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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to, first, explore flexible working as an important but under‐researched dimension of equality and diversity (E&D) and, second, contribute to employment relations debates by exploring organisational perspectives on flexible working and how these connect with business strategies and the regulatory context.Design/methodology/approachIn depth semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 12 E&D managers in ten public and private sector organisations. Interviews explored the role of E&D managers in the construction of flexible working arrangements (FWAs) and drivers underpinning them.FindingsFlexible working was most evident as a significant field of E&D practice where E&D was linked into business strategy and was well resourced. The key roles of E&D managers in relation to FWAs were policy innovation and monitoring. Four organisational rationales for FWAs were identified from the data. These were FWA constructed as: an individual employee benefit; a means of improving operational effectiveness; an integral part of organisational strategy; and as a means of addressing structural social inequalities.Research limitations/implicationsWhile the sample is small, the research is of value to both researchers and policy makers, offering insights on an under‐researched area of E&D policy and practice.Practical implicationsThis paper outlines different rationales for flexible working and shows how some organisation are able to develop flexible working policies that are more equitable and effective than other organisations.Originality/valueThe originality lies in the use of E&D managers as informants of organisational approaches to FWAs, which to date has been under‐researched in terms of its connection with E&D policy and practice.

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to explore the concept of availability, both empirically and theoretically, in the context of three Swedish organisations, and identifies the structural influences on availability patterns for work and family.Design/methodology/approachThe article is based on quantitative case studies using employer records and an employee questionnaire in three organisations. Multivariate descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression are used to illustrate and analyse patterns of availability for work and family.FindingsThe descriptive data demonstrate the influence of the organisational context and type of production process, as well as gender, on availability patterns. Patterns of work availability appeared to differ across the organisations to a greater extent than patterns of family availability, which were highly gendered. The logistic regression results indicated that: occupation was a significant influence on both temporal and spatial availability patterns across the organisations; gender was the most significant influence on time spent on household work and part‐time working for parents with young children; age of employees and age of employees' children were the most significant factors influencing the use of time off work for family.Research limitations/implicationsAnalysis limited to case studies. More extensive quantitative research would be needed to make empirical generalisations. Qualitative research would be needed to establish whether and how employees are able to make use of different availability patterns to improve their work‐life balance.Originality/valueThe concept of availability is a new way of trying to capture and analyse tensions in people's everyday lives as they try to manage multiple demands.

This article explores the importance of class and collectivism to personal identity, and the role this played during a period of personal and collective crisis created by mass redundancy in the Welsh steel industry. The research findings demonstrate the importance of occupational identity to individual and collective identity formation. The apparent desire to maintain this collective identity acted as a form of resistance to the increased individualization of the post-redundancy experience, but rather than leading to excessive particularism, it served as a mechanism through which class-based thinking and class identity were articulated. It is argued that the continued concern for class identity reflected efforts to avoid submergence in an existence akin to Beck's (1992) vision of a class-free 'individualized society of employees'.These findings therefore challenge the notion of the pervasiveness of individualism and the dismissal of class and collective orientations as important influences on identity formation.