Investigators analyse major factors behind work-life balance decisions of African women working in the United Kingdom

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Gender Gap ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
Bachelor's Degree ◽  
Work Life ◽  
African Women ◽  
Current Phase ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Major Factors ◽  
The Uk

Purpose There has been a lot of research into the gender gap at work. But the authors wanted to look at the issue using multiple theoretical lenses. They chose to study the experiences of African women in the UK as there were other factors that affected the work0life balance. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted interviews with 15 women. They spoke with 13 women on the phone and two face to face. There were 10 Nigerians and five Ghanaians. All participants had at least a bachelor’s degree and eight had master ‘s degrees. After collating the material, the authors used thematic analysis to determine the most important factors for the majority of interviewees. Findings They found four critical factors for the African women. They were: “cultural sensitivities”, “current phase in family and work life”, “personality types” and “external influences such as policies and financial commitment”. Originality/value The results helped workplaces and manages to formulate policies and training that addressed the particular issues faced by women from African backgrounds in balancing work and family commitments.

scholarly journals Contextualising work–life balance: a case of women of African origin in the UK

2020 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 133-153
Author(s):  
Loliya Agbani Akobo ◽  
Jim Stewart
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Gender Gap ◽  
Career Advancement ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Work Life Balance ◽  
African Origin ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Work Family ◽  
The Uk

Purpose The existing gender gap in the workplace, that affects job satisfaction and career advancement of women, creates a need to understand further the causes and effects of the gender gap phenomenon. Although, there are many challenges that affect women’s job satisfaction and advancement in the workplace, this paper aims to investigate work–life balance using multiple theoretical lenses. Design/methodology/approach In total, 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted with women from Nigeria and Ghana residing in the UK, they were selected using a purposive sampling method. Findings The findings show four main factors that explain the choices these women make in relation to work–family. These are cultural sensitivities, current phase in family and work–life, personality types and other influences such as policies and financial commitment. Results also show how these women make these work–family choices using networks and services. Practical implications The paper postulates the need for organisation’s to pay attention to the acculturation and enculturation of these women, which would indicate observing their cultural behaviour’s, values, knowledge and identities to understand how they integrate, assimilate and to also prevent separation and marginalisation. In addition, the use of (internal and external) networks as support systems for these women can create the opportunity for informal learning. Finally, organisation’s should create structure that support workplace learning and should include activities such as decision-making, communication, career advancement planning and flexible work patterns. Originality/value This study contributes to theory using multiple theories (work-family, gender inequality and Theories X and Y in explaining the work–family construct of women of African origin in the UK.

Teleconference focus groups with fathers: ‘You’re on the line with …’

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Burnett ◽  
Caroline Gatrell
Keyword(s):  
Focus Groups ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Work Life Balance ◽  
Methodological Issues ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
Dependent Children ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Entire Process

This chapter analyses methodological issues experienced in the employment of audio teleconference focus groups in fatherhood research. It cites a research project entitled ‘Work Life Balance: Working for Fathers?’, which explores how men with dependent children combine work and family commitments. As part of this research, when recruiting fathers for face-to-face interviews and focus groups proved difficult, scholars utilised the medium of recordable teleconferencing technology. In the context of research on fatherhood, the chapter evaluates the emergent complexities integral to the entire process of running ‘teleconference’ (telecon) focus groups. The first part of the chapter describes the technological and procedural challenges in the commissioning of telecon focus groups, while the second reflects on fathers' confession-like admissions.

scholarly journals Beyond ‘Juggling’ and ‘Flexibility’: Classed and Gendered Experiences of Combining Employment and Motherhood

2006 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 94-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jo Armstrong
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Family Life ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Gender Inequalities ◽  
Illustrative Case ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
Interview Research ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Uk

This paper proposes that there is a need to push beyond the popular discourses of ‘flexibility’ and ‘work-life balance’. Developing a feminist-Bourdieuian approach and drawing on three illustrative case studies from my interview research with 27 mothers in the UK, I show the importance of maintaining a focus on class and gender inequalities. In the first part of the paper the concepts of capitals, dependencies and habitus which shaped, and were shaped by, this interview research are discussed. An analysis of three women's accounts of their experiences across work and family life is then used to illustrate that although these women all used terms such as ‘flexibility’ and ‘juggling’ in describing their work, the experience of that work was crucially influenced by their histories and current positioning. Tracing each of these women's trajectories from school, attention is focused on the influence of differential access to capitals and relations of dependency in the emergence of their dispositions toward work. Overall, the paper points to the significance of examining the classed and gendered dimensions of women's experiences of employment and motherhood.

The gender gap in work–life balance satisfaction across occupations

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 398-428 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maryam Dilmaghani ◽  
Vurain Tabvuma
Keyword(s):  
Gender Gap ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Work Life Balance ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Policy Context ◽  
Data Limitations

Purpose The purpose of this study is to compare the gender gaps in work–life balance satisfaction across occupations. Due to data limitations, the studies of work–life balance satisfaction have generally relied on researcher collected data. As a result, large-scale studies encompassing all occupations in the same social and policy context are rare. In several cycles of the Canadian General Social Survey, the respondents are directly asked about their work–life balance (WLB) satisfaction. The present paper takes advantage of this unique opportunity to compare the gender gap in WLB satisfaction across occupations in Canada. Design/methodology/approach This paper pools four cross-sectional datasets (N = 37,335). Multivariate regression analysis is used. Findings Women in management and education are found to have a lower WLB satisfaction than their male counterparts. Conversely, and rather surprisingly, a WLB satisfaction advantage is found for women in transport over males in this occupation. Further investigation shows that the female WLB advantage in transport is driven by the relatively low WLB satisfaction of males in this occupation, while the opposite is true for education. Social implications The findings are discussed in light of the WLB policies and their increasing gender-blindness. Originality/value This paper is the first large-scale study which compares the gender gap in WLB satisfaction across occupations, in a given policy context.

scholarly journals Disruptive product development for online fast fashion retailers

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 517-532
Author(s):  
Rachel Parker-Strak ◽  
Liz Barnes ◽  
Rachel Studd ◽  
Stephen Doyle
Keyword(s):  
Product Development ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Product Development Process ◽  
Fast Fashion ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Online Retailers ◽  
Development Processes ◽  
The Uk

PurposeThis research critically investigates product development in the context of fast fashion online retailers who are developing “own label” fashion clothing. With a focus upon inputs, outputs, planning and management in order to comprehensively map the interplay of people, processes and the procedures of the product development process adopted.Design/methodology/approachQualitative research method was employed. Face-to-face semi structured in depth interviews were conducted with key informants from market leading fast fashion online retailers in the UK.FindingsThe major findings of this research demonstrate the disruptions in the product development process in contemporary and challenging fashion retailing and a new “circular process” model more appropriate and specific to online fast fashion businesses is presented.Research limitations/implicationsThe research has implications for the emerging body of theory relating to fashion product development. The research is limited to UK online fashion retailers, although their operations are global.Practical implicationsThe findings from this study may be useful for apparel product development for retailers considering an online and fast fashion business model.Originality/valueThe emergent process model in this study may be used as a baseline for further studies to compare product development processes.

Aha! “take on Me’s”: bridging the North sea with relational autoethnography

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 330-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trude Klevan ◽  
Bengt Karlsson ◽  
Lydia Turner ◽  
Nigel Short ◽  
Alec Grant
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Collaborative Work ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Relational Practice ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
The Uk ◽  
New Research

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how sharing stories of being a mental health professional and academic, based more broadly on serendipity and searching in life, can serve as means for bridging and developing cross-cultural understandings and collaborative work. Design/methodology/approach This paper is a relational autoethnography based on face-to-face and written conversational dialogue between five mental health academics from the UK and Norway. Findings The very practice of writing this paper displays and serves the purpose of bridging people, cultures and understandings, at several levels, in the facilitation of new research and writing projects. Troubling traditional boundaries between “us” and “them, and the “knower” and the “known,” the writing is theoretically underpinned by Friendship as Method, situated in a New Materialist context. Originality/value Through its conversational descriptions and explorations the paper shows how doing relational autoethnography can be purposeful in developing cross-cultural understandings and work at both professional and personal levels. It also demonstrates how autoethnography as relational practice can be useful in the sharing of this methodology between people who are more and less familiar with it.

Work‐life balancing strategies used by women managers in British “modern” universities

2007 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Woodward
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Role Models ◽  
Women Managers ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Integrate Work ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe “work‐life balance” literature is mainly concerned with the provision and up‐take of flexible employment patterns. The purpose of this qualitative study of women managers' coping strategies for reconciling work with their other roles and responsibilities is to provide a complementary perspective.Design/methodology/approachSemi‐structured extended interviews were carried out with 16 women managers of academic or “support” departments in eight UK post‐1992 universities, about their working practices and how they sought to integrate work with other parts of their lives.FindingsThese women reported high workloads, requiring long working hours, which consumed time and energy otherwise available for other relationships and commitments and their own leisure. Various strategies were adopted to manage the situation, including establishing rigid boundaries between work and non‐work, and shifting these boundaries in favour of work when necessary. Temporal, spatial and symbolic distinctions were used to contain work. Women without dependent children were more likely to be able to redefine boundaries when necessary to favour work.Research limitations/implicationsAs a small and possibly unrepresentative sample of UK women managers in higher education, the study could usefully be extended through comparisons with male peers, and with women managers in other sectors. (It is the preliminary phase of a comparative study of women employed in universities in the UK and Japan.) However, the findings broadly replicate other studies.Practical implicationsThere are policy implications for universities, which need feedback from staff about the impact of equal opportunities initiatives to inform further progress.Originality/valueThis study provides qualitative information on women working in non‐traditional key posts in higher education, who are well‐placed to challenge organisational cultures and act as role models.

scholarly journals Developing your own graduate employees

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 378-383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerie Antcliff ◽  
Sue Baines ◽  
Elizabeth Gorb
Keyword(s):  
Early Stage ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Bachelor's Degree ◽  
Content Type ◽  
University Support ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The University ◽  
Ongoing Dialogue ◽  
Insight Into

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to offer an employer perspective on the value of degree apprenticeships (DAs) less than a year after the first apprentices commenced their studies for a bachelor’s degree in September 2015. Design/methodology/approach This case focusses on one of the first DAs in the UK. It draws on evidence from interviews with HR professionals responsible for the DA in two contrasting companies, an international PLC and a smaller, fast growing enterprise. Findings Both employers consider that the DA meets recruitment needs in ways that other options do not. They particularly value the ability of apprentices to make an immediate contribution in the workplace. For the smaller employer the university support structures are a significant advantage. Only the larger employer formally input into the curriculum prior to validation but both feel they can tailor content to suit their needs. Both see investing in the DA as excellent value for money. Practical implications The value of strong relationships, trust and ongoing dialogue between partners emerges as a key component in fulfilling the need of employers. Originality/value The DA model recasts employers as the purchasers of higher education and affords them a key role in developing provision tailored to their needs. Implications of this new model for employers, universities and learners are potentially profound and hard to predict. This case study is based on part of the early stage of a three-year research programme. It provides a unique, early insight into two employers’ rationales for engaging with the DA programme and their initial experiences.

scholarly journals Exploring innovation perceptions and practices among micro and small craft breweries

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 140-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abel Duarte Alonso ◽  
Alessandro Bressan ◽  
Nikolaos Sakellarios
Keyword(s):  
Small Firms ◽  
Innovation Adoption ◽  
Brewing Industry ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Telephone Interviews ◽  
Craft Beer ◽  
Data Collection Process ◽  
Small Craft ◽  
The Uk

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine how micro and small craft brewery operators perceive and operationalise innovation. Moreover, in adopting the theory of innovation, the study addresses two under-researched areas, namely, innovation among micro and small firms and innovation in the context of the emerging craft brewing industry. Design/methodology/approach The perspectives of 163 craft brewery operators located in Italy, Spain, and the UK were gathered through online questionnaires. In total, 24 face-to-face and telephone interviews with operators from the three nations complemented the data collection process. Thus, in total, 187 operators participated. Findings Development of new craft beer styles, new recipes, exploring with various ingredients, improving quality, or involvement in social media and culinary tourism were predominant forms participants perceived innovation. Various differences regarding innovation adoption were noticed, particularly based on participants’ country and on their role at the brewery. Furthermore, associations between the findings and the dimensions of the theory of innovation were confirmed. Originality/value This study is original, in that it represents a first effort in comparing perceptions of craft brewery operators across various countries. This comparison identifies ways in which craft brewery operators could maximise the potential of their firms. For example, the manifested interest in innovating through new craft beer recipes, or blending gastronomy and craft beer underlines alternative forms of adding value to craft brewing production. Importantly, some of these innovating practices differ based on participants’ country; such differences could also be considered by craft brewery operators.

scholarly journals Self-efficacy and work engagement: test of a chain model

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 819-834 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xi Wen Chan ◽  
Thomas Kalliath ◽  
Paula Brough ◽  
Michael O’Driscoll ◽  
Oi-Ling Siu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Work Engagement ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Cognitive Theory ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Work Life Balance ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Family Demands

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the mediating roles of work and family demands and work-life balance on the relationship between self-efficacy (to regulate work and life) and work engagement. Specifically, it seeks to explain how self-efficacy influences employees’ thought patterns and emotional reactions, which in turn enable them to cope with work and family demands, and ultimately achieve work-life balance and work engagement. Design/methodology/approach Structural equation modelling (SEM) of survey data obtained from a heterogeneous sample of 1,010 Australian employees is used to test the hypothesised chain mediation model. Findings The SEM results support the hypothesised model. Self-efficacy was significantly and negatively related to work and family demands, which in turn were negatively associated with work-life balance. Work-life balance, in turn, enabled employees to be engaged in their work. Research limitations/implications The findings support the key tenets of social cognitive theory and conservation of resources (COR) theory and demonstrate how self-efficacy can lead to work-life balance and engagement despite the presence of role demands. Study limitations (e.g. cross-sectional research design) and future research directions are discussed. Originality/value This study incorporates COR theory with social cognitive theory to improve understanding of how self-efficacy enhances work-life balance and work engagement through a self-fulfilling cycle in which employees achieve what they believe they can accomplish, and in the process, build other skills and personal resources to manage work and family challenges.

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