Abstract

Numerous employers provide flexible working schedules in order to attract a more diverse range of potential employees. However, not all employees use the flextime option provided by their employer. This study seeks to understand what types of employees in creative research and development (R&D) jobs utilize the flexible working time option. We present probit estimates based on data from our original repeated survey of Estonian creative R&D employees on a sample of seventy-two individuals from eleven entities. We find age, residential status, and the number of young children in the family to be associated with the use of flexible working schedules. Those who have families opt for flextime use with a significantly higher probability than those who are living alone. The more under-school-age children the employee has, the less likely it is that he or she uses flexible schedules. Older employees appear to be more likely to use flexible schedules than their younger colleagues. Although the sample for our study is small, these pilot results may provide some background information for employers in the R&D business for making decisions about the arrangement of work in light of employee diversity in flextime use preferences.