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Work-Life Balance

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Work-Life Balance
Work-life balance essay
Work-life balance is an important and complex issue in today’s society. This essay will firstly outline the changing nature of the working environment in regards to the changing roles of women. It will then define work-life balance, specifically in relation to women in the workforce. Furthermore, it will assess what businesses are doing about work-life balance and argue that current policies and practices that are in place, such as flexible working hours, are not entirely effective. It will then go on to critically analyse various legislation, government policies and incentives, identifying major flaws within this legislation. It will further examine the presence of unions and acknowledge both the solutions and limitations of various businesses in achieving a sustainable work-life balance for working women.
Work-life balance can be defined as “The relation between work–family balance and quality of life” (Greenhaus, Collins & Shaw, 2003). The major flaw within this definition is that people have differing perspectives on what constitutes a work-family balance in order to achieve quality of life. According to the department of education and employment (2000) work-life balance isn’t just about women juggling a home and family, but also adjusting working patterns so that everyone, regardless of race, age or gender, can find a rhythm that enables them more easily to combine work with their other responsibilities or aspirations.

Changing gender roles have had a huge impact on women’s ability to participate in the formalised labour market. As stated by Australian bureau of statistics, 2008, a range of cultural and economic shifts in recent decades has seen a dramatic increase in the proportion of women participating in the labour force. According to Smith (1995), this has been caused as a result of improved access to a wider range of education, the increase availability of suitable jobs, and improved access to training and


References: ABS- Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2008. Labour Force Participation Across Australia, [online]. Available at: http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4102.0Chapter7002008 [Accessed 24 March, 2009]. ACTU- Australian Council of Trade Unions, 2003 Australian Industrial Relations Commission, 2008. Workplace Relations Act 1996, [online] (Updated 28 March 2008) Available at: http://www.airc.gov.au/legislation/wra.htm Dainty, A.R.J. & Lingard, H., 2006. Indirect Discrimination in Construction Organizations and the Impact on Women’s Careers. Journal of Management in Engineering, [online]. 22 (3) pp108-118. Davidson, P. Simon, A. Woods, P. & Griffin, R.W., 2009. Management. 4th ed. Australia: John Wiley & Sons. Doherty, L., 2004 Edwards, C.Y. & Robinson, O., 2001. “Better” part-time jobs? A study of part-time working in nursing and the police. Employee Relations, [online]. 23 (5), pp 438-454. Felstead, N. Jewson, A. Phickalea & Walters, S., 2002. Opportunities to work at home in the context of work-life balance. Human Resource Management Journal, [online]. 12 (1), p 54-76. Gray, H., 2002. Family-Friendly Working: What a Performance! An Analysis of the Relationship Between the Availability of Family-Friendly Policies and Establishment Performance. Centre for Economic Performance, [online]. Greenhaus, J.H, Collins K.M, & Shaw, J.D., 2003. The relation between work–family balance and quality of life. Journal of Vocational Behavior, [online]. 63 (3), P. 510-531 Lewis, S., 2001 Simpson, R., 2002. Presenteeism, Power and Organizational Change: Long Hours as a Career Barrier and the Impact on the Working Lives of Women Managers. Smith, C.R. & Hutchinson, J., 1995. Gender, a Strategic Management Issue. Chatswood, N.S.W.: Business and professional publishing. Strachan, G Wallace, M., 2000. Workplace training initiatives: implications for women in the Australian workforce. Journal of European Industrial Training, [online]. 24 (5), p. 268 – 274.
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