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Flexibility in the workplace
Flexibility in the workplace
Review of literature on work life balance
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Recommended: Flexibility in the workplace
: The research topic I have chosen for MHC 611 independent research project is “The Effect of Working Conditions on the Work/life Balance”. While work-life balance is an undeniably prevalent term, there is no agreeable agreement on what it implies, in spite of the fact that most definitions do incorporate the ideas of adaptability, juggling and supportability. Work-life balance is most oftentimes used to portray the stability between obligations at work and accountabilities outside paid work; having a proper work-life balance implies that this balance is in the right position for the singular concerned (Visser & Williams, 2006).
In this topic I will address the conditions at the workplace such as employee centred flexibility, paid and unpaid leave, length of working hours, health care and the effects of these conditions on the work life balance (Skinner & Chapman, 2013). The project will be examined by a qualitative method seeking verbal experiences and surveying techniques. The results will be based upon the verbal interaction, surveys and research literature from the public sector and the hospitality industry. The outcomes in conclusion will demonstrate how the workforce conditions affect the work life balance of the employees and what measures can be taken by the employers to improve these working conditions.
Brief Literature Review: The literature review on Work-life Balance has been surrounded up in perspective of its picked up fame with the significant mean to have flourishing of pop culture and the acknowledgment of satisfying lives for its representatives by supporting the development of each worker and the further advancement of the organizations (Singh, 2013). The employers and the employees need to recognize fitting t...
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...s organisation accommodate for family related needs such as employer assistance with childcare or carers room?
5. Does this organisation provide equal opportunity to negotiate part-time work or full-time work for employees?
6. When trying to balance work and family responsibilities, it is easier to work out things amongst colleagues rather than involving management (e.g. Self-rostering and/or staggered start and finish times). Does this help reduce the imbalance?
7. Does this organisation offer referral services for employees’ personal needs?
8. Equal access to promotion, training and development can derive from being noticeable by prioritising work before family and personal life. Do you agree?
9. Are you aware of work-life balance policies set by your employee in this organisation?
10. Is this organisation serious about equal opportunity and anti-discrimination?
As if being the father of two children and a dedicated husband were not enough, Victor Terhune has to balance his family life with his job. Victor currently works as a Technical representative for the sales department at Weastec in Dublin, Ohio. Though work holds him back from doing some of the things that he would like to be doing, like spending more time with his wife and sons, this is a common theme for many workers today in a relationship with their desire to be with their families. Victor strives to get resolution to this by making time by driving home right after work and focusing on that quality time with his family.
The inability to achieve “work-life balance” has become a major focus for workplace equality activists. When this topic is brought about it is primarily used to describe how woman cannot have a work and home life but instead are forced to choose. Richard Dorment took on this point of interest from a different perspective in his article “Why Men Still Can’t Have It All” published with esquire. Going against the normal trend he describes how women are not the only ones put into the same sacrificial situations, but instead that men and women alike struggle to balance work and home. Dorment opens up by saying “And the truth is as shocking as it is obvious: No one can have it all.” In doing so Richard Dorment throws out the notion that one
Previous generations have a strong belief of keeping work and home life separate; that work is for work and home is for play (Rampell, 2011, para 21). Today’s professionals do not seem to abide by similar beliefs, constantly crossing the borders of one into the other. While many recognize this as an issue that could result in employees being less productive, it has actually resulted in them accepting that their work may run late into the evening or even into the weekend. I agree with this completely in that I grew up being taught that business is business and personal is personal; you leave your home life at the door. But now times have changed, and my weekends are no longer dedicated to my home life, but for work, because I attend classes during the week. Also, in my line of work in the Allied Health industry, it is a requirement to work off hours. Long gone are the days of working nine to five, Monday through Friday; technology and the demand of wanting affairs done and done as soon as possible, has made it so the “work week” is now 24-7. “Jon Della Volpe, the director of polling at Harvard Institute of Politics, said, ‘Some experts also believe that today’s young people are better at quickly switching from one task to another, given their exposure to so many stimuli during their childhood and adolescence’” (Rampbell,
at some point all employees will eventually need time off from work to deal with either a serious personal illness or other family obligations. “Many European nations took to the idea of making balancing family and work easier for employees but the movement did not gain momentum in the United States until the late 60s and 70s when working women were no longer the minority” (AAUW). There was a general shift in the nature of the common everyday american household and a two income household was slowly but surely becoming the new reality of american life.
The development of the four-day workweek actually began in the 1970s as a theoretical practice to help organizations optimize operations while saving resources and improving worker quality of life (Poor, 2010). Beginning in the 1980s, the use of the four-day workweek began to accelerate and the Department of Labor began keeping records regarding outcomes for companies using this work arrangement (Poor, 2010). Although the Department of Labor continues to track alternative work arrangements, Poor contends that four-hour workweeks have morphed into flexible work arrangements with companies offering workers a wide range of programs to acquire time-off from the traditional 5/40 schedule. Even though efforts to evaluate the impact of the four-day workweek have shifted to a general classification of outcomes for flextime, the four day-workweek remains the principle tool used by organizations to offer ...
The impact from changes in economy, technology, social and lifestyle in today’s environments have boosted the awareness of flexible working arrangements in an organisation. Evidence from the previous study indicated that the competitive working environment and increasing workload had caused family and personal life being neglected (Mary & Chris, 1998). Smith (1993) pointed out that working women should have balance between tasks in the office and responsibility to the family especially on safety, health and children needs. Therefore, Cook (1992) suggested that through the implementation of flexible working hour’s schedule, the responsibilities over children’s safety and education will be more secured. This is due to the fact that they are able to engage for a better coordination between work and responsibilities to the family. This statement is than further supported by Emmott and Hutchinson (1998). They found out that the implementation of flexible working hours schedule could increase and balance women’s responsibilities in work and family. It is a fact that children need love, food, safety and parents’ attention to ensure that children lead to a normal life. This complies with Maslow’s theory of motivation that emphasizes the aspects of safety, love, needs for food, esteem and self-actualisation that needs to be fulfilled by individual in order to increase the motivation at work.
Define the notions of functional and dysfunctional discrimination as they apply to the workplace context. 100 words
To achieve equilibrium, H&M encourages open communication and employee engagement within the company to satisfy both goal and needs. They came up with an “open book principle” granting every employee the right to express their thoughts on work related issues directly with management. They, too, reinforce the Human Resource Management system by having performance appraisal, a method to evaluate job performance. H&M has done it by using the method of providing feedback as they believe in learning through their own mistakes. Besides, to ensure workers’ work-life balance, the company strongly discourage overtime work and endorse flexible working hours. Everyone in the company is given the opportunity to schedule around their personal and working responsibility. The company also provide comprehensive fringe benefits for their worker which includes staff discounts, incentive bonuses, maternity leave and many more. This is because the Human Resources in H&M emphasise more on job satisfaction rather than title or pay structure. Analysis indicates that H&M has incorporated job enlargement into their business whereby they increase task variety by combining two or more task for more experience working. However, the volume of task to be done is too gruelling for employees causing their company to be listed as one of the highest employee turnover and lowest labour morale in 2008. This shows they have poor job
Furthermore, individuals involved in flexible working hours such as, remote working or telecommuting (when an employee is able to work away from the
With the help of several family-friendly practices an organization can encourage their employees to perform their all the jobs with equal efficiency. This section deals with how the study of work life balance would be beneficiary to different parties, the methods through which balance could be achieved, the major benefits they provide to both employees and organizations and what all could be the potential barriers in their successful execution.
Human resources will need to place emphasis on employee wellness my initiating programs that “include work-life balance processes, stress management, and therapy programs, and facilitating an open dialogue about mental health and illness to remove much of the stigma that plagues the conversation and ailments (Guppta, 2016).” By utilizing flexible work schedule options, demanding jobs with high-stress levels are possible because employees’ free time does not have to be sacrificed.
Late 1980's: work stress received increasing attention in I/O research, theory, and practice Balancing work and family lives received increasing attention.
In conclusion, a critical issue that employees face is balancing their time effectively between their work duties and their family-related responsibilities. There are a number of negative effects associated with work-life imbalance and it is up to the employer to provide employees with the resources necessary to enhance their overall quality of life. With proper and legal implementation of a work-life program, organizations will be able to reap the benefits of increased employee commitment, reduced turnover, and increased productivity. In turn, the employee will benefit from an overall sense of meaningfulness in their life, not to mention increased job satisfaction and motivation. Lastly, it is vital that organizations recognize the need for an employee to maintain a work-life balance, and to take the steps necessary in providing them with various options.
Second: social & economic inequalities are arranged so that they are both (a) reasonably expected to be to everyone’s advantage and (b) attached to positions and offices open to
Long working hours continue to be one of the largest health concerns in the world. Currently, the world population has become so busy due to the pressure from harsh economic conditions. People are therefore spending long working hours in the workplace, which is an aspect that has negative impact on their health conditions. Statistics from Working Condition Survey indicates that approximately 30% of workers residing in European Union believe that their health is at risk due to the hours they spent in the workplace (Gurung, 2010:16)