When HR Becomes the Barrier: Rethinking Flexibility Governance in Professional Services

Human resources departments are positioned as strategic partners in workplace transformation, yet emerging evidence suggests they may obstruct rather than enable critical flexibility initiatives. Recent research examining female lawyers in elite international law firms reveals that HR functions frequently impede individualized flexibility arrangements (i-deals), while line managers and partners facilitate them through informal channels. This pattern creates shadow negotiation systems, exacerbates gender inequalities, and drives talent attrition. Organizations lose significant human capital investments when HR risk-aversion conflicts with operational realities. This article examines the organizational consequences of HR inflexibility, presents evidence-based interventions for recalibrating HR's role in flexibility governance, and proposes frameworks for building sustainable, manager-led flexibility systems while preserving equity and compliance safeguards. The analysis draws on professional services contexts but offers transferable insights for knowledge-intensive industries confronting similar tensions between standardization and customization in work arrangements.