The South African construction industry plays an important role in the economy and overall development of the country, with respect to its total fiscal contribution and the total number of people who are employed. In addition, it is a major contributor to infrastructure development. However, the human resource base within this industry is confronted with a plethora of challenges that are inherent to the construction industry. These manifest themselves in stressful working conditions and long working hours, labour intensive jobs, reduced job security due to job losses and short-term projects, and the feeble health and safety (H&S) standards. Together with a variety of socio-economic and political issues, these challenges form a perceived and broad organisational culture of this industry, which impacts on the industry‟s productivity. As construction management efforts in the development of the human resources base increase, the industry recognises that work-life balance is an important and critical issue in the 21st century. Construction management is a discipline that embodies two interdependent dimensions; the management of the business of construction and the management of projects. Of the latter, the key principles thereof are, as part of a management strategy, planning, organizing, leading, controlling and coordinating projects. To achieve these strategic components, an effective human resource base is required. Work-life balance is therefore a management issue and organizational culture sets a backdrop from which it can be understood. This study focused on the status of the organisational culture of the production establishments that form part of the construction industry and the manner in which it manifests on the work-life balance of the workers. Furthermore, the correlation between work-life balance and individual work performance was examined. An exploratory research approach was adopted and the research technique followed an interview protocol. The main findings demonstrate that the South African construction industry is predominantly a clan culture with minor characteristics of the hierarchy, adhocracy and market cultures. Furthermore, work-life balance is difficult to attain and it influences individual work performance. The main conclusion is that organizational culture in construction firms is imbalanced. Thus, the main recommendation is that the industry adopts a balanced organizational culture and modern human resource practices.

Work design and content is changing. Accompanying this change has been an increasing demand by workers for policy makers to factor the issue of managing workers’ work and life. Work–life balance as a concept has attracted attention for several years as a result of individuals attempting to juggle multiple demands from both work and outside the workplace. The number of multiple demands on individuals usually vary from one person to the other and can increase or decrease at different stages of the person’s life. Essentially, this study reviewed work–life balance literature as espoused from the UK and US schools of thought. The purpose of this research is to explore the extent to which work–life balance policies and practices are a reality for employees and managers in the Nigerian banking sector; to investigate the adoption and use of policies/practices in Nigerian banks and finally to examine the barriers to and reasons for their muted adoption and utilisation of work–life balance policies and practices in Nigerian banks. This research is exploratory in nature and it adopted a mixed-method research technique which allowed for in-depth information from the respondents. The methodological approach used in this study is a qualitative dominant mixed method. A mixed-method approach was used in this study following the traditions of McCarthy, Darcy and Grady (2010); Kalliath and Brough (2008); Halford, (2006) and Beauregard and Henry (2009) to ensure the validity and reliability of the study and also to offer different insights in order to make the final result of the research more robust. A questionnaire and semi structured interview technique was utilised. The study was based on 20 of the 24 banks in the Nigerian banking sector. The total sample size was three hundred and sixty nine (369), of which two hundred and fifteen (215) questionnaires were completed and one hundred and thirty four (134) semi-structured interviews conducted for the bankers while (20) semi structured interviews were conducted for the trade union officials. In order to ensure that the cross-section of relevant respondents was as representative as possible, interviewees were divided into three categories: employees, managers and trade union officials. SPSS was used to analysis the quantitative data, while qualitative data was analysed using NVivo software through the coding of the large quantity of data collected. The themes that emerged from the analysis were used to discuss the research issues in the light of prior research findings from various empirical researches. The quantitative contribution of the study revealed that age was not significant to the bankers as regards issues relating to work life balance. The qualitative findings on the other hand revealed that there is diversity in terms of how both managerial and non-managerial employees understood and experienced WLB initiatives in the Nigerian banking sector. In addition, the study showed that cultural sensitivity affects how WLB is appreciated and utilised. The research also contributes to the spill-over theory by adding age, gender, implementation and benefits of work–life balance. This research has contributed to the body of knowledge on work–life balance issues in the Nigerian banking industry. This study also contributes to the existing literature on connotations of work–life balance by utilising a mixed method approach to explore and explain the different notions of work–life balance and usage of work–life balance initiatives.

Work-life balance is often a discussed topic in most industrialized countries. Many employees are dissatisfied with working hours, high labor intensity and stress at work. A large number of employees would prefer flexible working hours, part-time, which would lead to better opportunities for reconciling work and family life. Individuals are trying to find a balance between professional and personal interests, some are even forced to decide whether to give priority to family and private life. Thesis deals with different work-life balance policies and programs, problems of gender differences and equal opportunities. It examines how the Czech Republic is able to juggle family and work life. It focuses on the status of women in the labour market, including historical context, the individual programs and policies that promote the harmonization of personal and professional sphere. The practical part analyzed the situation in selected countries and the paper is also engaged in various international companies in which I used structured interviews with HR representatives and other staff examined the possibility of work-life balance and the differences between the situation in the Czech affiliates and the mother country.

This Master's Thesis deals with the balance between an entrepreneurship and a personal life. Its main goal is to identify which factors have or don't have an impact on the balance between an entrepreneurship and a personal life. As a part of the theoretical section I defined components of balanced life, the consequences of imbalances and recommendations how to get a life into a balance. Additionally, there are described important parts of entrepreneurship. For my methodological section I established the list of standards how to choose a suitable entrepreneurs for my research as well as research methods (incl. personal interviews with every single entrepreneur) and data evaluation system. This methodological section justifies and determines the way in which the balance is measured. In my practical section I examined a sample of 40 entrepreneurs (majored in restaurant business). During the research I tried to find a statistical significance among groups of entrepreneurs. The research results leads to the conclusion that the balance between an entrepreneurship and a personal life depends on qualitative rather than on quantitative features.

The Master's Thesis on "Analysis of the conditions of use of programs for disadvantaged workers at Česká spořitelna, a.s." deals with harmonizing personal and professional life and support of disadvantaged groups of workers in Česká spořitelna (Czech Savings Bank). The aim is to analyze the level of Česká spořitelna staff's awareness of programs aimed at supporting disadvantaged groups of workers. To find out how they are informed of such programs existence, how they perceive the programs, what their opinions are on the programs and how they use the wide variety of activities and support in their daily lives. The theoretical part defines basic terms and characterizes selected programs. The empirical part takes up resolving the actual research, which is carried via questionnaires and individual interviews. A subsequent analysis of the research outcomes is essential in order to draw conclusions and propose appropriate recommendations in the field of diversity management and work-life balance in Česká spořitelna.

The thesis discusses the problems of reconciling work and family life, focusing on the provision of services in a children's group under Act no. 247/2014 Coll. The theoretical part defines basic concepts relevant to work-life balance and briefly summarizes the options of preschool children care in the Czech Republic. The first part also elaborates the legal formalities of so called children's group. The practical part aims to assess the current situation of a specific children's group, reveals its strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats and on their basis formulates recommendations for its future successful operation. When processing this paper, literature review, description, questionnaire, depth interview and a final analysis and synthesis of knowledge utilized for formulating future proposals are used.

This thesis focuses on the reconciliation of work and family responsibilities of women. The aim is to find out how women manage to balance work and family, how much time per week they dedicate to housework and family care and how is their partner involved in the responsibilities. Interviews and questionnaires are used for these purposes. The idea of gender roles is reflected not only in the work area, but also in the personal one. The man expects that the woman will take care of household and children. It is appropriate for the partners to have an equal part of the responsibilities that arise from living together and starting a family. It is also necessary to solve who of the partners stays on parental leave. It always depends on the individual case and the mutual agreement of the partners.

This Master's Thesis deals with attitude of women entrepreneurs to manage their time in relation to the balance between work and personal life. The main goal is to determine how women manage to fulfill different roles (entrepreneur, mother, wife, friend, etc.) and what rules or procedures they use to align all of these roles in terms of time. The theoretical part characterize the role of women in today's society, describe the definition of work-life balance and time management. Methodological part defines the list of criteria according to which I choose a suitable entrepreneurs for my research and also describes research methods for evaluating the data. The practical part examines a sample of 21 entrepreneurs from various specialization and interprets the results. At the end of thesis there are recommendations about time management obtained from the research and from the practice of female respondents.

Men and women are both faced with daily decisions that affect their families and their work. This paper will look at the overall satisfaction of employees as it relates to work &ndash life conflict. The concept has expanded as there are more responsibilities outside of the job setting that include volunteer commitments, personal development, home life and elder care. Since lifestyles have changed and there are significant pressures that all employees are facing, work &ndash life has become a significant benefit issue. Family &ndash friendly policies may help organizations to assist employees with balancing work and family. Conflict roles can spillover from the work domain to the family domain and from the family domain to the work domain. Time and technical connectivity are factors in work overload. Supporting employees could contribute to job satisfaction by offering alternative work schedules and family-friendly benefits. Organizations that offer flexible alternatives can engage employees and decrease job turnover.

Flexibilitet, digitalisering och ett stort eget ansvar på individen, är faktorer som präglar dagens arbetsliv. Den informationsteknologiska utvecklingen har gjort att många arbeten blivit allt mindre beroende av tid och rum. De nya möjligheterna innebär att arbeta utan reglerade villkor för när, var och hur arbetet skall utföras. Yrken som faller inom dessa ramar kallas allt vanligare för gränslösa arbeten. Ett arbete som är tydligt präglat av det gränslösa arbetet är butikschefsyrket. Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur butikschefer upplever balansen mellan arbete och fritid under de gränslösa arbetsvillkor de arbetar under. Studien har en metodologisk ansats i kvalitativ innehållsanalys och grundar sig i semistrukturerade intervjuer med tio butikschefer. Resultatet har analyserats enligt ett teoretiskt ramverk baserat på Boundary Theory av Nippert-Eng (1996), Work/Family Border Theory av Clark (2000), Karasek och Theorells (1990) Krav-kontroll-stödmodell, samt McClellands (1987) motivationsteori. Resultatet av studien visar att majoriteten av de intervjuade butikscheferna upplever en god balans mellan arbete och privatliv. Upplevelsen de har präglas av fungerande sätt att dra gränser, i kombination med hög motivation, hög kontroll i enlighet med höga krav, och ett gott stöd från kollegor.