Thesis (M.Com. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

The work-life balance is currently in vogue among governments, organizations as well as researchers. Higher managers in organizations all over the world are exposed to significant pressures in their jobs, which further influence the balance between their work and private lives, job satisfaction and overall well-being. In this thesis, we apply a different perspective on the topic of work-life balance than most of the previous scientific research. We have focused on the governmental, organizational and individual factors that affect the work-life balance of higher managers and the consequent influence on their job satisfaction and overall well-being. The objective of this study is to contribute to the work-life balance research by exploring the fit between companies’ human resource practices and higher managers’ actual perceptions and needs. In order to gain different perspectives, our empirical research consists of a series of interviews with both HR managers and members of higher management. The key findings in terms of the factors influencing higher managers are reported. They suggest that the individuals are influenced by several aspects. The responsibility for personal work-life balance does not only lie on individuals themselves, but the organizations and governments play an important role in treating this issue as well.

The study is a qualitative survey with the purpose to through interviews with Employment Office social workers examine their perception of possibilities and obstacles in the employment market for immigrants. This purpose is specified through two specific problems; how are cultural and ethnic affiliations portrayed in relation to what is perceived as Swedish in the communication with Employment Office social workers and whether they reckon that the specifications in the employment market are pragmatically or normatively motivated. The materials are presented using a social constructivist perspective and in relation to previously conducted research and our chosen theory. The results are presented and analyzed in themes. The main conclusions drawn from the interviews are that it primarily is the individual prerequisites that are central, but that structural factors also affect the entry into the employment market. The interviewees refer to the specifications as being reasonably formulated, but that there are also implicit norms that determines the outcome of the recruitment process. Moreover, the Employment Office social workers are affected by the Swedish cultural context they work within, and that they experience ambivalence around the fact that employers assume a Swedish norm. This could conceal the competences of the unemployed and thus be excluding.

Syftet med denna studie var att jämföra ensamstående och gifta/samboende mammors syn på arbetsliv, familjeliv och hushåll samt konflikterna mellan dessa. En enkät lämnades till kvinnor på två förskolor och mailades även till en grupp deltagare, varav 64 svarade. Resultatet visade signifikanta skillnader mellan grupperna; ensamstående mammor upplevde större konflikter angående de nämnda områdena än gifta/samboende mammor. Resultatet visade även att ju sämre upplevd ekonomi, desto större konflikter gällande dessa områden. Upplevd ekonomi visade sig vara en viktigare faktor än civilståndet. Stress över sin ekonomi kanske även bidrar till stress på andra områden. Orsaken till att ensamstående mammor upplever mer konflikter kan bero på att de inte har någon att dela ansvaret med när det gäller familj, hushåll och ekonomi.

Syftet med denna undersökning var att ta reda på vilken betydelse stöd och uppmuntran upplevdes ha i arbetslivet för rådmän, om det fanns en skillnad beroende på kön, samt vilka faktorer som upplevdes vara viktiga för hälsan och arbetsklimatet. Sex semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med tre kvinnliga och tre manliga rådmän. Resultatet, som överensstämde med tidigare forskning, visade att det sociala behovet av stöd från kollegor och närmaste chef upplevdes ha störst betydelse för både kvinnor och män. Positivt för hälsa och arbetsklimat upplevde både kvinnor och män var att trivas på arbetet, ha kollegialt stöd med ett öppet arbetsklimat samt möjlighet till flexibilitet. Slutsatsen blir att socialt stöd och kollegor är viktigt för att individer ska må bra i arbetslivet.

Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka hur olika aspekter av arbetslivet påverkar individen. Vår utgångspunkt i denna uppsats är att vi ställer oss kritiska till arbeten med högt självbestämmande som blir allt mer vanligt. Till vår hjälp har vi en mängd tidigare forskning samt kritisk teori och Foucaults teori om makt och övervakning som guidar oss i genom forskningsprocessen. Urvalet är baserat på tidigare statistik framtaget av ESS, som består av ett samarbete mellan 24 europeiska länder. Uppsatsen testar hur olika aspekter av arbetslivet påverkar gränsdragningen mellan arbete och fritid. Resultaten visar att ju högre grad av självbestämmande individen har i sitt arbete, desto mindre missnöjd är hon med tidsfördelning mellan arbete och fritid samt att en högre grad av självbestämmande även tenderar att skapa en oro hos individen på hennes fritid över arbetsrelaterade problem. Vår slutsats är att det finns goda skäl att vara uppmärksam på vad detta alltmer vanliga arbetssätt kan ställa till med för individen. / The purpose of this paper is to explore how different aspects of working life affect the individual. Our starting point in this paper is that we are critical of jobs with high autonomy that is becoming increasingly common. To assist us, we have a lot of previous research as well as critical theory and Foucault’s theory about power and surveillance that guides us through the research process. The selection is based on previous statistics produced by the ESS, which consists of a collaboration between 24 European countries. The essay test different aspects of paid work and its affect on work-life balance. The results show that the higher the degree of autonomy the individual has in his/her work, the less dissatisfied he/she is with time spent between work and leisure. A higher degree of autonomy does in fact lead to the individual worrying about work-related problems in his/her leisure time. Our conclusion is that there are good reasons to pay attention to what this increasingly common tendency can affect the individual.

In North America, to become an architect, students must acquire a wide range of knowledge, create designs in studio, and spend some time working in an architecture firm. There are various lessons that they need to learn, and techniques that they develop through their education that combine to give them the necessary skills to write their professional exams. However, the education of an architect is not a process that is simple or straight-forward, and there are a series of other elements that, combined with this basic knowledge, ultimately create contemporary architects. Qualities like individual development, experience, emotional response, personal attitudes, and behaviours are not elements that are going to show up in any architecture school’s brochure, but their effect on the student is just as important as the knowledge that he or she will require to practice. To date, pedagogical inquiry into architecture seems to take two views: either looking at educational techniques and courses; or focusing on the detrimental symptoms of the less-tangible elements mentioned above. This thesis will bridge these two areas by researching the educational process and combining this knowledge with the important but more subjective areas of individual development. Through this study a clearer understanding of the profession will emerge, creating an opportunity for it to improve in the future.

The following study explores the relation between psychosocial work environment and individual health. The purpose is to examine how female employees in the occupational health sector experience their own psychosocial work environment, focusing on different influencing factors in both the workplace and their private life regarding the employees own health. The study applies a hermeneutic approach in which qualitative interviews constitute the empirical data. Previous research on this particular subject has focused on the following themes: the combination of work-family life, demand/control model and flexibility in the workplace in relation to health and stress. The theoretical framework used in this study integrates relevant concepts, specifically SOC, poor leadership and flexibility. The main findings of this study are three fundamental themes prevalent in the employees experience of health and stress: meeting the demands of the psychosocial work environment, the psychosocial work environment related to balance in everyday life  and the managements role of the psychosocial work environment. One major contribution on the research on psychosocial work environment and work-life balance is that the results presented underline the importance of a female perspective on welfare and individual wellness.

Around the globe, many organisations are still dominated by male managerial models. In spite of the progress in the status of women in our society in the last decades, higher positions in organisations are still held by men, even though women have the capacity to occupy these positions. This work investigates many studies about the different arguments linked to organisations that researchers/authors have done on this subject. It uses narrative as a key focus to explore the under-representation of women in higher positions within national and multinational organisations. The theoretical part of this thesis enables a better understanding of aspects of leadership in organisations,        and discusses the whole idea of gender labelling leadership as masculine or feminine, but also to present the principal hurdles encountered by women in organisations. Using the empirical method involves undertaking semi-structured interviews with women and men in high management positions, in order to construct a solid basis for analysis and discussion by putting forward solutions. I hope that my work will enable my readers to find some solutions, and that it can serve as a guideline for firms in order to encourage them to benefit. I will try to propose a solution for them to harness the under-utilised talent of their female employees and to pool and foster an environment of respect and equity based on merit rather than on gender.

Det är inte ovanligt att massmedia rapporterar om hur användningen av sociala medier orsakar negativa följder. Detta väckte vårt intresse och utifrån perspektivet sociala medier, valde vi därför att undersöka var gränserna går mellan det offentliga, det privata och arbetslivet. Initialt behandlas frågan om vad som anses tillhöra det privata respektive det offentliga, vilket åtföljs av frågorna om var arbetslivet befinner sig i relation till dessa och vad som kontrollerar dessa gränser. För att kunna undersöka, analysera och diskutera dessa frågor har vi genomfört en intervjustudie. Resultaten tyder på att gränserna är svårdefinierbara och att de är individuellt förankrade. I och med denna subjektivitet i gränsdragningen är det svårt att fastställa vad som är accepterat eller inte att skriva om på sociala medier, det tycks vara en gråzon. Att gränserna är diffusa innebär att de snarare bör betraktas som överlappningar mellan de tre sfärerna, än helt åtskilda från varandra.