Bridging the research–practice gap: Developing a measurement framework for work–life initiatives

Research in human resource management has advocated the development of a systematic process of measurement that enables managers to obtain and evaluate evidence about the performance of work–life initiatives, in both financial and non-financial terms. We apply the resource-based view of the firm, within the context of strategic human resource management literature, and conduct qualitative research in focus groups with human resource professionals and managers from 27 medium to large organisations operating in Australia. Our research explores what organisations are currently measuring with regard to work–life outcomes, how they are measuring it, and what they would like to measure. Integrating the practitioners' perspective with academic literature, we develop a framework of measurement for work–life initiatives.