Women and work‐life balance: is home‐based business ownership the solution?

2008 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 258-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Walker ◽  
Calvin Wang ◽  
Janice Redmond
Keyword(s):  
Work Life ◽  
Work Life Balance ◽  
Women And Work ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
Business Ownership ◽  
Home Based

scholarly journals A comparative analysis of flexible working patterns in Germany and Turkey

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 01-14
Author(s):  
Fulya Aydınlı Kulak ◽  
Vala Lale Tüzüner
Keyword(s):  
Work Life ◽  
Work Life Balance ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
Overtime Work ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Flexible Working ◽  
Time Work ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Chi Square Analysis

In this study, the extent of flexible working patterns beginning to replace the conventional working models is examined in companies in Turkey and Germany and the extent of flexible working patterns in the two countries is compared. The objectives of the study are to determine the prevalence of these patterns and to find out the similarities and differences regarding flexible working in the two countries. The flexible working patterns focused on in this study are weekend work, shiftwork, overtime work, part-time work, job sharing, flexitime, fixed-term contracts, home-based work, telecommuting, and compressed workweeks. The research, which is designed with the last round database of the CRANET Survey on Comparative Human Resource Management Research, includes the companies in Turkey and Germany of the 35 participating countries (154 companies from Turkey and 278 companies from Germany which makes a total of 432 companies). In the findings section, first of all, the prevalence of each flexible working pattern in the two countries has been presented. Chi-square analysis has been conducted for each of the flexible working patterns to find out if there are any significant differences in the prevalence of these models in the two countries. As a result, it is determined that the extent of the nine flexible working patterns differed in the two countries. This is to say that the prevalence of several flexible working patterns ensuring the work-life balance of the employees is higher in Germany whereas flexible patterns used for economic reasons and do not add value to the work-life balance of the employees are usually prevalent in Turkey. The only similarity between the two countries is the use of home-based work.  

Work–Life Balance in Home-Based Businesses

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isla Kapasi ◽  
Laura Galloway
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Life Time ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Work Life Balance ◽  
Working At Home ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
Home Based ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Study Participants

Home-based businesses are increasing in number throughout Western economies. One of the benefits of a home-based business is asserted to be improved work–life balance, yet there is little empirical evidence to support this assertion. Using a qualitative methodology, this paper explores the work–life balance in eight home-based businesses in the UK. Motivations for working at home include the desire for improved work–life balance, but the achievement of this aim among the study participants was found to be nuanced. Critically, home-based business is another employment context in which the work–life balance must be managed. This management is especially needed because of the blurring of work and life time and space, which may demand more self-discipline in home-based workers compared with those in employment or self-employment remote from the home.

Beware of side effects on quality! Investigating the implications of home working on work-life balance in educational services

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rocco Palumbo ◽  
Rosalba Manna ◽  
Mauro Cavallone
Keyword(s):  
Side Effects ◽  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Work Life Balance ◽  
Total Quality ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Working From Home ◽  
Home Based

PurposeTelecommuting from home is back up on the agenda as a result of the unforeseen challenges brought by COVID-19. Working from home permits to avoid disruption in the ordinary functioning of educational institutions triggered by social distancing. However, home-based telecommuting may have some side effects on employees, especially in terms of work-life balance. Soft Total Quality Management (TQM) initiatives are needed to address these side effects. The article intends to shed light on these issues, providing some food for thought to scholars and practitioners.Design/methodology/approachSecondary data about the working conditions of 2,046 people employed in the education sector across Europe were investigated. A serial mediation analysis was designed to examine the direct and indirect implications of working from home on work-life balance.FindingsThe study suggests that home-based telecommuting may trigger work-to-life and life-to-work conflicts, due to the blurring of boundaries between work and everyday life. Soft tools, such as organizational meaningfulness (OM) and work-related well-being (WB), mediate the relationship between working from home (HW) and work-life conflicts (WLC), lessening the negative implications of working from home on work-life balance.Practical implicationsThe design and the implementation of home-based telecommuting arrangements should include a special concern for soft TQM practices. Among others, OM and WB are likely to minimize the disruption of remote employees' jobs and interpersonal relationships. Failure to do so impairs the ability of home-based employees to make sense out of their working arrangements and to achieve a sustainable work-life balance.Originality/valueThis is one of the first attempts to illuminate the side effects of home-based telecommuting and to investigate the role of soft TQM in addressing these side effects.

scholarly journals Job Quality and Work—Life Balance of Teleworkers

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 3239
Author(s):  
Paula Rodríguez-Modroño ◽  
Purificación López-Igual
Keyword(s):  
Working Conditions ◽  
Current Data ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Job Quality ◽  
Work Life Balance ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Home Based ◽  
European Working ◽  
Different Dimensions

As telework and mobile work arrangements become more widespread with new advancements in digitalization, these flexible models of work are rapidly expanding to new categories of employees and completely modifying working conditions and job quality. The aim of this study was to assess how particular types of telework affect different dimensions of job quality. We applied multivariable techniques to a sample of 35,765 workers from the Sixth European Working Conditions Survey. Our findings show that gender and types of telework by workplace and ICT-use intensity are crucial factors affecting working conditions and job quality. Occasional teleworkers are the group with the best job quality, while highly mobile teleworkers are those with the worst job quality and work–life balance. Home-based teleworkers, especially women, present better results than highly mobile workers in terms of working time quality and intensity, though in exchange for lower skills and discretion, income, and career prospects. This study contributes to deepening our knowledge on the impacts of flexible arrangements of work, providing an analysis of current data on different dimensions of job quality and work–life balance and including gender as a crucial axis of analysis.

Let me go to the office! An investigation into the side effects of working from home on work-life balance

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (6/7) ◽  
pp. 771-790
Author(s):  
Rocco Palumbo
Keyword(s):  
Side Effects ◽  
Work Engagement ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Private Life ◽  
Work Life Balance ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Working From Home ◽  
Home Based

PurposeThe 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/approachAn empirical, quantitative research design was crafted. On the one hand, the direct effects of telecommuting from home on work-life balance were investigated. On the other hand, work engagement and perceived work-related fatigue were included in the empirical analysis as mediating variables which intervene in the relationship between telecommuting from home and work-life balance.FindingsHome-based telecommuting negatively affected the work-life balance of public servants. Employees who remotely worked from home suffered from increased work-to-life and life-to-work conflicts. Telecommuting from home triggered greater work-related fatigue, which worsened the perceived work-life balance. Work engagement positively mediated the negative effects of working from home on work-life balance.Practical implicationsTelecommuting from home has side effects on the ability of remote workers to handle the interplay between work-related commitments and daily life activities. This comes from the overlapping between private life and work, which leads to greater contamination of personal concerns and work duties. Work engagement lessens the perceptions of work-life unbalance. The increased work-related fatigue triggered by remote working may produce a physical and emotional exhaustion of home-based teleworkers.Originality/valueThe article investigates the side effects of remotely working from home on work-life balance, stressing the mediating role of work engagement and work-related fatigue.

Does working from home work? Experience of working from home and the value of hybrid workplace post-COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eunhwa Yang ◽  
Yujin Kim ◽  
Sungil Hong
Keyword(s):  
Work Life ◽  
Work Environments ◽  
Work Life Balance ◽  
Physical Work ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Spatial Efficiency ◽  
Working From Home ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Corporate Offices

Purpose This study aims to understand how knowledge workers working from home during COVID-19 changed their views on physical work environments and working-from-home practices. Design/methodology/approach This study conducted a survey targeting workers in the USA recruited via Amazon Mechanical Turk. A total of 1,651 responses were collected and 648 responses were used for the analysis. Findings The perceived work-life balance improved during the pandemic compared to before, while the balance of physical boundaries between the workplace and home decreased. Workplace flexibility, environmental conditions of home offices and organizational supports are positively associated with productivity, satisfaction with working from home and work-life balance during the pandemic. Research limitations/implications While the strict traditional view of “showing” up in the office from Monday through Friday is likely on the decline, the hybrid workplace with flexibility can be introduced as some activities are not significantly affected by the work location, either at home-based or corporate offices. The results of this study also highlight the importance of organizations to support productivity and satisfaction in the corporate office as well as home. With the industry collaboration, future research of relatively large sample sizes and study sites, investigating workers’ needs and adapted patterns of use in home-based and corporate offices, will help corporate real estate managers make decisions and provide some level of standardization of spatial efficiency and configurations of corporate offices as well as essential supports for home offices. Originality/value The pandemic-enforced working-from-home practices awaken the interdependence between corporate and home environments, how works are done and consequently, the role of the physical workplace. This study built a more in-depth understanding of how workers who were able to continue working from home during COVID-19 changed or not changed their views on physical work environments and working-from-home practices.

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