scholarly journals Attitudes toward working conditions: are European Union workers satisfied with their working hours and work-life balance?

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 162-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nuria Matilla-Santander ◽  
Cristina Lidón-Moyano ◽  
Adrián González-Marrón ◽  
Kailey Bunch ◽  
Juan Carlos Martín-Sánchez ◽  
...  
Author(s):  
Nuria Matilla-Santander ◽  
Cristina Lidón-Moyano ◽  
Adrián González-Marrón ◽  
Kailey Bunch ◽  
Juan Carlos Martín-Sánchez ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 51-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Schmitz-Rixen ◽  
Reinhart T. Grundmann

AbstractIntroductionAn overview of the requirements for the head of a surgical department in Germany should be given.Materials and methodsA retrospective literature research on surgical professional policy publications of the last 10 years in Germany was conducted.ResultsSurveys show that commercial influences on medical decisions in German hospitals have today become an everyday, predominantly negative, actuality. Nevertheless, in one survey, 82.9% of surgical chief physicians reported being very satisfied with their profession, compared with 61.5% of senior physicians and only 43.4% of hospital specialists. Here, the chief physician is challenged. Only 70% of those surveyed stated that they could rely on their direct superiors when difficulties arose at work, and only 34.1% regarded feedback on the quality of their work as sufficient. The high distress rate in surgery (58.2% for all respondents) has led to a lack in desirability and is reflected in a shortage of qualified applicants for resident positions. In various position papers, surgical residents (only 35% describe their working conditions as good) demand improved working conditions. Chief physicians are being asked to facilitate a suitable work-life balance with regular working hours and a corporate culture with participative management and collegial cooperation. Appreciation of employee performance must also be expressed. An essential factor contributing to dissatisfaction is that residents fill a large part of their daily working hours with non-physician tasks. In surveys, 70% of respondents stated that they spend up to ≥3 h a day on documentation and secretarial work.DiscussionThe chief physician is expected to relieve his medical staff by employing non-physician assistants to take care of non-physician tasks. Transparent and clearly structured training to achieve specialist status is essential. It has been shown that a balanced work-life balance can be achieved for surgeons. Family and career can be reconciled in appropriately organized departments by making use of part-time and shift models that exclude 24-h shifts and making working hours more flexible.


2008 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascale Peters ◽  
Laura den Dulk ◽  
Tanja van der Lippe

The Effects of Time-Spatial Flexibility and New Working Conditions on Employees' Work-Life Balance: The Dutch Case The Effects of Time-Spatial Flexibility and New Working Conditions on Employees' Work-Life Balance: The Dutch Case In Dutch organisations, part-time work, flexible working hours and telehomeworking are viewed as solutions to problems employees encounter when they harmonise work and family life. Critics fear, however, that for employees that work under New Working Conditions, characterized by professional job autonomy, team working by project, management by objectives and strict deadlines, time-spatial flexibility may in fact rather enlarge existing combination problems. This paper, therefore, questions whether time-spatial flexibility will lead to a better work-life balance, and if so, does that also hold true for the category of New Employees. Employing data collected in 2003 among 807 Dutch employees it is concluded that time-spatial flexibility indeed affects the work-life balance of workers positively, regardless of them working under New Working Conditions or not. Generally, employees having a smaller part-time job (12-24 contractual working hours per week) experienced a better work-life balance. Especially female workers gained from more control over the temporal location of their work. Telehomeworkers and employees having a larger part-time job (25-35 hours per week) did not experience a better work-life balance. In the concluding section, the results of the study are discussed in the context of contemporary Dutch labour market developments.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 57-64
Author(s):  
Akizumi Tsutsumi

Background: Work style reform in Japan is under way in response to a predicted shortfall in the workforce owing to the country’s low birth rate and high longevity, health problems due to excessive working hours, and the need for diversification of employment. A legal limit for physicians’ overtime work will be introduced in 2024. Objectives: This study examines the work–life balance among Japan’s doctors in the context of ongoing work style reform. Methodology: The study applied included selective reviews of demographic shifts, legislation against long working hours, and trends in doctors’ participation in the labor force. Results: Japan’s doctors work long hours, which creates a conflict between their working and private lives. The proportion of female doctors in Japan is the lowest among the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Employment trends among women doctors by age group show an M-curve: many quit their jobs upon marriage or childbirth. Gender role stereotyping has led male Japanese doctors to devote themselves entirely to their professions and working excessively long hours: they leave all family work to their female partners. This stereotyping obliges female doctors to undertake household chores in addition to their career tasks, which makes it difficult for them to re-enter their careers. Because of the harsh working conditions (including long working hours), there has been a decline in newly graduated doctors in some medical specialties. Conclusions: For sustainable, effective health care in Japan, it is necessary to improve the work conditions for Japan’s doctors towards achieving work–life harmony.


Author(s):  
Mohamed Eshak ◽  

This study aimed to analyse the impact of flexible work arrangements on the employee performance of employees in private Egyptian universities in Alexandria, mediated by work-life balance (applied to the Arab Academy for Science, Technology, and Maritime Transport). institutions to retain talented people, raise the efficiency of employee performance, and thus raise the efficiency of institutional performance and competitive capabilities of organizations. The researcher used the descriptive analytical method and the questionnaire as a tool for data collection, to measure the impact of flexible work arrangements (focusing on reducing working hours, benefits provided to employees, work policies towards parenting) on the work-life balance, and the extent of the impact of all this on raising the efficiency of employees' employee performance. A stratified random sample of 423 employees was used, and the data collected was analysed using SPSS and AMOS statistical software. The findings revealed a positive relationship between flexible work arrangements (reduced working hours, benefits provided to employees, and work policies toward parenting) and employee performance, as well as a positive relationship between flexible work arrangements and work-life balance, as well as a positive relationship between work-life balance and employee performance, and the researcher recommends implementing such policies.The recommendations also include the need to review current labour laws before legislators, and update them in line with contemporary technological development and the requirement to achieve a balance between the requirements of life and work. This study also recommends the adoption of reducing working hours as one of the flexible work policies offered by organisations to employees. The study concludes that flexible work arrangements and programmes are in fact a competitive tool that organisations can use to increase loyalty, improve performance, achieve commitment and job satisfaction, which enhances the organization's productivity.


Author(s):  
Zuzana Horváthová ◽  
Iva Fischerová ◽  
Josef Abrahám

The paper deals with the social policy of the European Union, specifically the directive (EU) 2019/1158 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on work-life balance for parents and carers and repealing Council Directive 2010/18/EU. And it is considering the changes that need to be made in the area of labour law, especially concerning the Labour Code, and partially in social security in the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic, in connection with the requirement to transpose this directive. The aim of the paper is to evaluate the valid legislation of the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic in the monitored area. Key words: social policy, European Union, work-life balance, directive, parental leave, paternity leave, carers ́ leave, social security.


2003 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael White ◽  
Stephen Hill ◽  
Patrick McGovern ◽  
Colin Mills ◽  
Deborah Smeaton

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