Top Research Papers on Work Life Balance

This paper is based on my keynote address at the British Psychological Society’s Psychotherapy Section Annual Training Conference - Physician Heal Thyself: Psychotherapeutic Approaches to Enabling Resilience in Helping Professions.. It aims to address the major challenge that we face in modern society especially in the UK, where under the current tough economic conditions people who work are experiencing a huge increase in their workload demanded by their employer. Within this context, the paper explores the myth of work/life balance; examines the challenges of balancing the paid work demand a...

Work-Life balance is heavily research field especially in human resource management or organisational behaviour. Work-life balance is a broad concept including proper prioritizing between "work" (career and ambition) on one hand and "life" (pleasure, leisure, family and spiritual development) on the other.The need differs from generation (gen), culture, place, and individual perception as well. The purpose of this study is to investigate the perception of generations towards work life balance, while how organisations are implementing work life balance, and identifying conflicts of perceptions ...

As the developed countries increasingly see women's participation in the labor force rise > a common challenge has become how people can balance work responsibilities with the rest of their lives. The crux lies in putting into place and enforcing policy frameworks that acknowledge the legitimacy of finding balance , without sacrificing gender equality. This article discusses the parameters of this problem for Japan: a low birthrate , rapidly aging society with growing numbers of women who seek to maintain careers. Through a study of the working situations of employees at one U.S. multinational...

The purpose of this article is to unearth the dimensions of quality of work life and work–life balance and to find the impact of the quality of work life on work–life balance. Data have been gathered from 89 managers of public and private sector banks in India using a convenience sampling method and analysed using principal component analysis and multiple regression analysis. Both qualities of work life and work–life balance are multidimensional constructs. Results indicate that the productivity dimension of a work–life balance was influenced by all dimensions of quality of work life except gr...

Initiatives During 2011/12, the Bank pursued initiatives relating to work-life balance, including the provision of training, access to flexible work arrangements and support facilities. A focus group study conducted during the year provided valuable information in formulating work-life balance strategies for the new Diversity Plan. Training was provided to managers on how to approach flexible work requests, in line with the Federal Government's National Employment Standards under the Fair Work Act 2009. The Standards give an employee who is a parent of a child under school age, or under 18 and...

This article discusses the development of the concept of the ‘work-life balance’ as a means of tackling the problem of increasing amounts of stress in the work-place as people try to juggle a wide range of factors in their life/work environment, including: work; family; friends; health; and spirit/self. It is argued that, of the factors involved, work is the one which is most elastic and can be managed in such a way as to avoiding jeopardizing the other factors. A major driver of the trend towards achieving work-life balance is the fact that younger people are not prepared to work in the same ...

With the National Midwifery Council reporting that numbers of UK Midwives are at the lowest for ten years, it seems reasonable to question whether this is 'putting lives at risk'.

The essential components of work-life balance are explored, how health care organizations struggle to define it and differ in what they may promote on paper versus what they practice, and why work-life balance is crucial to nurses' overall well-being are examined.

As I thought about what I might write this month, I was repeatedly distracted by the sound of birds chirping and the light reflecting.

It is not easy to juggle the demands of career and personal life. Between managing work responsibilities and deadlines, school and community activities, household responsibilities, and ongoing care of family members (children, teens, and older adults), schedules fill up without free time to spare. For most people it is an ongoing challenge to reduce stress and maintain balance in key areas of your life.

There is no perfect recipe to balance work and life in academic research, so everyone has to find their own optimal balance to derive fulfilment from life and work.

Based on data generated in autoethnographic conversations among the three authors, in this article the authors critique the prevailing metaphor of work—life balance. They offer instead a conceptualization of the relationship between work and nonwork aspects of life that is more dynamic and less reductionist and in which emotions, as well as issues of autonomy, control, and identity, are integral features. These conversations elucidate home and work realms not as reified entities but rather as elastic constructions reinforced and also at times changed and redrawn in the course of the authors' i...

This paper aims to demonstrate the efforts towards in-situ applicability of EMMARM, as well as provide some examples of how this work has changed over the past few years.

This chapter explores the role of human resource managers in work-life balance, analysing the evolution of women's role in society and in the labour market. The existence of different barriers that keep women far of managerial positions is pointed out, as well as the factors that could explain why this glass ceiling is still present. Human resource managers play an important role as agents responsible for the profitability and growth of the organization, but also as victims of work-family conflict of their own and as important actors in implementation of family-supportive policies designed to ...

The focus of this study was to explore the impacts of the COVID-19 on the work-life balance of employees at the Univerity of Namibia Rundu Campus. The study was conducted by choosing 10.participants who  were purposively selected according to the departments where they work. The study used a qualitative research in which a case study approach was adopted. The data generation.processes was obtained through semi-structured interviews, focus group interviews and narratives to get insight and quality data. During interviews, open ended questions were used and other questions arose naturally. The s...

How do we balance "work" and "life"? Are they completely separate? For a physician, can they be separated? Is there such a thing as "balance"?

Two years ago, when we received the proposal to engage in an editorial project for a handbook on work–life balance research, we were hesitant to accept, aware of the increasingly contested and problematic nature of the very construct of ‘work–life balance’. However, we eventually decided to accept the invitation, with the idea of collating not so much an exhaustive compendium of the research works focused on the relationship between work and other dimensions of the biographical experience of individuals, but rather a text offering both theoretical reflections and empirical research examples il...

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Removal of choice can be subtle or implicit, and professionals can often realise it is their non-professional life that they want prioritised: if the price of caring for family is reducing on-call commitments—and accordingly pay or training progression rates—is that a price you’re willing to pay?

Based on a thorough review of the research on work-life balance, Sirgy and Lee identify a set of personal interventions that selected employees commonly use to increase their work-life balance and life satisfaction. Personal interventions of work-life balance involve five behavior-based strategies and four cognition-based strategies. The behavior-based strategies are engaging in multiple roles and domains, increasing role enrichment, engaging in behavior-based compensation, managing role conflict, and creating role balance. The cognition-based strategies are segmenting roles and domains, integ...

Based on theories of the relations of labor and care, as well as previous research on the past 30 years of gender inequalities in Hungary, the paper aims to interpret these results and further develop the existing knowledge on the situation of women and gender relations in Hungarian society in the context of the social, economic, and political transformations of the past 30 years while considering the intersecting mechanisms ofemployment, family and care policies from a gender perspective. In 2017 we conducted six focus group interviews with lower-class women across the country and a represent...

The Problem Today’s global workforce is rife with dual-earner couples. For dual-earner couples, finding a suitable balance between work and living is often difficult, creating a need for organizations globally to be aware of the similarities and dissimilarities that exist for dual-earner couples around the world. This article identifies the work–life issues of dual-earner couples and organizational practices in both the United States and India in an effort to help organizations effectively manage work–life policies affecting the gender role dynamics of today’s multicultural organizations. The ...

The present study deals with the current labour law questions of balancing work and private life. The topicality of the study is supported by Directive (EU) 2019/1158 which, built on the existing legislative basis, brings several novelties in this regulative area refreshing the key elements of the criteria of equal employment referring to the employees raising children. The researched regulation fits into the high level, socially motivated; worker-protection Directive designated by the European Pillar of Social Rights, consequently, this aspect also plays a role in elaboration. In my analysis,...

In this article, I contend that the well-intentioned discourse of work/life balance in the popular and scholarly press actually may undermine women’s and men’s attempts to live fulfilling lives. Drawing on feminist and critical perspectives, as well asmyown efforts to find “balance” in a two-career family with two children under the age of 4, I illustrate (a) how the work/life discourse reflects the individualism, achievement orientation, and instrumental rationality that is fundamental to modern bureaucratic thought and action and (b) how such discourse may further entrench people in the work...

The focus of this study was to explore the impacts of the COVID-19 on the work-life balance of employees at the Univerity of Namibia Rundu Campus. The study was conducted by choosing 10.participants who  were purposively selected according to the departments where they work. The study used a qualitative research in which a case study approach was adopted. The data generation.processes was obtained through semi-structured interviews, focus group interviews and narratives to get insight and quality data. During interviews, open ended questions were used and other questions arose naturally. The s...

Often times dentists, along with members of their staff, get so wrapped up in providing the best patient care possible they forget to take some time out of the day to focus on their own health and wellness.

This survey analyses the political context, the legislative frameworks and the policy developments in an area that is now widely termed 'work-life balance' in both the United Kingdom and Germany. It also looks at the theoretical notions of time in relation to work and family life and gives examples of research in the public, private and voluntary sector.

In this article, I contend that the well-intentioned discourse of work/life balance in the popular and scholarly press actually may undermine women's and men's attempts to live fulfilling lives. Drawing on feminist and critical perspectives, as well as my own efforts to find "balance" in a two-career family with two children under the age of 4, I illustrate (a) how the work/life discourse reflects the individualism, achievement orientation, and instrumental rationality that is fundamental to modem bureaucratic thought and action and (b) how such discourse may further entrench people in the wor...

The concept of work-life balance has been studied for decades, but continuous changes in lifestyles, changes in working conditions, changes in the economy and technology, and increasing of demanding jobs always require an examination of the right balance between personal and work life, for the purpose of maintaining the well-being and safety of the employee and the productivity of the company. Exploring the concept helps to optimize the well-being and safety of the employee and the productivity of the company. This study aims to systematically review the research studies’ focus and trends obse...

There are many different ways to define work–life balance. Some scholars emphasize that work–life balance requires balancing demands of both paid work and family responsibilities or maximizing satisfaction by minimizing conflict between paid work and family responsibilities. Others view work–life balance as encompassing the way that boundaries blur between work, family, and leisure time. In attempting to address work–life balance, workers are generally trying to preserve both quality of life, and potential for career advancements, while employers are trying to preserve high productivity and re...

How do we balance "work" and "life"? Are they completely separate? For a physician, can they be separated? Is there such a thing as "balance"?

This powerful resource investigates how a positive work–life balance can help create engaged, productive employees, how imbalances in work–life balance create serious issues for workers, and identifies different ways to greatly improve one's work–life balance. Of the 35 countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), all except the United States provide nationwide paid maternity leave. This is but one example of how the United States has not made adequate provisions to safeguard the work–life balance of its workforce—to the detriment of the overall economic pros...

This issue of Foundation Focus looks at work–life balance and some of the factors that help or hinder workers in combining working with non-working life. Since average working hours have been decreasing steadily, it asks whether work–life balance still matters. How can the Working Time Directive help, and what role do flexible working time policies have? What specific supports are needed by those with care responsibilities for children or adults? Work–life balance is connected to other aspects of life, including the need for high-quality childcare, addressing the gender employment gap and maki...

This workshop will help participants explore and define home responsibilities, identify career requirements and prioritize leisure time so that the resulting better balance will help achieve more in one's career and at home.

In this paper, balancing of work and life is discussed. Based upon considerable research a model was developed to better understand to achieve and maintain WLB. The model is modified and applied to WLB with the establishment of four life accounts that describe the essence of are: emotional, mental, spiritual, and physical. Other commitments could include family, fitness, politics, and education. The companies which had implemented WLB programs in the workplace: 1) Improved recruitment and retention. 2) Higher levels of customer service. 3) Improved workforce productivity. 4) Increased employee...

Work, life and personal life are two sides of the mint. Creating and managing a balance between the work and personal life is considered to be a work life balance issues. Increasing work pressures, globalization and technological advancement have made it an issue with both the sexes, all professionals, working across all levels and all industries throughout the world. This study is a specific study of private and public, Co-Operative sector banks of Madurai City Tamilnadu, India. The study endeavors to explore the challenges associated with managing professional and personal life of women empl...

A lack of balance can lead to emotional exhaustion, depersonalization of the authors' patients and their families, and lack of professional accomplishments, so it is important to pay equal attention to planning all spheres of their life.

One expert explains how one’s passion can translate to work and how dermatologists should align values and strengths and build their lives around these.

Work-life balance policies are important in relation to employee stress levels. This paper examines work-life balance and flexibility through the dual lens of gender and the body. The paper observes how notions of 'flexibility' are applied differently to mothers and fathers. We observe how social expectations about professionally employed mothers and fathers, and work-life balance, are gendered. Men may thus be discouraged from working flexibly, while mothers who work long hours may be criticised. We argue that the pressure to organise work-life balance, according to embodied and gendered soci...

The mantle of working women has changed throughout the world owing to social and economic conditions. This leads to immense pressure for women to build up their career as stout as males. This pressure takes away time for themselves. It’s the technology that helps the working women to harmonize their work life with personal life. It affects their physical, social well being. Along with that work-family conflict and family-work conflict have negative influence in the family province which reduces life satisfaction and leads to raise internal conflicts within the family. So, it’s essential for wo...

As the trend of Nuclear families is growing in recent years, and many young couples are staying away from their families for the jobs in various cities. The couples need to take care of the children and work simultaneously due to financial demands. This is creating a lot of stress on working parents as they tend to juggle between the responsibilities of their working organization and family.  It can necessitate them to take more than available leave options, and job security can be at risk. Significant social and personal adjustments are necessary to cope with such a situation. working parent ...

The present role of working women has changed worldwide due to economic conditions and social demands. Thishas resulted in to increase in tremendous pressure to develop a career against their malecounterparts while sustaining active engagement in personal life.The mounting work pressure is taking a toll on the workingwomen leaving them with less time for themselves. The increasingresponsibilities on the personal front with the technologicalblessings like mobile phones, notepads, etc. that keepswork life integrated with personal life and creates imbalances, stress onpersonal and professional fr...

Some of the frequently used buzz words in the corporate sector include green leadership, green human resource management, green employee engagement and green work-life balance. The intention of this article is to identify and examine the logical reasons that govern “green work-life balance” or, in simple terms, “greenwashing” work-life balance. The paper also aims at providing a comprehensive conceptualization of work-life balance, while thoroughly examining the components of measuring the construct. Based on a cross-sectional study in the banking industry with a sample of 170 managerial emplo...

This chapter provides an overview of the relative roles played by time and money in debates around work-life balance. It shows how time trumps money in dominant understandings of what ‘work-life’ means and in what parts of our lives are presumed to be in need of balance. Working ‘too many’ hours is seen to be the major challenge for achieving a work-life balance. This is an incomplete account. It is largely about the work-lives of the middle classes and it neglects the priorities of working class workers. The chapter first recaps on the centrality of time within academic work-life debate. It ...

It is a fact that women are effectively supporting men in financial perspectives since ages but different problems such as attitude and prejudice of society members adversely affect the utilization of their talent and working abilities .The objectives of this study were to (a) find out the work life conflict and work-life balance of working women’ (b) explore up to what extent problems related to work-life conflict and work-life balance are affecting their work and family, (c) investigate the perceptions of working women to balance the work and family. A sample of 65 working women from differe...

I love my work and am truly honored by the privilege to work with critically ill children and their families, who need good clinical advice and help to make the best decision for their precious ones, but there are difficult moments physically and mentally for myself and my staff.

The relationship between work and family has been explained by several theoretical models which vary accordingly in terms of their underlying assumptions, their emphasis on the nature, degree and direction of the relationship between social systems and the nature and magnitude of the impact of the systems on the individual. These theoretical models include work-family conflict, work-family enrichment, spill-over and cross-over theories, congruence, integration and ecological theories and resource drain and compensation theories. In addition, theories like the border theory, boundary theory, ge...

This chapter analyses the statutory employment ‘family-friendly’ rights contained in the Employment Rights Act 1996 and the subordinate legislation which has a bearing on the work–life balance of employees, workers, and other individuals providing personal services. These include the protection of pregnant workers, and the statutory arrangements for maternity leave and maternity pay. It also examines family-friendly measures which seek to achieve a more equal division of family responsibilities between couples, such as the statutory rights to shared parental leave, paternity leave, adoption le...

As with any longstanding health-related condition, the need for support and understanding from line management is crucial and can make a major difference to how a woman will deal with the adverse impact the menopausal symptoms may have on her productivity, her job satisfaction and her efficiency.

This paper looks at work–life balance (WLB) from the perspective of housework, by adopting what I call a ‘cleaning lens’. This lens exposes several unarticulated assumptions or presuppositions that lie buried within the various WLB debates that straddle various disciplines and range from academic to practitioner literature. The promotion of some work–life practices by HR managers presupposes certain things about employees, their home-lives, families, preferences and the structures that enable and constrain these employees. These presuppositions, which may or may not be true, have real effects....