The pursuit for improved productivity through human resources has its beginning in the early 1900's. Taylor's scientific management principles created an awareness regarding human resources. It was earlier considered as a mere instrument of production ready to work from dawn to dusk under whatever conditions and being motivated by the lure of money. From then onwards research and experiments have been undertaken to understand human beings at work and the ways to improve their job satisfaction, balanced with the aim of the organizations to combine better productivity with job and employee satisfaction. The concept of QWL (quality of work life) has originated from the continuous research process. The term QWL was introduced by Dav is (1972) at the first International QWL conference held in Toronto. The focus of this research concerns a study of the quality of work life for the employees at SARS in the Mmabatho Branch in the North West province. The aim of this paper was to determine whether and how quality of work life affects the satisfaction level of the employees and the implications of these findings suggest that the quality of work life at SARS can be enhanced by factors such as adequate income and fair compensation, safe and healthy working conditions, opportunities for career growth and development of human capabilities and social integration in the workforce. A convenience or accidental sampling was used for this study, out of93 questionnaires sent out, a total of 77 usable questionnaires were returned, representing an overall response rate of (82,8%). The study reveals that a clear and consistent communication of the organisational goals and objectives is essential to both employer and employees. The study also recommends that an establishment of new policies and practices that promote a workplace culture that stimulates employees with the aim of reducing stress, poor performance and low morale of employees. Alignments of organisational goals to day-to-day work by maintaining healthy working conditions: reduce high absenteeism levels and occupational burnout and fair remuneration of employees. The study also recommends that maintenance and open dialogue among the middle and junior employees. / Thesis (MBA) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2011

Syftet med studien var att bland högskoleanställda undersöka skillnader i Work-Life Balance och arbetstillfredsställelse beroende på deltagarnas kön samt beroende på om deltagarna hade barn under 18 år eller ej. Studien syftade även till att undersöka skillnader i arbetstillfredsställelse beroende på deltagarnas ålder. I studien ingick manliga och kvinnliga högskoleanställda som arbetade minst 80 % och som undervisade och/eller forskade inom den aktuella tjänsten. Studien genomfördes som en web-enkätundersökning på två högskolor i Sverige. Totalt besvarade 125 deltagare på enkäten som utgick ifrån två olika mätinstrument; Netemeyers, Boless och McMurrians (1996) skala som användes för att mäta Work-Life Balance uppdelat på Family-Work Conflict samt Work-Family Conflict och Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) som mätte inre och yttre arbetstillfredsställelse. Studien visade att manliga deltagare rapporterade större Family-Work Conflict än kvinnliga deltagare. Resultatet visade även att deltagare med barn under 18 rapporterade högre grad av Family-Work Conflict än deltagare utan barn. Inga skillnader i arbetstillfredsställelse visades beroende av deltagarnas kön, deltagarnas ålder eller beroende på om de hade barn under 18 år eller ej.

A research report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters by Coursework and Research Report in the field of Industrial Organisational Psychology in the faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand. / The state of public health service and delivery in public hospitals in South Africa is concerning. Allied to this, is the prevalence of nursing shortage experienced in public hospitals in the country. Nursing shortage is an outcome that results from various factors; one such factor is actual turnover, preceded by intent to leave. Intent to leave is a strong predictor of actual turnover. It has been found to be negatively correlated with organisational commitment and job satisfaction. Organisational commitment and job satisfaction stem from various work states such job demands and job resources. It is important to understand that all occupations have job demands that are to be met by the required and relevant job resources. Failure to meet job demands with job resources results in numerous negative employee and organisational implications. In the nursing sector for instance, employee implications were found to include undesirable work behaviours (such as intent to leave) exerted by nurses which ultimately affect the state of the healthcare service and healthcare delivery. The purpose of the current research was to investigate the nature of relationships that exist among organisational commitment, job satisfaction, demographic variables and intent to leave among nurses working at a public hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa. The research postulated three hypotheses that were tested and proven Hypothesis 1: Organisational commitment (O_C) statistically predicts intent to leave (I_T_L) among nurse working at a public hospital; Hypothesis 2: Job satisfaction (J_S) statistically predicts intent to leave (I_T_L) among nurses working at a public hospital; Hypothesis 3: Demographic variables can also statistically predict intent to leave (I_T_L) among nurses working at a public hospital. Furthermore, the research aimed to find the best predictive model of the data. Lastly, the research investigated the relative importance of each significant independent variable in predicting intent to leave. The research design was a correlational cross-sectional. The public hospital received 200 questionnaires, of which 136 questionnaires were returned, with only 112 usable questionnaires to be analysed. Due to this, there were 112 participants. The sample fell predominantly in the 26-35 and 36-45 age categories. On the data collection days, nurses working in different wards received approximately three hours to complete a selfadministered questionnaire. Participants provided informed consent to be part of the research. The questionnaire collected demographic information, the respondent’s organisational commitment level, job satisfaction level and intent to leave level. All the three hypotheses were statistically proven, as indicated by results of the multiple linear regression. O_C was a statistically significant predictor of I_T_L (p < .05) among nurses at a public hospital. J_S was a statistically significant predictor of I_T_L (p < .05) among nurses at a public hospital. Nursing_position (category) as a demographic variable was also a statistically significant predictor of I_T_L (p < .05) among nurses at a public hospital. Hierarchical regression found the best predictive model of the data; the final predictive model was Model 3, which explained 17.3% of the variance in intent to leave. Model 3 included organisational commitment, job satisfaction and nursing position (category). Model3 equation = 61.848 + 2.395Nursing_position (category) + -.170O_C + -.111J_S. Lastly, the dominance analysis technique was applied in order examine the relative importance of each independent variable, to understand the role of each independent variable, and to assess the additional contribution of each independent variable in predicting intent to leave. O_C was found to have the additional contribution in predicting intent to leave. The current research showed that organisational commitment and job satisfaction remain applicable when examining intent to leave in the organisational behaviour. Therefore, the research findings are consistent with what has been previously discovered in the mid-nineties. Numerous strategies and plans have been put forward to increase organisational commitment and job satisfaction experienced by employees in order to mitigate nursing shortage, and to respond to the state of healthcare delivery in public hospitals. The challenge remains to be to translate these strategies and plans into actions. As it stands currently, thi is the only way to respond meaningfully to the highlighted phenomenon.

No description available.

The increase in the pace of life is becoming very tangible yet it is not visible to us in a qualitative way. Technological advancements offer us a life without friction where we can go full speed, but with this change we lose our windows for reflection and slowing down. Our pace is mostly determined by people or machines around us and we rarely have a chance to listen to our own rhythm, users and designers alike. With this project, the sustainability of the human being was questioned, particularly in the work life, where our pace is the highest. An exploratory and partially critical approach was engaged in the process and different methodologies have been explored. The result, a system of objects, aim to visualize one’s pace while criticizing the frictionless environments we create as designers.

Strukturomvandlingen till dagens tjänsteekonomi och den ökade spridningen av informations- och kommunikationsteknologi, har möjliggjort ett arbetsliv med flexibla arbetstider och arbetsplatser. Flexibelt arbete kan vara en frihet som skapar möjligheter att uppnå en bättre balans mellan arbete och övrigt liv, men det kan också vara en risk som leder till ökad stress då förhållandet mellan arbete och övrigt liv upplevs som gränslöst. Syftet med studien var att undersöka till vilken grad tjänstemän i den privata sektorn upplever att de har möjlighet att arbeta flexibelt tids- och rumsmässigt, samt om möjligheten att själv bestämma när och var man utför sitt arbete kan bidra till mindre stress och en bättre balans mellan arbete och övrigt liv. Resultatet bygger på data från en arbetsmiljöenkät inom ramen för ett treårigt forskningsprojekt vid Stockholms universitet, där gränsdragning, flexibilitet och balans i livet i förhållande till stress och hälsa var i fokus (AFA Försäkring 2015). Enkäten besvarades av 1918 tjänstemän. Variablerna som användes i studien var grad av kontroll över flexibilitet i relation till upplevd stress, upplevd balans mellan arbete och övrigt liv samt andra arbets- och familjerelaterade faktorer. Data analyserades med multipel linjär regressionsanalys. I regressionmodell 1 kontrollerades vilken effekt upplevd flexibilitet och andra arbets- och familjerelaterade faktorer hade på upplevd stress. Modellen var signifikant och kunde förklara 37,8 procent av variansen avseende upplevd stress. I regressionmodell 2 kontrollerades effekten av upplevd flexibilitet och andra arbets- och familjerelaterade faktorer på upplevd konflikt mellan arbete och övrigt liv. Modellen var signifikant och kunde förklara 39,4 procent av variansen avseende upplevd konflikt mellan arbete och övrigt liv. Resultatet visade att upplevd flexibilitet har signifikant effekt på upplevd stress (b=-,026*). Det betyder att ju högre flexibilitet tjänstemännen upplever, desto mindre stressade känner de sig. Resultatet visade även att upplevd flexibilitet inte har betydelse för upplevd balans mellan arbete och övrigt liv. Att tjänstemännen själva kan välja när och var de utför ditt arbete, leder således inte till en bättre balans mellan arbete och övrigt liv.

Contemporary interest in and demand for a healthy balance between work and family/life (WF/L) commitments has resulted in the proliferation of organisations commonly referred to as family-friendly workplaces (FFWs). Such a proliferation has been met with assertions that WF/L balance is as much organisational rhetoric as it is organisational reality. Such claims are damaging for organisations that are genuinely committed to providing WF/L-friendly work environments. Additionally, such allegations if true also indicate a more serious problem of organisational ineffectiveness. This study therefore perceives a way by which FFWs can test and evaluate the effectiveness of their efforts to provide employees with WF/L balance. Three research questions drive this study: Why are FFWs’ efforts to provide WF/L balance regarded as rhetoric? What is the gap level between WF/L balance rhetoric and reality in an organisation? What organisational issues and challenges contribute to the rhetoric claim? In the absence of models or frameworks that can effectively test and measure rhetoric-reality gaps this research may be considered as ‘experimental’, since it introduces a new conceptual framework, ‘The rhetoric-reality discrepancy framework’. The framework illustrates how gaps arise and highlights key underlying contributing factors. These factors represent organisational challenges that impede WF/L balance for employees, and indicate areas that organisations need to address if they wish to dispel claims that WF/L balance is more rhetoric than reality. The ‘experimental’ nature of this framework meant that a within-case approach was the obvious choice, as it allows for the thorough study of the research problem within one organisational setting. The study was based on a case analysis of an Australian organisation that promotes itself as and has achieved formal recognition as a FFW, through nominating itself for and subsequently winning national-level work and family awards. The dual-centred nature of the research inquiry meant that a mixed paradigmatic approach was selected. A positivist approach was used to measure gap levels while an interpretivist approach was used to guide understanding of underlying contributors of these gaps. Additionally, the combined paradigm meant that the choice of research methodology was framed by a mixed methods approach. Quantitative tools such as a questionnaire survey and qualitative channels such as document analysis, personal interviews and participant observation were used. In line with Creswell’s Sequential Exploratory Design (11.2a), fieldwork commenced with the quantitative phase and on its completion was followed by the qualitative phase. SPSS software was the predominant tool used in the quantitative analytical phase while NVivo software was used in the qualitative phase. Three areas of employee experiences - their awareness of, need for, and take up of WF/L balance initiatives - were used to explore the magnitude of the rhetoric-reality gap, while the qualitative phase sought to understand what caused the gaps, what employees thought of their organisation’s efforts, and uncover emergent themes. The two methods were ‘mixed’ in the final stage of the study, and provided a rich and deeper understanding of the research problem. The quantitative results showed that employees had less than satisfactory experiences in all three areas and further supported the notion that WF/L balance may be more rhetoric than reality. The qualitative findings identified a number of contributing factors, many of which could be broadly categorised under key themes in existing literature, such as poor communication, organisational culture, differential access, cost considerations, and managerial discretion. The study also uncovered other issues that could contribute to organisational rhetoric, such as implementation challenges. One such challenge involved an organisational need to cater for a diverse workforce and therefore to provide a broad range of initiatives. Another finding is that need for particular provisions is closely linked to employees’ life stage. Both these issues mean that while organisations should offer a wide range of provisions there is also the strong likelihood that a good number of provisions may have very poor take up or have no take up. An emergent theme, though linked to few participants only, was the set of WF/L balance challenges faced by first generation Australians or immigrant workers. Another finding which appears to contradict the gap level finding of organisational rhetoric is that a number of employees either specifically identified their organisation as being WF/L-friendly or identified that flexibility was a key ingredient of WF/L balance and acknowledged that their organisation provided such flexibility. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

M.Com. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

No / This paper explores the responses of 17 participants to using photo-elicitation as part of a project exploring their daily experiences of work-life balance. We explicitly asked participants about their experiences of using the method that involved taking photographs of their work-life balance experiences and interpreting these photographs through participation in semi- structured interviews. Participants took 108 photographs in total. We explore important methodological issues for researchers seeking to use these methods and explain that photograph-elicitation has much to offer management and organizational researchers. A major benefit of the method is the role of photographs as a ‘conversational technology’ in encouraging re-interpretation and reflection of experiences in a manner not always achieved when using other qualitative techniques.

Syftet med denna undersökning är att djupare undersöka vad fenomenet work-life balance innebär i en svensk kommun. I teoriavsnittet behandlas delar om hur det såg ut tidigare på arbetsmarknaden och Sveriges lagar angående föräldraledighet. Det ges en förklaring till work-life balance begreppet som är förmågan att hantera både arbetssfären och icke-arbetssfären utan att någon av sfärerna tar över eller sätter press på den andra. Vårdkapital är även ett viktigt begrepp i denna undersökning och det står för omsorg, att ta hand om andra som t.ex. barn, äldre eller sjuka familjemedlemmar. Vidare beskrivs flexibilitet då det är ofta en bidragande faktor för att nå balans mellan hemmet och arbete. Andra delar som behandlas är organisationens påverkan på den anställda, att medarbetaren bör ses som en tillgång och organisationen bör underlätta för medarbetaren att ha ett liv utanför arbetet som följs av företagskultur. Även obalans som ofta bidrar till stress och utbrändhet tas upp vilket och teoridelen avslutas med obetalt arbete och genus på arbetsmarknaden. För att kunna få en djupare kunskap om ämnet har jag valt att använda sig av en kvalitativ metod, varav intervjuer, för att ge en större flexibilitet i frågorna kring ämnet work-life balance. Urvalet kom att bestå av 7 medarbetare på Sunne kommun som alla hade barn i olika åldrar. Det utfördes även en pilotintervju för att höja validiteten i undersökningen, att rätt ämne undersöktes. Även etiska aspekter har tagits hänsyn till i denna undersökning. Resultatet kom att bestå av fjorton delar där de första fyra består av Sunne kommuns honnörsord som är frihet, flexibilitet, förnyelse och förståelse i förhållande till de intervjuade. I resultatet finns även delar om vårdkapital, om arbetsdagen räcker till, sociala relationer mellan kollegor, om arbetssfären eller hemmasfären någon gång tar över. Avsnittet avslutas med de intervjuades reflektion över kollegornas balans, deras egna balans och Sunne kommun som arbetsgivare. Resultatet visar medarbetare som uppfattar en balans vilken sker utifrån att de själva ser till att balansen fungerar och samtidigt att Sunne kommun bidrar med faktorer som skapar hanterbarhet.