Flexible Work: Between Inclusion and Exclusion

How inclusive are flexible work models really? And what unintended consequences might they have for organizations, teams, and individual employees? These were the questions addressed in the online guest lecture on January 19, 2026.

The lecture “Diversity Management in the Workplace: Policy Development and Inclusion” was presented by Dipl. Kffr. Dr. Anett Hermann, who is a postdoctoral research assistant at the Institute for Gender and Diversity in Organizations at the Vienna University of Economics and Business and teaches in the Bachelor’s program in Business Administration & Business Psychology at FERNFH. The expert presented key findings from a multi-year research project on policy development for flexible and mobile work and used a case study to demonstrate how closely flexibility, diversity management, organizational culture, and leadership are intertwined.

Flexible Work: More Autonomy—But for Whom?

Flexible work arrangements are often seen as the key to a better work-life balance, higher intrinsic motivation at work, and stronger commitment to organizations. The presentation made it clear, however, that these effects do not automatically apply equally to everyone.

Based on qualitative and quantitative data, it has been shown that flexible work models:

• can promote individual autonomy and self-organization,
• but at the same time create new inequalities within the team, raise questions of fairness and status, and generate tensions between trust and control,
• in particular for certain groups—such as women or people with caregiving responsibilities—can also entail risks such as invisibility, additional burdens, and limited career opportunities.

A key finding of the study: Inclusion and exclusion do not arise solely from formal rules, but rather from their concrete implementation within an organizational context—in particular through leadership, team dynamics, and implicit power and status structures.

Relevance to Academic Study and Professional Practice

The issues discussed in the guest lecture are highly relevant to both academia and professional practice, and are therefore also a central component of the Master’s program in Business Administration & Business Psychology at Ferdinand Porsche FERNFH. Dr. Julia Schöllbauer, BSc, MSc, program director of the Master’s program in Business Administration & Business Psychology, also emphasizes why the guest lecture serves as a valuable supplement to the curriculum:

“This lecture complements the content of our ‘Diversity Management’ course in a unique way, as it highlights not only the well-known benefits of flexible work arrangements—such as autonomy and a better work-life balance—but also their risks. It is essential for our students to understand how different forms of work and management decisions actually influence the well-being of individuals and societal developments, such as the polarization of gender roles and opportunities.”

The guest lecture thus serves as an example of how theoretical concepts from business administration and business psychology play out in real organizational contexts, and why a nuanced, reflective perspective on New Work, increased flexibility, and inclusion is essential for future leaders.

Video recording now available

The full video recording of the online guest lecture held on January 19, 2026, is now available and offers in-depth insights into current research on New Work, inclusion, and organizational justice.

Has this sparked your interest in business administration and business psychology? Then learn more here about the FERN degree program: Master’s Program in Business Administration & Business Psychology