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.

Work-Life Balance and Employee Performance: A Literature Review

Abstract: This paper is a review of literature on work life balance and employee performance in Nigeria as an attempt at knowledge building. This is a secondary research which sought to review literature in assessing work life balance in Nigeria and suggest suitable solutions for overcoming the problem of work life imbalance and its associatednegative spill over in order to enhance employee performance for optimum organizational output. We posit that employees who have balanced work and non-work roles are more likely to perform better, thusit is essential for employers to promote policies and structures that enhance work life balance of employees in their organisations.We conclude that there are systemic barriers that hinder the implementation of work life balance policies in Nigeria, such as leadership failure which has birthed political, economic and social challenges that are the primary sources of work life conflict, they include corruption, weak institutions that lack the capacity to monitor and enforce employment standards, high unemployment ratios, poverty, inflation and a plethora of others. We recommend that organisations provide flexible work arrangements to be enforced by government legislations that will statutorily empower employees to request for atypical work patterns, that the awareness of organisations be raised to the advantages of protecting workers’ rights to various leave initiatives that will improve employee wellbeing and managerial training to ensure managerial support for the demands of these policies.

Fertility, Family Policy and Welfare Regimes

Abstract: This paper is inspired by the many similarities between gendered welfare state research and demographic research on the determinants of fertility. The fi rst part of the paper discusses some of the theories on childbearing in the light of the gendered welfare state theory. One important similarity between these two genres is that when work-life choices are studied, the emphasis is on policies which enable women to reconcile employment and family. Support for informal care is accord- ingly treated as having a negative infl uence on work-life compatibility, and women are moreover assumed to have homogeneous preferences, i.e., they are supposed to want to combine work and family. However, such an approach does not pay suf- fi cient attention to informal care and to heterogeneity among women, either when it comes to preferences or to behaviour. To address these gaps, in the second part of the paper a new framework to analyse women's work-life choices is developed. The suggested framework gives considerable attention to the way in which formal as well as informal care is supported or enforced in different welfare states and the consequences such support has on women's decision making. Moreover, hetero- geneity among women is emphasised, both in preferences and when it comes to behaviour. The central argument is that women's heterogeneous preferences trans- form differently to different lifestyle career strategies (with regard to employment and childbearing) in different welfare state settings, as each lifestyle strategy is en- couraged or discouraged by family policy to differing degrees. Hence, the number of women who choose a particular strategy, as well as the level of fertility, varies between the welfare states. In addition, household resources are assumed to infl u- ence the choices that are being made. The argument that is put forward is illustrated with recent data on family policy, women's employment patterns and fertility in the social-democratic (Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden), conservative (Austria, Bel- gium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain) and liberal welfare states (Australia, Canada, Ireland, the UK, the USA). Moreover, a reinterpre- tation of the fi ndings on the relationship between family policy, female employment and fertility is provided in the light of the framework outlined.

Both Parents Working: Challenges and Strains in Managing the Reconciliation of Career and Family Life in Dual-Career Families. Empirical Evidence from Austria

Abstract: The presented empirical data analysis aims to shed light on the persistence of gender inequalities in sharing parenting responsibilities and addresses possible improvements for realising gender equality. In recent decades, family policies in the European Union have targeted the increase of men’s shares in parental leave (=paternal leave) as well as women’s participation in the labour market. Following the results of the Lisbon Treaty in 2000, many EU member states including Austria introduced non-transferable fathers’ quotas in their regulations on parental leave. Subsequently, the share of men on parental leave increased. Nevertheless, both in number and duration, men’s childcare allowance claims have remained lower than women’s claims. This paper investigates shared parental leave practices based on 36 interviews with fathers on paternal leave, and 14 follow-up interviews with parents after paternal leave. The qualitative data reveal the challenges that arise when both parents are faced with reconciling work and family during and after parental leave. Although the data showed that progress has been made in reducing gender inequality, the interviews make clear that employers’ attitudes perpetuate traditional gendered expectations of parental leave claims and still focus on images of a male breadwinner. Also, the distribution of gainful and family work reveals gender inequalities. The paper therefore discusses challenges that arise in the realisation of current gender and family policies in order to provide a basis for making changes that further enhance the opportunities for dual-career couples within the organisation of parental leave laws.

Teleworking and work–life balance during the COVID-19 pandemic: A scoping review.

Abstract: Telework, a work modality that allows employees to work outside the boundaries of an office through information and communication technologies, is rising. As the COVID-19 pandemic imposed social distancing regulations, alternative ways to work are growing in popularity. However, given the rapid growth of telework and the interest by employees to continue using this mode of operation, examination of the available literature is essential to guide future work. The current scoping review aimed to examine the effects of telework on employees' work and nonwork domains. Key attention was given to the effects on work-life balance. Under the umbrella of work-life balance, consequences on psychological health and performance were also examined. Six databases were consulted to gather articles published between January 2020 and December 2021. A total of 42 articles from Asia, Europe, North and South America, as well as Oceania, were included. Heterogenous findings were identified with regard to work-life balance and psychological health and these inconsistencies seemed to depend on moderating factors such as biological sex, boundary management strategies, and frequency of telework to name a few. Performance seemed to benefit the most from telework, albeit some exceptions (e.g., having pets, young children, or dependents) seemed to affect it negatively. We conclude that telework may not be beneficial for all and that a more thorough understanding of how teleworking can impact employees' various personal and private domains is further required. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (French) Le teletravail, une modalite de travail qui permet aux employes de travailler en dehors des limites d'un bureau grace aux technologies de l'information et de la communication, est en hausse. La pandemie de la COVID-19 ayant impose des regles de distanciation sociale, les modes de travail alternatifs gagnent en popularite. Or, etant donne la croissance rapide du teletravail et l'interet des employes a continuer a utiliser ce mode de fonctionnement, l'examen de la litterature disponible est essentiel pour guider les travaux futurs. La presente etude visait a examiner les effets du teletravail sur les domaines professionnels et non professionnels des employes. Une attention particuliere a ete accordee aux effets sur l'equilibre entre le travail et la vie privee. Dans le cadre de l'equilibre entre le travail et la vie privee, les consequences sur la sante psychologique et le rendement ont egalement ete examinees. Six bases de donnees ont ete consultees pour rassembler les articles publies entre janvier 2020 et decembre 2021. Au total, 42 articles provenant d'Asie, d'Europe, d'Amerique du Nord et du Sud, ainsi que d'Oceanie, ont ete inclus. Des resultats heterogenes ont ete identifies en ce qui concerne l'equilibre entre le travail et la vie privee et la sante psychologique, et ces incoherences semblent dependre de facteurs moderateurs tels que le sexe biologique, les strategies de gestion des limites et la frequence du teletravail, pour n'en citer que quelques-uns. Le rendement, quant a lui, semblait beneficier davantage du teletravail, bien que certaines exceptions (par exemple, le fait d'avoir des animaux domestiques, de jeunes enfants ou des personnes a charge) semblent l'affecter negativement. Nous concluons que le teletravail n'est peut-etre pas benefique pour tous et qu'il est necessaire de mieux comprendre l'impact du teletravail sur les differents domaines personnels et prives des employes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) Impact Statement Due to COVID-19, the environments that employees must work in have changed. Teleworking may at first glance offer a potential solution to help workers gain more control over both their work and family lives;however, various factors may affect the ensuing work-life balance. Future research is needed to explore how these effects will unfold in the current context of adaptation to the massive use of telework. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)