The Dynamics of Flexible Working and Work-Family Balance: Implications on the Wellbeing of Global Majority Women in the U.K. Health Sector.

Owolewa, Mutiat Ayodele (2026) The Dynamics of Flexible Working and Work-Family Balance: Implications on the Wellbeing of Global Majority Women in the U.K. Health Sector. Doctoral thesis, Birmingham City University.

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Abstract

This research explored the dynamics of flexible working and work-family balance and their implications on the wellbeing of Global Majority Women (GMW) in the U.K. health sector. GMW encompasses individuals from African, African/British, Asian, and other Minority Ethnic backgrounds who are not of British origin and belong to non-white ethnic groups. Despite extensive research on flexible working and work-family balance, limited attention has been paid to how intersecting identities shape access to and experiences of flexible working. This study addresses this theoretical gap by integrating Intersectionality Theory with Boundary Theory and Spillover Theory, extending existing work-family scholarship to better explain how structural inequalities shape the experiences of Global Majority Women in the U.K. health sector. The study employed a qualitative methodology based on a social constructionist epistemology, an interpretive philosophy, and an inductive research approach, collecting primary data from 37 GMW healthcare professionals working primarily in NHS and community care settings. Participants included doctors, nurses, care assistants, and other healthcare workers from diverse ethnic backgrounds. Data collection continued until saturation, with Purposive and snowball sampling ensuring participants met defined research criteria while maintaining demographic diversity.

The findings revealed that GMW conceptualise flexible working arrangements through a comprehensive life management framework that transcends traditional organisational definitions. Participants understood flexible working as encompassing four interconnected dimensions: autonomous control over time and space, seamless work-life integration, adaptive responsiveness to changing circumstances, and family-centred organisation whilst maintaining professional effectiveness. Cultural and religious variations emerged as significant factors, with African participants emphasising family-centred adaptability, Asian participants focusing on professional-personal equilibrium, and religious frameworks providing distinctive meaning-making systems for understanding workplace flexible working. The study demonstrated that GMW faced discrimination operating multiplicatively rather than additively, creating qualitatively distinct experiences of professional marginalisation through compounded credibility questioning, religious-cultural-gender conflicts, motherhood penalties intensified by migration status, and systemic barriers embedded within healthcare institutions. Despite these challenges, participants developed coping strategies including spiritual practices, social capital mobilisation, cognitive protective mechanisms, and strategic identity management. Critical facilitating factors for effective flexible working included supportive management, predictable scheduling, colleague networks, and cultural accommodation. However, significant barriers emerged through economic pressures, structural support deficits, implementation failures, and immigration-related constraints. The research revealed a concerning reliance on individual manager characteristics rather than systematic organisational policies, creating vulnerabilities for GMW who might encounter managers with limited cultural competence.

Practical implications include the need for comprehensive leadership development programmes with intersectional competencies, fundamental reform of flexible working policies to address GMW's distinctive needs, targeted professional development programmes, and systematic approaches to religious and cultural accommodation. The findings emphasise that while individual resilience enables survival within discriminatory environments, systematic organisational and policy changes remain essential for addressing underlying structural inequalities. This research concludes that flexible working holds promise for improving the wellbeing, work-family balance and career sustainability of GMW in healthcare, but only when grounded in an intersectional understanding of their lived experiences. Without this lens, flexible working risks reproducing the very inequities it seeks to redress, highlighting the need for equity-focused approaches that prioritise structural change over individual adaptation.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Dates:	Date Event 16 September 2026 Accepted
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Flexible Working Arrangements; Work-Family Balance; Global Majority Women; Intersectionality; Hypervisibility Paradox; Wellbeing; U.K. Health Sector.
Subjects:	CAH17 - business and management > CAH17-01 - business and management > CAH17-01-01 - business and management (non-specific) CAH17 - business and management > CAH17-01 - business and management > CAH17-01-02 - business studies CAH17 - business and management > CAH17-01 - business and management > CAH17-01-05 - human resource management CAH17 - business and management > CAH17-01 - business and management > CAH17-01-09 - others in business and management
Divisions:	Business School > Management, Business and Marketing Doctoral Research College > Doctoral Theses Collection
Depositing User:	Louise Muldowney
Date Deposited:	23 Sep 2026 12:49
Last Modified:	23 Sep 2026 12:49
URI:	https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/17253

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