Title: Consultants experience of Work-life balance Subtitle: And how they feel that HR promotes this experience Authors: Malin Andersson and Matilda Pettersson Advisor: Jean-Charles Languilaire Level: Bachelor thesis in Business administration, 15 credits, Spring 2019 Key words: Work-life balance, Ulrich and Brockbank (2005) HR-roles, Zedeck and Mosier (1990) relationship between work and non-work, Greenhaus och Beutell (1985) Work-family conflicts, Consultants. Purpose: To describe the consultant’s experience of Work-life balance and how they feel that HR promotes this. Method: In this study we have chosen to start from a deductive approach since there is solid research within the subject of Work-life balance. In order to answer our descriptive purpose, a case study is applied to give us detailed data. The study is of a qualitative nature and we have chosen to collect data via semi-structured interviews with active consultants. Theoretical framework: The study is based on research within Work-life balance and primarily Greenhaus and Beutell (1985) Work-family conflicts as well as Zedeck and Mosier (1990) relationship between work and non-work. In addition to these theories, our theoretical framework consists of Ulrich and Brockbank (2005) HR roles and research on HR practices. Empirical framework: The gathering of the empirical data has taken place through seven interviews with active consultants. Conclusion: Based on the study’s questions, we can conclude that the consultants generally feel that they have a good Work-life balance. We have also identified factors that have a major impact on this experience. We can conclude that consultants find that HR promotes Work-life balance to a great extent. Here too, we have identified important factors for how this experience appears.

Stora förändringar har skett på arbetsplatser under de senaste 40 åren.  Arbetsgivare ställer allt högre krav på sina arbetare att täcka upp längre och mer av arbetstiden det vill säga olika delar av dagen, veckan och året. Organisationers ständiga omstrukturering och nedskärning bidrar till underbemanning, vilket ökar arbetsbelastning samt stress på arbetarna som måste vara tillgängliga längre timmar för att klara av arbetskraven. Även att inte enbart arbetsplatsen ställer höga krav på individer, utan familjelivet och särskilt barnomsorg kräver mycket energi och tillgänglighet. Samt genom långa arbetspass så minskar automatiskt tiden och energin till att hinna spendera med familj och barn. Detta bidrar till konflikter mellan arbete-familjelivet. / Major changes have taken place in workplaces over the last 40 years.  Employers are increasingly demanding on their workers to cover up longer and more of working hours, i.e. different parts of the day, week and year. Organisations permanent restructuring and cutbacks contribute to understaffing, which increases workload and stress on the workers who must be available for longer hours to cope with the work requirements. Also that not only the workplace places high demands on individuals, but family life and especially child care requires a lot of energy and availability. As well as through long shifts, the time and energy are automatically reduced to spend with family and children. This contributes to conflict between work-family life.