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.

Family Policies: The Case of Iceland

Abstract: Icelandic family policy was left implicit until explicit goals of family policy were enacted by a parliamentary resolution in 1997. The resolution emphasises the need to strengthen the position of the family, regardless of family type. It also states that the welfare of the family is based on equality between men and women in all aspects of life. Work-life balance has gained increased attention in policymaking during the 1990s and led to important changes, for example in family law where the rights of children to care from both parents were strengthened and in laws on paid parental leave that, from 2000, have provided both parents with equal rights to paid parental leave. While support for care, paid parental leave, day care and after-school and leisure service has been increased from the 1990s, the support for provision of children has not increased and family benefits in Iceland are income tested. Compared to other nations in Europe, child poverty is nevertheless among the lowest according to Eurostat (2012). The Icelandic welfare system also provides general measures, benefits and services to the elderly and the disabled; education and health services are mainly publicly financed, and there are also additional measures for groups at risk, such as social assistance and child protection services. Government and other agencies have emphasised the need for evidence-based policies and practices, but little family research has been conducted, the lack of research in the field being evident.

Elder care and work-life balance: Exploring the experiences of female small business owners.

Abstract: Many women seek self-employment as a way to better manage their work and family needs, particularly when they have children. However, the requirements of self-employment may compromise work-life balance in ways which are not always recognised. This is particularly true with elder care, because the general awareness of work-life balance issues for small businesses has not translated into understanding elder care. This exploratory study focussed on a small group of self-employed women with elder care responsibilities, finding that these women proactively managed their role challenges. However, the complex inter-relationship between such responsibilities, and the strategies utilised to both manage and mitigate their impact, was found to have implications for both the individual (in terms of identity and emotion) and the firm (in terms of performance).

How to improve ship crew’s work effectiveness through the leadership style, work life balance and employee engagement in Indonesia national shipping

Abstract: Article history: Received: July 9 2019 Received in revised format: July 19 2019 Accepted: August 21, 2019 Available online: August 21, 2019 The aim of this research is to analyze leadership style, work-life balance, and employee engagement on the ship crew’s work effectiveness of 290 ship crews. The study is performed using a sample technique through Proportionate Stratified Random Sampling taken from the population of 1050 ship crew of passengers of vessel at Port of Tanjung Priok, Jakarta, Indonesia. The study uses quantitative approach with Structural Equation Modeling, with the help of the Lisrel program. The result of this study shows that leadership style, work-life balance and employee engagement directly and positively influence the work effectiveness. The benefit for Indonesia National Shipping is that through the improvement of leadership style of the officers, work-life balance, and employee engagement, the Indonesia National Shipping may improve the work effectiveness of every ship crew. The findings provide a model for employee engagement and work effectiveness of national shipping ship crew. The output of this study states that every change in the quality of ship officer’s leadership style, quality of work-life balance and employee engagement directly and positively influenced the ship crew’s work effectiveness of Indonesia National Shipping. © 2020 by the authors; licensee Growing Science, Canada

Work-related Internet use as a threat to work-life balance – a comparison between the emerging on-line professions and traditional office work

Abstract: Objectives In the present study, the authors focused on the comparison of work characteristics related to the possibility of striking the right work- nonwork balance, as well as satisfaction with the actual work-life balance (WLB), negative work-to-home conflict and the quality of life related to social relationships, between a new group of on-line workers (social media or e-marketing specialists, search engine optimization or search engine marketing specialists, e-public relations experts etc.) and traditional office workers. Material and methods The authors conducted a questionnaire study covering 189 on-line workers (whose work required permanent presence on-line) and 200 office workers (using the Internet mainly to communicate with other departments and to search for information). Results The results showed that the on-line workers reported a significantly lower satisfaction with WLB and a higher negative work-home interaction. The authors found no differences as regards the social quality of life between the studied groups. Conclusions These findings confirm that technology advancement opens a new chapter in organizational psychology and occupational health, especially in the context of the emerging on-line occupations. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2020;33(1):21-33.