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TIDY LIVES: A MODEL OF PLURALISM IN WORK/LIFE BALANCE.
Abstract
We develop a model of and propositions about work/life balance that incorporate multiple levels of analysis and multiple contexts in which individuals are engaged (work, profession, community, and family). We reframe work/life balance issues from a more pluralistic perspective, expanding on the demographics of gender, marital/family status, and ethnicity typically considered in the literature. By applying macro concepts of complexity, dynamism, and munificence, we also take a broader view of the environment in which individuals live and work than that generally used in work/life research. In the resulting model, resource munificence and accessibility in an individual's environment, along with a person's system of values, moderate the relationship between life complexities and dissonance experienced. The impact of dissonance on personal and organizational outcomes is moderated by individual differences in coping skills.
... Aditionally, there is a problem of aging workforce as well as the increase in families with only one parent (Webber, Sarris & Bessell, 2010). From the family and personal life related factors that affect workplace percentage of dual-earner couples has been increasing which is affecting the traditional perception that women are not career seekers (Ansari, 2011;Crooker, Smith & Tabak, 1999, Obradovic & Cudina-Obradovic, 2009Warner & Hausdorf, 2007). Consequently, dual career men, who have women partners in a career-oriented job, experience greater work life confl ict compared to career men with traditional stay at home partners (Higgins & Duxbury, 1992). ...
The nature of the workplace, today is affected by different family and work-related factors. When compared to businesses several decades ago, companies today compete in a globalized market marked surrounded by high technological complexity. They are under pressure to increase the speed and development of their businesses. Additionally they face major demographic shifts related to age, gender, language, and cultural expectations. In the workforce today there are more women in general, single parent families and dual career couples compared to previous decades. Emphasis on profits and results pressures companies to extend their working hours, which interferes with family and private life of their employees. These interferences and different expectations and demands from work and life cause work life conflict. Work life conflict has consequences on employee performance, and many companies are trying to prevent it. It comes as no surprise that from 2000 and 2010 work life conflict was one of the most researched topics.
This dissertation covers several research gaps. Previous research was mostly focused on objective factors such as demographic variables. Additionally, correlations between work life conflict and organizational commitment in different researches were found inconsistent. Lastly, Croatia is put in the focus of this dissertation due to its shift from a socialist to a capitalist system and its undeveloped research on this topic.
This dissertation explores a more holistic model of antecedents and consequences of the work life conflict in Croatia. The results show that while several objective personal and organizational factors explain the work life conflict, intensity of work life conflict is better predicted by subjective personal and organizational factors. Also, the relationship between the work life conflict and organizational commitment is explained via the mediation of job stress and job satisfaction.
The aim of the research is to understand the concept of work-life balance from a male perspective by focusing on three objectives: (a) how work-life balance is perceived (i.e. its definitions and factors), (b) how work-life balance is achieved, and (c) what role does nature of work play in achievement of work-life balance. The results are based on a case-study of the police sector where, 30 face-to-face interviews were conducted with Officers, Staff, and Investigators. Work-life balance, as perceived by the police participants, has been identified as two types namely, overall work-life balance and ongoing work-life balance. While overall work-life balance can be achieved through work-life separation, ongoing work-life balance is achieved by minimising work-life interference. However, findings have suggested that the nature of police work entails an integration of work role into non-work roles thereby, preventing work-life separation and achievement of overall work-life balance. As work-life integration seems an inevitable part of the nature of police work, the article poses the following argument—that employees modify their definitions of work-life balance such that their idea of work-life balance doesn’t interfere with their work circumstances hence, helping them in achieving an overall balance. Alternatively, by reducing work-life interference, an ongoing work-life balance can also be achieved.
Work-life balance research suffers from a lack of consistency in defining the scope of non-work (life outside work). Considering the evolving life preferences of modern workforce, work-life balance researchers should have a broader view of life which expands beyond work-family, and includes other non-work domains of life. This study is an attempt to establish that for today’s employees, work-life balance means balancing work not only with family life; but also with other non-work domains. Several non-work domains were identified from previous literature and a survey was conducted to identify the different non-work aspects important for respondents to have work-life balance. Based on results from 214 Indians working in various Indian cities and abroad, it was established that in the context of work-life balance, non-work includes not just family, but a combination of life domains, which varies from person-to-person. Although family remained the topmost priority, other non-work aspects were also chosen by varying proportions of respondents. Non-work preferences and related experiences of employees varied based on gender, marital status and child-care responsibilities. Satisfaction with organization’s work-life balance facilities differed when employees chose family, from when they chose other non-work domains. Findings indicate that various non-work preferences of employees should be considered during work-life balance research, and while designing work-life balance practices. This would help to address the non-work demands of different types of employees, and hence give more acceptance to such initiatives.
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