The Effect of Flexible Work Arrangements on Work-Life ‎Balance in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: A Systematic ‎Literature Review And Meta-Analysis

  • Authors

    • Medi Primatori Purnawan Management & Business, Universitas Pancasila, Jakarta, Indonesia
    • Eka Sudarmaji Management & Business, Universitas Pancasila, Jakarta, Indonesia
    • Sri Widyastuti Management & Business, Universitas Pancasila, Jakarta, Indonesia
    https://doi.org/10.14419/1ep8ns78

    Received date: August 13, 2025

    Accepted date: September 19, 2025

    Published date: September 24, 2025

  • Flexible Work Arrangement; Work-Life Balance; SMEs; Meta-Analysis; Employee Well-Being

  • Abstract

    Flexible work arrangements (FWA) deployment in the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector is increasing due to digitalization, alongside ‎the COVID-19 aftermath reorganization. Deployment, nonetheless, has limitations in terms of resource deficiency, technological gap, and ‎organizational preparedness. Work-life balance (WLB) significantly influences worker fulfillment, retention, and work efficacy. Pattern analysis, ‎barriers, and contributors to acceptance of flexible work arrangements (FWA) alongside work-life balance (WLB) in SMEs, particularly in the ‎developing world, provide evidence-informed optimization guidelines. Systematic review of the literature according to PRISMA 2020 guidelines ‎covered 47 high-quality works in five databases (2018-2024). Meta-analysis employed random-effects schemes in an extensive statistical analysis ‎of 52,847 participants. Meta-analysis demonstrated a robust positive correlation between FWA-WLB (r = 0.614, 95% CI: 0.563-0.661, p < ‎‎0.001) with moderate-to-large magnitude (Cohen's d = 0.67). Substantial heterogeneity (I² = 72.4%) of settings existed. Spatial flexibility (β = ‎‎0.641) as well as temporal flexibility (β = 0.596) significantly influenced. Job autonomy (β = 0.34), time control (β = 0.31), and stress ‎reduction (β = 0.27) mediated 58.2% of variance. FWA significantly constructs work-life balance in varied settings, with variation by industrial ‎sector, culture, and deployment. SMEs can optimize worker well-being through optimized strategies by focusing on deployment barriers ‎through strategic utilization of resources alongside support by the stakeholders‎.

  • References

    1. Allen, T. D., Golden, T. D., & Shockley, K. M. (2015). How Effective Is Telecommuting? Assessing the Status of Our Scientific Findings. Psycho-logical Science in the Public Interest, 16(2), 40–68. https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100615593273.
    2. Bal, P. M., & De Lange, A. H. (2015). From flexibility human resource management to employee engagement and perceived job performance across the lifespan: A multisample study. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 88(1), 126–154. https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12082.
    3. Braun, P. (2002). Networking Tourism SMEs: e-Commerce and e-Marketing Issues in Regional Australia. Information Technology & Tourism, 5(1), 13–23. https://doi.org/10.3727/109830502108751028.
    4. Gono, S., Harindranath, G., & Berna Özcan, G. (2016). The Adoption and Impact of ICT in South African SMEs. Strategic Change, 25(6), 717–734. https://doi.org/10.1002/jsc.2103.
    5. Guest, D. E. (2002). Perspectives on the Study of Work-life Balance. Social Science Information, 41(2), 255–279. https://doi.org/10.1177/0539018402041002005.
    6. Kalliath, T., & Brough, P. (2008). Work–life balance: A review of the meaning of the balance construct. Journal of Management & Organization, 14(3), 323–327. https://doi.org/10.5172/jmo.837.14.3.323
    7. Kumar, D., Samalia, H. V., & Verma, P. (2017). Exploring suitability of cloud computing for small and medium-sized enterprises in India. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 24(4), 814–832. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSBED-01-2017-0002.
    8. Kurnia, S., Choudrie, J., Mahbubur, R. M., & Alzougool, B. (2015). E-commerce technology adoption: A Malaysian grocery SME retail sector study. Journal of Business Research, 68(9), 1906–1918. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2014.12.010.
    9. MacGregor, R. C., & Vrazalic, L. (2005). A basic model of electronic commerce adoption barriers. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Devel-opment, 12(4), 510–527. https://doi.org/10.1108/14626000510628199.
    10. Mapeshoane, T. J., & Pather, S. (2016). The Adoption of e‐Commerce in the Lesotho Tourism Industry. THE ELECTRONIC JOURNAL OF IN-FORMATION SYSTEMS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, 75(1), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1681-4835.2016.tb00550.x
    11. Mishrif, A., & Khan, A. (2023). Technology adoption as survival strategy for small and medium enterprises during COVID-19. Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 12(1), 53. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13731-023-00317-9.
    12. Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., Chou, R., Glanville, J., Grimshaw, J. M., Hróbjartsson, A., Lalu, M. M., Li, T., Loder, E. W., Mayo-Wilson, E., McDonald, S., … Moher, D. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ, n71. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n71.
    13. Pathan, Z. H., Jianqiu, Z., Akram, U., Latif, Z., Khan, M. K., & Tunio, M. Z. (2017). Essential factors in cloud-computing adoption by SMEs. Hu-man Systems Management, 36(4), 261–275. https://doi.org/10.3233/HSM-17133.
    14. Ritchie, B., & Brindley, C. (2005). ICT adoption by SMEs: implications for relationships and management. New Technology, Work and Employment, 20(3), 205–217. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-005X.2005.00154.x
    15. Shahadat, M. M. H., Nekmahmud, Md., Ebrahimi, P., & Fekete-Farkas, M. (2023). Digital Technology Adoption in SMEs: What Technological, En-vironmental and Organizational Factors Influence in Emerging Countries? Global Business Review. https://doi.org/10.1177/09721509221137199.
    16. Sultan, N. A. (2011). Reaching for the “cloud”: How SMEs can manage. International Journal of Information Management, 31(3), 272–278. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2010.08.001.
    17. Vidhyalakshmi, R., & Kumar, V. (2016). Determinants of cloud computing adoption by SMEs. International Journal of Business Information Sys-tems, 22(3), 375–395.

  • Downloads

  • How to Cite

    Purnawan, M. P. ., Sudarmaji, E., & Widyastuti, S. . (2025). The Effect of Flexible Work Arrangements on Work-Life ‎Balance in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: A Systematic ‎Literature Review And Meta-Analysis. International Journal of Accounting and Economics Studies, 12(5), 969-981. https://doi.org/10.14419/1ep8ns78