Work-life Research Research Articles

Friends and Family: The Role of Relationships in Community and Workplace Attachment

Purpose Most work–life research focuses on the spillover of the nuclear family to the workplace, offering little insight into how other family relationships and friendships can spill over to affect employees’ organizational attachment. Past research has also overlooked the role of relationship quality and the mechanisms underlying these life-to-work spillover effects. Addressing these shortcomings, we integrate the systemic model of community attachment with job embeddedness theory to develop a model of community relational embeddedness and then use this model to examine how nonwork relationships connect people to their workplaces.

Work-Life Balance in the Nigerian Polytechnic Education Sector: Evidence from Employees' Perspectives of Coping with the Role Conflicts in Federal Polytechnics Ede Osun State

Using a phenomenological methodology, the purpose of this study is to examine the prevalence of work-life conflicts (WLC) in Nigeria. Evidently, work-life research is a social concept originating from the western societies but over the years, advanced management and business studies are beginning to emerge showcasing the relevance, significance and challenges of Work-Life Balance (WLB) practices in developing nations. Against this backdrop, 51 in-depth interviews were conducted with employees working in the Nigerian Polytechnic Education Sector - NPES using Federal Polytechnic Ede as a focal study, about their cultural perceptions and knowledge of work-life balance. Study findings manifested views alleging the prominence of role conflict situations rather than desired expectations of available social incentives for appropriate management of employees’ work and family affairs. These were attributed to the adverse macro environmental conditions entrenched in so many social-economic upheavals found to be plaguing Nigeria as a whole. Thus, the antecedents of these national issues have necessitated personal coping strategies utilized by participants of current study as moderating buffers against role imbalances encountered. Thus, this paper provides a preliminary study that provides an academic platform for further research into circumstances instigating role conflicts in African societies by presenting major impediments detected to hinder workable WLB practices in Nigeria.

Risk for Congenital Malformation With H1N1 Influenza Vaccine: A Cohort Study With Sibling Analysis.

Earlier studies reporting varying risk estimates for congenital malformation in offspring of mothers undergoing vaccination against H1N1 influenza during pregnancy did not consider the potential role of confounding by familial (genetic and shared environmental) factors. To evaluate an association between maternal H1N1 vaccination during pregnancy and offspring malformation, with familial factors taken into account. Population-based prospective study. Sweden. Liveborn offspring born between 1 October 2009 and 1 October 2011 to mothers receiving monovalent AS03-adjuvanted H1N1 influenza vaccine (Pandemrix [GlaxoSmithKline]) during pregnancy. A total of 40983 offspring were prenatally exposed to the vaccine, 14385 were exposed within the first trimester (14 weeks), and 7502 were exposed during the first 8 weeks of pregnancy. Exposed offspring were compared with 197588 unexposed offspring. Corresponding risks in exposed versus unexposed siblings were also estimated. Congenital malformation, with subanalyses for congenital heart disease, oral cleft, and limb deficiency. Congenital malformation was observed in 2037 (4.97%) exposed offspring and 9443 (4.78%) unexposed offspring. Adjusted risk for congenital malformation was 4.98% in exposed offspring versus 4.96% in unexposed offspring (risk difference, 0.02% [95% CI, -0.26% to 0.30%]). The corresponding risk differences were 0.16% (CI, -0.23% to 0.56%) for vaccination during the first trimester and 0.10% (CI, -0.41% to 0.62%) for vaccination in the first 8 weeks. Using siblings as comparators yielded no statistically significant risk differences. The study was based on live births, and the possibility that data on miscarriage or induced abortion could have influenced the findings cannot be ruled out. Study power was limited in analyses of specific malformations. When intrafamilial factors were taken into consideration, H1N1 vaccination during pregnancy did not seem to be linked to overall congenital malformation in offspring, although risk increases for specific malformations could not be ruled out completely. Swedish Research Council and Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research.

The case for reinvigorating quality of working life research

The quality of working life became an important topic in the 1960s and 1970s, helping to stimulate an early approach to evidence-based policy advocacy drawing on interdisciplinary research by social scientists. Over the years it fell out of the limelight but much relevant, albeit fragmented, research has continued. We present a case for rekindling an integrated and normative approach to quality of working life research as one means of promoting workers’ well-being and emancipation. We outline an updated classification of the characteristics of quality of working life and a related analytic framework. We illustrate how research and practice will benefit from following this renewed quality of working life framework, using work design as an example. Concluding, we aim to stimulate debate on the necessity and benefits of rebuilding a quality of working life agenda for marrying academic rigour and practical relevance in order to support interventions aimed at fostering worker emancipation and well-being.

Cross-National Work-Life Research

Increasing attention is being paid to the impacts of country-level contexts on the work-life interface. However, lack of theoretical clarity as well as operationalization challenges are significant roadblocks for comparative work-life research. This article provides guidance for cross-national work-life research by conducting a systematic interdisciplinary review of conceptual and empirical work on the country-level cultural impacts (i.e., the values, assumptions, and beliefs shared by individuals with common historical experience) and structural impacts (i.e., the rules and constraints produced by legal, economic, and social structures) on individual experiences of the work-life interface and organizational support for nonwork. Regarding culture, we offer an organized review of work-life research drawing on cultural dimensions, from the most researched dimensions, such as individualism-collectivism and gender egalitarianism, to the least researched. We also point to ways to locate scales and country scores. Concerning structure, we explain how legal (e.g., public policies), economic (e.g., industrialization), and social (e.g., actual gender equality) factors are operationalized with indicators or typologies and review the related work-life research. We carve out a research agenda pointing out untapped cultural dimensions and structural factors and underresearched work-life constructs and calling for more systemic and integrative cross-national work-life research.

Medical professional practices, university disciplines and the state : A case study from Norwegian hygiene and psychiatry 1800- 1940

The electronic journal Hygiea Internationalis is the official journal of the International Network for the History of Public Health. The publication has been made possible by the generosity of the Swedish Research Council (VR) and Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research (FAS).

CSR: a catalyst for corporate contribution to global health governance? : A case study from the pharmaceutical industry

The electronic journal Hygiea Internationalis is the official journal of the International Network for the History of Public Health. The publication has been made possible by the generosity of the Swedish Research Council (VR) and Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research (FAS).

A Common Methodology

Organizational structures are comprised of an organizational culture created by the beliefs, values, traditions, policies and processes carried out by the organization. The work-life system in which individuals use work-life initiatives to achieve a work-life balance can be influenced by the type of organizational culture within one's workplace, for example a structured, rigid culture in which employees are afraid to ask questions versus a flexible, open culture where discussion is encouraged. Grouping methodologies such as cluster analysis or latent class analysis can be used to create typologies of organizational culture. The focus of this paper is to deconstruct the common methodology of cluster analysis used to identify typologies of organizational culture in the NSCW Study and the NOS Study, which set out to identify the impact of organizational culture on the use and existence of work-life benefits for individuals and organizations, respectively (Munn, 2012). The paper discusses the cluster analysis methodology in detail as well as another grouping methodology – latent class analysis - as a means to understanding the place of organizational culture in work-life research. The theoretical contributions of using cluster analysis to create typologies of organizational culture and the implications for workforce research are discussed.

A sense of entitlement? Fathers, mothers and organizational support for family and career

The influential work of Suzan Lewis has played an important part in shaping understandings of parenting, work–life integration and gendered values and practices in organizations. Below, we offer a brief outline of how Suzan's work has influenced the work–life research field. We focus particularly on her observations about career advancement, gender and a sense of entitlement (or otherwise) among employed fathers and mothers. In particular, we build on Lewis's [(1997). ‘Family friendly’ employment policies: A route to changing organizational culture or playing about at the margins? Gender, Work & Organization, 4, 13–23] notion of ‘entitlement’ among and between employed parents regarding access to family friendly and/or flexible working and personal career advancement. We extend Lewis's ideas through developing a framework which reflects the relative sense of entitlement (or lack thereof) between fathers and mothers in relation, respectively, to ‘support for family needs’ and ‘equity in career development’ (1997, p. 15). We then advance and update this framework through suggesting that a sense of entitlement among today's fathers, regarding access to family friendly working, may be undergoing a social shift. Drawing upon Lewis's important contribution to the work–life field, the paper thus explores how understandings of fatherhood are changing. We then consider what future research agendas might be.

Feminist composite narratives of Chinese women: the interrelation of work, family and community in forced labour situations

This contribution builds on the work Lewis has engaged in around women's decision-making processes on work and care. Gender has been an important consideration across her work and this has been explored in familial and organisational settings. The personal is undoubtedly political and a feminist lens privileges this. Previous research (including Lewis) has marked a shift from work-life balance to work personal life integration. This implies agency and perhaps a particular kind of woman able to make choices. In contrast, this paper focuses on Chinese migrant women working in vulnerable situations. Drawing on data gathered from a forced labour project, we present some composite narratives from women as daughters, mothers and wives. These highlight the role of the core economy in decisions about migration for work. Inevitably work decisions are bound up with and situated in wider care and familial networks. These insights around emotional and practical labour are feminist concerns. We present the complex decisions made by women around precarious work, present and distant ‘families’ and care. We suggest that future work-life research should heed Lewis’ call for more nuanced understandings of the multi-layered context of people's experiences, workplace practices and relevant national policies, but go beyond this, to pay attention to the globalised forces underpinning ever greater inequity in work, in families and in communities.

Demographic and Health Changes in Portugal (1900 - 2013)

The electronic journal Hygiea Internationalis is the official journal of the International Network for the History of Public Health. The publication has been made possible by the generosity of the Swedish Research Council (VR) and Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research (FAS).

Hope and despair 3/3: pluses and minuses for community health assistants in rural Zambia

Hope and despair 3/3: pluses and minuses for community health assistants in rural Zambia

Mode 2 and the Tension Between Excellence and Utility: The Case of a Policy-Relevant Research Field in Sweden

This paper investigates the impact of changing science policy doctrines on the development of an academic field, working life research. Working life research is an interdisciplinary field of study ...

Maternal vaccination against H1N1 influenza and offspring mortality: population based cohort study and sibling design

Study question What is the mortality in offspring of mothers who had influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 vaccination during pregnancy?Methods This was a prospective population based cohort study in seven healthcare regions in...

Long working hours and risk of coronary heart disease and stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis of published and unpublished data for 603 838 individuals

Long working hours might increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, but prospective evidence is scarce, imprecise, and mostly limited to coronary heart disease. We aimed to assess long working hours as a risk factor for incident coronary heart disease and stroke. We identified published studies through a systematic review of PubMed and Embase from inception to Aug 20, 2014. We obtained unpublished data for 20 cohort studies from the Individual-Participant-Data Meta-analysis in Working Populations (IPD-Work) Consortium and open-access data archives. We used cumulative random-effects meta-analysis to combine effect estimates from published and unpublished data. We included 25 studies from 24 cohorts in Europe, the USA, and Australia. The meta-analysis of coronary heart disease comprised data for 603,838 men and women who were free from coronary heart disease at baseline; the meta-analysis of stroke comprised data for 528,908 men and women who were free from stroke at baseline. Follow-up for coronary heart disease was 5·1 million person-years (mean 8·5 years), in which 4768 events were recorded, and for stroke was 3·8 million person-years (mean 7·2 years), in which 1722 events were recorded. In cumulative meta-analysis adjusted for age, sex, and socioeconomic status, compared with standard hours (35-40 h per week), working long hours (≥55 h per week) was associated with an increase in risk of incident coronary heart disease (relative risk [RR] 1·13, 95% CI 1·02-1·26; p=0·02) and incident stroke (1·33, 1·11-1·61; p=0·002). The excess risk of stroke remained unchanged in analyses that addressed reverse causation, multivariable adjustments for other risk factors, and different methods of stroke ascertainment (range of RR estimates 1·30-1·42). We recorded a dose-response association for stroke, with RR estimates of 1·10 (95% CI 0·94-1·28; p=0·24) for 41-48 working hours, 1·27 (1·03-1·56; p=0·03) for 49-54 working hours, and 1·33 (1·11-1·61; p=0·002) for 55 working hours or more per week compared with standard working hours (ptrend<0·0001). Employees who work long hours have a higher risk of stroke than those working standard hours; the association with coronary heart disease is weaker. These findings suggest that more attention should be paid to the management of vascular risk factors in individuals who work long hours. Medical Research Council, Economic and Social Research Council, European Union New and Emerging Risks in Occupational Safety and Health research programme, Finnish Work Environment Fund, Swedish Research Council for Working Life and Social Research, German Social Accident Insurance, Danish National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Academy of Finland, Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (Netherlands), US National Institutes of Health, British Heart Foundation.

Psychiatric disorders and suicide attempts in Swedish survivors of the 2004 southeast Asia tsunami: a 5 year matched cohort study

Survivors of natural disasters are thought to be at an increased risk of psychiatric disorders, however the extent of this risk, and whether it is linked to pre-existing psychopathology, is not known. We aimed to establish whether Swedish survivors of tsunamis from the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake had increased risks of psychiatric disorders and suicide attempts 5 years after repatriation. We identified Swedish survivors repatriated from southeast Asia (8762 adults and 3742 children) and 864 088 unexposed adults and 320 828 unexposed children matched for sex, age, and socioeconomic status. We retrieved psychiatric diagnoses and suicide attempts from the Swedish patient register for the 5 years after the tsunami (from Dec 26, 2004, to Jan 31, 2010) and estimated hazard ratios (HRs), then adjusted for pre-tsunami psychiatric disorders, and, for children, for parental pre-tsunami disorders. Exposed adults were more likely than unexposed adults to receive any psychiatric diagnosis (547 [6·2%] vs 47 734 [5·5%]; adjusted HR 1·21, 95% CI 1·11-1·32), particularly stress-related disorders (187 [2·1%] vs 8831 [1·0%]; 2·27, 1·96-2·62) and suicide attempts (38 [0·43%] vs 2752 [0·32%]; 1·54, 1·11-2·13), but not mood or anxiety disorders. Risk of psychiatric diagnoses did not differ between exposed and unexposed children and adolescents (248 [6·6] vs 22 081 [6·9%]; 0·98, 0·86-1·11), although exposed children and adolescents had a higher risk for suicide attempts with uncertain intent (1·43; 1·01-2·02) and stress-related disorders (1·79; 1·30-2·46), mainly during the first 3 months after the tsunami. The 2004 tsunami was, independently of previous psychiatric morbidity, associated with an increased risk of severe psychopathology, mainly stress-related disorders and suicide attempts, in children and adults. Survivors of natural disasters should be targeted with early interventions and active long-term follow-up to prevent, detect, and alleviate psychiatric disorders that might follow. The Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research, Swedish Board of Health and Welfare, Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education, Swedish Society for Medical Research.

Work-life interface of Portuguese international business travelers

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the narratives of the work-life interface (WLI) of Portuguese international business travelers. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews with 14 Portuguese international business travelers were conducted to expose the narratives of the WLI in terms of demands, resources, and coping and how these work-life events shape work-identity. Findings The findings show that: work-life events are interconnected and are sources of conflict and enrichment; work-life boundaries are personally managed and socially enacted; and WLI shapes work-identity. The analysis shows that occupational travel can be both a source of positive self-regard and fulfillment that entails high work-identity and low boundary control or a source of conflict and identity threat. In either case, work-life coping is devised to prompt self-worth. Originality/value Following the findings from this exploratory study, several research propositions are outlined for international business travelers, highlighting the interactions between work-life centrality, work-life boundary management and work-identity. In extending the work-life research to international business travelers this study reveals the extent to which the advancement of work-life research benefits from the theoretical and empirical contributions of the literature on work-identity.

Impact of Plurilingualism on Learning Quality in Evening (Shift) Schools

&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;This paper presents the main findings of the second stage of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Lifelong Learning study (2011-2014) on identification of good practices that facilitate adult learning (aged 18-24) engagement in second chance education in evening (shift) schools. It analyses students’ perceptions of plurilingual learning processes and the impact of people’s plurilingualism on their learning. The methodology of early school leavers’ learning in working life research was used applying combined phenomenological semi-structured and narrative interviews. 116 people (72 early school leavers and 44 second chance education teachers) representing all geographical regions of Latvia were addressed. The study identifies the differences between learning of bilingual and plurilingual people in formal and informal learning environments and describes the impact of plurilingualism on the learning quality. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;

Fitting it all in: how mothers' employment shapes their school engagement

Although incompatibilities between work and home life are well studied, less is known about the implications of employment for another key life role, particularly for working mothers: being a ‘school-engaged parent’. Using data from in-depth interviews with 17 employed mothers in a mid-size Midwestern city, recruited from a diverse sample of 95 survey-taking parents, we examined the mechanics of how mothers' employment conditions shaped their involvement in their children's schools. We observed patterns between occupational status – professional and low-wage jobs, particularly – and when and how mothers engaged. Some with job schedule flexibility and paid time off were more often and easily able to participate in school activities, while others faced barriers to or negative consequences from using such supports. Several mothers lacked any time-related accommodations from their jobs. Yet all mothers pushed themselves to be involved, even as they had to make hard calculations about their work lives to do so. The findings extend research on the ‘life’ side of work–life research and point to the limits of U.S. education reform's emphasis on family engagement, suggesting that varied bundles of employment conditions stratify parents' school participation in ways that may be difficult for schools to accommodate.

Sublingual versus vaginal misoprostol for cervical dilatation 1 or 3 h prior to surgical abortion: a double-blinded RCT.

Sublingual versus vaginal misoprostol for cervical dilatation 1 or 3 h prior to surgical abortion: a double-blinded RCT.