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.

The Female Pediatric Surgeon

Abstract: In medical schools throughout Europe, women make up an increasing proportion of graduates entering the medical profession. Even though this phenomenon is also found in the surgical profession, women are still clearly underrepresented. However, it has been demonstrated that women are equally qualified as men, and are as eager as men to aim for a surgical career. In general, a career in surgery has significant lifestyle implications for both men and women. In particular, women meet challenges such as pregnancy, maternity, and responsibility for childcare that compete with pressures of time and expectations of productivity. Further complicating the situation, there is a huge complexity of national legislation dealing with maternity and parental leave within Europe. Owing to this legal inconsistency, a strong demand on targeted policies and guidelines has increased particularly among the surgical staff. The scarcity of female role models and mentors has also been discussed as a possible explanation for the underrepresentation of women in academic surgery. Even in the 21st century, the advancement of women into leading positions of academic surgery and major surgical societies is still limited. An updated view of leadership development, the promotion of female surgeons in academic surgery, and identifying barriers to women entering this field are crucial to correcting the existing gender inequities. This contribution aims to highlight the current situation of women in academic surgery, outline findings on gender disparities, and define persistent obstacles to the advancement of women in surgery. In addition, this review presents new possibilities and provides approaches to overcome the underrepresentation of female surgeons. In current literature, there is only little information concerning the situation of female pediatric surgeons. Therefore, this article mainly relies on available data on the female surgeon in general.

Work-Life balance strategies for advanced companies

Abstract: One of the major issues related to countermeasures for low fertility, is reevaluating the way of working. However, the number of companies who are actually promoting work-life balance by encouraging fathers to participate in raising children or by cutting overtime is still rather small. The attitude that supporting childrearing yields little return is still prevalent in the business world, meaning that any ideas about changing the way people work have been put on the back burner. I conducted interviews at 300 companies in Japan and 70 western companies who are known as supporting work-life balance. I also did a survey of 3,000 companies in Japan and 500 companies overseas. I identified the top 120 Japanese companies in terms of work-life balance, based on their financial status and did an analysis of this. In this paper I will point out some work-life balance strategies for overcoming the problem of fewer children, based on research conducted both in Japan and abroad. Firstly, I will comment on the current situation of companies supporting work-life balance in Japan. Secondly, I will explain the situation of work-life balance in companies overseas. Thirdly, I will mention things we can learn about work-life balance in the workplace from small and mid-sized companies.

An Examination of Work-Life Balance Perspectives of Accountants

Abstract: Finding the balance between career and personal life has always been a challenge for working people. Work-life balance refers to people spending sufficient time at their jobs while also spending adequate time on other pursuits, such as family, hobbies, and community involvement. This study addresses two research questions. The first examines the importance people place on work-life balance. The second considers whether gender differences are associated with work-life balance. Data for analysis was obtained via a survey of future accountants (students near graduation); results indicate that work-life balance is very important in career decisions. Findings reveal that a healthy work-life balance is associated with job satisfaction, job performance, and ethical decision-making. Maslow's hierarchy theory and McClelland’s motivational needs theory provide theoretical support for understanding people’s motivation to achieve a healthy work-life balance. Gender theory and related research provide theoretical support why differences exist between male and female accountants’ perspectives. The study also reviews what current accounting professionals are doing to improve their work-life balance.

Up in the Air: An Examination of the Work-Life Balance of Fly-in-Fly-out Academics.

Abstract: There is a dearth of research on the work–life balance experiences of academics who undertake short-term international teaching assignments. Academics who teach offshore are also accountable for onshore activities including lecturing, research, supervision of higher degree students, mentoring, publishing and administrative obligations inter alia. These responsibilities pose further challenges to work and life. Within the context of a qualitative design, 11 academics were interviewed in depth regarding their short-term international teaching experiences. Specific issues relating to family separation, excessive work hours, poor assignment planning and lack of organisational recognition were identified. Findings have important implications for academics, and university policy and practice.