy.
The U.S. civil service is on the cusp of conservative reforms
in 2017, potentially affecting worker satisfaction with human
resource management (HRM) policies. Every incoming Worker Disaffection at the Dawn of the
administration espouses a managerial agenda to carry out Trump Presidency
campaign promises. The dominant reform wave of the 1990s,
Hiring in the U.S. civil service confronts the typical chal-
New Public Management (NPM), emphasized performance
lenges of lengthy procedures and unattractive pay relative to
measures, managerial initiatives, and a service orientation.
the private sector, but at the federal level, the challenges are
Later on, so-called post-NPM reforms promoted organiza-
compounded by perennial bureaucratic bashing and the
tional humanism, social equity, and democratization
reform mandates accompanying each new administration.
(Denhardt & Catlaw, 2014; Wise, 2002). We make an
Reforms, especially when laced with privatization initiatives,
assumption that higher level values embedded in executive
have a way of inducing panic and demoralization among fed-
reforms interact with an agency’s human resource policies to
eral employees (Joaquin, 2009). Among millennials entering
influence job-related outcomes. In this article, we examine
the workforce, the human capital challenges are palpable:
the moderating impact of such reform values in exploring
There is a yearning for the “respect and worthiness of public
employee satisfaction with flexible working policies.
service,” and for some practical changes to occur, such as
In the first section, we discuss the role of flexible work
quicker hiring procedures (The PA Times, 2016, p. 4). Instead,
systems in maintaining work–life balance. We then discuss
as the year 2017 begins, a hiring freeze has taken effect,
two waves of U.S. management reforms and how flexible
human resource work systems might reflect some of the val- 1
Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, Korea
ues of those reforms. That discussion incorporates the pre- 2
San Francisco State University, CA, USA
sentation of six hypotheses regarding the effect of those
work systems and reform values on federal employee job Corresponding Author:
Sung Min Park, Department of Public Administration & Graduate School
satisfaction and turnover intention. This is followed by the of Governance, Sungkyunkwan University, 25-2, Sungkyunkwan-ro,
methodology we used, the results derived from hierarchical Jongno-gu, Seoul 03063, Korea.
linear modeling, and their limitations. Finally, we suggest a Email: sm28386@skku.edu
2 American Review of Public Administration 0(0)
leaving agencies worried about attrition and losing their most
capable workers (Ogrysko, 2017). Amid the exodus of career
bureaucrats who declared they wanted no part in the Donald
Trump administration (Graham, 2017; Terkel, 2016), the
times recall to mind “exit, voice, and loyalty,” Albert O.
Hirschman’s (1970) treatise on the options that are open to
employees dissatisfied with their lot, in the face of the admin-
istration’s hiring freeze, hard stance against holdovers from
the previous administration, exaggerated accusations of waste
(C. Ingraham, 2017), abnormal procedures for staffing key
positions (Lerer & Bykowicz, 2017), planned cuts in federal
health and retirement benefits (Katz, 2017), and belittling of
agencies whose missions are opposed by conservatives (New
York Times Editorial Board, 2017; Shane, 2016).
With the “silver tsunami” of retirement occurring and a
bruising election that has made young people rethink a career
in government (Byman, 2016), changes need to be made to
encourage the brightest to join, and remain, in the federal
government. Yet, efforts might have to be made to prevent
the current complement from thinning out. In 2015, a quarter
of federal employees overall, and as much as 40% among
those with Democratic leanings, reportedly would consider
leaving their jobs if candidate Donald Trump were to win
(Katz, 2016). Trump did win, but, as of this writing he has
yet to roll out a fully formed Presidential Management
Agenda similar to the ones by George Bush and Barack
Obama; instead, his Executive Agenda contains his priorities
for the first 100 days, with regulatory rollbacks and downsiz-
ing underlying it. This climate has seen federal employees
become disheartened, and reports of civil servants quitting
are constantly in the news early in 2017.
Bureau-political dynamics are not the focus of this article,
but we speculate regarding two human resource programs
that might make federal employees more inclined to stay. At
the dawn of the Trump administration, we explore the ques-
tion of whether nonpolitical, intrinsic factors, such as flexi-
ble work systems play a role in keeping workers satisfied
with, and remaining, in their jobs. Yet because such policies
operate in a political environment, we explore whether val-
ues perceived to accompany executive reform agendas have
any influence on what we expect to be the positive effects
from flexible work systems.
Flexible Work Systems and Their
Effects: Some Hypotheses
In the past few decades, work–life balance policies have
sought to mitigate undesirable employee behavior—tardi-
ness, absenteeism, and work interruptions—and enhance
organizational performance and job satisfaction. The U.S.
Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Work and Family
Program Center recommends programs to agencies with the
goal of facilitating flexible work schedules (U.S. Merit
Systems Protection Board, 1993).1 The Telework
Enhancement Act of 2010 expanded telework eligibility and
participation, leading telework eligibility to jump from 35%
of federal employees in 2011 to 45% in 2013 (U.S. OPM,
2013). From 2005 to 2011, the number of teleworkers
increased by 424.4% in the federal government, 114% in
state governments, 66.9% in local governments, 85% in non-
profit organizations, and 62.6% in general companies
(McGuire, Kenney, & Brashler, 2010).2
Telework is one of the most widely implemented types of
flexible work programs. As work management, telework
allows employees to perform organizational duties regularly
at home or other locations (e.g., satellite work sites) geo-
graphically convenient for the employee (Newman &
Mathews, 1999). Telework is defined as a “work flexibility
arrangement under which an employee performs the duties
and responsibilities of such employee’s position, and other
authorized activities, from an approved worksite other than
the location from which the employee would otherwise
work” (U.S. Congress, 2010, p. 2).
Alternative work schedules refer to flexible and com-
pressed work schedules. For example, the employee may
free a day or two per week by working more than 8 hr a day,
Monday through Friday, to work a total of 160 hr each month.
Some studies have mentioned that alternative work sched-
ules or telework have a negative effect on organizational per-
formance (Lee & Hong, 2011) and job satisfaction (Saltzstein,
Ting, & Saltzstein, 2001) as flexible work systems have not
been well-implemented in public agencies (Su, Li, & Curry,
2016). However, the literature also confirms alternative work
schedules’ positive aspects: It has been found to have a posi-
tive effect on productivity and cost (Apgar, 1997), job per-
formance (Hill, Hawkins, Ferris, & Weitzman, 2001), job
satisfaction (Facer & Wadsworth, 2008), and employee
morale (Baltes, Briggs, Huff, Wright, & Neuman, 1999).
However, with the aim of enhancing organizational produc-
tivity and raising employees’ morale, flexible work systems
provide employees with the right to adjust their workplace,
work hours, and work system based on their personal cir-
cumstances. In general, employees seem more satisfied when
they are granted with more rights to self-control (Liechty &
Anderson, 2007).
Among the theories that highlight the importance of flex-
ible work systems to organizational outcomes, the spillover
theory assumes that the emotions and behaviors that occur in
a single area develop in other areas despite physical, mental,
and temporal borders (Grzywacz & Butler, 2005). Conflicts
at home could spread into the workplace and vice versa.
Second, the work–family conflict theory suggests that exces-
sive mental burdens and role ambiguity can occur owing to
the role conflict that occurs when an individual is required to
cope with contradictory roles at the same time. These con-
flicts can, in turn, cause additional problems such as increased
turnover rates and decreased productivity. Third, the border
theory suggests monitoring how well the border between the
two domains (work and life) is managed and coordinated
with an optimal balance. Nippert-Eng (1996) stated that
Park et al. 3
people search for compromise between the two domains
when considering current restrictions rather than appealing
to extremes (either integrating or separating the two
domains). Finally, self-determination theory also suggests
that autonomy is a key factor in motivating employees and
satisfying their needs. Hence, workplace flexibility is posi-
tively linked to lower turnover intention and greater job sat-
isfaction (Su et al., 2016). Overall, those theoretical
viewpoints suggest that balancing work–family issues, man-
aging work conflict, and increasing work motivation within
an organization would heavily depend on how managers
effectively use flexible working systems and to what extent
employees perceive them as positive.
The literature could benefit from further exploration of
the effects of these programs: There are more studies finding
positive effects, but contrary results have been found else-
where. Some scholars found that flextime and compressed
workweeks are positively related to job satisfaction. For
example, Hayman (2010) found a positive relationship
between flexible work practices and job satisfaction among
employees working at an Australian university. In a study
among employed working adults, McNall, Masuda, and
Nicklin (2009) found a positive link between flexible work
arrangements and work-to-family enrichment, which in turn
is associated with job satisfaction, performance, and
employee behavior. Moreover, in their study of federal
employees, Major, Verive, and Joice (2008) found that tele-
work is positively related to employee retention (Harker
Martin, & MacDonnell, 2012) and organizational perfor-
mance (Facer & Wadsworth, 2008). However, other studies
(see, for example, Caillier, 2012; Saltzstein et al., 2001)
found varying impacts on organizational performance and
employee behavior. For example, Lee and Hong (2011) dis-
covered that although there is an agency’s average satisfac-
tion with telework, it is negatively related to organizational
performance—the extent to which an organization succeeds
in achieving its organizational goals.
Following such studies that establish telework’s positive
effects on job commitment and work efficiency, the follow-
ing hypotheses are proposed:
Hypothesis 1a: Telework satisfaction is positively associ-
ated with job satisfaction.
Hypothesis 1b: Telework satisfaction is negatively asso-
ciated with turnover intention.
Hypothesis 2a: Satisfaction with alternative work sched-
ules is positively associated with job satisfaction.
Hypothesis 2b: Satisfaction with alternative work sched-
ules is negatively associated with turnover intention.
Managerial Reform Values
The effects of flexible working programs on organizational
outcomes may depend on agency context and the type of
values that employees perceive inside their agencies. For
example, in an overwhelmingly competitive or overly rigid
organization, employees who take advantage of flexible
working policies may be unfairly treated in the performance
appraisal process. Employees may imagine detrimental side
effects derived from such policies (Hayman, 2009). Certain
values could affect how management policies are perceived
and translated into organizational outcomes. In this article,
we focus on NPM and post-NPM reforms, and then discuss
how the high-performance work systems framework helps to
show how reform values might interact with HR program
satisfaction.
In the 1990s, NPM reform values emphasized perfor-
mance, initiative, and service orientation characteristics.
Others called it marketism, decentralization, and perfor-
mance orientation (Bhatta, 2003). The administrations of
Bill Clinton and George W. Bush embodied NPM in the
reforms they carried out in the 16 years they presided over
the executive branch. In the latter stages of NPM, post-NPM
reform accentuated normative and humanistic values of
organizational humanism—social equity and democratiza-
tion (Denhardt & Catlaw, 2014; Wise, 2002).
In their study of reform, the themes of which are carried
over here, Park and Joaquin (2012) suggested that NPM val-
ues could be distilled into three major sets, namely, (a) per-
formance and results-oriented values, with an emphasis on
managerialism and de-bureaucratization; (b) market and
customer-oriented values, emphasizing downsizing, privati-
zation, and decentralization; and (c) goal and strategy-ori-
ented values, with an emphasis on strategic and workforce
planning management. In U.S. federal agencies, these values
were more prominent in 2002 at the height of the movement
to reinvent government.
Some critics, however, pointed out that NPM reform
agendas failed to deliver what were promised as great many
benefits (Nigro, Nigro, & Kellough, 2012). These NPM
reforms were also said to have ignored democratic and con-
stitutional values as well as the public ethos of civil service
(Thompson, 2001). Nonetheless, NPM reform values do not
appear to have vanished; while they started to wane, they are
still important pillars of current and future public manage-
ment reform philosophies (Park & Joaquin, 2012).
The rational, public-choice, and managerialism approaches
of NPM do not capture complex and emerging phenomena and
its consequences that involve the public (Denhardt &
Denhardt, 2003). Similarly, the market-based, efficient man-
agement and discourse of instrumental rationality propounded
in the NPM philosophy have seemingly failed to integrate
dimensions that are relevant in public administration, such as
“social justice, democratic governance, public good, ethics,
and other value-laden topics” (Jun, 2009, p. 162). Post-NPM
reform emphasized social equity, democratization, and
humanization, and open and participatory styles of manage-
ment (Denhardt & Catlaw, 2014), thus raising expectations
for a better quality of work life (P. W. Ingraham & Jones, 1999)
as well as empowerment, equality, cooperative management
4 American Review of Public Administration 0(0)
practices, and participation (Box, 2002; Wise, 2002). In
response to the discussion on the deficiencies of NPM, scholars
focused on these newer values (Denhardt & Catlaw, 2014;
Denhardt & Denhardt, 2003; Frederickson & Smith, 2003).
Park and Joaquin (2012) found that post-NPM reform values—
social equity, democratization, knowledge management, and
work–life balance—began to gain momentum after 2002 as
NPM-based values showed a declining trend in U.S. agencies.
Some empirical attempts at understanding the so-called
waves of reform (see Light & Light, 1998; Park & Joaquin,
2012; Wise, 2002) found predominance among the agencies
of certain NPM and post-NPM reform value clusters.
Reforms may be seen as a process that involves layering or
sedimenting reform elements (Streeck & Thelen, 2005),
blending values (Park & Joaquin, 2012), or producing a
hybrid administrative system (Christensen, 2012) rather than
alternation or replacement (Park & Joaquin, 2012). Among
federal agencies, reforms have shown patterns of value sedi-
mentation between rational or mechanistic (NPM) and
humanistic or organic (post-NPM) management styles and
instruments. The popularity of NPM values might have been
widespread, but some federal agencies held what may be
regarded as competing values side by side: a “layering” of
reform values occurs as the strongest values are held intact
when newer philosophies are introduced (Park & Joaquin,
2012, p. 521).
Public management reforms provided opportunities to
enforce strategic and flexible human resource policies to
improve organizational performance (Bach, 2000; Stanton &
Manning, 2013). Organizational reform values sanctioned
managerial discretion in the management of employees and
emphasized the need for high-performance and quality orga-
nizational outcomes (Kessler & Purcell, 1996). This study
assumes that NPM and post-NPM reform values oriented
toward high organizational performance and positive job
outcomes may uncover the boundary conditions for flexible
work programs’ impact on job satisfaction and turnover
intention. The underlying assumption is that reform values
are put into practice through clusters of managerial or HRM
practices that complement each other and interact positively
with employers’ flexible work systems policies (see also
Appelbaum, Bailey, Berj, & Kallerberg, 2000).
Where employee satisfaction is concerned, the interaction
of managerial reform values with flexible work systems poli-
cies may be understood in the context of high-performance
work systems, defined as an interplay of a broad set of mana-
gerial or HRM practices to achieve organizational goals,
enhance organizational effectiveness, and bolster organiza-
tional competitiveness (Macky & Boxall, 2007). Such prac-
tices are also referred to as high-commitment HRM practices
(Gould-Williams & Davies, 2005; Whitener, 2001), high
organizational involvement (Guest, 2011), and high-perfor-
mance work organizations (Godard & Delaney, 2000).
Pfeffer and Veiga (1999) posited that “high commitment”
human resource practices lead to better organizational
performance. High-performance work systems seek to
increase employee empowerment, enhance their knowledge
and skills, and elicit high organizational commitment and
involvement so that individuals may maximize empower-
ment and improve upon their self-regulated behaviors
(Macky & Boxall, 2007). While there are no universal orga-
nizational components or practices, empirical research in this
field suggests that extensive training and development, per-
formance-based pay, equitable reward systems, employee
empowerment, careful staffing, and other related practices
may comprise high-performance work systems (Macky &
Boxall, 2007; Wright, Gardner, & Moynihan, 2003). NPM
and post-NPM reform values identified by Park and Joaquin
(2012), such as strategy-oriented, performance-oriented, and
knowledge management–based reform values, are strongly
linked with high-performance work systems practices and
are popular in U.S. federal agencies.
High-performance work systems and NPM employ prac-
tices that largely originated in the private sector. For exam-
ple, the strategy-oriented reforms in U.S. federal agencies
seek to encourage communication, collaboration, and the
monitoring and evaluation of progress in achieving organiza-
tional goals. Consistent with high-performance work sys-
tems, the literature in this field emphasizes practices that
encourage attitudinal and behavioral alignment or “psycho-
logical links” between employees and the organization’s
strategic goals (Gould-Williams, 2003). The majority of
work in high-performance work systems has identified man-
agerial and human resource practices that accentuate perfor-
mance-based reward systems, careful recruitment and
selection approaches, and training and development (Wright
et al., 2003). These practices are closely related to the perfor-
mance-oriented and knowledge management reform values
identified as prevailing among U.S. federal agencies (Park &
Joaquin, 2012). Performance-oriented reform values give
impetus to developmental performance evaluations and fair
and equitable reward systems; knowledge management
reform values focus on extensive human resource training
and development.
While high-performance work systems significantly
enhance organizational performance, they may have unin-
tended consequences that influence individual workplace
behavior. For instance, the high-performance and productiv-
ity goals of these systems may lead to work intensification
(Macky & Boxall, 2007), and increase stress, burnout, and
work–life family conflict. The layering of NPM and post-
NPM reform values may complement or supplement each
other and maximize benefits to the organization. Likewise,
literature on high-performance work systems recognizes
other practices that may stimulate high organizational com-
mitment and involvement, such as social equity and human-
istic and democratic values (e.g., equal employment
opportunity [EEO] and diversity management). Ramsay,
Scholarios, and Harley’s (2000) study included EEO and
diversity management as critical high-performance work
Park et al. 5
system practices that have strong links to organizational
commitment, measured according to the existence of EEO
policy, workplace equality, and other related practices.
Furthermore, Wood and Menezes (2007) found that the com-
bination of high-involvement work practices and EEO
reduces turnover rate. Therefore, we may argue that norma-
tive organizational and managerial practices (e.g., social
equity values) may encourage high organizational commit-
ment. The following sections discuss two sets of reform val-
ues (NPM and post-NPM) that we analyze for their interaction
with flexible works systems’ impacts.
Strategic and Performance-Oriented Reform
Values (NPM)
To Manu and Sriram (1996), strategic orientation is defined
as how an organization uses “strategy to adapt and/or change
aspects of its environment for a more favorable alignment”
(p. 79). Organizations’ strategic orientations reflect the direc-
tion of tactical organizational implementation toward con-
tinuous superior performance (Narver & Slater, 1990 cited in
Gatignon & Xuereb, 1997). Rainey (2009) insisted that this
strategy should be viewed from a long-term perspective,
referring to the difficulty of defining a strategy in the public
sector, where diverse goals should be considered with the
number of participants in mind, and further explained the
necessity of examining internal and external factors to
achieve organizational goals. According to this perspective,
the organization’s view of its employees changes as it
becomes a more critical success factor, shifting from a per-
sonnel management system that views employees from a
short-term perspective to a long-term, strategic HRM
perspective.
This study views strategy-oriented reform values as those
that encompass organizational goals and purposes while seri-
ously taking into account the related strategic behavior. In
addition, these strategic reform values can provide an envi-
ronment in which it is easier to introduce flexible work sys-
tems by facilitating a goal-oriented culture and mutual efforts
between individuals and organizations. The following are
hypothesized:
Hypothesis 3a: The strategy-oriented reform value mod-
erates the relationships of flexible work systems satisfac-
tion with job satisfaction. As this reform value increases,
the relationships between satisfaction with flexible work
systems and job satisfaction become more positively
significant.
Hypothesis 3b: The strategy-oriented reform value mod-
erates the relationships of flexible work systems satisfac-
tion with turnover intention. As this reform value
increases, the relationships between satisfaction with
flexible work systems and turnover intention become
more negatively significant.
Generally, public organizations have a nonflexible organi-
zational structure in which decisions are made hierarchically.
Furthermore, the threshold of performance is vaguely defined
as being in the name of “public interest.” Hierarchical and
seniority-oriented systems have long persisted and, as a result,
there were limitations to improving the entire sector through
enhancing performance and personnel management. NPM
emphasized efforts to transform agencies into performance-
oriented entities. The U.S. Government Performance and
Results Act of 1993 guaranteed autonomy to federal govern-
ment organizations to enhance performance. Performance-
based compensation motivates employees to work harder
while maintaining fairness in compensation. However, reck-
less differentiation could have a negative effect on perfor-
mance orientation. Therefore, employees’ mutual consensus
on goals and motivations is necessary for performance orien-
tation, rather than simply changing the personnel system. It is
necessary to establish a framework that enables rather than
controls employees to achieve higher goals.
Performance-oriented reform values can be viewed as
those that grant autonomy to employees, improve their per-
formance through differentiation, and individually manage
them based on capability and performance. Performance-
oriented values align with flexible work systems. Furthermore,
it is assumed that the flexible work systems will be more
effective in an organization with strong reform values.
Hypothesis 4a: The performance-oriented reform value
moderates the relationships of flexible work systems sat-
isfaction with job satisfaction. As this reform value
increases, the relationships between satisfaction with
flexible work systems and job satisfaction become more
positively significant.
Hypothesis 4b: The performance-oriented reform value
moderates the relationships of flexible work systems sat-
isfaction with turnover intention. As this reform value
increases, the relationships between satisfaction with
flexible work systems and turnover intention become
more negatively significant.
Knowledge Management and Social Equity
Reform Values (Post-NPM)
Knowledge management, which Beckman (1997) defined
as “the examination of mechanisms that facilitate critical
organizational processes, the measurement of their perfor-
mance and the development of practical solutions,” aims
to enhance productivity through knowledge (p. 258).
Furthermore, Hwang (2003) suggests that knowledge man-
agement is an approach to building the learning organiza-
tion. In addition, knowledge management can be understood
as “human management” based on organizational theory
and sociological, psychological, and philosophical perspec-
tives (Sveiby, 1997).
6 American Review of Public Administration 0(0)
As HRM becomes more important, knowledge manage-
ment–based reform values have drawn a great deal of atten-
tion. There has been an attempt to develop and operate a
more diverse and effective set of education programs by con-
centrating on long-term competency analyses rather than
focusing on short-term training. Such attempts capitalize on
human resources to help organizations remain competitive.
Government authorities have been active in adopting new IT
technologies. As a result of knowledge management, new
concepts and technologies are predominant in HRM.
Hypothesis 5a: The knowledge management–based
reform value moderates the relationships of flexible work
systems satisfaction to job satisfaction. As this reform
value increases, the relationships between satisfaction
with flexible work systems and job satisfaction become
more positively significant.
Hypothesis 5b: The knowledge management–based
reform value moderates the relationships of flexible work
systems satisfaction to turnover intention. As this reform
value increases, the relationships between satisfaction
with flexible work systems and turnover intention become
more negatively significant.
Finally, social equity presents another potentially influen-
tial value interacting with human resource programs and
workers’ satisfaction with them. According to Frederickson
(1980), social equity has ethical aspects representing fair or
decent treatment. Representative bureaucracy has been men-
tioned as a way to secure social equity as policies enacted to
prevent minorities from discrimination, such as Affirmative
Action and EEO have shown. Total equity can be considered
by securing diversity after establishing the makeup of human
resources in proportion to the demographic characteristics,
and then allowing employees to represent their group’s
interest.
This kind of social equity offers reference points for a fair
society. Although social equity is important in public admin-
istration, it has not been considered under the goal of
“growth.” Still, discrimination is prevalent against disadvan-
taged minorities. Social equity reform values reveal in what
direction policy from diverse management perspectives
should aim to guarantee the rights, welfare, and quality of
life of disadvantaged people, including women, the handi-
capped, and remote commuters. Therefore, social equity val-
ues may play a moderating role in enhancing the effectiveness
of the flexible work systems.
Hypothesis 6a: The social equity reform value moderates
the relationships of flexible work systems satisfaction to
job satisfaction. As this reform value increases, the rela-
tionships between satisfaction with flexible work systems
and job satisfaction become more positively significant.
Hypothesis 6b: The social equity reform value moderates
the relationships of flexible work systems satisfaction to
turnover intention. As this reform value increases, the
relationships between satisfaction with flexible work sys-
tems and turnover intention become more negatively
significant.
Research Design and Method
Few studies have examined the potential impact of layering
reform values in the analysis of flexible working policies.
This study seeks to determine whether and how reform val-
ues in the U.S. federal agencies interact with workplace flex-
ibilities to influence job-related outcomes.
As units of analysis, federal employees are nested, creat-
ing a hierarchical data structure with two levels of random
variation: variation among employees within agencies (Level
1), and variation among the agencies (Level 2). The variables
for telework and alternative work schedules satisfaction, as
well as individual factors, are included at Level 1. The out-
come variables are also included at Level 1, while variables
for reform values are included at Level 2. In this analysis,
Level 2 variables were aggregated into agency-based scores
(see Figure 1). A series of hypotheses were tested using hier-
archical linear modeling to explain nested data and estimate
effects of factors at different levels (see Park, Park, & Ryu,
2013).3
This study includes eight control or employee characteris-
tic variables, which are considered control variables because
of their potential relationship with dependent variables: posi-
tion, gender, minority, age, length of service, education, dis-
ability, and retirement.
Both telework and alternative work schedules, the ante-
cedent factors in this research, were measured using a 5-point
Likert-type scale asking respondents to indicate their satis-
faction with telework and alternative work schedules.
Job Satisfaction
Locke (1976) defined job satisfaction as “a pleasurable or
positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s
job or job experiences” (p. 1300). Job satisfaction has been
used as the major indicator of work effectiveness and has
been one of the key determinants of the quality of work and
life (Argyle, 2001). Based on this definition, we used four
Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) items to mea-
sure job satisfaction. Each item was measured using a 5-point
Likert-type scale asking respondents about their emotional
state regarding their job or job experience.
Turnover Intention
Turnover intention refers to an employee’s intention to leave
his or her current job when dissatisfied with various factors,
such as duties, wages, and job position (Lawler, 1983).
Turnover intention is one of the most suitable predictors for
actual turnover (Vandenberg & Nelson, 1999). To measure
Park et al. 7

Personal Preferences (Level 1): Outcomes (Level 1):

1. Alternative Work Schedules
Satisfaction 1. Job Satisfaction
2. Telework Satisfaction 2. Turnover Intention

Demographic Characteristic Organizational Characteristics

(Level 1 Controls): (Level 2):
1. Position 1. Strategy-oriented Reform Value
2. Gender 2. Performance-oriented Reform
3. Minority Value
4. Age 3. Knowledge Management-based
5. Length of Service
Reform Value
6. Education
7. Disability 4. Social Equity Reform Value
8. Retirement

Figure 1.  Conceptual framework.

turnover intention, we used one item asking respondents
whether they intend to leave their organization within the
next year. This intent to leave involved another federal job or
an outside job.
Latent Antecedent and Moderating Variables:
Reform Values
As previously discussed, a variety of reform values have
existed in public organizations over time. The major NPM
and post-NPM rules include a diverse array of reform values.
Park and Joaquin (2012) proposed that NPM reform values
are categorized into three sets: (a) performance and results-
oriented values, (b) market and customer-oriented values,
and (c) goal and strategy-oriented values. Furthermore, Park
and Joaquin (2012) also categorized post-NPM reform val-
ues into three sets: (a) social equity reform values, (b)
humanization reform values, and (c) democratization reform
values. Adopting this typology, the current research attempted
to measure NPM and post-NPM values using exploratory
factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. As a result,
this study revealed and confirmed the four types of NPM
values and post-NPM values. This research then specifically
named four variables based on a previous study: (a) strategy-
oriented reform value, (b) performance-oriented value, (c)
knowledge-based management reform value, and (d) social
equity value (see Figure 2).
Method
This study utilizes the 2015 FEVS administered to full- and
part-time permanent executive branch employees. The sur-
vey was completed by 421,748 federal workers. The survey
instrument measured public sector employees’ perceptions
about organizational issues, agency location, and individual
employee information.
Eight variables were used as controls to measure employ-
ees’ personal and job characteristics: position, gender, minor-
ity, age, length of service, education, disability status, and
retirement. Two variables were used as measures of both
individual status and satisfaction: telework satisfaction and
alternative work schedules satisfaction. Together, these vari-
ables compose Level 1.
The Level 2 predictors were measured using the average
scores for the variables of respondents from each agency.
That is, Level 2 data are tallied by individual data. The main
rationale for aggregating individual data into Level 2 is that
reform usually occurs within an organizational context. As it
was necessary to analyze reform values from an organiza-
tional perspective, this study examined Level 1 and Level 2
variables separately (despite the fact that all of the variables
are individual-level measures) and aggregated the individ-
ual-level data at the organizational level. Then, reliability,
construct validity, and the dimensionality of the four types
of organizational reform values were checked. The items
used to measure the four constructs and the results of the
principal axis factoring with an oblique rotation are pre-
sented in Figure 2. The results are reasonable to accept
based on common statistical indexes such as comparative fit
index (CFI), normed fit index (NIF), root mean square error
of approximation (RMSEA), root mean square residual
(RMR), and so on (see Figure 2). Based on these empirical
tools, strategy-oriented, performance-oriented, knowledge-
based management, and social equity reform values were
developed from the relevant survey items. To confirm the
additive and interactive effects between the two types of sat-
isfaction (Level 1) and four types of reform values (Level
2), eight interaction terms were measured to incorporate the
8 American Review of Public Administration 0(0)

1.00

1.00 1.00

NPM Reform Post-NPM

Values Reform Values

1.00

.89 .69 .58 .69

e20 e21 e22 e23

.31 .21 .08 .10

Knowledge
Strategy-oriented Performance-oriented Social Equity
Management-based

.93 .90 1.04 1.00 1.29 1.27 1.12 1.00 1.15 1.40 1.19 1.44 1.41 1.00 .83 .81 1.14 1.00 .99

Q56 Q57 Q58 Q59 Q23 Q24 Q25 Q33 Q1 Q2 Q9 Q18 Q29 Q68 Q34 Q35 Q36 Q38 Q38

.30 .27 .21 .25 .26 .40 .60 .72 .45 .47 1.03 .50 .45 .51 .47 .50 .51 .56 .56
e1 e2 e3 e4 e5 e6 e7 e8 e9 e10 e11 e12 e13 e14 e15 e16 e17 e18 e19

Overall Fit Indexes of the CFA Model

Model df X2/df CFI RFI NFI IFI GFI RMSEA RMR

Cut-off Values - - >.90 >.90 >.90 >.90 >.90 <.08 <.08
147 1107.16 .95 .94 .95 .95 .92 .07 .04

Figure 2.  Selected survey items and results of reform values factor analysis.
Note. CFI = comparative fit index; RFI = relative fit index; NFI = normed fit index; IFI = incremental fit index; GFI = goodness-of-fit index; RMSEA = root
mean square error of approximation; RMR = root mean square residual.

joint and multiplicative effects of each on job satisfaction disability, (h) retirement, and (i) satisfaction with the two
and turnover intention. types of work schedules.
The first outcome variable, job satisfaction, was measured In the four ANCOVA models, all reliability estimates are
using factor analysis. Responses from the survey were col- greater than .05. The conditional ICC indicates that accord-
lapsed into three items, and all items converged onto one fac- ing to the job satisfaction of the teleworker model, telework-
tor (Cronbach’s α = .83). The second, turnover intention, ers’ job satisfaction varies by approximately 2.8% across
used one item from the survey that asked whether partici- agencies. Similarly, according to the job satisfaction of the
pants intended to leave their agency within 1 year. alternative work schedules user model, alternative work
To compare the difference between groups regarding job schedules users’ job satisfaction varies by approximately
satisfaction and turnover intention, descriptive statistics of 2.1% across agencies.
variables (see Table 1) and the ANOVA (see Table 2) were
checked.
Fixed and random effects.  ANCOVA covariates would statisti-
cally adjust for the initial advantage. ANCOVA can control
Results for adjustments in the influence of the covariate and the vari-
ance term on the intercept, especially when the covariates are
Hierarchical Linear Modeling Results grand-mean centered.
The Level 1 model: One-way ANCOVA model.  For the individ- As shown in Table 3, position, minority, age, length of
ual-level model, a one-way ANCOVA model was employed service, education, disability, retirement, and telework satis-
to incorporate several covariates and determine how the faction are statistically significant factors in the job satisfac-
Level 1 predictors would affect outcome variables. Each tion of federal telework users, whereas position, gender,
slope of the covariate is assumed to have the same effect on minority, age, length of service, education, disability, and
each level of the factor. Each predictor was sequentially retirement are statistically significant factors in the turnover
added to the model, and only one variable was retained when intention of telework users.
it showed a reliability greater than .05 and had a statistically As shown in Table 4, position, minority, age, length of
significant random effect. Based on the results, nine predic- service, education, disability, retirement, and alternative
tors were retained at the individual level. The nine covariates work schedules satisfaction are statistically significant fac-
were included as fixed effects: (a) position, (b) gender, (c) tors in the job satisfaction of federal alternative work sched-
minority, (d) age, (e) length of service, (f) education, (g) ules users, whereas position, gender, minority, age, length of
Park et al. 9

Table 1.  Descriptive Statistics Among Study Variables.

Variables Valid N M SD Minimum Maximum

Individual controls
  Position (0 = member, 1 = manager) 356,084 0.79 0.41 0 1
  Gender (0 = female, 1 = male) 356,084 0.53 0.50 0 1
  Minority (0 = no, 1 = yes) 356,084 0.34 0.47 0 1
 Age 356,084 2.45 0.99 1 4
  Length of service 356,084 2.25 0.76 1 3
 Education 356,084 2.05 0.81 1 3
  Disability (0 = no, 1 = yes) 356,084 0.13 0.34 0 1
 Retirement 356,084 0.25 0.43 0 1
Individual factors (Level 1)
  Telework satisfaction 166,834 4.15 0.96 1 5
  Alternative work schedules satisfaction 132,142 4.41 0.75 1 5
Reform values (Level 2)
  Strategy-oriented reform value 149 3.48 0.20 2.66 4.00
  Performance-oriented reform value 149 2.87 0.20 2.20 3.69
  Knowledge management–based reform value 149 3.50 0.20 2.81 4.07
  Social equity reform value 149 3.84 0.17 3.20 4.34
Outcome variables
  Job satisfaction 356,080 4.00 0.82 1 5
  Turnover intention 354,139 0.28 0.45 0 1

Table 2.  Results of ANOVA.

Job satisfaction Turnover intention

Group N M SD N M SD
Telework user only 91,585 4.06 0.80 91,037 0.19 0.40
Alternative work 57,092 3.97 0.82 56,766 0.36 0.48
schedules user only
Participation in both 78,537 4.04 0.80 78,115 0.20 0.40
Not to participate in both 128,866 3.95 0.85 128,221 0.36 0.48
(working on traditional
schedule)
f 387.9*** 3978.3***

*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.

service, education, disability, and retirement, and alternative
work schedules satisfaction are statistically significant fac-
tors in the turnover intentions of alternative work schedule
(AWS) users.
The Level 2 Model: Intercepts and Slopes-as-
Outcome Model
An intercepts and slopes-as-outcome model, which assumes
that the intercept and slope have random effects, was used in
the organization-level model. Level 2 predictors in the inter-
cepts and slopes-as-outcome model are included. In this
model, a grand-mean centering option was used, and vari-
ables were added one at a time for model building while
examining their coefficients for significance and reliability.
Level 2 reform value predictors, as discussed earlier, were (a)
strategy-oriented reform value (γ01), (b) performance-oriented
reform value (γ02), (c) knowledge management–based reform
value (γ03), and (d) social equity reform value (γ04).
Level 1 and Level 2 variances were included as random
effects. In addition, to examine the cross-level interaction
effects between reform values within an organization and
satisfaction of the different work types, four interaction
terms were included. In the cross-level interaction model, an
interaction refers to when the association between Level 1
predictors and the outcome variables depends on the level of
Level 2 predictors. The cross-level interaction will be the dif-
ferences between Level 1 random effects and Level 2 predic-
tors in the slope-as-outcomes model. The final intercepts and
slope-as-outcomes model is shown below:
10 American Review of Public Administration 0(0)

Table 3.  Results of HLM for Teleworkers.

Job satisfaction Turnover intention

1. The individual- 2. The agency-level 1. The individual- 2. The agency-level

level model: One- model: Intercepts and level model: One- model: Intercepts
way ANCOVA slopes-as-outcome way ANCOVA and slopes-as-
Telework user model model model outcome model
Reliability intercept (β0) .64 .54 .87 .87
Fixed effects
  Intercepts (γ00) 4.30*** 4.30*** −1.41***  
Level 1 slope (individual) model
 Demographic
  Position (γ10) −0.28*** −0.10***  
  Gender (γ20) −0.00 0.88***  
  Minority (γ30) 0.02** 0.10***  
  Age (γ40) 0.06*** 0.30***  
   Length of service (γ50) −0.04*** −0.40***  
  Disability (γ60) −0.04*** −0.07***  
  Education (γ70) −0.05*** 1.07***  
  Retirement (γ80) −0.08*** −0.08***  
 Satisfaction
  Telework (γ90) 0.23*** −0.00  
Level 2 intercept (organizational) model
  Reform values
   Strategy-oriented reform value (γ01) 0.25** 0.92
   Performance-oriented reform value (γ02) 0.08 0.54
   Knowledge management–based reform 0.25** −1.78**
value (γ03)
   Social equity reform value (γ04) −0.24** 0.51
Interaction (Level 1 × Level 2) model: Telework satisfaction × Reform values
   Telework satisfaction × Strategy (γ91) −0.07  
   Telework satisfaction × Performance (γ92) 0.16*** −0.04
   Telework satisfaction × Knowledge 0.01 0.09
management (γ93)
   Alternative work schedules satisfaction × −0.02 0.03
Social equity (γ94)
ICC 2.8 1.6 −0.07
   Proportion of the variance in rij explained 11 0  
by the model (%)
   Proportion of the variance µ0j explained −37 44.7  
by the model (%)
Deviance 374,975 374,883  
Number of parameters 56 56  

Note. (a) Individual level, n = 165,896 federal employees; (b) Organizational level, n = 149 federal agencies.
*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001. HLM = hierarchical linear modeling.

•• Level 1 model: Yij (Job satisfaction, Turnover inten-
tion) = β0j + β1j (Position) + β2j (Gender) + β3j
(Minority) + β4j (Age) + β5j (Length of service) + β6j
(Education) + β7j (Disability) + β8j (Retirement) + β9j
(Alternative work schedules satisfaction, Telework
satisfaction) + εij
•• Level 2 model: Intercept: β0 = Y00 + Y01 (Strategy-
oriented reform value) + Y02 (Performance-oriented
reform value) + Y03 (Knowledge management–based
reform value) + Y03 (Social equity reform value) + u0j
•• Slope 1: β9j (Alternative work schedules satisfaction,
Telework satisfaction) = Y00 + Y01 (Strategy-oriented
reform value) + Y02 (Performance-oriented reform
value) + Y03 (Knowledge management–based reform
value) + Y03 (Social equity reform value) + u0j
•• Other slopes: β1j = Y10, β2j = Y20, β3j = Y30, β4j = Y40,
β5j = Y50, β6j = Y60, β7j = Y70, β8j = Y80
In the four intercepts and slopes-as-outcome models, all reli-
ability estimates (β0) are greater than .05. The conditional ICC
Park et al. 11

Table 4.  Results of HLM for Alternative Work Schedule (AWS) Users.

Job satisfaction Turnover intention

1. The individual- 2. The agency-level 1. The individual- 2. The agency-level

level model: One- model: Intercepts level model: One- model: Intercepts
way ANCOVA and slopes-as- way ANCOVA and slopes-as-
AWS user model outcome model model outcome model
Reliability intercept (β0) .53 .40 .85 .85
Fixed effects
  Intercepts (γ00) 4.25*** 4.25*** −1.43*** −1.43***
Level 1 slope (individual) model
 Demographic
  Position (γ10) −0.26*** −0.08***  
  Gender (γ20) 0.00 1.02***  
  Minority (γ30) 0.04*** 0.14***  
  Age (γ40) 0.08*** 0.27***  
   Length of service (γ50) −0.04*** −0.42***  
  Disability (γ60) −0.05*** −0.11***  
  Education (γ70) −0.05*** 1.02***  
  Retirement (γ80) −0.09*** −0.04*  
 Satisfaction
  AWS (γ90) 0.31*** −0.02**  
Level 2 intercept (organizational) model
  Reform values
   Strategy-oriented reform value (γ01) 0.16* 1.11*
   Performance-oriented reform value (γ02) 0.06 0.84
  Knowledge management–based 0.31*** −2.28***
reform value (γ03)
   Social equity reform value (γ04) −0.17 0.73
Interaction (Level 1 × Level 2) model: AWS satisfaction × Reform values
   AWS satisfaction × Strategy (γ91) −0.00 0.08
   AWS satisfaction × Performance (γ92) 0.17** −0.12
   AWS satisfaction × Knowledge −0.03 0.02
management (γ93)
   AWS satisfaction × Social equity (γ94) 0.08 −0.08
ICC 2.1 1.1  
   Proportion of the variance in rij explained by 11.3 0  
the model (%)
   Proportion of the variance µ0j explained by −6.2 50.1  
the model (%)
Deviance 299,426 299,321  
Number of parameters 56 56  

Note. (a) Individual level, n = 131,423 federal employees; (b) Organizational level, n = 149 federal agencies.
*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001. HLM = hierarchical linear modeling.

indicates that in the job satisfaction of the telework users’ model,
telework users’ job satisfaction varies by approximately 1.6%
across agencies. Similarly, in the job satisfaction of alternative
work schedules user model, alternative work schedules users’
job satisfaction varies by approximately 1.1% across agencies.
Fixed and Random Effects
The results of the statistical analysis indicate that the strat-
egy-oriented reform value (0.25**), knowledge manage-
ment–based reform value (0.25**), and social equity reform
value (–0.24**) effects are significantly associated with tele-
workers’ job satisfaction.
The knowledge management–based reform value
(–1.78**) effect is significantly associated with teleworkers’
turnover intention.
The strategy-oriented reform value (0.16*) and knowl-
edge management–based reform value (.31**) effects are
significantly associated with the alternative work schedules
users’ job satisfaction.
The strategy-oriented reform value (1.11*) and knowl-
edge management–based reform value (–2.28***) effects are
12 American Review of Public Administration 0(0)
significantly associated with the alternative work schedules
users’ turnover intention.
Cross-Level Interaction Effects
Regarding the cross-level interaction effects, the perfor-
mance-oriented reform values result in a strong relationship
between telework satisfaction and job satisfaction (0.16***),
and between alternative work schedules satisfaction and job
satisfaction (0.17**).
Discussion
Contemporary organizations understand the necessity of
adopting workplace flexibility (Halpern, 2005), giving
employees leeway to choose the place, time, and duration to
engage in work-related activities (Hill et al., 2001). Flexible
work policies were well established for decades before 2017,
including the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010 and the
2014 Presidential Memorandum—Enhancing Workplace
Flexibilities and Work-Life Program, and even the Clean Air
Act was in favor of flexible work arrangements, specifically
through telecommuting to ease commuter congestion
(Karnowski & White, 2002). In this study, we chose two
types of flexible work systems and explored their dynamics
using survey data from 2015.
These findings suggest that certain types of reform values
positively affect employees’ job satisfaction when employees
are satisfied with the utilization of alternative work schedules.
That is, certain institutional and cultural conditions could act
as factors for enhancing positive organizational outcomes.
The results confirm that satisfaction with the two types of
flexible work systems has a positive effect on job satisfaction
and turnover intention. Satisfaction with telework and alter-
native work schedules intensifies the job satisfaction. In
addition, the satisfaction with telework and alternative work
schedules mitigates turnover intention. These confirm
Hypotheses 1a, 1b, and 2a.
It is also of note that only performance-oriented reform
values have a moderating effect on the relationship between
satisfaction with alternative work schedules and job satisfac-
tion. This confirms Hypothesis 4a.
To reiterate from Figure 2, this reform value was repre-
sented in the survey data by statements focusing on manage-
ment communication with different work units, evaluation of
progress toward meeting organizational goals, and supporting
collaboration across work units to accomplish objectives.
An unexpected finding was that the flexible work sys-
tems’ participant’s level of job satisfaction and turnover
intention is similar to that of employees working a traditional
schedule.
Implications
As 2017 begins, employee disaffection in the federal bureau-
cracy is increasing with the conservative agenda emanating
from the Trump White House. Without knowing which
reform values might accompany a potential Trump
Presidential Management Agenda, this study may be able to
speak to HR program enhancements to help prevent employ-
ees from exiting the civil service.
Previous research has for the most part investigated
whether employees participate in flexible work systems.
This study contributes by testing the effects of participation
and satisfaction with flexible work systems on job satisfac-
tion and turnover intention. The results suggest a few impli-
cations for the effective implementation of flexible work
systems in federal agencies. First, as the results of the study
reveal, participation in flexible work systems is not enough
to have a significant, positive influence on job satisfaction
and turnover intention. Positive effects occur when employ-
ees are satisfied with flexible work systems’ utilization.
Managers should exert great efforts to create environ-
ments that help foster effective flexible work systems. For
example, employees may have negative experiences with
flexible work systems when they cannot cooperate or com-
municate well with others because they do not share the
same working hours or time zone (Nollen, 1981). Managers
should implement flexible work systems with care as imbal-
anced application or too much flexibility without consider-
ation of organizational contexts or job characteristics may
lead to additional problems.
Second, it is useful to wrap performance-oriented reform
values around flexible work systems. To effectively enhance
organizational performance through flexible work systems,
compensation based on performance evaluation should be
executed fairly with due process. If employees receive a par-
tial reward because of their utilization of flexible work sys-
tems, they may experience negative feelings toward utilizing
flexible work systems. In addition, this may negatively affect
individuals’ promotions or careers because the use of flexible
work systems reduces communication among employees.
Maxwell and McDougall (2004) reported that financial
incentives have been encouraged in the U.K. public sector,
and that employee consultation and effective communica-
tions are necessary to develop and implement work–life bal-
ance practices. Considering the budget limitations in the
public sector, the implementation of flexible work systems
with impartial rewards can be an effective strategy to recruit
and retain talent.
The findings suggest a rethinking of organizational out-
comes through the mutual effects of reform values and flex-
ible work systems. Individual employee attributes are not the
sole factors associated with employee satisfaction and turn-
over intention. The greater context of governmental reform
can affect their perceptions of their job and choices. This
study shows that flexible work systems are more positively
and significantly moderated by NPM performance-oriented
reform values than by post-NPM values of knowledge man-
agement–based and social equity reform values. Does this
imply some kind of imbalance? Quinn (1988) suggested that
organizations are effective when values are balanced rather
Park et al. 13
than when a certain value is dominant in an organization,
owing to the fact that different values can create a synergistic
effect when these operate harmoniously rather than in con-
flict. That performance-oriented values positively moderate
flexible work systems’ impact on employee satisfaction may
not be surprising however, if workers’ satisfaction with tele-
work and alternative work schedules derived from produc-
tivity are, for example, rewarded by performance appraisal
systems.
With a new conservative management agenda looming,
the market-laden values of NPM might stage a resurgence
and swing the pendulum away from the post-NPM philoso-
phies of the early 2000s. Our article examined only the per-
formance-oriented aspect of NPM, among others aspects,
and does not speak to NPM’s more market-oriented themes,
such as the use of privatization, loosening of hiring and fir-
ing controls, and the emphasis on business customer orien-
tation, which might easily be reintroduced in the federal
bureaucracy. This latter set of NPM values could bear upon
the redesign and execution of flexible working systems
under President Trump, and influence workers’ satisfaction
with their jobs and the civil service. It is possible that the
administration’s promise in 2017 to downsize the bureau-
cracy and scale down federal benefits will be matched by an
increasing use of alternative work systems. Imagining the
direction in reverse, civil servants’ dissatisfaction and inten-
tion to leave the service because of the perceived conserva-
tive values of impending Trump era reforms could compel
the administration to look toward greater use of privatiza-
tion and alternative work systems. Downsizing would open
up a host of human capital concerns, as attrition and the lack
of succession planning in the public sector are already dent-
ing bureaucracy’s capacity to adapt to its challenges. Our
study is quite limited with regard to these issues, but it may
provide a small window into the state of the civil service as
a new era begins.
Notes for Future Research
What we did in this study was to nest an HRM policy’s poten-
tial effects on federal employees’ job satisfaction within a
larger construct, the perception of the values accompanying
executive management reforms in federal agencies. This study
has some limitations. First, we did not classify flexible work
systems any further and investigate their effect on job satisfac-
tion and turnover intention. Alternative work schedules can be
divided into many types including flexible, compressed work
schedules. Telework also has many types depending on fre-
quency of use. As individual subprograms have different fea-
tures, we exclusively used telework and alternative work
schedules without consideration of a subdimension. A second
limitation that future studies could address is that this research
used one dummy variable to measure turnover intention owing
to the fact that there is one variable related to turnover inten-
tion in the FEVS data set. When the dependent variable was a
dummy, hierarchical linear modeling did not provide detailed
information concerning model fit. Hence, the model fit in the
hierarchical linear modeling could not be checked because the
turnover intention involved dependent variables.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect
to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support
for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This
work was supported by the Ministry of Education of the Republic
of Korea and the National Resaerch Foundation of Korea
(NRF-2016S1A3A2924832).
Notes
1. The federal government’s flexible work systems began in
1972 at the Bureau of Indian Affairs, New Mexico, and in
the Social Security Administration in Baltimore in 1974.
Thanks to the success of these programs, a 3-year pilot pro-
gram was developed in 1979. In 1985, authorities approved
the establishment of alternative work arrangements (Ezra &
Deckman, 1996).
2. Please refer to the following website for further information:
http://www.globalworkplaceanalytics.com
3. Hierarchical linear modeling is a type of regression model
for data sets that have different levels. With this type of data,
ordinary least squares (OLS) regression would not bring about
correct standard errors. Hierarchical linear modeling fits to
dependent variables that make a linear model with predictor
variables at varying hierarchical levels (Woltman, Feldstain,
MacKay, & Rocchi, 2012).
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Author Biographies
Sung Min Park is an associate professor in the Department of
Public Administration and Graduate School of Governance at
Sungkyunkwan University. He received a PhD Degree from the
Department of Public Administration, University of Georgia. He
has worked as an assistant professor in the Greenspun School of
Environmental and Public Affairs at the University of Nevada, Las
Vegas. His primary research interests are public management, pub-
lic human resources management, IT management, human resource
information systems, human resource development, organizational
behavior, and quantitative research methods. His works appear in
Public Personnel Management, American Review of Public
Administration, Review of Public Personnel Administration,
International Public Management Journal, Public Personnel
Management, International Review of Administrative Sciences,
Public Management Review, Public Money & Management,
International Journal of Human Resource Management, Personnel
Review, International Review of Public Administration, and
International Journal of Public Sector Management.
Maria Ernita Joaquin is an associate professor of public adminis-
tration at San Francisco State University. She has written about
bureaucratic politics, e-democracy, local government privatization,
and pedagogical strategies in public administration education. Her
articles have appeared in Publius, State and Local Government
Review, and Governance. Her studies focus on network theory, the
administrative state, and service learning.
Kyoung Ryoul Min is a researcher in the Research Center for
Public Human Resource Development and a PhD candidate in the
Department of Public Administration and Graduate School of
Governance at Sungkyunkwan University.
Reginald G. Ugaddan is a researcher in the Research Center for
Public Human Resource Development and a PhD candidate in the
Department of Public Administration and Graduate School of
Governance at Sungkyunkwan University.