The issue of work-life balance and work-life conflict has become increasingly important as the relationship between employer and employee becomes more flexible. This situation has blurred the line between what was once clearly the place of work and the place of life. Various studies have found evidence linking poor work-life balance to increased rates of adverse health outcomes, increasing the need for organisational cultures, policies, and interventions to better address the phenomenon’s underlying antecedents, mediators, and aggravators. However, knowledge of these mechanisms has often remained limited, and many have called for greater expansion of the individual characteristics that get accounted for in research and intervention design. Using a mixed-methods approach in a Swedish context, it was explored whether conservatism (social + economic) was one of these characteristics, testing for a significant relationship with work-life conflict. The quantitative findings (linear regression) showed a significant and positive relationship between social conservatism and work-life conflict. In contrast, economic conservatism had a significant and negative relationship with work-life conflict. These relationships held while controlling for demographics (age, sex, living status), psycho-social characteristics (class identity, emotional stability, work-life satisfaction), and occupational characteristics (working hours, education, job demands and control). The qualitative aspect explored different causes and strategies of work-life conflict across low, medium, and high self-rated conservatives, using content analysis to find any latent differences. The qualitative findings suggest that individuals higher in conservatism prefer strategies to cope with work-life conflict that focus more on order and stability compared to those lower. The overall findings have implications for research and policy that address work-life balance issues. It also suggests there is room to expand our traditional conceptualisation of conservatism as a general tendency beyond any political system of thought.

No description available.

Conflict between work and home continues to be a source of distress for many working people. This research had two major aims: one was to explore whether one's life values are associated with perceived conflict between work and non-work roles. Specifically, postmaterialism and materialism were examined to assess their relationship to work interference with family, and family interference with work. As hypothesized, materialism was positively associated with both directions of work-life conflict. Contrary to predictions, postmaterialism was not associated with work-life conflict. The second aim was to assess the predictive value of three different conceptualizations of materialism-postmaterialism for work-life conflict. Using a strong inference method (Platt, 1964), Inglehart's (1990) unidimensional measure was compared to bidimensional (Bean & Papadakis, 1994) and interactional (Giacalone & Jurkiewicz, 2004) conceptualizations. Results showed that the bidimensional model explained significantly more variance in work-life conflict than the unidimensional model, while the interactional model explained little additional variance. This study adds to research demonstrating links between materialism and various forms of negative well-being (Kasser, 2002). Suggestions are given regarding future research and how companies may be able to reduce employees' work-life conflict by de-emphasizing materialistic values. / Business Administration/Interdisciplinary

The official standard of a 40-hour work week has not changed for decades in the United States. A flexible work arrangement (a.k.a. telework, flexible schedule or telecommuting) is an alternative to the traditional 9am to 5pm, 40+hours work week in office. In truth, the working environment has changed as employees are expected to work more than 40 hours per week and must be accessible around the clock on weekends and after the end of the workday. Millennials and Baby Boomers (called the emerging populations) are pushing the agenda on flexible work arrangements and getting more flexible schedules. Technology makes this all possible. Millennials are described as the always-connected-to-the-internet generation (Choney, 2012), while any new technological process requires significant instruction and training, and presents a challenge for older workers (Charness, 2006). This grounded theory research (Glaser and Strauss, 1999) informs and updates academics, practitioners, companies, and employees on how technology is enabling flexible working arrangements (referred to as FWA) for the emerging populations. The paper draws on both unstructured interviews and a survey with key informants across age ranges who are business owners, corporate workers, and employees. It explores the tools that are critical to connecting to the office, the advantages and disadvantages of working outside the office, and gives guidelines for employers and workers to utilize when creating a best-in-class flexible environment. Keywords: flexible work arrangement, flexible schedule, millennials, baby boomers, telecommuting, work-life conflict, technology, best practices, emerging populations / Business Administration/Human Resource Management

Thesis (Ph.D. Commerce (Human Resource Management)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / This thesis addresses work-life conflict, a topical phenomenon for the career progression and wellbeing of women. Notwithstanding a lot of interest in the topic, as well as various endeavours after treaties and legislation to support women in the workplace it continues to be a subject of research interest since work-life balance has not been achieved yet. The current study intended to explore what the women managers in the public sector of Limpopo Province understand by work-life conflict, as well as their experiences and to proffer a framework for understanding the work-life conflict of women managers. The study highlights that numerous working women are still inundated with non-work responsibilities, which results in conflict with the expected responsibilities in the work environment. The resultant work-life conflict continues to have career-limiting effects on women. The study employed a mixed-methods design to collect data. The quantitative part of the study used questionnaires to collect data and a total of 68 usable questionnaires were returned. For the qualitative part individual interviews were conducted with a total of 16 women. Given the mixed nature of the data, the research applied two genres of analytical techniques, viz. thematic analysis and non-parametric relational analysis. The findings of the study indicate that most of the women managers in the study understand work-life conflict to mean work-to-life interference. The women managers conceptualise life-to-work interference as a normal phenomenon, which serves as a function of maintaining homeostasis in their social structure. The results further suggested that only the workplace has to be changed for them to attain work-life balance. The women managers in the study also appear to experience physical and psychological health problems due to not coping with work-life conflict. The research results deliver invaluable information that can be employed in strategies that attempt to alleviate the negative experiences of work-life conflict by women managers. This study has developed an integrative framework for understanding the work-life conflict of women managers in the public sector. None of the existing theories has propounded any integrative framework for understanding the work-life conflict of women managers in the public sector. The current findings add to the knowledge on addressing the work-life conflict of women managers by delivering context-specific recommendations of what organisations can do to attain work-life balance. Key words: work-life conflict; coping strategies; public sector; women managers; work-life balance; Integrated work-life conflict framework

Workplace stress costs -£3.7 billion per annum in the United Kingdom and in excess of $300 billion per annum in the United States. However, little research exists on the relationships between perceptions of social support, work-life conflict, job performance, and workplace stress. The purpose of this correlational study was to provide educational leaders with the information they need to examine the existence, strength, and direction of relationships between perceptions of social support, work-life conflict, job performance, and workplace stress in an Irish higher education institution. The theoretical framework for this study consisted of a combination of reward imbalance theory, expectancy theory, and equity theory. The study included an organizational stress screening survey instrument to survey the population (N = 1,420) of academic, research, and support staff. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationships between the independent variables (social support, work-life conflict, job performance), the covariates (staff category, direct reports, age, gender), and the dependent variable (workplace stress). The results showed a negative correlation between social support and workplace stress, a positive correlation between work-life conflict and workplace stress, and a negative correlation between job performance and workplace stress (p < .05). The results also revealed significant relationships between the covariates direct reports and gender and the dependent variable workplace stress. By reviewing the findings of this study, educational leaders can enable social change by developing and implementing social support, work-life strategies, and potential pathways to reduce levels of workplace stress and improve quality of life for employees and their families.

Abstract Date: 2017-06-05 Level: Master thesis in Business Administration, 15 cr Institution: School of Business, Society and Engineering, Mälardalen University Authors:                             Nilsson, Isabella                  Ulriksson, Jennifer                                            920507                                930119 Title: Connection versus Recovery? Communication technology in the modern working life.  Tutor: Magnus Hoppe Keywords: Smartphones, Information and communication technology, Boundary control, Psychological detachment, Work-Life Conflict, Stress, Job-Demand-Control. Research question: How do managers handle the positive and negative effects of communication technology? Purpose: The aim of this study is to critically analyse how managers in Sweden regulate the use of communication technology and how they perceive the effects of communication technology on the modern workplace. This contributes to an understanding regarding whether communication technology should be handled based on individuals being either digitally connected or able to mentally recover from work. Method: This study is of a qualitative approach, where semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight managers who is/ or has been, in charge of personnel. The study has a deductive approach and thus has its base in theory. Theories have consequently been used in the construction of the interview questions as well as in the creation of Modell 1.0. Conclusion: Policies restricting the use of communication technology is not desirable according to managers, this is due to it being a prerequisite for the working life of 2017. ‘Connection’ and ‘recovery’ are not dichotomies for all employees. Policies can be of use for employees who need help managing the boundaries between work and family. However, to reach a solution regarding the negative effects of communication technology, efforts should be put into the organizational culture rather than policies, which is depicted in Model 2.0. In that way, negative effects of communication technology can be fought off without risking the positive effects. Communication technology should not be handled based on the assumption that individuals are either digitally connected or able to mentally recover from work.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Work-life conflict has been repeatedly demonstrated to have a negative impact on individuals and organizations alike. Although the negative impact of work-life conflict has been recognized in the Industrial Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavioral literature, very few researchers have developed interventions to reduce it. Moreover, the interventions currently in existence tend not to be practical, grounded in relevant theory, or experimentally tested. Thus, the present study sought to create and test an intervention based upon concepts from border theory and conservation of resources theory. Specifically, using these theories, the intervention sought to provide segmentation techniques as a resource for participants to reduce work-life conflict. The intervention was tested on a group of university employees. Results were unsupportive of predicted hypotheses, the intervention was not found to significantly impact segmentation, work-life conflict, work outcomes, or personal outcomes. Future directions, theoretical and practical contributions, and limitations are discussed. Despite insignificant findings, the present study offers practical and theoretical guidance for organizations and researchers interested in developing interventions to reduce work-life conflict.

Syftet med uppsatsen var att undersöka om det finns ett samband mellan oro för jobbförlust och upplevd work-life conflict. Uppsatsens teoretiska utgångspunkt grundar sig i forskning om rollkonflikt och anställningsotrygghet. Work-life conflict (WLC) definieras som en rollkonflikt där arbetslivet och privatlivet konkurrerar om en individs begränsade resurser. Oro för jobbförlust syftar i huvudsak till en subjektiv oro över att bli av med sin anställning, snarare än faktiskt otrygga anställningsvillkor. Uppsatsens datamaterial kommer från en tvärsnittsundersökning från den svenska studien inom det internationella forskningsprojektet ISSP från 2015 vilken undersöker åsikter om jobbet och arbetslivet via enkäter. Det obundna slumpmässiga urvalet har begränsats i uppsatsen och består av totalt 596 respondenter som alla vid tillfälle för besvarad enkät förvärvsarbetar. För att undersöka sambandet och testa hypotesen används linjär regressionsmodell som analysmetod. Resultaten visade på ett positivt samband mellan oro för jobbförlust och work-life conflict vilket förstärker tidigare forskningsresultat på området. I den multivariata regressionsanalysen inkluderas kontroll för demografiska, samt arbetslivsrelaterade variabler och sambandet blir något starkare. Sammanfattningsvis går det positiva sambandet mellan oro för jobbförlust och work-life conflict att generalisera till hela populationen, det vill säga Sveriges arbetande befolkning då resultatet i den multivariata regressionsanalysen är av statistisk signifikans. Dessa resultat bidrar med en ny kontext på forskningsfrågan i och med det bredare urvalet och intressanta samhällsläget.

Problematisk skolfrånvaro bland svenska elever är ett växande problem där ett stort ansvar läggs på barnets vårdnadshavare. Syftet med föreliggandestudie var att undersöka hur mödrar till barn som lider av problematisk skolfrånvaro upplever balansen mellan arbets- och familjeliv med hjälp av kvalitativ metod. Nio semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes för att sedan tematiseras. Tematiseringen identifierade sex teman som berör aspekter som hindrar och främjar intervjudeltagarnas upplevelse av balans i vardagenutifrån studiens två frågeställningar. Resultat från studien visade på en obalans där familjelivet påverkar arbetslivet genom upplevd otillräcklighet, mental och fysisk frånvaro i arbetslivet samt brister i stödsystemet kring barnen. Därtill visade resultatet att arbetet som fristad och energigivare, stöd från kollegor och chef samt flexibla arbetsformer främjar balansen. Slutsatser från studien är att mödrarna är i en ohållbar situation där det råder en obalans mellan arbets- och familjelivet, där brister i stödsystemet kring barnen och oförutsägbarheten hindrar balansen.