Work–life balance

About: Work–life balance is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 2252 publications have been published within this topic receiving 36240 citations. The topic is also known as: Work Life balance & work-life balance.

Cross-Generational Perspectives on Work-Life Balance and its Impact on Women's Opportunities for Leadership in the Workplace

Abstract: This qualitative study focuses on how women of three different generations, Generation Y, Generation X and Baby Boomers, view the concept of work-life balance and what relationship these views have to their attainment of workplace leadership positions. Work-life balance was defined differently across the three generations, but the generational lines faded as most women reported struggling with finding a balance. Some women conveyed choosing not to pursue high-level leadership positions as the personal cost was too high. Those who had obtained high-level leadership positions shared what types of support were most effective in helping them juggle personal and professional obligations. A general theory became apparent; the answer for women may not be balancing, but rather integrating work-life commitments.

The Flexible Cyborg: Work-Life Balance in Legal Practice

Abstract: ‘Work/life balance’ (WLB) emerged as the catchcry of workers everywhere in the late 20th century. It was particularly appealing to women lawyers as it was thought that if a balance could be effected between work and life, satisfying careers and the raising of children could be combined. The key to effecting this balance, it was believed, was flexible work. Technology has facilitated this flexibility as all that is required is a computer, or other device with internet connection, and a mobile phone. Provided that the firm is agreeable, the lawyer would have a degree of autonomy in determining when and where the work is carried out. However, flexible work has not always proved to be the boon that was hoped, for the shift from face-time to virtual time has blurred the boundary between work and life, insidiously extending the hours of work and impinging on the realm of intimacy. Drawing on a web-based survey and interviews with lawyers Australia-wide, this article considers the ramifications of perpetual connectivity for lawyers in private practice, with particular regard to its gender significance.

Work-life balance: history, costs, and budgeting for balance.

Abstract: The concept and difficulties of work–life balance are not unique to surgeons, but professional responsibilities make maintaining a work–life balance difficult. Consequences of being exclusively career focused include burn out, physical, and mental ailments. In addition, physician burn out may hinder optimal patient care and incur significant costs on health care in general. Assessing current uses of time, allocating goals catered to an individual surgeon, and continual self-assessment may help balance time, and ideally will help prevent burn out.

Telecommuting during COVID 19: A Moderated-Mediation Approach Linking Job Resources to Job Satisfaction

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak has led to sudden and significant changes in the work and family roles of the employees. Due to the unprecedentedness of the situation, academicians and practitioners have limited knowledge of the effect permanently working from home during this crisis can have on employees. Developing the role and work–life balance theories and using the job demands and resources model, the authors study the role of availability of job autonomy and family supportive supervisory behaviors (FSSBs) directly on work–life balance and indirectly on job satisfaction through work–life balance for Industry 4.0 based employees. Using work-to-family positive spillover (WFPS) as a first-level moderator and prior telecommuting experience (PTE) as a second-level moderator, the authors also check for the moderating effect on work–life balance and job satisfaction, respectively. The data were analyzed using CFA and SEM in AMOS v21.0 and model 21 in PROCESS Macro for SPSS. The study found that job autonomy and FSSBs have significant positive direct and indirect effects on work–life balance and job satisfaction, respectively, and these relationships are positively moderated by WFPS and PTE, respectively. The study focuses on the human factor of Industry 4.0, adds empirical insights to the work–family interface literature, and has implications that will help both employees and organizations during such critical times.

Constantly online and the fantasy of ‘work–life balance’: Reinterpreting work-connectivity as cynical practice and fetishism

Abstract: Smartphones and other mobile communication devices are promoted with promises of enhancing professional competence and individual freedom in working life, and in work–life balance. However, an emerging stream of research demonstrates that the adoption of such technologies is accompanied by increasing stress, collective control and work intensification. This article provides a discussion of recent research on the effects of smartphone usage in contemporary organizational life. Generally, this research presents a contradiction between, on the one hand, the discourse on technologies as a means to enhance individual autonomy and competence and, on the other hand, the de facto incorporation of technology users in networks of control and an unhealthy work culture of permanent connectivity. Finding inspiration in the work of Slavoj Žižek and his development of psychoanalytical concepts, this article offers an alternative approach to this issue. It does so by reconsidering how to understand employee subje...