Flexible Work As an Equity Strategy: Evidence from Nonprofit Organizations

Background and Purpose: For decades, flexible work arrangements have offered alternatives to traditional work structures by changing where work is performed (e.g., remote work), when work is done (e.g., flexible schedules), and how work is conducted (e.g., virtual meetings). During COVID-19, however, flexible work arrangements shifted from optional workplace benefits to essential strategies for sustaining organizational operations. Although nonprofit organizations expanded access to these arrangements, limited research has examined whether access is associated with workplace equity in nonprofit settings. Drawing on organizational justice and organizational systems perspectives, this exploratory study examined whether nonprofit leaders’ reports of employee access to flexible work arrangements were associated with workplace equity and whether organizational pressures, employee pressures, and organizational resilience moderated that relationship.

Methods: Data came from the 2021 Boston Workplace Equity Study, a pilot survey conducted with organizational leaders in partnership with the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley. Of the 178 participating organizations, 154 were nonprofits. Analyses were based on 112 nonprofit cases with complete data. Workplace equity was measured using a 28-item index capturing equity-related policies and practices, planning and evaluation, roles and accountabilities, organizational culture and climate, and communication. Employee access to flexible work arrangements was measured using a 10-item index assessing scheduling, workload, remote work, leave, and career transition flexibility. OLS regression models tested main and interaction effects while controlling for organizational size, percentage of women in the workforce, and percentage of employees of color.

Results: Greater employee access to flexible work arrangements was associated with higher workplace equity (b = .12, SE = .06, p < .05) in the main model. Compared with small organizations, medium-sized organizations reported higher workplace equity (b = .32, SE = .10, p < .01), and organizations with higher percentages of employees of color also reported higher workplace equity (b = .01, SE = .00, p < .001). In the interaction model, organizational resilience was positively associated with workplace equity (b = .23, SE = .09, p < .05). A marginally significant interaction between employee pressures and access to flexible work arrangements was observed (b = .20, SE = .12, p < .10), suggesting that the positive association between flexible work arrangements and workplace equity was stronger when leaders reported higher employee pressures. No significant interaction effects were found for organizational pressures or organizational resilience in moderating this association.

Conclusions and Implications: Findings suggest that access to flexible work arrangements may function as a structural lever for workplace equity in nonprofit organizations, particularly when employees face elevated pressures. The study contributes to social work and nonprofit research by moving beyond individual supports and linking job structure to broader organizational equity systems. For practice, the findings suggest that nonprofit leaders should not treat flexibility only as a retention or productivity tool. Rather, flexibility should be designed and implemented as part of equity-focused organizational practice, especially during periods of disruption and strain. Future research should incorporate employee-reported data and multi-respondent designs to examine how flexibility is distributed, experienced, and enacted across nonprofit workplaces.