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.

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.

Work gets more seamless and the demand on workers increases because of changes in the labour market. Studies show benefits for workers and companies if the employee achieves a balance between work and family, a way to facilitate it is family-friendly policies. A study done by Unionen shows that three out of four white collar workers choose to vobba (working and caring for a sick child), which blurs the boundaries between work and family. Research on flexibility, organisational culture and gender structures shows how these aspects affect the balance between work and family. This is a study where seven white collar workers (three men) that vobbar and two managers (one man) were interviewed. The study adds deeper insights into how white collar workers and managers are experiencing vobb and the results suggest that they experience vobb as something positive to achieve a balance between work and family, but there is a risk of vobb being considered a constraint, creating a lack of boundaries where one is working almost all the time. / Förändringar på arbetsmarknaden gör arbetet mer gränslöst och ökar kraven på arbetstagarna. Studier visar på vinster för arbetstagare och företag om arbetstagaren uppnår balans mellan arbete och familjeliv, ett sätt att underlätta är genom familjevänliga policies. En undersökning genomförd av Unionen visar att tre av fyra tjänstemän väljer att vobba (jobba och vårda sjukt barn), vilket suddar ut gränserna mellan arbete och familj. Forskning om flexibilitet, företagskultur och könsstrukturer visar hur de påverkar balansen mellan arbete och familjeliv. Detta är en kvalitativ studie i form av intervjuer med sju tjänstemän (tre män) som vobbar och två chefer (en man). Studien tillför en fördjupad insikt i hur tjänstemän och chefer upplever företeelsen vobb och resultaten tyder på att de upplever vobb som positivt för att uppnå balans mellan arbete och familjeliv, men med en risk för att uppfattas som ett tvång och skapa en gränslöshet där man halvjobbar nästan hela tiden.

I mitten av 1900-talet steg antalet kvinnor på arbetsmarknaden dramatiskt vilket fick tillföljd att debatten kring möjligheten till balans mellan arbete och fritid, work-life balance, tog fart på allvar. Det övergripande syftet med denna studie är att bringa en bredare förståelse kring kvinnor i förhållande till aspekter av arbete, som berör balansen mellan privatliv och yrkesliv. Intentionen är att tillföra personalområdet en djupare och bredare förståelse kringde villkor som kvinnliga arbetstagare dagligen måste förhålla sig till och därmed också arbetsgivare. Resultatet visar, utifrån kvinnornas berättelser, att samhälleliga förutsättningar för balans och integration, jämställdheten i parrelationen och dess betydelse för balans och integration samt kvinnornas egna strategier kring balans och integration är viktiga aspekter för kvinnorna i hur de balanserar och hanterar work-life balance. Det har även visat sig att förändringar i ovannämnda perspektiv av work-life balance är små mellan generationerna. I de samhälleliga förutsättningarna för balans och integration syns tydliga förändringar mellan generationerna. Politiska och organisatoriska förutsättningar har förändrats över tid. Nya hjälpmedel och möjligheter för individen har etablerats och den samhällsekonomiska situationen förändrats. Jämställdheten i parrelationen och dess betydelse för balans och integration förhåller sig till de samhälleliga förutsättningarna och har förändrats i takt med att förutsättningarna förändrats så som nya politiska beslut, lagar och omsorgsmöjligheter. Kvinnornas egna strategier kring balans och integration tycks däremot vara liknande över tid. Visserligen finns dessa i ett sammanhang som förändrats. Strategierna förhåller sig till de ovannämnda perspektiven och i och med det så påverkas kvinnorna av den tid de lever i. Men problematiken är fortfarande densamma som de försöker lösa.

The purpose of this study was to identify and describe agriculture teachers on factors related to career retention and to explore the relationships between agriculture teachers? work engagement, work-life balance, occupational commitment, and personal and career factors as related to the decision to remain in the teaching profession. The target population for this study was defined as experienced agricultural educators who had completed a minimum of four years of teaching experience, who were currently employed in a secondary agricultural education classroom for the 2009-2010 school calendar. The accessible population consisted of those experienced agricultural educators in the southern region of the United States: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The study sought responses from a stratified random sample of those teachers to ensure geographical and gender representation equivalent that of the target population. This study employed descriptive-correlational research procedures. The instrument was constructed utilizing portions of the four studies to measure the variables of interest. Independent samples t-tests revealed there were no statistical differences between genders on any responses. A regression analysis revealed a 25% variance in occupation commitment attributed to work-life balance and work engagement. Note: This student obtained a joint doctoral degree from Texas A&M University and Texas Tech.

The purpose of this study was to describe the perceptions of former beginning agriscience teachers and to explore the relationships between these perceptions, the characteristics of former beginning agriscience teachers, work satisfaction, work-life balance, and their reasons for leaving the profession. Information was gathered from former secondary agriscience teachers across Texas who left the profession during the 2001-2 through 2005-6 academic years. A survey instrument was created specifically for this study through which information about perceived work satisfaction, work-life balance, effect of work-life on attrition, and demographic characteristics of the former beginning agriscience teachers was gathered. Data were analyzed using descriptive and correlational statistics. For this population, work satisfaction, work-life balance, and teacher attrition were not found to differentiate among demographic and career characteristics: age, gender, ethnicity, employment, salary, teacher training institution, years of experience, agriscience department size, hours on the job, or FFA area association. The results suggested evidence of an inverse relationship between work satisfaction and beginning agriscience teacher attrition as well as an inverse relationship between work-life balance and agriscience teacher attrition. Nearly half of all respondents reported the wanting of balance between professional work and personal life as their chief reason for leaving the profession. Closely following this reason were the placement of students in agriscience classes who did not choose to be in the elective courses and too much time away from family. Nearly two-thirds of the respondents offered the recommendation to set a maximum student enrollment per class period and to decrease the number of class preparations/course sections taught by beginning teachers. Over half of the respondents made the recommendation to share the load of shows and contests equally among teachers and to increase the number of teachers in the agriscience department. To improve the preparation and retention of agriscience teachers, two-thirds of the respondents recommended a salary increase. The recommendation following salary and given by nearly half of respondents was to provide mentor teachers. And, one-third of respondents offered the recommendation for more follow-ups from university teacher trainers.

Includes vita. / Title from PDF of title page. / Document formatted into pages; contains 141 pages. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of South Florida, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references. / Text (Electronic thesis) in PDF format. / ABSTRACT: The factor structure of the work/family conflict scale developed by Carlson, Kacmar, & Williams (2000) was analyzed for measurement invariance between a US and an Australian/New Zealand (ANZ) sample using a multisample confirmatory factor analysis procedure. Results indicated that factor pattern fit between the female samples on the common model was good-to-mediocre, and factor pattern fit between the male samples and the common model was mediocre-to-poor. Both samples exhibited significant changes in chi square when testing for the more restrictive factor loading equivalence. Partial measurement invariance revealed a better fit between the male samples when three of the items were unconstrained, and when eight items were unconstrained between the female samples. Finally, males and females in the ANZ sample exhibited factor pattern invariance, but required two items to be unconstrained before factor loading invariance was achieved. / ABSTRACT: Mean differences on the six scales revealed higher levels of time-based work interference with family and family interference with work for males than for females in the ANZ sample. / System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader. / Mode of access: World Wide Web.

The aim of this dissertation is to explore various dimensions of work–life balance in Europe. I examine the extent to which institutional factors, working conditions and individual resources influence individuals’ capabilities to have a family and engage in family life. The theoretical framework is inspired by Amartya Sen’s capability framework, a multi-dimensional approach that provides a deeper understanding of the relationship between institutional contexts and individual capabilities. Four studies have been conducted. The first study focuses on women’s short-term childbearing intentions in ten European countries and finds that the association between such intentions and economic uncertainties varies by the policy support for work-family reconciliation in the country as well as individual factors, such as her educational level, and her number of children. The second study addresses the impact of family-friendly working conditions on young adult women’s childbearing behaviour in Sweden, showing the importance of family-friendly working condition for the transition to motherhood of less educated childless women with low income, and for second births of low educated mothers. The third study analyses gender differences in perceived work–home conflict in ten European countries, and the importance of work-family policies and gender norms. I find that gender differences are more pronounced in countries with weaker support for work-family reconciliation and more traditional gender norms. The fourth study focuses on tensions between work and family demands that parents in Hungary and Sweden experience, and on their capabilities to make claims for work–life balance. We find greater agency inequalities for Hungarian parents for claims making for and achievement of work-life balance, in contrast to a strong sense of entitlement to exercise rights to care among Swedish parents, which reflect country variations in policy supports for work−life balance, working time regimes and social norms regarding work and care. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 1: Submitted. Paper 2: Submitted. Paper 3: Submitted.</p>

This phenomenological study expands from current mentoring literature within the mass communication field in understanding how mentoring can contribute to the successful careers of public relations entrepreneurial women. While many scholars indicate that mentoring is effective for women, the present study describes how mentoring has affected the women participants' public relations careers and personal lives. In-depth interviews focused on following five research questions: What have been the key contributing factors in the success of public relations women entrepreneurs? How has mentoring helped the women participants achieve their goals in a public relations career and in starting their own company? Which mentoring strategy (formal or informal) is perceived as being most effective? Do women benefit more from having a women mentor versus male? What motivating reasons attributed the public relations women participants to undertake their own business? The qualitative interview data generated six common themes which are: (1) networking, mentoring, building key relationships and a strong work ethic as being key to their success, (2) career mentoring from university faculty members and/or Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) as an integral part in the commencement of their public relations careers, (3) mentoring affirmed their self-worth, (4) informal mentoring being perceived as more beneficial due to the long lasting relationship that follows, (5) male mentors being as effective as female mentors relative to career issues, although women provide both career and psychological mentoring, and (6) mentoring, lack of employment opportunities, and a better work-life balance being the three main key contributing factors in women professionals starting their own public relations company.