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.

Should the job of national politician carry a government health warning

Abstract: Psychological health remains a fascinating area for research, not least because it integrates so many expressions of the natural human state: emotions, thoughts, actions and well-being. On the side of the equation which is ill-health, these states are laced with the potential for unpredictable and undesirable outcomes which have come to be labelled and categorised, although not always with clarity or helpful results. In this chapter, psychological strain will refer to the experience of symptoms of poor psychological health and its impact on serving national politicians. Chronicled here are a number of quantitative studies conducted by the author mainly in the UK between 1992 and 2010. It is thought that one in five people will experience some form of psychological disorder during their working life and that similar difficulties are likely to affect one in three of us at some stage (Weinberg, Sutherland and Cooper, 2010). Naturally this includes elected representatives, who are relied upon to take key decisions which affect the functioning of the nation. In the case of a doctor who makes important choices at the level of the individual, one would not normally consider asking about his or her health, as this is often taken for granted; additionally if they went on sick leave, a replacement is usually available. However, in the case of a national politician, constituents are equally unlikely to be preoccupied with their representative’s health, yet there is little prospect of an immediate substitute in the event of their becoming ill. Furthermore, a politician is less willing to admit to that aspect of ill-health characterised by psychological strain where it might be considered likely to jeopardise their position, especially given the existence of high levels of ambition within this occupational group (Weinberg, Cooper and Weinberg, 1999). In this circumstance, the politician is apt to carry on in the job for fear of signalling weaknesses to their colleagues and rivals – the results of this scenario for the individual job-holder or the democratic process are hard to estimate, but the financial cost of presenteeism (working while ill) is thought to be considerably more than that of absenteeism (Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health, 2007). The Member of Parliament’s (MP) role is both cognitively and socially demanding and routinely requires assimilation of large quantities of information, considerable analytical ability, finely tuned judgements as well as effective communication skills for dealing with political allies and opponents, party members, constituents and the media. Notwithstanding the politician’s likely personal resilience and track record of motivation and conviction, the potential for overload is clear. For a politician experiencing symptoms of strain, the threat to their health posed by further exacerbating their symptoms in such a challenging role may be significant.

Beyond gender: reconceptualizing understandings of work–life balance and the extreme work model for 21st-century high-potential top earners

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to broaden an understanding of women's perceptions regarding advancement potential/barriers to success in upper echelon corporate roles in the S&P 500 in connection with understanding 21st-century family dynamics, rather than addressing gender in isolation.,Data collection in this study is based on semi-structured phone interviews with 13 women who have been identified by organizational leadership in an S&P 500 company as having high advancement potential. The results are evaluated using interpretive phenomenological analysis.,Participants' responses support existing research showing that women feel more responsible than their male counterparts for subordinating their career prospects to those of their male partners. Further, participants express that work–life and work–family balance constitute problematic barriers to advancement and often lead them to “choose” to slow-track career advancement and to avoid advancement opportunities. This choice narrative propagates women's perceptions that barriers to advancement are self-imposed. Participants viewed the extreme work model as inevitable in upper-echelon corporate roles, signaling the need for an increased understanding of how a broad definition of familial roles and work culture – rather than gendered issues in isolation – affect advancement opportunities in a 21st-century workforce.,Current organizational diversity initiatives have focused too myopically on gender. For organizations to create a more inclusive model for success at the upper echelons, it is essential to broaden organizational initiatives to address 21st-century employees rather than gendered programs. Organizations can endeavor to implement more effective models that enable two partners in a home with dependent children to advance, and all employees, even top leaders, to balance current definitions of work–life in several ways discussed.,The findings of this study are significant, in that they move toward addressing a gap in knowledge concerning women's perspectives on the changing family paradigm, extreme work culture and an expanded understanding of work–life balance. This reconceptualization can help mitigate gendered research and organizational programs that reinforce entrenched binaries, and instead enable organizations to implement more effective initiatives to improve advancement opportunities.

An empirical study on work life balance of public sector employees

Abstract: Work life balance has turned into an imperative issue in the 21st century. Work and family life are two sides of an indistinguishable coin from both are interconnected and meddle with each other. Expanded work requests meddle with family life and then again, family requests meddle with the work life of employees. In this way, clashes happen, which adversely influence an employee's performance at work and also at home. Taking a gander at the pattern, organisations have progressively begun to take a dynamic enthusiasm for executing rehearses that empower employees to adapt to the work life balance issues. The review endeavoured to investigate the work life balance practices of chosen public sector undertaking. The finding proposed that public sector undertaking in India have understood that work life balance practices are pivotal for organisational performance.

Staff relations and work-life balance: course outline.

Abstract: Changes in the American workforce have intensified the need for veterinary medical education regarding staff relations and work–life balance. A 20-hour, one-week elective course was offered to junior veterinary students in order to provide a forum for lecture and discussion covering topics such as team building, conflict resolution, stress management, and work–life balance. Instructors are master’s level counselors.