scholarly journals Influence of sense of coherence on work-life balance at the South African public service

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 206-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abe N. Ethel ◽  
Ziska Fields ◽  
Atiku O. Sulaiman
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Sense Of Coherence ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Work Life Balance ◽  
The South ◽  
Family Responsibilities ◽  
Life Balance

The inability of workers to achieve balance between work and family responsibilities has led to heightened incidence of illnesses associated with stress. The main objective of this paper is to investigate the role of Sense of Coherence (SOC) on the achievement of work life balance by focusing on individual managers at a municipality in the South African public service. These individual managers often struggle with work-life balance (WLB) challenges like HIV/AIDS, relational tension, single parenthood, child and elder care, alcohol and substance abuse, debt and financial issues, absence of job autonomy, function vagueness/role conflict and job stress. A sequential transformative mixed methods research design is adopted. Data were collected using self-report questionnaire administered to 364 individual managers; additional eleven members of top management were interviewed. Quantitative data gathered are analyzed using the IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 to test the reliability and validity of the instrument as well as the bivariate association between the variables. NVIVO is used in organizing qualitative data for ease of content analysis. The findings indicate that SOC should be considered when designing strategies to address employee work-life needs. Furthermore, it confirmed that the presence of strong SOC does not lead to achievement of WLB

scholarly journals The Efficacy of Wellness Programmes as Work-Life Balance Strategies in the South African Public Service

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (6(J)) ◽  
pp. 52-67
Author(s):  
Ethel N. Abe ◽  
Ziska Fields ◽  
Isaac I. Abe
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Work Life Balance ◽  
The South ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
Work Family ◽  
Work And Life

Abstract: This paper aimed to evaluate the wellness programs adopted by the South African Public Service to ascertain their efficacy at addressing work-family challenges and aiding employees to achieve work-life balance. Understanding the effectiveness of wellness programmes as work-life balance strategies is necessary especially when the cost of implementing such strategies is considered exorbitant. Many institutions have put in place work-life balance strategies, but discrepancies concerning definitions, formulation and implementation could make it impossible for them to fully reduce work-family challenges and assist employees in achieving the envisaged work-life balance. A sequential transformative mixed-methods study design was adopted. Data was collected using self-report questionnaire administered to 307 individual managers. Additionally, 11 top management members were interviewed. The major findings are as follows; (a) significant relationship exists between the wellness programmes and work-life balance strategies (b) wellness programmes qualified to be addressed only as life strategies because they did not address work challenges faced by employees. (c) work-life balance strategies predicted only 7.1% of the variations in wellness programmes in the South African Public Service. The peculiarity and value of this article lies in the discovery that work and life balance strategies adopted by organisations may not address employee work and life challenges and assist them in achieving work-life balance. Summarily, wellness programmes are not work-life balance strategies, and the South African Public Service should endeavour to adopt strategies that could assist employees in balancing work and family needs.Keywords: Wellness Programmes, Work-Life Balance Strategies, Work-family challenges, Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs)

scholarly journals Balancing Work Life and Family Life: Problems and Remedies

Pravaha ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 217-232
Author(s):  
Tej Narayan Prasad Nepali
Keyword(s):  
Women Workers ◽  
Family Relationships ◽  
Family Life ◽  
Time Management ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Work Life Balance ◽  
Simple Task ◽  
Family Responsibilities ◽  
Life Balance

Work- family balance” is a term that refers to an individual’s perceptions of the degree to which s/he is experiencing positive relationships between work and family roles, where the relationships are viewed as compatible and at equilibrium with each other. Like a fulcrum measuring the daily shifting weights of time and energy allocation between work and family life, the term, “workfamily balance,” provides a metaphor to countervail the historical notion that work and family relationships can often be competing, at odds, and conflicting.There was a time when the boundaries between work and home were fairly clear. Today, however, work is likely to invade our personal life — and maintaining work-life balance is no simple task. Family work balance is a complex issue that involves financial values, gender roles, career path, time management and many other factors. Every person and couple will have their own preferences and needs. The problem of maintaining a balance between work life and family life is not a new one. But in the recent few years social scientists have started paying more attention to it. Now there is growing concern in Nepal and experts are of the view that a constant struggle to balance both sets of life will have serious implications on the health of an employee.The seriousness of this problem increases many times in the cases of women workers in our society which is a traditional one and where women are still supposed to have greater family responsibilities. They are expected to look after their children, entertaining the guest, taking care of their parents, in laws and other elderly members of their families as also managing kitchen and other household affairs. Neglecting any of these responsibilities for the sake of discharging work in office or in other institutions where they are employed is not tolerated by their husbands and other male members of the society. We talk of women empowerment but we fail to understand the problems which working women are facing in the tradition bound society like of ours. The study is a pioneering work to investigate into this problem. It is a modest attempt to understand the manner in which women workers try to maintain balance between their work and family lives. The study also explores the ways and means by which female workers can be enabled to maintain proper balance between the two sets of their lives. The findings of this study may be of great use to employers, and business executives as well, who have now come to realize that the responsibility to maintain a healthy work life balance rests on both the organisation and employee. Pravaha Vol. 24, No. 1, 2018, Page: 217-232

DETERMINANTS OF WORK-LIFE BALANCE FOR WORKING MOTHERS

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (02) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vibhuti Tripathi ◽  
Sakshi Misra Shukla ◽  
Kadambari Randev
Keyword(s):  
Working Mothers ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Male Dominance ◽  
Work Life Balance ◽  
Family Responsibilities ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
Working Mother ◽  
Main Research

Despite the growing prominence in the work force, working mothers are still found to be juggling hard between work and family responsibilities with their increasing share of dilemmas and disparities. The paper studies the determinants of work life balance of working mothers and the potential sources of stress specific to working mothers and their consequences. The study addresses the main research objective which was to find out solutions to ease the dilemma that a working mother encounters while dividing her energy and capabilities between parenting, work, relationships and self. The survey was conducted in the city of Allahabad and 100 working mothers were surveyed on a structured questionnaire. SPSS software was used to analyze the data with the help of statistical tools like frequency, cross tabulation, chi square and Z test. The major findings of the survey highlighted that working mothers are mostly stressed with their primary responsibility of motherhood to the extent of forgetting one’s own well-being and physical health. The study recommends significant ways to balance work and family and achieve the most desired contentment of a working mother. The study reassures working mothers by reinventing, evolving and transitioning positively through the trials of working motherhood with knowledge, practice, strength and fulfillment. The modern work environment needs to reconsider the special needs of this working population, changing its orientation from male dominance to gender neutrality and parenting friendly behavior. Last but not the least, the family as a whole, needs to adjust accordingly, to the needs of the working mother so as to allow a healthier family to develop and grow consistently.

scholarly journals Meeting the challenge of the work-life balance in the South African workplace

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 393-401 ◽  
Author(s):  
GF Mageni ◽  
AD Slabbert
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Human Capital ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
South African ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Work Life Balance ◽  
The South ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
The Past ◽  
Insight Into

The work-life balance (WLB) construct as a business imperative has been of growing concern in organisations outside South Africa for the past two decades, particularly given the pressure to create a sustainable global competitive advantage through human capital. Within the last decade this aspect has been prominent in various forums. However, no studies as yet provide insight into the applicability of WLB models to the South African workplace. The present article therefore explores the composition of a WLB system, and analyses constraints on its application under the conditions of the South African labour market.

scholarly journals Gender, availability and dual emancipation in the Swedish ICT sector

2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 230-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Line Holth ◽  
Ann Bergman ◽  
Robert MacKenzie
Keyword(s):  
Career Development ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Work Life Balance ◽  
Family Responsibilities ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
Competing Demands

Set in the context of the Swedish state’s agenda of dual emancipation for women and men, the article shows how a global ICT consultancy company’s formal gender equality goal is undermined by competing demands. Employing the concept of availability, in preference to work–life balance, the research found women opted out of roles requiring high degrees of spatial and temporal availability for work, in favour of roles more easily combined with family responsibilities. Such choices led to poor career development, plus the loss of technological expertise and confidence. These outcomes were at odds with the company’s gender equality aims, as well as government objectives to make it easier for women and men to combine work and family, and increase the number of women within ICT.

Work/Life Balance

Sociology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Misun Lim ◽  
Joya Misra
Keyword(s):  
Poor Quality ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Work Life Balance ◽  
Paid Work ◽  
Family Responsibilities ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
High Productivity ◽  
Worker Turnover ◽  
Work Family

There are many different ways to define work–life balance. Some scholars emphasize that work–life balance requires balancing demands of both paid work and family responsibilities or maximizing satisfaction by minimizing conflict between paid work and family responsibilities. Others view work–life balance as encompassing the way that boundaries blur between work, family, and leisure time. In attempting to address work–life balance, workers are generally trying to preserve both quality of life, and potential for career advancements, while employers are trying to preserve high productivity and reduce worker turnover. Although the term “work–life balance” is widely used, alternative terms are also employed, such as work–family balance, work–life integration, work–life harmonization, or work–life articulation. Research on attempts to manage paid work along with family and other parts of life has been carried out for decades. Yet this scholarship has exploded in the last two decades, particularly as middle-class women have increased their workforce participation, but also work is being carried out during nonstandard hours, technology is creating more permeability between work and home, and union protections have been weakened. Work–life balance efforts may lead to poor-quality jobs in terms of earnings, job security, working time and promotion opportunities, rather than long-term quality employment over the life course that allows for leisure and family time. Research on work–life balance should take structural, rather than individual approaches, to consider workplace cultures, including by occupation and gender inequality, and recognize the different assumptions underlying policies aimed at addressing work–life balance.

scholarly journals Do work-life balance practices mediate in the relationship between female participation and financial performance?

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 249-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Dolores Odriozola ◽  
Elisa Baraibar-Diez
Keyword(s):  
Financial Performance ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Work Life Balance ◽  
Family Responsibilities ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
Female Participation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Participation Of Women ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyse the relationship between the participation of women in companies with financial performance. However, this relationship does not arise directly. The authors argue that the participation of women in the company’s staff has a positive effect on the creation of work-life balance (WLB) practices, due to women have traditionally assumed family responsibilities, and subsequently these practices positively affect financial performance. WLB practices are a tool to balance employees’ professional and personal goals.Design/methodology/approachThis study aims to determine whether WLB practices mediate in the relationship between female participation in the workforce and financial performance on large companies listed in the Spanish Stock Exchange Index during the period from 2008 to 2013.FindingsThe main finding is that female participation in the workforce positively affects to the availability of WLB practices, but WLB practices are not a mediator to increase financial performance.Originality/valueThe study is a new contribution for academics and practitioners, since the WLB has a role of moderating variable; and the positive joint effect of female participation and WLB practices is tested over the company’s outcomes, instead of over the individual employee behaviour like in previous literature. In addition, this effect is studied in a country with economic recession where corporate WLB practices have increased in the last decade.

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 The role of life friendly policies on employees' work-life balance

2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colleen Yuile ◽  
Artemis Chang ◽  
Amanda Gudmundsson ◽  
Sukanlaya Sawang
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Work Life Balance ◽  
Work Family Conflict ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
Work Related ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractAn employee's inability to balance work and non-work related responsibilities has resulted in an increase in stress related illnesses. Historically, research into the relationship between work and non-work has primarily focused on work/family conflict, predominately investigating the impact of this conflict on parents, usually mothers. To date research has not sufficiently examined the management practices that enable all ‘individuals’ to achieve a ‘balance’ between work and life. This study explores the relationship between contemporary life friendly, HR management policies and work/life balance for individuals as well as the effect of managerial support to the policies. Self-report questionnaire data from 1241 men and women is analysed and discussed to enable organizations to consider the use of life friendly policies and thus create a convergence between the well-being of employees and the effectiveness of the organization.

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