Womens’ Career Progression in an Australian Regional University

This article examines the link between terms of employment (full time, part time and casual) at an Australian regional university and women’s career progression. The literature identifies lack of transparency in recruitment, promotion and retention; mobility and location; and management perceptions of women’s choice to work flexibly as factors impacting on career progression. However, the voices of women working in regional universities and particularly those of professional staff are often not present in current research. This study moves towards addressing this research deficit. Feminist institutionalism is used to analyse the relationship between national legislation, university policies and informal institutional practices in relation to women’s career progression In early 2020, twenty-one women provided written responses to questions on the link between terms of employment and career progression. The main findings tend to support other research about women working in universities; that is, carers need flexible work arrangements. But there are particular differences for women in regional universities who have to travel between dispersed campuses, which brings an added dimension of complexity to career progression. Their choices about terms of employment and fulfilling carer responsibilities resulted in insecure employment for some participants which had an impact on wellbeing and confidence. In addition, care/household responsibilities and the choice to work flexibly had a negative effect on career progression, and managers did not necessarily support flexible work options (despite national legislation that enables employees with child care responsibilities to negotiate flexible work arrangements with managers, and institutional gender equality policies).

Supervisor Support as a Moderator between Flexible Working Arrangement and Job Performance – Malaysia Evidence

Over the past years, organizations are forced to redesign their workplace to fulfil global labour market needs and to remain competitive. Due to the ever-changing working environment and competitive markets, organizations opted to choose more flexible work options so they can respond to the volatile environment. This study explores the moderation effect of supervisor support (SS) between flexible working arrangements (FWAs) and employee performance (EP). The population for this study primarily focused on the organizations that adopt the flexible working arrangement such as flexible working time, working from home, and compressed work-week practices in Malaysia. The companies selected are based on the listing of global organizations practices FWAs mentioned in TalentCorp Malaysia Flexible Working Arrangement collaboration with Malaysian Federation Employer report, 2015. The questionnaires were distributed through the Human Resource Department of each organization. The result demonstrated that there is a relationship between FWAs and EP but there was no moderation effect of SS between FWAs and EP relationship. This study supports the idea that the employees seem to benefit from the adoption of FWAs at the workplace. It allows both gender and single or married employees to manage their time better particularly allowing the employees to attend to personal needs. Since FWAs itself is the support given by employers to employees, therefore, the employees were unable to associate supervisor support role as a contributor to help them manage their work and home responsibilities. This study showed that employee motivation to perform are affected by the policies adopted by organizations. Adopting efficient work practices such as FWAs could stimulate employee engagement to improve their work performance. Therefore, organizations that are currently searching for a strategy that can improve productivity and employee performance should consider FWAs as an option. However, the implementation ofFWAs needs to be customized according to the employee's needs. Offering FWAs in the organization will enhance organizational and individual outcomes.

Opportunities and Challenges of Aging Workforces toward HR Practices in Business Management: A Comparison Between Thailand and China

As the number of elderly population are getting higher, many countries are now facing with rapidly growth in number of aging citizens due to increase in life expectancy, healthcare advancement, and baby boomers become aged. This leads Human Resource sector to understand more on aging workforces as an individual change process in terms of competencies, motivation, behavior and values. The aim of this study is to analyze and compare the opportunities and challenges in managing aging workforces toward Human Resource practices between Thai and Chinese business sectors. In line with the gathering of secondary data and literature-based analysis found that both Thai and Chinese business sectors recognize the common important challenges of the composition of the workforce and also shrinking young labor forces However, business sector in Thailand presents certain challenges from a human resources perspective. i.e.technology challenges when compared to China. Several companies in China realized that aging workforces tends to have positive contributions; as it will increase competitive edge and intellectual capital especially in technology development. However, several companies in Thailand has recruited of aging workforces by increasing the number of part-time employees and offering flexible work options which are a priority for aging workforces.

The Association between Team Satisfaction and Work-Family Conflict: The Mediating Role of Flexible Work Options and Job Demands

This study examined the link between team satisfaction and work-family conflict and explored the mediating effects of flexible work options and job demands in this relationship. It consisted of a survey among employees from five Irish companies. The sample consisted of 220 employees, a response rate of 53%. Overall, findings showed that team satisfaction had a negative association with work-family conflict and negatively predicted work-family conflict; the Beta Coefficient for this regression was -.17, t(199) = -2.547, p < .05). Similarly, team satisfaction demonstrated direct effects = -.25, SE = .09, p < .01, 95%CI = -.43 and -.07; and total effects = -.33, SE = 0.95, p < .001, 95% CI = -.52 and -.14 on work-family conflict. The study further found an indirect effect of team satisfaction on work-family conflict through pace of the tasks which is an aspect of job demands; indirect effect = -.06, SE = .032, 95% (Bootstrap CI) = -.13 and -.01. Practical implications and future research lines are discussed.

Colonial Privileges in a Settler Society: Disparities of Cultural Capital in a University Setting

Drawing on forty one-on-one interviews with third year students from The University of Auckland, this study contrasts the experiences of students from working- and upper-class backgrounds. In particular, the study demonstrates how working-class students, most of whom come from Indigenous Māori and Pacific ethnic backgrounds, are forced to navigate obstacles infused with interpersonal and institutional racism. These students also report a stigmatising awareness of their lack of privilege and sense of obligation to give back to their ethnic communities. In contrast students from upper-class backgrounds, though hard-working, discuss a litany of opportunities extending their academic and occupational privilege. These capital-building opportunities are tightly connected to consistent family support in the form of gifted money, flexible work options, and networks that enhance professional experience. Working with kaupapa Māori and Bourdeausian conceptual frameworks, the study highlights privileged students’ ability to access and extend their objectified cultural capital, as less economically privileged students work their way through colonial blockades and classed pitfalls. Given the clear disparities expressed by study participants, the research suggests universities radically reframe how resources are allocated to students from diverse backgrounds.

The impact of perceived flexible work options within India-based IT companies

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings This research paper demonstrates that increased perceived supervisor support and organizational support for the use of flexible work options by women approaching motherhood in India's IT sector increases their job satisfaction, reduces their level of work-life conflict, and lowers their desire to quit. Cultural factors such as an inclination to quit a job upon becoming pregnant following successful fertility treatment present female talent retention challenges for these organizations, since many women do not return to work after becoming mothers. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

Support perceptions, flexible work options and career outcomes

Purpose This study aims to explore the leaky pipeline issue (attrition of working women due to motherhood) in the Indian information technology (IT) sector. The study analyses the effect of organisational and supervisory support perceptions on the use of flexible work options and its relationship with career outcomes in terms of job satisfaction, work-life conflict and turnover intentions. Design/methodology/approach A survey questionnaire to test the hypotheses was returned by 203 working women of the Indian IT sector belonging to three categories, namely, women undergoing treatment for infertility, pregnant women and women who had recently given birth at the time of the survey. Findings The findings state that the use of flexible work options significantly reduce work-life conflict, decrease the intention to turnover and increase job satisfaction, with organisational and supervisory perceptions playing a significant moderating role. Research limitations/implications The findings are based on self-reported responses. Nevertheless, the study provides insights into the work-life priorities of Indian women at the time of motherhood and opens up specific research opportunities to address the leaky pipeline due to pregnancy and childbirth. Practical implications Organisations should take genuine initiatives to effectively use the flexible work options and provide supervisory training for increased sensitivity to help reduce role conflict and let working women make informed choices in their careers and lives at the time of childbirth. Originality/value The paper could be the first known paper to study this special category of working women at the threshold of motherhood in the Indian IT sector.