Precarious work, intersectionality, and worker cooperatives: rethinking work and life balance

Background – The relationship between work and personal life has been the subject of research of interest to academics and practitioners at the moment. Job conditions, work patterns, and demands have been drivers of reform, changes in demographic composition, and labor market evolution. The number of working hours, methods of regulating working hours, as well as the availability of rest periods significantly affect the quality of work and workers' lives. The phenomenon of Great Resignation has also increased after the Covid-19 pandemic as an indication that the issue of work-life balance is the main discussion of social and labor market problems. Environmental adjustments and flexibility of working hours are considered capable of driving current business performance .
 Aim – The purpose of this research is to determine the effect of quality of work life and work-life balance on employee performance with job satisfaction as a moderation variable.
 Design/ Methodology/ Approach – This research uses a quantitative approach with survey methods to obtain data from respondents.
 Findings – The results of this research show that the quality of work life and work-life balance have a positive and significant effect on job satisfaction and employee performance. While the direct relationship between job satisfaction and job performance did not have a significant effect, so the role of mediating variables of job satisfaction did not occur. These results show that employees do not enjoy good job satisfaction, but the impact does not motivate employees to contribute more to their work. This is very bad because employees are not motivated to develop and maximize work performance. The results of this study are expected to provide input for companies to improve the quality of work life and work-life balance of employees so as to improve the work performance of employees. Its employees will therefore be compressed on the company’s overall productivity. 
 Conclusion – Stakeholders must pay attention to quality of work life and work-life balance to maintain job satisfaction and ultimately promote sustainable employee performance.
 Research Implications – This research recommends developing a conceptual framework by adding stress, burnout, remuneration, and work from home factors in the digital age. 
 Limitations of Research – This research is only limited to the point of view of the woman, not to include the point of view of the organization.

Human resources are a crucial factor in achieving organizational success. Therefore, job satisfaction plays a significant role in the success of an organization. This study collected data from 290 members of the Tulang Bawang Police through questionnaires distributed between September and December. The analysis utilized structural equation modeling (SEM). The study found that both quality of work life and work-life balance had a positive and significant impact on job satisfaction. Additionally, quality of work life and work-life balance had a positive and significant effect on perceived organizational support. Furthermore, perceived organizational support mediated the relationship between quality of work life and work-life balance and job satisfaction. Finally, the study found that perceived organizational support had a positive and significant effect on job satisfact.

PurposeRecent gender-related research has focused on how gender affects work–life balance (WLB), particularly whether men and women have similar difficulties balancing work and family demands. However, to broaden WLB research beyond its concentration on employees to a different population, this study investigates the WLB experiences of single student-working mothers.Design/methodology/approachThis article uses a qualitative study using three focus groups to compare Nigerian and British single student-working mothers' WLB experiences and coping strategies or mechanisms adopted in these two contexts.FindingsThe findings indicate that, regardless of nationality, single student-working mothers are affected by inter-role conflict, role ambiguity, role strain, role overload and external role pressures, which make achieving WLB a herculean task. Nevertheless, given the different political, economic and socio-cultural landscapes of the two countries, the extent to which the aforementioned factors impact single student-working mothers varies and influences the range of coping mechanisms adopted in the two contexts.Practical implicationsThe insights gleaned from this study suggest that there are huge challenges for single student-working mothers in terms of achieving WLB due to their status as students, workers and mothers. Combining these roles negatively affect their WLB and level of productivity and effectiveness, at home, at work and at university. This poses significant implications for human resource structures, policies and practices. The authors suggest that single student-mothers should learn from their counterparts' experiences and coping mechanisms, and that organisations and government should also provide adequate support to help them combine their challenging roles. This would ease the tension associated with combining multiple roles and enhance their well-being and WLB.Originality/valueThe study calls for a re-examination of WLB policies and practices at organisational and national levels to ensure that single student-working mothers are well supported to enhance their productivity and WLB.

Objectives The purposes of this study were to analyze the impact of childcare teachers’ WLB (Work- Life Balance) upon subjective career success and career commitment.
 Methods The research subjects included 271 childcare teachers who are working now at child care centers in D Metropolitan City. The data collection was conducted the questionnaire survey for about 4 weeks from January 9, 2023 to January 30. For the collected data, a correlation analysis was conducted to find out the relationship between work-life balance, subjective career success, and career commitment of childcare teachers according to the research question, and the effect of work-life balance on childcare teachers' subjective career success and career commitment. To find out, multiple regression analysis was performed.
 Results As a result of the research, first, childcare teachers’ WLB appeared to have a correlation between subjective career success and career commitment. Second, in consequence of having figured out the effect of childcare teachers’ WLB on subjective career success, the career satisfaction among sub- variables of the subjective career success was indicated to be influenced by all in the work- family balance, the work- leisure balance, the work- growth balance, and the overall evaluation out of sub- variables in WLB (Work- Life Balance). Among sub- variables of WLB, the work- family balance and the work- growth balance were shown to have an influence upon employability that is a sub- variable of subjective career success. Third, as a result of having looked into the impact of childcare teachers’ WLB on career commitment, it was seen to be affected by all in the work- family balance, the work- leisure balance, the work- growth balance, and the overall evaluation out of sub- variables.
 Conclusions The research result is suggested what the childcare teachers’ WLB (Work- Life Balance) is a crucial factor of having an effect on the subjective career success and the career commitment.

This study is focusing on, especially in the workforce of the information technology sectors, to look into the work and family life balance of the employees in the IT sectors, mainly in Bangalore City. The objective of this study is to learn the relation of gender and employees’ personal and professional life balance in the IT sector of Bangalore and how marital status affects work and personal life balance in the IT sector of Bangalore. The aim of this study is to identify how organizational support, policies, management, and leadership can help employees balance their personal and work lives in the organization. Work-life balance is to find time for family and family functions, neighbourhood participation, friends and relatives’ functions, enriching self-care, and personal and spiritual growth by attending sessions, other personal activities. Basically, it is to understand the need and how to adjust time and fulfil additional demands of the workplace. The method has been used with the collection of responses from different IT companies in Bangalore, and the chi square tool has been used for analysis.

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed all existing business processes, work no longer has to be bound by time and space. A more flexible way of working is the dream of employees, especially those of the millennial generation. Implementing flexible working is one of the opportunities to increase employee loyalty through employee commitment. Apart from that, many millennial generation employees want balance in life or what is known as work life balance. It is hoped that flexible working and work life balance will foster high work commitment and ultimately encourage employee performance to improve. Based on the hypotheses proposed, all hypotheses are proven and show that employee commitment is able to act as a mediator that strengthens the influence between work life balance and flexible working and employee performance. This research was conducted at the company PT. Alfaria Trijaya with a sample of all of whom are employees under 30 years of age from various departments. Keywords: Work Life Balance, Flexible Working, Employee Commitment, Employee Performance

The emergence of coronavirus disease has impacted human lives, one of which is economic disruption. Many Malaysian organisations have devised various crisis-response techniques, such as downsizing, laying off, retrenching, and combining. As a result, the number of Malaysians working in precarious jobs, which are defined by unpredictable and uncertain situations, has indirectly increased, hence increasing job insecurity. Therefore, maintaining psychological health is essential to safeguarding the mental health of employees. In the current working landscape, job security and work–life balance have commonly been deemed necessary in contributing to well-being among employees. As a result, the purpose of this study was to examine how work–life balance influences the relationship between job insecurity and psychological well-being among Malaysian precarious workers. It also fills a gap in the research by explaining the causal association between job insecurity and psychological well-being among precarious workers, as previous well-being studies have largely focused on employees with secure jobs. There were 442 responders collected using purposive and snowball sampling methods, and they were requested to complete the Job Insecurity Scale (JIS), Work–Life Balance, and Well-Being Index Scale (WHO-5). Job instability was negatively connected with work–life balance and psychological well-being. On the other hand, work–life balance was found to be positively related to psychological well-being. This supports the notion that work–life balance is a significant mediator in the relationship between job insecurity and psychological well-being. These findings emphasise that Malaysian precarious workers with job security could enhance their psychological well-being by achieving work–life balance.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to explore the harmful effects of negative externality at both national and firm level by identifying practices that impact Malaysian Chinese ' s well-being in the form of work-life imbalance.Design/methodology/approach– This paper adopts an emic approach using phenomenological enquiry to investigate what factors influence and shape work-life balance experience of Malaysian Chinese working adults. Emic approach, which takes into account elements that are indigenous to a particular culture, is useful to explore the uniqueness of the Malaysian context. Semi-structured interviews with six Malaysian Chinese working adults were conducted to understand their experience of work-life balance in the Malaysian Chinese context.Findings– The findings highlight how contextual elements in the macro-environment (such as government legislation and policy, societal values, and practices) and the firm environment (owner and leadership values, superiors’ attitude) come together to shape the overall experience of work-life balance among Chinese Malaysians. The findings show that current work-life practices in Malaysia fall short in a number of ways, which ultimately leads to an unsustainable human resource position for Malaysian firms.Practical implications– From a practical perspective the paper highlights the need to focus on employees’ work-life balance as a means to create sustainable and productive workplaces.Originality/value– Given that the concept of work-life balance is grounded in western literature, it is important to explore the nature and relevance work-life balance in sustaining human resources in nonwestern, especially less developed business settings. Findings of this study contribute to the work-life literature by exploring the work-life balance experience in Malaysia through emic approach using a phenomenological lens. The findings identify a shortfall in sustainable people management arising through the interplay of unique negative externality multi-level contextual factors.

The literature on work-life balance primarily focuses on how individuals cope with high work demands. This study, however, investigates how young professionals experience the work-life balance support offered by organisations. Twenty-four millennial consultants were interviewed to explore their perceptions of work-life balance and organisational support policies in an extreme work context. Twelve consultants worked for strategy houses with an average working week of around 60 hours, while the other 12 worked for general management consultancies with average working weeks of roughly 50 hours. Our comparative findings suggest that overall work-life balance perceptions stay positive in both settings. In strategy houses, where work pressures are highest, reported policies and practices go beyond health programmes, training and coaching, which are the most common work-life balance measures. Strategy houses monitor their consultants’ work-life balance experience weekly, provide options to outsource components of the work, and offer multiple forms of compensation. These further policies are much appreciated. Despite these positive assessments, we also observe an increase of negative work-life balance experiences due to the higher work pressures at strategy houses. There is, therefore, some ambiguity in the work-life balance perceptions of consultants, who recalibrate what are ‘normal’ work demands and reframe and refocus on the bright side of work life. Such occupational ideologies indicate a ‘dirty work’ experience.

Current and projected demand for NHS radiotherapy services outstrips projected capacity. One solution to increase treatment capacity seen in UK radiotherapy centres has been to adapt the treatment hours and working patterns of therapeutic radiographers. This study explores radiographers' experiences of the impact of working extended treatment hours on their work-life balance and wellbeing. Eligible Radiographers were employed in a substantive NHS AfC Band 6 Therapeutic Radiographer role. A descriptive qualitative design utilising semi-structured interviews allowed participants freedom to reflect upon individual experiences. The interview schedule and process were piloted before data collection in October 2023. Anonymised data were analysed using content analysis. Six participants were recruited. Our findings reveal different outlooks between radiographers of different ages, life-stage, personal circumstances and caring responsibilities. The importance for work-life balance of non-working weekends and flexibility, reliability and predictability of shift scheduling were common categories. There was concern that further changes to working patterns would lead to diminished work-life balance and wellbeing. As Radiographers' priorities regarding work-life balance were dynamic, agency to easily adapt working hours was seen as the ideal. Opportunities to flexibly adapt working hours to suit personal circumstances are viewed as key to maintaining a healthy and rewarding work-life balance. Our findings reveal a desire for more openness to adaptation requests and highlight the need for future research into the transparency of parity between request grounds and the competing needs of services and the individual. Poor work-life balance risks burnout in TRs, with consequent retention issues and lower quality patient care.

Background This paper explores how women academics in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) navigate work-life conflict and the main strategies they deploy to balance their work and personal lives. It examines the range of institutional support available to them and assesses their effectiveness in facilitating work-life balance and reducing work-life conflict. Methods Drawing on 12 semi-structured interviews with academics at various career stages from public and private universities across BiH, this study captures personal narratives of managing work and caregiving responsibilities. Results Thematic analysis revealed the respondents’ personal strategies to find work-life balance while trying to achieve their career goals, alongside the institutional factors acting as either barriers or enablers. Findings highlight the normalization of work-life conflict, often perceived as a ‘natural’ and ‘expected’ feature of academic life. The broader societal context and informal support networks -particularly collegial and familial–emerged as pivotal in shaping the respondents’ experiences and efforts to achieve work-life balance and to reduce work-life conflict. Conclusions This paper adds to research on BiH and work life balance via its illustration of the multilayered experiences of academic life in BiH. Analysis of the interviews highlights the strategies employed by the respondents and the barriers they encounter, including gaps in institutional support to scaffold academics to achieve work-life balance.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore employees' perceptions of work‐life balance (WLB) in an Australian infrastructure construction project, using semi‐structured focus groups.Design/methodology/approachIn total, 43 employees participated in the focus groups, representing 50 per cent of the project workforce at the time. Focus groups explored employees' experiences of WLB during the planning and design stage of the project, as well as their expectations for the management of WLB during the construction phase.FindingsProject culture, project resourcing and the schedule demands of the construction stage of the project were identified as barriers for WLB, while participants believed that the “project alliance” delivery model, flexibility of working hours and the project management team's support for WLB would facilitate WLB in the project.Research limitations/implicationsData were collected from one case study project which utilised an alliance delivery model. Therefore, the results cannot be generalised to the construction industry as a whole or to construction projects utilising an alliance delivery model. Data were collected from professional and white collar workers therefore the results cannot be generalised to blue collar workers. The research findings suggest new directions for future research in WLB related to project settings.Practical implicationsThe study will provide project managers with a better understanding of work‐life experiences of project teams and highlight the barriers and facilitating factors for WLB.Originality/valueWLB has been widely investigated in static work settings, however it is not well understood how research findings translate to project settings as little research has been conducted in this area.

Balancing work and family life presents challenges for working mothers, which are influenced by societal expectations, organizational dynamics, and personal aspirations. Despite extensive research on work–life balance (WLB), there remains a gap in understanding working mothers’ WLB experiences and strategies. Drawing on the Work-Home Resources model, the present research addresses the gap by examining the demands and resources that influence working mothers’ WLB, as well as the outcomes of demand-resource interactions. Using a meta-synthesis approach of 49 qualitative studies, an in-depth examination of the WLB was presented. The results demonstrate significant variations in experiences caused by some socio-economic, cultural, and organizational factors, emphasizing the key role of workplace regulations and societal norms in establishing the balance between work and family life. This study enhances the understanding of working mothers’ distinctive struggles and adaptation processes by combining multiple perspectives from numerous studies, with valuable implications for policymakers, employers, and researchers.

This empirical quantitative study is about the Mediation Effect of Work-Life Balance on the Relationship between Psychological Empowerment and Job Satisfaction among Female Bank Employees of Sri Lanka. This is based on International Labor Organization report on the restraints on female workers’ contribution towards the national economy of Sri Lanka. Banking sector was selected based on the considerable contribution made towards the service sector labor demand of the country. The target group consisting of 300 female middle managers from Western, Central and Southern provinces in Sri Lanka and sample selection by cluster random sampling of probability sampling method. The results analyzed by SPSS version 20 established that, the existence of Significant Positive Correlations among i) Psychological Empowerment (PE) and Work – Life Balance (WLB), ii) Work – Life Balance (WLB) and Job Satisfaction (JS), iii) Psychological Empowerment (PE) and Job Satisfaction (JS) and iv) the mediation effect of Work –Life Balance (WLB) with the relationship between Psychological Empowerment (PE) and Job Satisfaction (JS). In consideration of the findings of this paper, adding to the existing literature, the employers are recommended to take timely initiatives on improving Job Satisfaction, Work-Life Balance and Psychological empowerment employees for profit maximization. And individual employees should be directed towards integrating psychologically empowering measures to improve job satisfaction, work-life balance, to understand maintain and to be within one’s own ‘Work Life Cycle’.

Artykul dotyczy problematyki Work - Life Balance (WLB), jako instrumentu spolecznej odpowiedzialności biznesu (CSR). Programy CSR skierowane do pracownikow stanowią jeden z istotnych elementow strategii zarządzania kapitalem ludzkim w przedsiebiorstwie. WLB, czyli zachowanie harmonii miedzy zyciem prywatnym a zawodowym pracownikow jest wyzwaniem dla przedsiebiorstw stosujących koncepcje spolecznej odpowiedzialności biznesu. Celem artykulu jest analiza idei WLB w odniesieniu do CSR, ukazanie jej korzystnego wplywu na przedsiebiorstwo i pracownikow, a takze zaprezentowanie dobrych praktyk.