Overview

ISBN 978-0-9775242-2-8  ~  ii+110 pages  ~  softcover  ~  May 2008

Guest Editors

Thomas Kalliath
School of Management, Marketing and International Business
Australian National University, Canberra ACT, Australia

Paula Brough
School of Psychology, Griffith University, Mt Gravatt QLD, Australia

Work-family balance is emerging as a key strategic element in the human resource management (HRM) policies of successful organisations for attracting and retaining talented staff and for demonstrating the bottom-line impact of HRM programs for work-family balance, addressing gender imbalance and emerging skills shortages.

Organisational stakeholders are increasingly interested in introducing work-family balance policies in their organisations. Evidence now links work-family imbalance to reduced health and well-being among individuals and families. Family-friendly policies in the workplace are linked to improved organisational outcomes in employee turnover and organisational citizenship behaviour. Work-family balance has become an important part of developing of new HRM policies, programs, or systems.

Opening the issue, Professor Steven AY Poelmans (IESE Business School, Barcelona) is asked:

• What is the definition of work-life balance? For whom? How is it measured?
• How important is the development of a direct measure of work-life balance that is responsive to (a) within organisational changes in employee perceptions of work-life balance; and (b) cross-organisational benchmarking of work-life balance?
• Is work-life balance just the latest 'fad' of human resource policies? Is work-life balance actually a realistic goal that can be achieved?
• Do we have evidence that organisations that are more family friendly attract and retain more talented employees?
• What are some difficulties experienced in using Family Responsible Employer Index (FREI) developed by the International Centre for Work and Family (ICWF) for cross-organisational benchmarking of work-life balance?
• How do you assess employees' perceptions of balance?
• Which of these initiatives have been most productive in helping organisations to create family-responsible environment?
• What is the current state of theory development in work-family balance arena?
• Is top management commitment to culture change a pre-requisite for achieving sustainable work-life balance?
• What is the role of family-supportive programs in an environment of ever increasing competition?
• Is there a convincing business case for introducing work-life balance in organisations? Are organisations that provide for greater work-life balance for its employees more productive and more profitable in the long-run?
• What are the most important things that organisations (CEOs, HR managers) need to do to ensure that a change program introducing work-life balance in their organisations succeeds?

The research presented in six articles in this special issue of the Journal of Management and Organisation (ISBN 978-0-9775242-2-8) contributes useful information to both practitioners engaged in implementing work-family balance initiatives and to work-family balance researchers engaged in extending the frontiers of knowledge within this dynamic topic.

REVIEW - Journal of Family Studies - volume 15/2 (August 2009)

Achieving Work-Life Balance

Thomas Kalliath and Paula Brough (Eds)

eContent Management, Sydney, 2008; ISBN 978-0-9775242-4-2; Journal of Management & Organization 14(3): 223-328; $66.00 (paperback)

Reviewer

BARRY ROGERS DTHEOL PhD

Health Wellbeing & Development, Monash University, Victoria

As the articles in this issue of JFS underline, employee health and wellbeing is now a central issue for many workplaces and organizations. Likewise, positive approaches to work-life balance (WLB) are emerging in educational contexts. For example, some schools are establishing wellbeing centres for students' overall development; and via the influence of the Positive Psychology movement, school curricula are starting to reflect this shift in their workplace outlooks - as are universities, also via their wellbeing and work-life balance policies.

In their opening discussion, Poelmans, Kalliath and Brough review some operational issues in implementing WLB. Its symbolism needs further attention given that 'balance' will have different meanings, reflecting personal outlooks about meeting demands and responsibilities at work and in family contexts. Achieving a uniform and validated set of measures for WLB is another issue for research, as is the idea of how to prioritize WLB issues within an organization's aims. As Poelmans et al conclude: 'We urgently need more research relating WLB and performance, motivation and competencies on the individual, group, and organizational level' (2008: 230). In some respects, this need reflects what Arie de Geus (1997) and Peter Senge (1990) in his understanding of 'metanoia' as a positive construct for organizational change have both argued for previously in reviewing management outlooks and practice.

In their paper, Bardoel, De Cieri and Mayson discuss the measurement issue in WLB/work-life initiatives as a way of linking objectives and outcomes central to an organization's purpose, arguing that WLB needs to garner a positive return for the organization as well as for its employees. Collection and review of data on the effectiveness and impact of a workplace initiative will complement the traditional measurement of efficiency in workplace research. Their own research study explores these concepts of measurement of WLB in 27 organizations. Bretherton reviews her research outcomes from successful implementations of work and family policy in two very different organizations: a major bank (Westpac) with 27,000 employees, and a large girls' secondary college (Avila). In their research with 16,000 Australian employees Parkes and Langford were unable to find a relationship between WLB policies and outlook in an organization, and a person's intention to stay in their work position. Among other recommendations, they argue for a better approach to work-life 'alignment' for employee satisfaction through similar goals and values; increased social responsibility in organizations; better health and safety regimens; work appraisal outcomes - including rewards - linked to work performance; developing fair-minded, supportive supervisors; and, more inclusive decision-making processes in workplaces.

In contrast to WLB research in organizations, Kirkwood's and Tootell's study of 58 entrepreneurs (mainly in the service sector) explores how well they traverse work-family conflicts in the quest for WLB and their strategies for effective achievement of work-family balance. Abbott and De Cieri provide another important perspective here, including their brief reporting of a longitudinal case study of two organizations. In arguing for some clear understandings of both management and employee understandings of WLB, their exploratory schema for further research includes environmental and organizational influences relevant tolegislation; recruitment markets; changing workforce demographics; time span - in relation to management decisions and outcomes; and patterns of employee retention. All of these factors have special relevance in times of global and local economic downturn.

The editors provide an important coda on determining the central meaning(s) of the WLB construct in brief reviews of six key concepts: WLB as a multiple role/inter-role phenomenon; as equality of time/satisfaction with regard to person's multiple life roles; as levels of satisfaction between a person's multiple roles; coherence between effectiveness and satisfaction in their work and family roles and present 'life role priorities'; in terms of the central psychological constructs in WLB, of conflict and facilitation (resolution?); and as a measure of autonomy or control. They steer us towards two particular concepts as a fillip towards further action research in their proposal for defining WLB as 'the individual perception that work and non-work activities are compatible and promote growth in accordance with an individual's current life priorities' (2008:326).

There are important insights here for CEOs, general and middle managers and human resources managers in particular, for designing and implementing workplace policies and organizational practices that lead to increased levels of health, wellbeing and overall development of staff.

References

Abbott J and De Cieri H (2008) Influences on the provision of work-life benefits: Management and employee perspectives. Journal of Management & Organization 14(3): 303-322.

Bardoel EA, De Cieri H and Mayson S (2008) Work and family policy; spoilt for choice or spoilt by choice? Journal of Management & Organization 14(3): 239-258.

Bretherton T (2008) Bridging the research-practice gap: Developing a measurement framework for work-life initiative. Journal of Management & Organization 14(3): 259-266.

de Geus, A. (1997). The Living Company: Growth, Learning and Longevity in Business. Nicholas Brealy, London.

Kalliath T and Brough P (2008a) Editorial: Achieving work-life balance. Journal of Management & Organization 14(3): 224-226.

Kalliath T and Brough P (2008b) Work-life balance: A review of the meaning of the balance construct. Journal of Management & Organization 14(3): 323-327.

Kirkwood J and Tootell B (2008) Is entrepreneurship the answer to achieving work-family balance? Journal of Management & Organization 14(3): 285-302.

Parkes LP and Langford PH (2008) Work-life balance or work-life alignment? A test of the importance of work-life balance for employee engagement and intention to stay in organizations. Journal of Management & Organization 14(3): 267-284.

Poelmans SAY, Kalliath T and Brough P (2008) Expert commentary: Achieving work-life balance: current theoretical and practical issues. Journal of Management & Organization 14(3): 227-238.

Senge, P. (1990). The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. Doubleday, New York.

Table of Contents

EDITORIAL - Achieving work-life balance - Thomas Kalliath and Paula Brough

EXPERT COMMENTARY - Achieving work-life balance: current theoretical and practice issues - Steven AY Poelmans in conversation with Thomas Kalliath

and Paula Brough

Bridging the research-practice gap: Developing a measurement framework for work-life initiatives - E Anne Bardoel, Helen De Cieri and Susan Mayson

Work and family policy: Spoilt for choice or spoilt by choice? - Tanya Bretherton

Work-life balance or work-life alignment? A test of the importance of work-life balance for employee engagement and intention to stay in organisations - Louise P Parkes and Peter H Langford

Is entrepreneurship the answer to achieving work-family balance? - Jodyanne Kirkwood and Beth Tootell

Influences on the provision of work-life benefits: Management and employee perspectives - Jacqui Abbott and Helen De Cieri

Work-life balance: A review of the meaning of the balance construct - Thomas Kalliath and Paula Brough