Showing papers on "Work–life interface published in 2018"

Work-Life Balance: an Integrative Review

Abstract: Based on a thorough review of the literature we introduce an integrated conceptualization of work-life balance involving two key dimensions: engagement in work life and nonwork life and minimal conflict between social roles in work and nonwork life. Based on this conceptualization we review much of the evidence concerning the consequences of work-life balance in terms work-related, nonwork-related, and stress-related outcomes. We then identify a set of personal and organizational antecedents to work-life balance and explain their effects on work-life balance. Then we describe a set of theoretical mechanisms linking work-life balance and overall life satisfaction. Finally, we discuss future research directions and policy implications.

Life Interrupted: The Effects of Technology-Mediated Work Interruptions on Work and Nonwork Outcomes

Abstract: Work interruptions have made significant inroads into the knowledge workers’ nonwork domain, in large part due to the ubiquitous nature of mobile devices that blur the work–nonwork boundaries by enabling work interruptions anywhere and at any time. We examine the effects of such technology-mediated work-related interruptions that occur during one’s time off on both work and nonwork outcomes. Leveraging theoretical perspectives from interruption, work–life interface, and conservation of resources, we conceptualize both positive and negative effects of such interruptions on behavioral and psychological outcomes. We identify three mediating mechanisms via which these effects occur: interruption overload and psychological transition via which negative effects occur and task closure via which positive effects occur. Results reveal significant effects of interruptions on work and nonwork outcomes through the three mediating mechanisms. Although positive effects are observed, the total effects of work-related interruptions are detrimental across both work and nonwork outcomes, with the strongest negative effect on work exhaustion. The results suggest that after-hours work interruptions do not necessarily benefit work performance and come at the cost of work exhaustion. Analyses also reveal that the effects of interruptions are dependent on the technology via which these occur. While phone and messaging generate negative outcomes through interruption overload, e-mail leads to both positive and negative outcomes through task closure and psychological transition respectively. The study concludes with implications for research and practice on how to mitigate negative effects and enhance positive effects.

Contemporary Knowledge Workers and the Boundaryless Work–Life Interface: Implications for the Human Resource Management of the Knowledge Workforce

Abstract: In the last decade, knowledge workers have seen tremendous change in ways of working and living, driven by proliferating mobile communication technologies, the rise of dual-income couples, shifting expectations of ideal motherhood and involved fatherhood, and the rise of flexible working arrangements. Drawing on 54 interviews with Australian knowledge workers in the information technology sector, we argue that the interface between work and life is now blurred and boundaryless for knowledge workers. By this, we mean that knowledge workers are empowered and enslaved by mobile devices that bring work into the home, and family into the workplace. Knowledge workers take advantage of flexible working to craft unique, personal arrangements to suit their work, family, personal and community pursuits. They choose where and when to work, often interweaving the work domain and the home-family domain multiple times per day. Teleworkers, for example, attain rapid boundary transitions rending the work-home boundary, thus making their experience of the work-life interface boundaryless.

Management of Work-Life Interface of Global Careerists: Experiences Among Different Types of International Professionals

Abstract: Owing to the increasing number of studies on expatriates, their partners and families, we are starting to understand the main challenges related to work and personal life interaction involved with international mobility. Moreover, the first edited book on the work-life interface (WLI) in the context of international careers has recently been published (Makela and Suutari 2015). In this chapter, we aim to draw together what is known about the interaction between working life and personal life (including family) in regard to the spheres of different types of internationally mobile professionals. We start from the discussion on negative interactions between these two life spheres. Next, we will complement the picture by discussing the often-forgotten side of these experiences—the positive experiences of international professionals and their families. Given the large amount of transference between the work and non-work spheres of families during international assignments, it is also important to understand the ways in which organisations can help expatriates and their families. We will thus also discuss how firms can manage the WLI issues of their internationally mobile staff.

A time for renewal: developing a sustainable community, work and family interface

Abstract: This special issue provides a selection of papers presented at the 7 Community Work and Family Conference, which was held in Milan, Italy, on May 24-27, 2017. More than 160 scholars from various disciplines and from different countries all over the world gathered at the Conference to engage in a discussion on the development of a sustainable community, work and family interface. The concept of sustainable development has gradually come to the forefront of policy debate since the late 1980s/early 1990s, against a backdrop of rapidly increasing global ecological challenges (WCED, 1987). Even though a straightforward and commonly agreed definition still does not exist, sustainable development has soon become a popular term and a prominent policy goal. Based on the recognition of the limits and threats to the environment of the prevalent modes of production and consumption, the concept has evolved over time around the necessity of a paradigm shift, which could prevent the depletion and loss of resources and reconcile economic growth with environmental protection and human well-being (UNDP, 2011, 2013). In these terms, promoting and achieving sustainable development requires creating and maintaining a set of resources so that the quality of the environment, in both its ecological and human dimensions, could be ensured and preserved, for present and future generations. Accordingly, the conventional notion of sustainable development encompasses a few primary concerns, that range from safeguarding the environment to satisfying basic human needs and promoting interand intra-generational equity (Holden et al., 2014). The principles and goals of the sustainable development model may be used to investigate the community, work and family interface. That implies studying the capacity of the community, work and family ecosystem to enable people meeting their fundamental needs and thriving in different life domains and to secure social equality between and within generations in terms of resources and opportunities (e.g. Eurofound, 2015; Kossek et al., 2014; Lewis and Cooper, 1999; Van Engen et al., 2012). Previous research has clearly shown that welfare state reforms, demographic challenges, changing family and household structure, the shifting nature of work and the workplace are serious threats to individual, family, and community well-being. In fact, if not properly managed, these overarching trends may adversely affect the development of meaningful relationships between work and non-work domains, hamper organizational effectiveness, spread inequalities, threaten social cohesion, and lead to an overconsumption of economic and human (i.e. individual, family and social) resources. Therefore, recasting work, family and community settings, as well as their interface, in a sustainable manner is a serious challenge. The papers within this special issue address this challenge from different theoretical standpoints and using different methodological approaches. They raise questions about what policy initiatives, at both national and workplace level, may be introduced to best support the development of a sustainable community, work and family interface. They also lay the groundwork for future research on the issue of sustainability and

Understanding work-life interface of Malay Muslim women academics : an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA)

Abstract: Women academics in collectivist societies, despite their significant numbers, have been of little concern to researchers. While women’s involvement in education and employment opportunities has increased and their economic positions have improved, their role pertaining to domestic responsibilities and care for the family in such societies remains the same. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological research is to describe the work-life interface as experienced by Malay Muslim women academics. This study also identifies the work environment factors that assist and/or hinder these academics in managing their work-life responsibilities as well as investigating the influence of culture and religion. Diary entries and in-depth telephone interviews with seven Malay Muslim women academics were employed to capture the essence of their daily work-life experiences. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis as the research method, the findings of the study are presented under four themes: juggling multiple roles, sources of supports, impact of leadership style, and identity formation. The participants in this research provided valuable insights based on their many years of experience as academics in higher education institutions besides their roles as mothers and wives. The Malay Muslim women academics’ work-life experiences appear to be complex and multifaceted. Negotiating between professional and personal roles has an impact on the careers of women academics, their personal and family lives, and their well-being. In managing their daily work-life responsibilities, an interplay exists between Islamic values and Malay traditional customs. The customary practices which are important in the functioning of the society as a whole contribute in shaping their identity as women, family members and academics. In addition, leadership style can have a significant impact on their work-life management. For these women, the lived reality is that being an academic means having never-ending tasks that sometimes require personal sacrifices which are achieved through the support of family and work colleagues as well as their personal belief systems.