scholarly journals Comparison of barriers faced by women in the Australian and Indian construction industry

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Priya Paul
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Gender Discrimination ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Construction Workers ◽  
Gender Stratification ◽  
Family Balance ◽  
Participation Of Women ◽  
Male Dominated ◽  
Employment Of Women ◽  
Work Family

ABSTRACT Today’s construction industry has extreme gender stratification that is still traditional in the employment of women. Even though the participation of women in the construction industry has grown, women are still considered as a minority in this field. The industry is considered as male-dominated with low participation of women. The aim of this study is to compare the challenges faced by women construction workers in two different countries: Australia and India. In this context, the study also investigated the level of participation of women in the construction industry and the common challenges faced by women that hinder their participation around the globe. The significant barriers that are faced by women construction workers around the globe are the male-dominated nature and masculine culture of the industry, work-family balance, lack of career progression, longer working hours and the complex workplace culture. When comparing the barriers faced by women in the Indian and Australian construction industry, some of them similar, whereas some are different. The barriers faced by women in Australia are gender stereotyping, lack of awareness, the rigidity of work roles, flexibility issues and changing the family structure. On the other hand, In India, women face barriers such as unequal wages, caste, cultural and religion restrictions, poor sanitary facilities, seasonal work irregularity and health hazards. The research proves that there are many barriers that counteract the participation of women in the industry and thus recommends some measures to improve their involvement. Keywords—Women, Construction industry, Challenges or barriers or problems, Indian and Australian construction industry, Gender discrimination

scholarly journals Who's Got the Balance? A Study of Satisfaction with the Work–Family Balance among Part-Time Service Sector Employees in Five Western European Countries

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Beham ◽  
Patrick Präg ◽  
Sonja Drobnič
Keyword(s):  
Service Sector ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Time Service ◽  
Family Balance ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Work Family Balance ◽  
Western European ◽  
Work Family

Working part-time is frequently considered a viable strategy for employees to better combine work and non-work responsibilities. The present study examines differences in satisfaction with work-family balance (SWFB) among professional and non-professional part-time service sector employees in five western European countries. Part-time employees were found to be more SWFB than full-time employees even after taking varying demands and resources into account. However, there are important differences among the part-timers. Employees in marginal part-time employment with considerably reduced working hours were the most satisfied. Professionals were found to profit less from reduced working hours and experienced lower levels of SWFB than non-professionals. No significant differences in SWFB were found between male and female part-time workers.

Examining Tensions in Telework Policies

2011 ◽  
pp. 1413-1437
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Gibbs ◽  
Craig R. Scott ◽  
Young Hoon Kim ◽  
Sun Kyong Lee
Keyword(s):  
State Government ◽  
Virtual Work ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Eligibility Criteria ◽  
Family Balance ◽  
Workplace Policies ◽  
Work Family ◽  
And Control ◽  
Monitoring Performance ◽  
Practical Implications

This chapter examines workplace policies related to virtual work, with a specific focus on telework policies. Such policies are important to successful telework in communicating rules and expectations and providing a basis for negotiation between individual teleworkers and their employers. A content analysis of 35 state government telework policies revealed that such policies are characterized by two major tensions between autonomy and control and between flexibility and rigidity. The first tension relates to issues such as individual versus organizational responsibility for monitoring performance, providing equipment, and ensuring physical and data security, while the second tension relates to the standardization of working hours and eligibility criteria, whether rules are clear or left ambiguous, and the degree of work/family balance. Although explicit contradictions between stated benefits and realities of telework implementation may be problematic, most of the policies used tension productively by providing enough ambiguity to allow for competing individual and organizational interests to co-exist. Practical implications for teleworkers and their managers are suggested.

Family-friendly practices, high-performance work practices and work–family balance

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorena Ronda ◽  
Andrea Ollo-López ◽  
Salomé Goñi-Legaz
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Work Practices ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Family Balance ◽  
Family Friendly ◽  
High Performance Work Practices ◽  
Work Family Balance ◽  
Work Family

Purpose This paper aims to establish to what extent family-friendly practices and high-performance work practices are positively related to work–family balance and to identify the role played by job satisfaction and working hours as mediators of this relationship Design/methodology/approach We use data for a representative sample of almost 17,000 employees of dual-earner couples from European countries. To test the mediation mechanism implied by our hypotheses, we follow the procedure outlined in Baron and Kenny (1986). Given the nature of the dependent variables, ordered probit and regression models were estimated in the analysis. Findings The results show that, in general, family-friendly practices and high-performance work practices increase work–family balance and that these positive relationships are partially mediated by job satisfaction and working hours. While both family-friendly practices and high-performance work practices increase job satisfaction, only the first increase working hours. Moreover, job satisfaction increases work–family balance, while working hours reduces it. The net effect of these opposing forces on work–family balance is positive. Research limitations/implications The use of secondary data posits some constraints, such as the type of measures and the failure to control for a higher number of family-friendly practices and high-performance work practices. Additionally, the non-longitudinal nature of the data set implies that some relationships cannot be considered causal in the intended direction. Practical implications Managers should implement family-friendly practices and high-performance work practices, as, in general, they increase work–family balance. A significant portion of this positive effect is channeled through job satisfaction and working hours. Originality/value The paper contributes to understanding the relationship between different subsets of human-resources management practices and work–family balance, proposing a model that aims to disentangle the mediating mechanisms through which this relationship occurs.

When Everyone Works Harder for Fewer Rewards, Is It Fair? Implications of “Organization-Wide Hardship” for Managing and Studying Organizational Fairness

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 396-424
Author(s):  
Ariel Levi ◽  
Debra L. Shapiro ◽  
Yitzhak Fried ◽  
Livia Markoczy ◽  
Farzaneh Noghani
Keyword(s):  
Working Hours ◽  
Perceived Fairness ◽  
Organizational Fairness ◽  
Family Balance ◽  
Paradoxical Effects ◽  
Challenging Environment ◽  
Potential Contributor ◽  
Work Family ◽  
Pay Cuts ◽  
Actual Turnover

As organizations compete in an increasingly global and challenging environment, “working” often requires working harder for fewer rewards. In this article, we introduce the concept of “organization-wide hardship,” which refers to workforce-shared hardship that results from an organization’s pursuit of a strategy associated with its industry-positioning goals. We propose a model for predicting and explaining employees’ reactions to organization-wide hardship. Our analysis and model make several contributions to the justice literature. First, we highlight the importance of organization-wide hardship (associated with pay freezes or pay cuts, increased working hours, or reduced work–family balance) as a potential contributor to the experience of low fairness for all employees in the organization. Second, we argue that research on the effects of management accounts (explanations) for their decisions should be extended by considering the effects of accounts from nonmanagement sources. Third, we highlight the potentially paradoxical effects of providing external (rather than internal) accounts to employees as these likely heighten the hardship’s perceived fairness yet also heighten employees’ concern for their organization’s future and hence their intended or actual turnover. Fourth, our article’s theorizing adds a temporal (future-oriented) perspective to the largely past-oriented perspective of organizational justice–related theorizing and research. We discuss the implications of our model for organizations and leaders and scholars who aim to study employees’ reactions to organization-wide hardship.

scholarly journals Pengarusutamaan Gender dalam Program Pembangunan

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 125
Author(s):  
Waston Malau
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equity ◽  
Gender Discrimination ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
National Development ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Participation Of Women ◽  
Women Trafficking ◽  
Employment Of Women ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
Women's Role

Many issues of gender inequality surrounding us still not yet seriously solved by all elements of society. Women have more experience in disadvantages rather than men in the fields of education, health, employment, having and using science and technology. As may be seen with the still frequently occur violence against women, trafficking of women and children, pornography, the employment of women as problems of migrant workers and migrant workers abroad, lower participation of women in politics, and in the field of education, especially at the senior high school and higher education. For solving that, efforts in eradicating gender discrimination and developing potency which can support gender equality must be conducted continuously. Despite Constitution of 1945 ensures equality between men and women in accessing the fields, but in application still faced by many obstacles, for instance culture of patriarchy still remained and perpetuated by most of Indonesian people. Therefore increasing the women’s role in gender-based development as integral part of national development, has important meaning as effort to realize harmonious equal partnership between men and women, which in other word, to realize gender equity and equality in various fields of life and development.

scholarly journals Cross-Regional Research in Demographic Impact on Safety Consciousness and Safety Citizenship Behavior of Construction Workers: A Comparative Study between Mainland China and Hong Kong

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiangcheng MENG ◽  
Alan H.S. CHAN
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Safety Issue ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Construction Workers ◽  
Citizenship Behavior ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Education Levels ◽  
Safety Interventions

Abstract Background: The construction industry has rapidly developed with the continuous prosperity in Hong Kong and Mainland China, though accidents still occur with unacceptable frequency and severity. For promoting the safety issue of workers in construction industry, safety citizenship behavior (SCB) and safety consciousness (SC) were considered two influential constructs and further studied with integration of sociodemographic theories by scholars. However, no study has compared the SC and SCB of construction workers in terms of the demographic influence between Mainland China and Hong Kong. Methods: To fill this research gap, this study investigated the territorial difference between these two regions by conducting a cross-sectional questionnaire survey with recruitment of 253 Mainland construction workers and 256 Hong Kong construction workers. Results: Significant similarities and differences of SC and SCB performance were revealed in terms of the workers with different genders, education levels, weekly working hours, and ages. Conclusions: This study provides insights into the comparison of demographic influence on SC and SCB of construction workers between Hong Kong and Mainland China, which is unique as it can yield useful managerial knowledge relevant to the personal safety of targeted groups of construction workers with particular demographic characteristic in both regions and contribute the implementation of safety interventions in line with the specific distinction in territorial aspect.

scholarly journals Conciliação Trabalho-Família na Profissão Médica: Um Estudo Exploratório

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (11) ◽  
pp. 697
Author(s):  
Pedro Afonso ◽  
Olga Vaz Aleixo ◽  
Rute Vaz Aleixo ◽  
Diogo J. F. de Carvalho ◽  
José Augusto Simões
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Medical Profession ◽  
National Health System ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Multiple Choice Questions ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Public ◽  
Family Balance ◽  
Work Family Balance ◽  
Work Family

Introduction: The aim of this study is to characterize and assess work-family balance within the medical profession in Portugal.Material and Methods: This cross-sectional and exploratory study analyzed a sample of 181 doctors who are members of the Portuguese Catholic Doctors’ Association. A qualitative survey with multiple-choice questions was applied in order to assess socioeconomic and working conditions as well as work-family balance. Descriptive and linear regression analyses were carried out.Results: Nearly 40% of the surveyed doctors negatively assessed the work-family balance within the private sector. As for the Portuguese National Health System, 73% negatively assessed the work-family balance within the public sector. More than half of those surveyed (56%) worked more hours than what they considered as harmful for their work-family balance and the vast majority was working at the limit or overtime. Data collected enabled us to associate a heavier workload with working in the emergency room, age and men. Moreover, it was observed that working more hours was not linked to having children or being married.Discussion: In our study, the three measures of work-family balance that the participants considered to be the most important were the possibility of flexible scheduling, part-time work and temporarily reducing working hours (e.g. for family assistance). These aspects may explain the differences found in the assessment of work-family balance between the public and private sector.Conclusion: Due to the demanding nature of the medical profession, doctors are placed into a particularly risky situation in order to achieve a suitable work-family balance. The results of our study indicate a general dissatisfaction regarding this balance – special in the public sector – which is mainly associated with excessive weekly working hours.

DISTRIBUTION OF BREAKS IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dieter Schlagbauer ◽  
Detlef Heck
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
High Temperatures ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Construction Workers ◽  
Actual Situation ◽  
Construction Sites ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Current Break ◽  
Strenuous Work

The performance of tasks with high physical loads corresponds very strongly with the necessity for breaks, which should be taken depending on the workload. The actual situation on construction sites is totally different, since breaks were traditionally arranged and almost unchanged over the last decades, with no connection to the workload. This claim was substantiated by a recent survey of supervisors (N = 64) and construction workers (N = 177). The results showed that the majority of respondents would not change the current break arrangement, particularly supervisors, who did not see the importance of an evaluated break distribution. However, a need for change is seen in statements of the construction workers’ unions to reduce stress additionally caused by high temperatures. The suggested new approach for customized breaks in connection to physical loads in this study leads to the following: The overall working time should be split into three almost comparable shares, with a duration of 2.5 to 3.5 hours, to reach a total of 9 to 10 working hours. But even if these breaks are changed in the way we suggest, the authors would recommend additional breaks if the construction workers have to perform very strenuous work, or if climate conditions increase the strain.

Examining Tensions in Telework Policies

2010 ◽  
pp. 1-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Gibbs ◽  
Craig R. Scott ◽  
Young Hoon Kim ◽  
Sun Kyong Lee
Keyword(s):  
State Government ◽  
Virtual Work ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Eligibility Criteria ◽  
Family Balance ◽  
Workplace Policies ◽  
Work Family ◽  
And Control ◽  
Monitoring Performance ◽  
Practical Implications

This chapter examines workplace policies related to virtual work, with a specific focus on telework policies. Such policies are important to successful telework in communicating rules and expectations and providing a basis for negotiation between individual teleworkers and their employers. A content analysis of 35 state government telework policies revealed that such policies are characterized by two major tensions between autonomy and control and between flexibility and rigidity. The first tension relates to issues such as individual versus organizational responsibility for monitoring performance, providing equipment, and ensuring physical and data security, while the second tension relates to the standardization of working hours and eligibility criteria, whether rules are clear or left ambiguous, and the degree of work/family balance. Although explicit contradictions between stated benefits and realities of telework implementation may be problematic, most of the policies used tension productively by providing enough ambiguity to allow for competing individual and organizational interests to co-exist. Practical implications for teleworkers and their managers are suggested.

Work/Family Balance Policies in the UK since 1997: A New Departure?

2007 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 365-381 ◽  
Author(s):  
JANE LEWIS ◽  
MARY CAMPBELL
Keyword(s):  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Fine Tuning ◽  
Continuity And Change ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Family Balance ◽  
Flexible Working Hours ◽  
Work Family Balance ◽  
Work Family ◽  
The Uk

Three successive Labour governments have developed a range of work/family balance (WFB) policies, including child care services, leaves and flexible working hours, which have also become an increasingly coherent package. Drawing on Hall (1993), we explore the extent to which these represent a significant change at three levels: that of ideas (the goals of policy), mechanisms (the nature of the policy instruments), and settings (the fine-tuning of policy instruments). We examine how far the ideas driving the policy developments have been about the welfare of the family and its members, and the nature of the balance of continuity and change in policy instruments and settings, making some suggestions as to how this might be explained.

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