Top Research Papers on Work Life Balance

The article asks ‘where are we’ in the study of work–life balance within Industrial Relations and ‘where to next’ if we are to identify levers for positive change in workplace gender equality as technology brings the potential for smoothing or disrupting how women and men from different class groups work and care. It first shines a classed lens on the mainstream work–life balance agenda to pinpoint limitations in its heavy focus on the time squeezes reported by financially secure middle-class workers and its neglect of money matters. Then, via an enhanced conceptualisation, the article conside...

A growing body of empirical work on the work–life interface in Asia has investigated the effects of various work–life constructs on work and non-work outcomes. However, scholars are also debating whether work-life constructs from the West must be conceptualized and operationalized differently when used in the Asian context. The present study reviews the literature on the work–life interface in Asia, identifies research gaps, and proposes an agenda for future research. This review contributes to the literature by developing a conceptual model that informs our theoretical understanding of work–l...

This study evaluates a three‐week online self‐training intervention teaching mindfulness as a cognitive–emotional segmentation strategy. Daily effects on psychological detachment, affective well‐being, psychological and strain‐based work–family conflict, and satisfaction with work–life balance were assessed, with a particular focus on whether segmentation preferences moderate training responsiveness. A randomized wait‐list control group design was used for administering daily questionnaires to 190 participants. Psychological detachment, affective well‐being, and work–life interface measures we...

Abstract The coronavirus pandemic has interrupted labor markets, triggering massive and instant series of experimentations with flexible work arrangements, and new relationships to centralized working environments. These approaches have laid the basis for the “new normal,” likely extending into the organization of work in the post-pandemic era. These new arrangements, especially flexible work arrangements, have challenged traditional relationships with employees and employers, work time and working hours, the work–life balance (WLB), and the relationship of individuals to work. This paper inve...

Purpose It is analyzed whether working from home improves or impairs the job satisfaction and the work–life balance and under which conditions. Design/methodology/approach Blocks of influences on job satisfaction and work–life balance – personal traits, job characteristics, skills and employment properties – are estimated separately and in combination. To select the variables, the least angle regression is applied. The entropy balancing approach is used to determine causal effects. The study investigates whether imbalances are determined by private or job influences, whether firm-specific regu...

The rise of neoliberal governance in the higher education sector and the growing demands that the values of equality be institutionally embedded represent two potentially conflicting trends. In this context, the steady deployment of a neoliberal agenda to organizations has come to interfere with the work–life balance. Whereas the demands of the neoliberal university rely upon a hegemonic work-centric model that can affect academics irrespective of gender, women are more likely to experience work–life conflict and its associated impacts. This article focuses on how work–life conflict has been s...

Work-Life Balance (WLB) still needs further development to understand the antecedents and consequences, rather than just focusing on work-family conflict. In response, the present article explores two different models. Two distinct employee samples were used with a range of professions. Sample 1 is a general sample of New Zealand employees (n = 165) and Sample 2 is a sample of Māori employees, the indigenous people of New Zealand (n = 150). Using structural equation modeling, the results from Sample 1 found the best model fit is for work demands and job autonomy being related to WLB, which in ...

Purpose The disruptions brought by COVID-19 pandemic compelled a large part of public sector employees to remotely work from home. Home-based teleworking ensured the continuity of the provision of public services, reducing disruptions brought by the pandemic. However, little is known about the implications of telecommuting from home on the ability of remote employees to manage the work-life interplay. The article adopts a retrospective approach, investigating data provided by the sixth European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) to shed lights into this timely topic. Design/methodology/approach ...

Abstract The COVID‐19 pandemic altered the ways academics work and live by creating a context during the spring of 2020 when working from home was largely mandatory and where, for cohabiting workers, the home as workplace was simultaneously occupied by all household members during working hours (and beyond). Using a multi‐method qualitative approach, we examine how academics experienced working from home during the unprecedented circumstances imposed by the first UK lockdown and social distancing measures. Our findings show that a working arrangement commonly termed ‘flexible’ – working from h...

An ICT demands-resources model is developed to analyze how employees’ perceptions of ICTs impact burnout, work-family balance and job satisfaction, and indicates that companies and employees need to focus more on I CT demands than on ICT resource management.

The paper discusses the challenges HRM is facing due to the current crisis in terms of remote working, and identifies the implications the pandemic has on human resources.

This survey study assesses the relationship of perceived work-life conflict with academic medicine faculty intention to leave, reduce employment to part time, or decline leadership opportunities since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The findings indicate that companies must pay attention to the factors of e-training, e-leadership, and work-life balance to keep employees motivated and to maintain optimal employee performance, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic through working online.

Techno-stressors stemming from the use of information technology (IT) have become a major source of stress in the modern workplace. While research shows that techno-stressors negatively affect employees' work attitudes and performance, little is known about their effects on employees' non-work lives. This research investigates the impact of techno-stressors on work-life balance and examines job self-efficacy as a buffer of this negative impact via the attenuating effect of emotional exhaustion. We conducted two survey studies. Study 1 collected data through a paper-and-pencil survey from 316 I...

One of the overarching implications is the need to address a range of interdependent considerations in designing resources to reduce job stress, promote work-life balance, and prevent burnout.

Within the wake of the COVID‐19 pandemic, we investigate work‐nonwork boundary management among workers who transitioned to remote work. Based on five waves of data and a sample of 155 remote workers, we find that the preference for segmentation was associated with greater work‐nonwork balance. We also found that having a dedicated office space within the home and fewer household members was associated with greater work‐nonwork balance. However, these variables did not moderate the relationship between segmentation preferences and work‐nonwork balance as expected. We discuss implications for f...

The findings suggest that, even in a country that has been at the top of the Gender Gap Index for several years, an unprecedented situation like Covid‐19 can reveal and exaggerate strong gender norms and expectations towards mothers.

Purpose The COVID-19 pandemic has affected women in unique gender-specific ways, particularly their traditional status as home managers. This study aims to draw on the role theory to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women's work–family balance during the lockdown. Design/methodology/approach The current COVID-19 pandemic, which has altered the ways in which we live and work, requires specific methodological tools to be understood. The authors, therefore, opted for an interpretive–constructivist and constructivist–phenomenologist approach. The dataset, thus, comprises of semi-stru...

Purpose This paper aims to consider enforced working from home in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and how it may differ from working from home through choice. In particular, the authors discuss how lockdown may be affecting work-family arrangements. Design/methodology/approach This is a thought piece. Findings The paper briefly examines the extant research on remote working. It is argued that as many of the (beneficial) outcomes found for both employees and employers are associated with feelings of greater autonomy and gratitude on the part of employees for being able to exercise choice over...

It is suggested that as the most important feature in family-life stages, children play a vital role in telework behavior, and policies that support formal childcare resources could relieve the family-to-work conflict and encourage people to work at home.