Work Responsibilities Research Articles

Deepening Depression in Women Balancing Work-Life Responsibilities and Caregiving during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Findings from Gender-Specific Face-to-Face Street Interviews Conducted in Italy.

This study investigated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health, quality of life, and family functioning in a sample of the general female population, exploring difficulties encountered in managing family and work responsibilities and burden of care when taking care of a loved one. This study was, moreover, aimed at investigating factors capable of influencing severe depressive symptomatology in the context of socio-demographics, traumatic events, individual vulnerability, and family functioning. The sampling method used in this research was non-probability sampling. The survey took place during a Hospital Open Weekend (8-10 October 2021) organized by the National Gender Observatory on Women's Health "Fondazione Onda" on the occasion of the World Mental Health Day. A total of 211 women were interviewed (mean age = 35.6, 53% living alone, more than 15% with financial difficulties, 47% exposed to the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake). More than 50% of the sample reported a higher complexity in managing their lives during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to their previous routine, with no statistically significant differences between working women and non-workers, although the latter obtained higher scores for depressive symptomatology and poorer quality of life. Compared to non-caregivers, female caregivers (22.3%) in charge of the care of loved ones affected by physical (10.9%) or psychiatric disabilities (11.4%) complained of a poorer quality of life, especially in general health perception (p = 0.002), physical function (p = 0.011), role limitations related to physical problems (p = 0.017), bodily pain (p = 0.015), mental health (p = 0.004), and social functioning (p = 0.007). Women caring for people affected by mental disorders seemed to experience a more significant worsening in vitality (p = 0.003) and social functioning (p = 0.005). Approximately 20% of the total sample reported severe depressive symptomatology. Previous access to mental health services (O.R. 10.923; p = 0.000), a low level of education (O.R. 5.410; p = 0.021), and difficulties in management of everyday lives during the COVID-19 pandemic (O.R. 3.598; p = 0.045) were found to be the main variables predictive of severe depressive psychopathology. Old age, good problem-solving skills, and ability to pursue personal goals were identified as protective factors. The COVID-19 pandemic underlined the need for support amongst emotionally vulnerable women with pre-existing mental health conditions, partly reflecting the cumulative effects of traumas.

Work-Family Conflict among Police Personnel’s Job Satisfaction in Special Region of Yogyakarta with Gender as a Moderating Variable (Study in Police Administrative Unit at the County Level)

Research has shown that both men and women experience work-family conflict, but the nature of the conflict differs based on gender. Women often face conflicting demands between their work and family roles, which can lead to role overload and stress. Men, on the other hand, may experience conflict when their work responsibilities interfere with their family responsibilities, but they may also experience pressure to prioritize work over family due to traditional gender norms and expectations. It is important to recognize and address these gender differences in work-family conflict in order to promote greater work-life balance and job satisfaction for all individuals. This study aims to examine and analyze the effect of work-family conflict among police personnel’s job satisfaction in Special Region of Yogyakarta, especially at police administrative unit at county level. Moreover, this study focuses on exploring the moderating effect of gender on relationship of work-family conflict with job satisfaction. This quantitative study designed to test the hypothesis. The data for the present study were primary cross-sectional data collected from total of 193 police personnel in Yogyakarta. The result of the study show that work family-conflict have a significant negative effect on job satisfaction. Moreover, gender has no impact significantly on the relationship between work-family conflict with job satisfaction.

Juggle Between Work, Home, and Stress; A Qualitative Analysis Using Nvivo-12 on Working Women During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: India and other parts of the world have witnessed a health emergency due to COVID-19 that immensely affected the globe. These infectious diseases changed the lives of people, and the condition of working women worsened due to the responsibility of work, home, children, family, house, etc. altogether simultaneously. In a patriarchal society like India, where women are considered as ‘nurturing sex’ where domestic chores and care giving responsibilities are shouldered on women, the juggle between work and home elevated the work demand and heightened the level of stress. Based on the background discussed above, this research is an attempt to address the condition of working women the juggling between work and home elevated stress, work pressure amid COVID-19 Introduction: The world has been struggling with the greatest health crisis for the last two and a half years, affecting everyone’s life, especially working women. The condition of working women has worsened by bearing the heap of responsibilities of work, home, children, family, house, etc., which undoubtedly results in stress, frustration, and anger affecting women’s physical and mental health. This paper is to study the condition of working women who are juggling between work and home amid this COVID-19 pandemic. Method: For conducting the comprehensive study, a questionnaire was designed, which consisted of 14 questions excluding the demographic information, namely Name, Age, Gender, Profession, Experience, etc. Questionnaires were floated to 60 working women under different job profiles. Convenience Sampling was used to collect the data. Out of a sample of 60, 50 women recorded their responses via Google Sheets, and 38 questionnaires were finally used for analysis. The authors have utilized qualitative data analysis techniques to address the issue with the help of computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software NVIVO. For analyzing the qualitative data, NVIVO 12 was used by applying three tools Word Cloud Analysis, thematic analysis, and sentiments analysis. Result: The findings of the study show that working women are facing continuous challenges and are under stress due to multiple roles, responsibilities, and work demands since the onset of COVID-19. It is supported by Word Cloud Analysis, thematic analysis, and sentiment analysis. Conclusion: The outbreak of this COVID-19 pandemic, and its exceptional impact on lives, has generated an array of challenges in everyone’s life, but it shattered the lives of working women. The objective of this research is to unearth the stress in working women’s life amid COVID-19 due to the juggling between personal and professional life simultaneously. Results show that amid COVID-19, working women are under stress due to familial responsibility, household chores, work demands, caregiving, etc., all simultaneously without any breather. This societal stereotype lays high pressure and exceptions on working women leading to stress affecting the personal well-being and health of the woman

The Effect of Spousal Social Support on Multiple Role Conflict in Married Early Adult Women

The conflict between roles and responsibilities in work and marriage has a significant impact on early adult women. Multiple-role conflict is a form of inter-role conflict in which the role pressures from the work and family domains conflict with each other in several aspects. Spousal social support is an important predictor of multiple-role conflict because it can help couples overcome obstacles and become happier. Thus, couples who receive help from friends or family can help reduce the stress and affective difficulties that daily routines produce. The purpose of this study was to examine whether there is an effect of partner social support on multiple-role conflicts in married early adult women. The participants of this study were 150 married early adult women who were working in the Trenggalek district. The multiple-role conflict scale and spousal social support scale were constructed through factor analysis tests to obtain a fit model. Regression analysis showed that social support from spouses plays a significant role in multiple-role conflict, with a contribution of 4.9 percent.
 Keywords: kwEarly adults; Married women; Multiple role conflict; Spousal social support

What explains the gender gap in unpaid housework and care work in India?

AbstractMotivationAlthough women continue to bear an unequal burden when it comes to unpaid housework and care work regardless of the level of economic progress, a systematic analysis of the gender gap in terms of the time allocated to these responsibilities has not been carried out in the context of India so far, primarily due to the lack of national‐level data.PurposeThis article measures how the burden of unpaid housework and care work is shared between men and women and investigates the factors associated with the allocation of time.Methods and approachWe use the first nationally representative Time Use Survey (2019) data of India and employ Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition analysis to explain the gender gap in unpaid housework and care work.FindingsAfter accounting for individual characteristics and household factors, the regression analysis shows that women spend a little over three hours more per day on unpaid housework and 20 minutes more on unpaid care work than men. The decomposition analysis reveals that the differences in socioeconomic and demographic factors between men and women only contribute a small part of the average gender gap in unpaid housework and care work. In other words, most of the gap in unpaid work at home between men and women in India can be attributed to structural factors, including inadequate infrastructural support and social programmes to alleviate the burden of housework and childcare, as well as the prevalence of unobserved gender norms and practices that pin the responsibility of unpaid housework and care work on women.Policy implicationsTo achieve equitable distribution of unpaid work between women and men, there is a need to provide more opportunities for women to participate in remunerative paid employment. Infrastructural support and policies that can reduce the burden of time spent by women in day‐to‐day unpaid housework and care activities are crucial to reduce the gender gap.

Online on the frontline: A longitudinal social media analysis of UK healthcare workers’ attitudes to COVID-19 vaccines using the 5C framework

This paper explores vaccine hesitancy among healthcare workers (HCWs) in the UK, where different COVID-19 vaccines were being rolled out through a national vaccination campaign from 2020 to 2022, consisting of a first and second dose programme. Through a mixed-method approach using qualitative discourse analysis and network analysis of Twitter data, we assessed HCW perceptions and views about the administration and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines in the United Kingdom (UK). We were also interested in exploring HCWs' personal experiences and attitudes towards taking COVID-19 vaccines themselves. We drew upon sociology, ethics, communication studies and used research methods concentrating on social media and media analysis. By employing the ‘5C framework’ of ‘confidence, complacency, constraints, calculation, and collective responsibility’ we evaluated a longitudinal selection of tweets to capture relevant factors driving vaccination views and behaviours among HCWs. We found differing positions expressed about COVID-19 vaccines and policy during the first dose compared with the second, through a drop in confidence compounded by supply and access issues, as well the news of a vaccine mandate for HCWs by the UK government in 2021. HCWs asked calculation questions to the community or brought forward competing pieces of information about vaccine policy and guidelines. Constraint levels in access issues were noted, especially for those with work and caregiving responsibilities, and student nurses found they did not have equal vaccination access. HCWs also displayed collective responsibility on social platforms to both encourage vaccination and express concerns through the organisation of social action against vaccine mandates.

Constant connectivity and boundary management behaviors: the role of human agency

The surge of remote and hybrid work in the post-pandemic era has reinforced the blurred boundaries between work and nonwork responsibilities. Thus, how people manage the boundaries between work and nonwork domains has become more complicated. This study advances the work of previous studies on constant connectivity by focusing on how employees’ perception of constant connectivity might actualize their boundary management behaviors. By adopting affordances for practice perspective, our study focused on contextual factors, including IT/internet policies, informal social norms, and work flexibility, to investigate how these factors could influence employees’ perception of constant connectivity. This paper reports a two-phase study. In the first phase, we used sentiment analysis to rank 38 internet use policies of Australian universities, grading their strictness toward ICT/internet use. Next, building on the first phase, we interviewed 28 academics. We identified three perceptions of constant connectivity related to participants’ practices, including constant connectivity as a resource for practice, a challenge for practice, and duality for practice. We also found five distinct boundary management behaviors connected to three different perceptions.

Sociodemographic inequities in unscheduled asthma care visits among public assistance recipients in Japan: additional risk by household composition among workers

BackgroundPublic assistance programs aim to prevent financial poverty by guaranteeing a minimum income for basic needs, including medical care. However, time poverty also matters, especially in the medical care adherence of people with chronic diseases. This study aimed to examine the association between the dual burden of working and household responsibilities, with unscheduled asthma care visits among public assistance recipients in Japan.MethodsThis retrospective cohort study included public assistance recipients from two municipalities. We obtained participants’ sociodemographic data in January 2016 from the public assistance database and identified the incidence of asthma care visits. Participants’ unscheduled asthma visits and the frequency of asthma visits were used as the outcome variables. Unscheduled visits were defined as visits by recipients who did not receive asthma care during the first three months of the observation period. Participants’ age, sex, household composition, and work status were used as explanatory variables. Multiple Poisson regression analyses were performed to calculate the cumulative incidence ratio (IR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of unscheduled visits across the explanatory variables. The effect of modification on the work status by household composition was also examined.ResultsWe identified 2,386 recipients at risk of having unscheduled visits, among which 121 patients (5.1%) had unscheduled visits. The multivariable Poisson regression revealed that the working recipients had a higher incidence of unscheduled visits than the non-working recipients (IR 1.44, 95% CI 1.00–2.07). Among working recipients, the IRs of unscheduled visits were higher among recipients cohabiting with adults (IR 1.90 95% CI 1.00–3.59) and with children (IR 2.35, 95% CI 1.11–4.95) than for recipients living alone. Among non-working recipients, the IRs of unscheduled visits were lower for recipients living with family (IR 0.74, 95% CI 0.41–1.35) and those living with children (IR 0.50, 95% CI 0.20–1.23). A higher frequency in asthma visits was observed among working recipients living with family.ConclusionsWorking adults cohabiting with children are at the greatest risk of unscheduled visits among adults receiving public assistance. To support healthy lifestyles of public assistance recipients, medical care providers and policymakers should pay special attention to the potentially underserved populations.

English Language Teaching (ELT) Appraisal in the Trifocal System of the Philippine Education - Basis for Policy and Advancement Program

This study explored the English Language Teaching appraisal of teachers in the trifocal Philippine education system in the Bicol Region as a basis for policy and advancement programs. This study used the descriptive-comparative-associational method using a content-validated and reliability-tested questionnaire. The frequency and percentage technique, weighted mean, Chi-Square, and Anova Test of Variance were used in the data treatment. Findings revealed that ELT teachers were predominantly females with 73.97%, CHED, 80.21%, DepEd, and 71.43% TESDA along age groups of early and mid-30s and 46 years above. They served the agencies for less than 10 years, mostly married. Professionally, these teachers were still pursuing post-graduate education and attending training. Along with appraisals on their professional and work responsibility, ELT Trifocal teachers very evidently performed their professional and work responsibilities; on the delivery system, respondents conveyed the mastery and application of theoretical and pedagogical knowledge; on their communicative competencies, they were classified as experts. Meanwhile, there was no significant difference among ELT teachers’ appraisal in the three systems (F–value 2.21< t-value 3.35; 5% level of significance). It follows that Philippine education has maintained an undeviating quality of ELT teachers regardless of which system of education they belong. The result showed no variations in ELT competencies despite differences in modalities, urgencies, and the attainment of quality education. Findings also unveiled that the ELT teachers’ appraisal and integration of ICT to language teaching are directly associated with their age, sex and civil status, and educational attainment. The higher the educational attainment, the higher the integration of ICT in language teaching. With these results, a policy development for the Professional Advancement Program in ELT was crafted.

POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER FOR MILITARY SERVANTS: THEORY, RESEARCH AND TREATMENT

Military service is associated with exposure to traumatic stressors, including war zone hazards, accidents, and other occupational hazards, which may place military personnel at increased risk for the developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The overall lifetime prevalence of PTSD among the world’s population varies between 10.0-11.3% for women and 5.0-6.0% for men. Among military veterans, the lifetime prevalence of the disorder is 13.4% and 7.7% for women and men, respectively.
 The United States Department of Veterans Affairs and the United States Department of Defense recommend a clinical methodology for the treatment of PTSD, which includes the following components: a diagnosis based on the criteria of the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders” of the American Psychiatric Association; the presence of a high risk of harming oneself or others; functional status including duty and level of work responsibility; risk and protective factors; treatment history; medical history of the patient and his family. At the same time, joint decision-making with the patient is assumed, the key components of which are taking into account the patient’s preferences, educating the patient and his relatives with the concept of psychological trauma and the peculiarities of the course of PTSD, joint consideration with the patient of the advantages and disadvantages of available treatment options. The PTSD treatment process necessarily must be trauma-oriented and include the following types of psychotherapy: prolonged exposure, cognitive processing therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, brief eclectic psychotherapy, narrative exposure therapy, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, and written exposure therapy. For situations where clinicians are not trained in trauma-focused psychotherapy or when patients refuse to initiate treatment, pharmacotherapy or non-trauma-focused manualized psychotherapy that includes stress resistance training, life-focused therapy, and interpersonal psychotherapy is recommended.
 Despite certain successes in the treatment of PTSD, important questions remain unsolved. First of all, there is a lack of clinical research to compare the effectiveness of the many available psychological treatments in general and for active-duty military personnel in particular. It is necessary to continue research in the field of precision medicine, which will make it possible to choose the most effective treatment for PTSD for each serviceman individually. To resolve these and similar issues, further long-term, consistent studies conducted on representative samples are needed.

What prevents universities from ‘building back better’? Fault lines in university structures of care during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT Universities may have coped with the COVID-19 pandemic, but we argue there are still important lessons to be learnt from that experience of coping. In this paper, we explore whether universities could improve what they do, rather than just returning to pre-lockdown ways of working. We do this by analyzing a series of interviews with staff, recorded during the lockdown in the UK, using Tronto’s political theory of care. This analysis does not suggest that universities simply need to be more caring; it shows, instead, that they were already full of complex and overlapping caring activities. What staff accounts highlighted, however, were the fault lines between responsibilities for academic work and the tasks of caring; the competing priorities staff faced, between work, home and self; and how the burden of caring work was (and still is) unfairly distributed, with consequences for the wellbeing of staff. We conclude by suggesting that better-integrated caring practices are needed, and that developing these will require paying attention to the labour it takes to sustain academic work, and taking responsibility for helping the often-overlooked people who do this.

Reconciling Paid Work and Informal Caregiving Among Older Adults: Implications for Work Interference With Family.

Many older adults who combine paid work and informal caregiving responsibilities are often in work arrangements that differ from their preference. There is reason to believe that such work status incongruence may lead to work interference with family (WIF). In response, many governments have policies that support flexible work arrangements (FWA) to help individuals manage work and family commitments. This paper examines whether work status preferences contribute to WIF for older adults who combine work and care and whether the use of flexible work arrangements moderates this relationship. The study included 610 informal caregivers (aged 55-70 years) in paid employment who participated in either the 2018 or 2020 waves of the New Zealand Health, Work and Retirement study. Using a simple moderation analysis with demographic controls, the effects of work status preferences and FWAs on WIF were estimated. After controlling for confounds, significant main effects were found for both work status preferences and flexible work arrangements on WIF. The moderation analysis revealed that involuntary part-timers using flexible time-off arrangements reported lower levels of WIF. However, other types of flexible work arrangements did not moderate the relationship between work status preferences and WIF. These findings suggest that work status preferences can contribute to WIF, but not all types of flexible work arrangements alleviate it. Policy initiatives designed to reduce WIF for those combining work and care should consider accounting for differences in the work status preferences of older workers.

Examining Relationships Among Leadership Behaviors, Demographic and Program Factors, and Resilience in Physical Therapy Professional Education Program Directors.

Physical therapy professional education program directors (PDs) face stress associated with work roles and responsibilities, which can cause burnout and job turnover. Burnout and turnover in physical therapy education PD positions are influenced by inexperience, insufficient compensation, decreased support, heavy workloads, difficulty hiring and retaining faculty, and internal conflict. Program directors also receive insufficient training in their roles. Individuals with greater resilience, or the ability to face adversity with positive outcomes, may be more resistant to stress, burnout, and turnover. Therefore, this study's purpose was to explore the relationships among leadership behaviors, demographic and program factors, and resilience in physical therapy PDs. Of the 600 physical therapy PDs invited to participate in the study, 126 directors completed the survey (21% response rate). The survey included demographic questions, the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ-5X), and the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10). Correlational analyses were used to investigate relationships among leadership behaviors, demographic and program factors, and resilience. Participants included 43 physical therapist and 82 physical therapist assistant PDs (79.4% female and 20.6% male participants; mean age, 52.0 ± 8.3 years; mean years in role, 7.3 ± 6.9 years). Mean MLQ-5X scores showed that participants primarily used transformational leadership (TFL) behaviors. The mean CD-RISC-10 score for participants was 33.06 (±4.10). Analysis revealed statistically significant positive relationships between all TFL behaviors and resilience. Exploratory regression analysis revealed that 3 leadership behaviors and one demographic factor may contribute to resilience in participants, although the proportion of variance was modest (39%). This is the first study to offer insight regarding the relationships between leadership behaviors and resilience in physical therapy PDs. These results may help lay the foundation for future research in this area, with the goal of decreasing burnout and job turnover through increased resilience.

Sustainability of GUINÉ-BISSAU-Application of the action of Standards ISO 9001, 14001, 26000 and 45001

Sustainability represents one of the greatest challenges of the millennium. Many countries have already implemented ISO standards on Management, Quality, Environment and Occupational Safety and Health systems. In Guinea-Bissau, the poor quality of management, forest deforestation, the extinction of several species of fauna and flora, the difficulties of collecting and treating waste, the non-compliance by companies with occupational safety and health standards, and the lack of business ethics in the process of operationalizing the activities of companies, aroused the interest in showing the relevance of the implementation of ISO standards - Quality Management (9001), Environment (14001), Safety and Health at Work (45001) and Social Responsibility (26000) in this country. The implementation of ISO standards in Guinea-Bissau will oblige organizations to comply with quality standards that will contribute to the improvement of the quality of life of Guineans and the sustainability of the planet.

Factors influencing pharmacists' participation in continuing education activities in the United Arab Emirates: insights and implications from a cross-sectional study

BackgroundContinuing professional development (CPD) is essential for pharmacists to maintain and enhance their knowledge and skills. The purpose of this research was to collect data about the perception of pharmacists in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) towards CPD and identify factors that motivate or hinder their participation in different types of CPD activities.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted among 322 pharmacists who completed a self-administered questionnaire that assessed their demographic characteristics, CPD preferences, motivators and obstacles to attending CPD programs, and perceived learning outcomes.ResultsParticipants’ average age was 33 years (mean = 30.6, SD = 5.97), and the range of years, since they graduated from a pharmacy degree program was 18 years (mean = 10.9, SD = 4.8). More than half of the participants were female; 198 (61.5%) and 193 (59.9%) of them were married. The study found that married pharmacists (AOR = 0.5, 95% CI 0.266–0.939, P value = 0.031), older participants (AOR = 0.232, 95% CI 0.266–0.939, P value = 0.04), and those who graduated longer than 16 years ago were less likely to attend live CPD events (AOR = 0.454, 95% CI 0.22–0.924). However, participants who worked up to 15 h had higher odds of attending live CPD events (AOR = 3.511, 95% CI 1.117–11.039, P value: 0.026). In addition, female pharmacists were less likely to participate in computer/internet-based continuing education than male pharmacists (AOR = 0.038, 95% CI 0.293–0.965, P value = 0.038). It also revealed that pharmacists who were not motivated by the topic of the CPD activity had a higher chance of attending computer/internet-based format (AOR = 2.289, 95% CI 1.198–4.371, P value = 0.012). In contrast, those who did not report the long distance to the CPD site as a hindrance had a lower likelihood of attending online internet-based CPD (AOR = 0.548, 95% CI 0.319–0.941, P value = 0.029).ConclusionsThis study is the first to explore pharmacists’ predictors of attending different CPD activities. These predictors are gender, age, marital status, experience since graduation, working hours, family barriers, work responsibilities, interest in the presentation topic, and the long travel distance to the site. These findings suggest that pharmacists have unique challenges and motivations regarding continuing education and that tailored approaches may be necessary to encourage participation.

Impact of work overload as a job stressor on employees intention to leave: The mediating effect of work-family conflict in a Sri Lankan apparel sector organisation

Purpose- This article investigates the impact of work overload and work-family conflict as job stressors on employees' intention to leave in the Sri Lankan apparel sector, focusing on the mediating effect of work-family conflict. The study addresses concerns over high employee turnover rates among machine operators in the sector. Methodology- The study collected primary data through a self-administered questionnaire from a sample of 106 machine operators working in a selected factory in the western province of Sri Lanka. The research adopted a cross-sectional quantitative survey design, and data analysis was performed using the SPSS PROCESS macro. Findings- The study revealed that work overload positively influenced work-family conflict, indicating challenges in balancing work and family responsibilities. Further, work overload increased employees' intention to leave, suggesting its detrimental effects on employee motivation and job satisfaction. Work-family conflict serves as a partial mediator in the relationship between work overload and turnover intentions, playing a crucial role in transmitting adverse effects, leading to increased turnover intentions. Conclusion- This research demonstrates the combined effects of work overload and work-family conflict on employee turnover intentions within the Sri Lankan apparel sector context. The findings highlight the importance of addressing work-related demands and resources to enhance job outcomes, such as employee turnover, in compliance with the Job Demands-Resources model. These insights provide practical implications for implementing strategies that promote work-life balance, reduce turnover intentions and enhance both employee and organisational performance. Keywords: Work overload, work-family conflict, employee turnover intentions, job stressor, Sri Lankan apparel sector. JEL Codes: J28, J63, J81

Suraj Kumar: balancing career, family, and self

Learning outcomes This case study is best suited for courses in career management, stress management, work–life management or science of well-being in organization behavior (OB) or human resources management (HRM). This case study is targeted at the MBA or executive development programs. The learning outcomes of this case study are as follows: to analyze the challenges in balancing Suraj Kumar’s (the protagonist) work–life balance situation and identifying the main causes of such a conflict. What are some strategies that could be used to address these issues? To develop a plan to balance work responsibilities with family and personal life. What specific actions could he take to achieve this balance? To design a training program for employees that addresses work–life balance issues. What topics would you cover in the training, and what methods would you use to deliver the content? To create a proposal for a flexible work arrangement program that an organization could offer to its employees. What would be the benefits of this program, and how would it be implemented and managed? To develop a business case for why an organization should prioritize work–life balance for its employees. What are the potential benefits of doing so, and how can the organization measure the impact of its efforts? Case overview/synopsis This case study discusses conflicts due to competitive priorities that people face in balancing the pressures, roles and responsibilities between their professional life (careers) and their personal life, and the trade-offs that they make across these multiple aspects of their lives. This case study revolves around Suraj Kumar, a successful consultant, who was offered a promotion as the executive director for the social sector. This promotion would require extensive travel and time away from his family. Kumar was struggling to balance his work responsibilities with his family life and his involvement with the Smile and Shine Foundation, which supports the education of children from economically weaker sections of society. He was reflecting on his past and present and trying to figure out how to prioritize his commitments while also achieving his personal and professional goals. Complexity academic level This research has shown that a case discussion and role-play can be effective for a less experienced audience. Instructors can provide multiple perspectives to stimulate reflection and debate. For executive MBA or executive development programs, a self-reflection exercise is recommended. Participants in these programs may have personal experience dealing with or may know others who have dealt with work–life balance issues, making self-reflection a valuable tool. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 6: Human resource management.

Work-Life Integration for Academic Surgeons

This Viewpoint discusses the time surgeons spend juggling work and life responsibilities by presenting a brief survey of academic surgeons who tracked their time use for 1 week.

Selection into maternity leave length and long-run maternal health in Germany

Abstract Existing literature shows the importance of maternity leave as a strategy for women to balance work and family responsibilities. However, only a few studies focused on the long-run impact of maternity leave length on maternal health. Therefore, how exactly they are related remains unclear. We examine women’s selection into different lengths of maternity leave as a potential explanation for the inconclusive findings in the literature on the association between maternity leave and maternal health. This study aims to unravel the association between maternity leave length and mothers’ long-term health in Germany. Drawing on detailed data from the German Statutory Pension Fund (DRV), we estimated the association between maternity leave length and sick leave from 3 years following their child’s birth for 4,243 women living in Germany in 2015 by applying discrete-time logistic regression. Our results show a negative relationship between maternity-leave length and long-term maternal health, likely driven by negative health selection. Long maternity leaves of more than 24 months were associated with worse maternal health in the long run, while a positive association emerged for vulnerable women with pre-existing health problems.

Who gets to choose: a global perspective on gender, work and choice in the post-pandemic workplace

PurposeCompared to the years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, more workers today seemingly have choice over where, when and how they do their work. However, gender inequalities at work and at home persist, which may impact perceptions of choice. Thus, researchers must investigate the potential impact of gender and domestic responsibilities on perceptions of work-related options, including perceptions of workspace choice. Design/methodology/approachUsing an original dataset with workers in North America, South America, Europe and Asia (N = 3,147), the authors conducted logistic regression analyses to explore whether workers felt they had a choice in where they do their work (workspace choice). In addition to gender, the authors considered the effect of domestic responsibilities (childcare and housework) on worker perceptions of workspace choice.FindingsIn the paper's initial regression, the authors found that men (OR: 1.24; 95%CI 1.04–1.48) as well as workers reporting that a partner was responsible for all or most of the housework (OR: 1.80; 95%CI 1.34–2.40) and childcare (OR 1.51; 95%CI 1.09–2.09) reported feeling a greater sense of workspace choice. Simultaneously, follow-up regression analyses found that women and men whose partners had a greater share of domestic responsibility had amplified perceptions of choice. However, surprisingly, men who claimed primary responsibility for domestic work also reported more choice over workspace.Originality/valueUsing an international sample, the authors explore gender inequities in worker perceptions of workspace choice. The authors' findings suggest that domestic responsibilities interact with gender in interesting ways, leading to differences in perceptions of choice in the post-pandemic workplace.