Flexibility or ethical dilemma: an overview of the work from home policies in modern organizations around the world

Purpose: The primary purpose of this paper is to highlight the pros and cons associated with the work from home policies and how these policies differ across countries and cultures. The main question to be answered is why a perk or benefit is now being considered an ethical issue. Design/methodology/approach: Opinions of practitioners and examples of some leading controversial work from home policies have been discussed in detail. Examples from the developed countries have been compared with those of less developed countries to present a cross-country analysis. Findings: Culture has a significant impact on flexible work arrangement policies. Although many companies endorse some degree of flexibility for working mothers or parents in general, working from home as a universal policy is still debatable. The decision to offer this facility to employees majorly depends upon the geographic location of that organization. Originality/value: All the discussions and views expressed solely belong to the authors. This paper can be extended by adding some empirical evidence from the companies that actually offer this facility to their employees.