Canadian researchers advise law firms to ensure employees feel empowered to negotiate work-life balance (WLB)

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 13-15
Keyword(s):  
Law Firms ◽  
Strongly Correlated ◽  
Work Experiences ◽  
Work Lives ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Work Arrangements ◽  
High Profile ◽  
Workplace Attitudes ◽  
Female Lawyers ◽  
General Experience

Purpose The purpose was to find out how lawyers at high-profile legal firms managed WLB. Design/methodology/approach The researchers conducted interviews with 42 lawyers at two law firms in a large West Coast city. Both participating law firms focus on corporate law and employ around 100 lawyers. Interviews took place on site over a three-month period. They lasted between 20 minutes and an hour. Questions covered general experience in the profession, as well as balancing work and non-work lives. Findings The answers revealed the tensions between work and non-work experiences. Lawyers were driven to work long hours and expected to respond quickly to clients’ needs. But they had diverse attitudes to WLB. They could broadly be divided into three categories – “work-centric,” “non-work centric,” and “dual-centric.” Their life values were also strongly correlated with gender. Only dual-centric and life-centric female lawyers had actively negotiated alternative work arrangements Originality/value There has been very little qualitative research into workplace attitudes to WLB

scholarly journals Flexible Work Practices and Private Law Firm Culture: A Complex Quagmire for Australian Women Lawyers

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Lynn Easteal ◽  
Anne Caligari ◽  
Lorana Bartels ◽  
Emma Fitch
Keyword(s):  
Law Firms ◽  
Private Law ◽  
Work Practices ◽  
Law Firm ◽  
Flexible Work Arrangements ◽  
Flexible Work ◽  
Work Arrangements ◽  
Women Lawyers ◽  
Female Lawyers ◽  
Flexible Work Practices

<em>In this article, we examine gender and the work culture in Australian private law firms. Our primary focus is the extent to which flexible work practices remain a quagmire for female lawyers. We consider the systemic barriers affecting women lawyers, including hidden attitudes, the persistence of a gendered division of labour in the private sphere, the ongoing gender pay gap in Australia, and the ways in which the law firm ethos of long working hours disadvantages women. We then present some practical steps to remedy this situation, including accommodating working mothers’ time constraints, mentoring and networking, and training for managers and support staff. It is proposed that more needs to be done to encourage employers to implement these methods with confidence that flexible work arrangements can provide benefit to the firm as a whole, as well as individual employees. To achieve this, we put forward a reform of the framework in order to implement these practical steps. We also discuss some ways to possibly effect attitudinal change in law firm culture and conclude with some observations about the future of legal practice in this context. Finally, further involvement of the Law Council of Australia is proposed, to impose conditions on the practising certificates of lawyers in supervisory roles to assist them in complying with the framework. This would also ensure that flexible work arrangements are accessible to both employers and employees, which in turn will assist in dissolving the systematic discrimination that female lawyers face in private law firms.</em>

Importance of women's political skill in male-dominated organizations

2014 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 206-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marla Baskerville Watkins ◽  
Alexis Nicole Smith
Keyword(s):  
Political Skill ◽  
Law Firms ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Common Method Bias ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Male Dominated ◽  
Female Lawyers ◽  
Method Bias

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to investigate whether or not political skill helps women working in a male-dominated environment to obtain positions with authority. Design/methodology/approach – Surveys were emailed to female lawyers working full-time in a variety of law firms across the USA. Participants were 140 lawyers with an average of ten years of practicing law. Findings – In support of their hypotheses, the authors found that when working in male-dominated organizations, women with high levels of political skill fared better than women with low levels of political skill in terms of obtaining positions with authority. Research limitations/implications – Because the research design was cross-sectional, direction of causality cannot be established. Second, common method bias may have affected the observed relationships. Practical implications – Given that women with political skill may be able to recognize and break down the barriers that are especially present in male-dominated organizations, women and managers alike should consider training to help women understand and enhance their political skill. Social implications – This research highlights the particular challenge of workplace politics for women and presents political skill as a potential solution. Originality/value – This research is the first to demonstrate the benefit of having political skill for women working in male-dominated organizations.

Uncertainty and subjective task complexity in the information-seeking behaviour of lawyers

2017 ◽  
Vol 66 (4/5) ◽  
pp. 266-281
Author(s):  
Nafisat Toyin Adewale ◽  
Yushiana Mansor ◽  
Muhammad-Bashir Owolabi Yusuf ◽  
Ahmeed Onikosi
Keyword(s):  
Information Seeking ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Task Complexity ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Law Firms ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Minimum Requirement ◽  
Educational Qualification ◽  
Populated State ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose This study investigates the moderating effects of age, experience and educational qualification on the relationship between uncertainty and subjective task complexity among lawyers working in private law firms in Lagos State, Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach A survey method was adopted and data were gathered using questionnaires. The analysis was carried out based on partial least squares structural equation modelling using SmartPLS 2.0 M3 software. Findings Results showed that the effect of uncertainty on subjective task complexity is significantly moderated by age, educational attainment, experience of the lawyers under study. Research limitations/implications Although data were collected in the most populated state and commercial hub of Nigeria, generalisation based on findings may still need to be made with caution. Practical implications Attainment of higher educational qualification is highly important for lawyers even though the minimum requirement to practice as a lawyer is a degree. Lawyers with higher degrees (LLM and PhD) had less uncertainty and perceived their tasks to be less complex compared to their counterparts who had the first degree (LLB). Originality/value The demographic profile of professionals (age, education and experience) has proven to have an impact on their perception about task complexity as determined by uncertainty as found in this study.

scholarly journals The role of uniqueness in destination branding: the case of historical Portsmouth harbor

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 198-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandros Apostolakis ◽  
Shabbar Jaffry ◽  
Faye Sizeland ◽  
Adam Cox
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Regional Level ◽  
Destination Branding ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
City Brand ◽  
High Profile ◽  
Local Resources

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the potential for utilizing a unique resource, such as the Historic Portsmouth Harbor, in order to differentiate the local brand. Design/methodology/approach – The objective of the paper is to examine the role of unique local resources and attractions as a source of competitive advantage through destination branding. Findings – The main findings of the paper indicate that policy makers and destination managers should more proactively utilize the unique elements of the Historic Portsmouth Harbor “brand,” as opposed to the commonplace “waterfront city” brand. This could be achieved by staging events of international significance or through a bid for gaining world heritage status. In addition to that, the paper argues that in order for this branding initiative to have a higher impact, a prominent high profile individual should be appointed. This individual could act as a leader or “brand ambassador” in order to attract stakeholder interest and participation. Originality/value – The paper could be of value to destination managers and marketing organizations in a local, sub-regional and regional level.

A systematic review of work-life integration and role of flexible work arrangements

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sourabh Kumar ◽  
Sankersan Sarkar ◽  
Bhawna Chahar
Keyword(s):  
Work Life ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Personal Factors ◽  
Flexible Work Arrangements ◽  
Flexible Work ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Organizational Policies ◽  
Work Arrangements ◽  
Future Research Agenda

Purpose The growing demands of work and life have shifted the concept of work-life balance to work-life integration (WLI). The success of integration depends upon the flexibility to perform the duties. This paper aims to explore the factors that affect WLI and the role of flexible work arrangements (FWAs) in the process of WLI. Design/methodology/approach Systematic literature review was used to explore the concept of WLI and FWAs. A bibliometric analysis was carried out with Bibexcel and VoSviewer. Findings This paper explained the organizational and personal factors that create the demand for WLI. The FWAs, perceived flexibility, technology and self-efficacy have important roles in WLI. The result of WLI can be enrichment or strain, depends upon how effectively the work-life domains are integrated. Originality/value This paper explores the work-life from both personal and organizational views. The findings of this paper will be useful to design the organizational policies and work arrangements that match the requirements of employees and organizations. This paper helps to develop the future research agenda of investigating the relations of WLI to performance, organizational policies and personal factors.

A turnaround fuelled by transformational leadership

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mayuree Sengupta
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Transformational Leadership ◽  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Management Style ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Work Experiences ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Rich

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand how Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the National Research Development Corporation, India, Hanumanthu Purushotham had facilitated a turnaround of the organization and ensured profitability during his tenure there. This is one of the series of interview-based studies that focuses on a South Asian CEO, with the goal of ascertaining his leadership and management style in a volatile situation. This brief paper expounds how leader traits and transformational leadership can positively impact an organizational turnaround and fuel growth.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses primary interviews and complements the findings with secondary data sources such as annual reports and management literature on leadership trait, transformational leadership and organizational turnaround.FindingsThe study found that socioeconomic factors have a bearing on leadership attributes. In this instance, the CMD's early years, diverse work experiences, bright traits and transformational leadership positively impacted organizational performance. Therefore, not only the qualifications but also the qualities of a leader are pivotal in shaping success of an organization.Originality/valueThe narrative provides an instance of how decision-making driven by strategic leadership can change firm performance. The rich experiences of the India-educated CMD, a government job holder all-through, provides a veteran's view to decision-making in a state-controlled firm and helps us understand how an organization can be transformed in a limited time and with scarce resources.

Understanding knowledge hiding in the context of virtual workplaces

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Suman Choudhary ◽  
Kirti Mishra
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Virtual Work ◽  
Theory Approach ◽  
Loss Of Control ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Work Arrangements ◽  
Management Literature ◽  
Knowledge Hiding ◽  
Grounded Theory Approach ◽  
Depth Interviews

Purpose This paper aims to explore the implications of virtual work arrangements on employee knowledge hiding (KH) behaviour and the different strategies of KH used by employees in these arrangements. Design/methodology/approach Following a grounded theory approach to understanding KH, 21 semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with employees engaged in virtual working setups. The data collected from these informants were then analysed using qualitative methods. Findings The study revealed that virtual work arrangements increase employee KH behaviour because of three reasons: ease of hiding, digital burnout and loss of control. Further, the study found that rationalized hiding is the most commonly adopted strategy by employees engaged in virtual work arrangements, while inclinations towards evasive hiding strategy decrease in this arrangement. Originality/value This is the first study in knowledge management literature that seeks to explain KH in the virtual work context.

Societal discontent will increase in Bahrain

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Social Protest ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Content Type ◽  
High Profile ◽  
Arab Uprisings ◽  
Base Level

Significance Although large-scale social protest in Bahrain has been cowed over the ten years since the ‘Arab uprisings’, small-scale demonstrations recur, reflecting a base level of discontent. Mobilising issues include economic pressures, limited political representation (especially of the Shia majority) and, most recently, ties with Israel. Impacts Despite protests, Israel’s and Bahrain’s respective ambassadors will keep up high-profile activity and statements. The authorities are likely to exaggerate the role of Iranian interference in order to deepen the Sunni-Shia divide. If Riyadh manages to extricate itself from the Yemen war, that could partly reduce the pressure on Manama.

Sport league website: an effective marketing communication tool for corporate sponsors

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 314-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doyeop Kim ◽  
Matthew Walker ◽  
Jun Heo ◽  
Gi-Yong Koo
Keyword(s):  
Academic Research ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Consumer Attitude ◽  
Communication Tool ◽  
Content Type ◽  
High Profile ◽  
Sport League ◽  
Sports Sponsorship ◽  
Website Interactivity ◽  
Main Effects

Purpose Although high-profile sport league website sponsorships have increased in popularity over the last decade, academic research on the topic has not kept pace, resulting in little knowledge of ways to improve the effectiveness of this sponsorship type. This paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach The current study examined the influence of three website-related variables (i.e. website interactivity, website fit, and website credibility), while controlling for a sponsor-related variable (i.e. sponsor familiarity), on consumer attitude toward the sponsor ad and willingness to click on its banner ad. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated three main effects. Practical implications are discussed with limitations and suggestions for future research. Findings This study found three important things. First, website interactivity played an important role in attitude toward the ad and willingness to click on the banner ad. Second, website fit influenced attitude toward the ad and willingness to click on the banner ad. Third, website credibility influenced attitude toward the ad. Originality/value The findings suggest that in order to maximize online sports sponsorship outcomes, companies must keep in mind that the interactivity between the web users and the site should be regarded as the most pragmatic result which could come from the online sports sponsorship territory.

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