Workforce flexibility in operations management

• The workforce flexibility literature is reviewed from the operations management perspective.
• A classification of the workforce flexibility literature is provided.
• Scopes and effectiveness of different flexibility methods are discussed.
• Research opportunities for advancing the use of workforce flexibility are identified.

Workforce flexibility is the management of organizational labor capacities and capabilities in operational environments using a broad and diffuse set of tools and approaches to mitigate system imbalances caused by uncertainties (e.g., worker absenteeism) and/or changes (e.g., seasonality). In this paper, we review the literature associated with workforce flexibility in order to provide a reference for choosing flexibility methods for specific applications, and to better observe the connections and gaps in the literature with respect to future research needs. In this review, we span application contexts, research questions, and solution generation methodologies, for each flexibility method. Research opportunities for continuing and advancing the use of workforce flexibility are suggested.