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Lacking balance? Work‐life employment practices in the modern economy

Lacking balance? Work‐life employment practices in the modern economy The UK has operated a lightly regulated approach to help employees balance their work and domestic obligations, an approach which employers have welcomed and which they and Government consider to be successful. On the basis of empirical studies this paper challenges these assumptions and outcomes. Apart from definitional difficulties, seven major problems associated with current UK practice over work‐life balance are identified. The first problem concerns unevenness of adoption across different sectors and organisations. The second is a lack of formalisation of policies at organisational level, with largely untrained line mangers having discretion over policy application. Third, there is restricted employee voice over the introduction and implementation of policies. Fourth, policies are introduced primarily to meet business needs, rather than those of employees. Fifth, there is no evidence of reductions in working hours. Sixth, tangible and intangible work intrusions into domestic life have been identified. Finally, domestic responsibilities are still conducted primarily by women irrespective of their employment status. The researchers conclude that many employees continue to face difficulty in reconciling their work and domestic responsibilities. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Personnel Review Emerald Publishing

Lacking balance? Work‐life employment practices in the modern economy

Jeff Hyman; Juliette Summers
Personnel Review , Volume 33 (4): 12 – Aug 1, 2004
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References (22)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 2004 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.
ISSN
0048-3486
DOI
10.1108/00483480410539498
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

The UK has operated a lightly regulated approach to help employees balance their work and domestic obligations, an approach which employers have welcomed and which they and Government consider to be successful. On the basis of empirical studies this paper challenges these assumptions and outcomes. Apart from definitional difficulties, seven major problems associated with current UK practice over work‐life balance are identified. The first problem concerns unevenness of adoption across different sectors and organisations. The second is a lack of formalisation of policies at organisational level, with largely untrained line mangers having discretion over policy application. Third, there is restricted employee voice over the introduction and implementation of policies. Fourth, policies are introduced primarily to meet business needs, rather than those of employees. Fifth, there is no evidence of reductions in working hours. Sixth, tangible and intangible work intrusions into domestic life have been identified. Finally, domestic responsibilities are still conducted primarily by women irrespective of their employment status. The researchers conclude that many employees continue to face difficulty in reconciling their work and domestic responsibilities.

Journal

Personnel Review – Emerald Publishing

Published: Aug 1, 2004

Keywords: Working patterns; Workforce planning; Responsibilities; Hours of work; Lifestyles

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