[pt] Já há algum tempo as organizações estão atentas à questão de work-life balance, tendo criado diversos programas e benefícios para promover um melhor equilíbrio entre vida pessoal e vida profissional dos funcionários, visando uma melhoria da produtividade. O tema também é de interesse do mundo acadêmico que pesquisa os impactos nocivos do desequilíbrio para as organizações e para o bem-estar dos funcionários, bem como suas causas e consequências. Todavia, essas pesquisas são, em sua maioria, voltadas para a elite trabalhadora, os whitecollar, dando pouca atenção aos segmentos profissionais menos qualificados. Esta constatação motivou o presente estudo que teve por objetivo compreender como o tema é percebido por indivíduos de diferentes origens socioeconômicas. Ancorado nos postulados de Bourdieu (2007), de que a percepção dos indivíduos é afetada pela classe ou fração de classe social, partiu-se da pressuposição de que a questão do equilíbrio entre vida pessoal e vida profissional não seria percebida, da mesma forma, por indivíduos de diferentes segmentos profissionais. Através de uma pesquisa qualitativa, trabalhadores de diferentes estratos socioeconômicos foram entrevistados visando um entendimento da percepção de cada um em relação ao equilíbrio entre vida pessoal e vida profissional. Os resultados dessa pesquisa indicaram que o tema é mais bem compreendido por trabalhadores de nível socioeconômico superior, sugerindo que work-life balance é um conceito definido pela elite, os pesquisadores da Academia, membros da elite cultural da sociedade (Bourdieu, 2007), para as elites. / [en] Organisations have been concerned for some time with work-life balance. Several programmes and benefits have been created to promote a better employees work-life balance, aiming to improve the productivity. It is also in the interest of academics to study the impact of the imbalance on organisations and on employees well-being, as wells as its causes and consequences. However, the majority of these studies are focused on upper class workers, who are also known as white-collars, while little attention is paid to the less qualified professionals. This fact has motivated this study, which has the objective to comprehend how work-life balance is perceived by individuals from different socioeconomic strata. Anchored in Bourdieu s (2007) assumptions that individual perceptions are impacted by social class or fraction of class, it is presumed that the work-life balance is perceived differently by individuals from different professional segments. Through qualitative research, workers from different socioeconomic strata were interviewed aiming to understand the perception of each one in relation to work-life balance. The results indicated that work-life balance is better comprehended by workers with higher socioeconomic status, suggesting that this concept was defined by the elite, the academic researchers, members of the intelectual elite of the society (Bourdieu, 2007), for the elite.

During 2020 we have endured a long-lasting pandemic which has made an impact on daily life. The worklife could perhaps be the most affected area since a large portion of people have been forced to work from home. This could in turn lead to a troublesome relationship between the roles of private life and worklife, in other words an increase of work-life balance conflicts. This study aims to examine the consequences of telecommuting and the conditions required to achieve work-life balance. To conduct this study a qualitative method was used where ten parents of young children were interviewed. Earlier research performed on telecommuting has shown mixed results where various studies show either positive or negative outcomes. Our results show a mix of both positive and negative results depending on whether work-life balance is achieved or not. Different factors play a role in achieving work-life balance. Things such as personality, the stability of relationship and the characteristics of work play key roles in the outcome of telecommuting. The result shows that 2/10 did not achieve work-life balance, resulting in role conflict. However, 8/10 did achieve a balance between the roles where we argue for a symbiotic relationship. Most participants found telecommuting to be positive where participants value being able to spend more time with their families. Our results are in line with both the negative and positive findings of previous research. This contributes further to the uncertain results suggesting that more research is needed.

Title: The Janus face of the informal work - A qualitative study of women's informal work Research question: What are women’s perceptions of the informal work? Purpose: The purpose of the study was to make an inventory of women’s perceptions of the informal work that is part of a woman’s lot. Method: This study was conducted with an inductive research approach using a qualitative research strategy. The empirical material used in the study was collected through unstructured interviews with seven different women. Conclusions: The answer to this study’s research question is that the study’s women informers’ perceptions of the informal work are both positive and negative. The study’s main finding is first and foremost that the study’s women informers experience two different kinds of informal work. The first kind is informal work related to household chores and the other kind is formal- informal work. The second finding of the study is that there is a Janus face to discover when it comes to women’s informal work since the positive sides of the informal work affects the neg- ative sides and vice versa. Keywords: Gender roles, gender stereotypes, gender status, gender hierarchy, work-life bal- ance, work-life conflict, stress, motivation, job satisfaction, unpaid work, informal work, invis- ible work.

Kvinnor har traditionellt sett tagit ett större ansvar över hem- och familjeliv. Forskning visar också att kvinnor upplever svårigheter i att balansera arbetsliv och privatliv. När Covid-19 kom förändrades premisserna för vårt arbetsliv drastiskt. Det var inte längre en självklarhet att gå till arbetets fysiska lokaler för att uträtta arbetsuppgifterna, snarare tvärtom. Helt plötsligt var alla som hade möjlighet uppmanade att arbeta hemifrån. Utifrån vetskapen om kvinnors tidigare upplevelser av att balansera familjeliv och privatliv ämnar denna studie att söka förståelse över hur kvinnor med hemmaboende barn upplever att de mår av distansarbetet då de arbetar hemifrån. I studien framkommer att kvinnorna upplever att de mår bättre och har mer harmoni men samtidigt visar de också på att de har svårt att göra gränsdragningen mellan arbetsliv och privatliv. Kvinnorna vittnar om att de känner sig splittrade mellan de båda sfärerna. Detta stämmer också överens med vad forskningen påvisar. Studien tar avstamp i fyra teorier - krav kontroll- och stödmodellen. I studien används den för att påvisa hur kontrollmöjligheter och socialt stöd påverkar individens förutsättningar att klara av att utföra sitt arbete. Vidare används görandet av kön som teori för att påvisa hur kön som social kategori formar individens tankar och agerande. Slutligen används rollteori, vilken beskriver hur rollkonflikt och rollstress påverkar individens möjligheter och förutsättningar för gränsdragning mellan arbetsliv och privatliv. Empirin för studien utgår från sex semistrukturerade intervjuer.

The study is based on empirical research. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with working parents having children under the age of eight (including eight years old). All informants were between 31-35 years old, from Fujian Province of China. The purpose of the research is to investigate how working parents experience work-life balance in their real lives. The research focuses on two aspects of working parents: work and personal life. The research theory mainly includes three aspects, namely, role balance and work-life balance, work-life conflict and inter-role conflict, and a gender perspective. These serve as explanatory tools for the subjective experience of working parents’ work-life balance. The study has answered and discussed the research questions from three aspects:(1) gender differences and flexible working arrangements. It is found that the incompatibility between fixed working hours and the family schedule requirements of working parents leads to work-life conflicts. Men and women adopt flexibility in different ways. (2) role and work-life conflict. The results show that blurring the blurred work-life boundaries has an adverse effect on both family roles and work roles. Furthermore, it is found that with the support and help of the elderly, the time conflict between family care and work for working parents can be reduced. However, if the concept of parenting between the two generations differs significantly, working parents’ sense of work-life conflict may still exist. (3) policies and measures for work-life balance. This part discusses how to better reconcile the work-life balance of working parents. It is divided into two sections, namely, the national policies and the measures of the organisations. Meanwhile, specific suggestions are given.

Diploma thesis is deal with the topic of work-life balance in the chosen company. The thesis is divided into three parts – theorethical, analytical and final part. The theorethical part explains atractivity and importance of this topic and describes individual approaches allowing work-life balance and concurrently indicate possible problems of different approaches from the perspective of the employer and the employees. The analytical part examines and evaluate the currect status of chosen company. In the final part are suggested measures based on theoretical knowledge and findings which should lead to a better balance between work and personal lives of employees in a chosen company.

The aim of this diploma thesis is to analyze the strategy of selected private sector organization in the field of work - life balance and to propose measures to improve the current situation. The thesis specifies terms such as role conflict in the framework of work-life balance, gender and equal opportunities policy, the “flexicurity” concept as well as outlines a variety of measures leading to work-life balance. During the analysis, investigation via questionnaire and interview with manager of the relevant organization has been used. Based on acquired results, specific measures leading to more effective balance of work and personal life of employees of selected organization, including financial aspects of their introduction, has been proposed in the conclusion of this thesis.

The diploma thesis focuses on the issue of work-life harmonization in a selected company engaged in water sports. It specifies the topicality of its implementation to business practice, tools of work-life balance, possibilities and barriers from the perspective of employers and employees. The practical part analyses the current state of the selected company through a questionnaire survey and a semi-structured interview. On the basis of the theoretical knowledge and the obtained results, optimal measures for work-life balance are proposed, which are supplemented by a financial evaluation.

Revisionsyrket präglas av hög personalomsättning där ett väsentligt antal anställda slutar redan efter några år och innan de skrivit auktorisationsprovet. Några bakomliggande skäl till yngre revisorers val att stanna kvar i yrket är materiella belöningar och bekräftelse på utfört arbete. Bland erfarna revisorers val att sluta framkommer en oförmåga att balansera arbetsliv med familjeliv som ett skäl. Det föreligger dock en avsaknad kring vilka faktorer revisorer med familj värderar för att fortsätta inom branschen. Studiens syfte är därav att bidra med kunskap kring vad som motiverar revisorer med familj att stanna kvar i branschen trots hög arbetsbelastning. I studien presenteras faktorer som revisorer med familj värderar och som får dem att stanna kvar i branschen. Detta har undersökts genom tio kvalitativa intervjuer med revisorer som arbetat i minst tre år och som innehar familj. Respondenter från både Big 4-byråer och mindre byråer har deltagit för att även se huruvida deras perspektiv skiljer sig åt beroende på byråstorlek. Studien visar att faktorer som revisorer med familj värderar framförallt är deras kollegor, att de har utmanande arbetsuppgifter och ansvarsmöjligheter samt flexibilitet. Flexibilitet är vidare en faktor som är viktig för att möjliggöra ett fungerande familjeliv. Det framkommer vidare att lön är en faktor som revisorer med familj värderar, men i lägre utsträckning. Revisionsyrkets höga arbetsbelastning under högsäsongen uppskattas bland revisorer med familj, då de föredrar när det är intensivt och mycket att göra snarare än lågsäsongen. Under det senaste årtiondet uppges även att revisionsbyråerna och ledarna har förändrats till att främja en balans mellan arbetsliv och familjeliv ytterligare. Revisionsbyråerna har främjat en sådan balans genom mailutskick och aktiviteter som uppmuntrar anställdas familjeliv, medan ledarna främjat detta genom att under personliga möten med medarbetarna diskutera deras familjeliv. För att ytterligare möjliggöra en balans mellan arbetsliv och familjeliv bland de anställda bör revisionsbyråerna främja detta tillsammans med ledarna. Detta då det framkommer att ledarna kan påverka och motivera de anställda, varpå det får en större effekt än om enbart revisionsbyråerna försöker främja en sådan balans. / The audit profession is characterized by high staff turnover, where a significant number of employees quit after a few years and before they have written the authorization test. Some of the reasons as to why young auditors choose to remain are materialistic rewards and recognition on performed tasks. Among experienced auditors’ choices to quit, there is the inability for work-life balance. Prior research has been conducted on what motivates younger auditors. However, there is a lack of what factors auditors with family value to remain in the profession. The purpose of this study is to contribute with knowledge about what motivates auditors with family to remain in auditing despite high workload. In the study, factors are presented that auditors with family value and that makes them stay within the profession. Ten qualitative interviews were conducted with auditors who have worked for at least three years and have family. Respondents from both Big 4-firms and smaller firms have participated to find out whether their perspectives differ depending on agency size. The study shows that factors that auditors with family primarily value are their colleagues, that they have challenging tasks, responsibilities and flexibility. Furthermore, flexibility is a factor that is important for enabling a functioning family life. Salary is another factor that auditors with family value, however to a lesser extent. The high workload of the audit profession during busy season is appreciated among auditors with family, as they prefer the intensity and when there are multiple things to do rather than during the low season. In the past decade, the audit firms and managers have changed towards further promoting work-life balance. The audit firms have promoted such a balance through mail and activities that focus on family life, while the managers have promoted this by discussing the family life of the employees during personal meetings with them. In order to further enable work-life balance among the employees, the audit firms should promote this together with the managers. This since the study shows that the managers can influence and motivate the employees, upon which it has a greater effect rather than if only the audit firms try to promote such a balance.

Cette thèse porte sur le développement du travail « en 12 heures » des infirmières et des aides-soignantes de l’hôpital public depuis une dizaine d’années. Elle l’envisage comme un dispositif révélateur des transformations de l’action publique et du travail. Permettant à la fois de dégager des économies pour les directions et de condenser le nombre de journées travaillées pour les soignants, ce mode d’organisation du temps de travail cristallise les enjeux actuels de l’institution hospitalière, entre rationalisation gestionnaire, intensification du travail et aspiration des soignants à se réapproprier une vie « à eux » en dehors de l’hôpital. Défini en 2002 comme une dérogation à la durée maximale du travail dans les cas où « les contraintes de continuité du service public l’exigent en permanence », la normalisation du recours au dispositif vient parallèlement nourrir un écart grandissant entre droit et pratiques. Alliant sociologie du travail, sociologie de l’action publique et sociologie du droit, la thèse se présente comme une ethnographie multi-située du travail en 12 heures, interrogeant les conditions d’émergence du dispositif et les appropriations/retraductions qu’en font les différents acteurs (réformateurs, intermédiaires du droit, soignants). La thèse montre ainsi que, à côté de l’idée d’une amélioration de la qualité du service et de l’épanouissement de soignants (qui y trouvent un équilibre entre travail et vie privée), le dispositif s’accommode de l’intensification du travail et fait le jeu de la rationalisation à l’œuvre à l’hôpital. / This thesis focuses on the development of 12 hours-shift work of nurses and nurses’ aides in public hospital since a decade. It considers the program as an indicator of public policy and work transformations. Drawing savings for the administrative heads of hospital and reducing the number of working days for nurses, this working time organization crystallises current issues of public hospital : new public management, intensification of work, aspiration of work/life balance of nurses. Defined in 2002 as an express exception of the maximum legal working time (due to the necessity of public service continuity), the standardization of the use of the program contributes to increase the gap between norms and practices. At the intersection of sociology of work, sociology of public policy and sociology of law, the thesis is based on a multi-sited 12 hours-shift work ethnography. It examines the conditions of emergence of the program and the way actors appropriate it. The thesis shows that beside the idea of an improvement of the service quality and the nurses’ satisfaction, the program goes with the intensification of work and contributes to the rationalization of hospital.