Suzan Lewis

‘Family Friendly’ Employment Policies: A Route to Changing Organizational Culture or Playing About at the Margins?

Formal ‘family friendly’ policies, including flexible or reduced hours of work and periods of leave, designed to help employees to balance work and family demands have the potential to challenge traditional models of work and organizational values. However, while these policies can reduce stress for individual employees, it is argued that there is less evidence of widespread organizational culture change. This paper draws on case studies of organizations at various stages of developing ‘family friendly’ policies to identify two barriers to fundamental shifts in organizational culture; low sense of entitlement to consideration of family needs, and organizational discourses of time as representing productivity, commitment and value. Some conditions under which broader culture change may be achieved are explored.

The constraints of a ‘work–life balance’ approach: an international perspective.

Locating work–life balance discourse in time and place The huge recent growth in attention to ‘work–life balance’(WLB) dilemmas in academic, political, professional and popular literature might give the impression that this is, at best, a new area of concern, or at worst, a passing fad. This would, however, be misleading. The WLB metaphor is a social construct located within a particular period of time and originating in a Western context, but dilemmas relating to the management of paid work alongside other parts of life, especially family, have been the focus of research for several decades (see, e.g., Rapoport and Rapoport, 1965). Research on this topic has always reflected social, economic and workplace developments and concerns, shifting in response to new trends. For example, as the numbers of women entering the labour force grew, from the 1960s, research in certain contexts tended to focus on ‘working mothers’ or dual earner families, while concerns about stress and burnout associated with workplace changes in the 1980s and 1990s were reflected in research and debate about work–family conflict (Lewis and Cooper, 1999). The terminology used to refer to these issues continues to evolve in response to current concerns. In particular, a shift from ‘work–family’ and ‘family-friendly policies’ with their implicit focus on women, especially mothers, to ‘work–life’, the precursor of the more recent ‘work–life balance’ (WLB) discourse began in the 1990s. This linguistic shift reflected a broader and more inclusive way of framing the debate to engage men and women with and without children or other caring commitments and was partly a response to backlash against work–family policies by those without obvious family obligations.

Work—life initiatives and organizational change: Overcoming mixed messages to move from the margin to the mainstream

This article examines perspectives on employer work—life initiatives as potential organizational change phenomena. Work—life initiatives address two main organizational challenges: structural (flexible job design, human resource policies) and cultural (supportive supervisors, climate) factors. While work—life initiatives serve a purpose in highlighting the need for organizational adaptation to changing relationships between work, family, and personal life, we argue they usually are marginalized rather than mainstreamed into organizational systems. We note mixed consequences of work—life initiatives for individuals and organizations. While they may enable employees to manage work and caregiving, they can increase work intensification and perpetuate stereotypes of ideal workers. In order to advance the field, organizations and scholars need to frame both structural and cultural work—life changes as part of the core employment systems to enhance organizational effectiveness and not just as strategies to support disadvantaged, non-ideal workers. We conclude with an overview of the articles in this special issue.

Restructuring workplace cultures: the ultimate work-family challenge?

Work‐life polices and practices have the potential to enhance opportunities for women in the workplace (and opportunities for men to be more involved in family life), but are often undermined by workplace culture. Presents a case study of an organisation which is addressing issues of workplace culture in relation to work‐life policies and gender equality. Despite achieving substantial change in practice and in shared assumptions, a new set of issues have emerged which will require innovative solutions.

The integration of paid work and the rest of life. Is post-industrial work the new leisure?

Two current contradictory trends in Britain are (a) increased interest in the integration of work and personal life, including leisure – often termed work‐life balance and (b) blurred work non‐work boundaries. This paper explores a number of explanations for the apparent dominance of paid work in many peoples lives and considers whether postindustrial work is becoming indistinguishable from leisure, as an activity of choice and source of enjoyment. Long working hours among workers with most autonomy are often explained in terms of personal choice, but it is argued here that this neglects the gendered, societal and organisational constraints on choice, identity and perceived obligations. The paper concludes that post industrial work cannot simply be considered ‘the new leisure’, but that the relative blurring of the boundaries between work and leisure do pose some important questions for the future. The issues are illustrated by qualitative data from a study of working patterns among Chartered Accountants.

Work-life integration : case studies of organisational change

About the Authors.Foreword by Professor Ronald J. Burke.Foreword by The Rt. Hon. Patricia Hewitt, MP.Acknowledgements.Chapter 1. Case Studies and Organisational Learning.Chapter 2. The Xerox Corporation.Chapter 3. Energyco.Chapter 4. Proffirm - The Professional Practice firm.Chapter 5. Printco.Chapter 6. Recruitco.Chapter 7. Adminco.Chapter 8. Charityco.Chapter 9. A Long-term View.Appendix A: Work-Life Integration Change Process.Appendix B: Work-Personal Life Harmonisation: Visions and Pragmatic Strategies for Change.References.Index.

Sense of Entitlement to Support for the Reconciliation of Employment and Family Life

This article explores young European women and men’s expectations of support - from the state and employers - for reconciling paid employment and family life. It is based on a qualitative study employing focus groups with young women and men in Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Ireland and the UK. Drawing on the concept of sense of entitlement, derived from social justice theory, it was expected that the type of welfare state and ‘gender contract’ that young adults have experienced will influence their sense of entitlement to support for work and family life. Findings indicate that participants perceived their entitlement to state and employer support differently across national context. However this is moderated by gender, parental and occupational status, and particularly by awareness of provisions in other countries in the case of state support, while perceived entitlement to employer support varies according to the specific policy considered, gender and perception of benefits to employers. Some implications for public policy makers and employers are discussed.

The work-family research agenda in changing contexts.

This article argues that research on the work-family interface has evolved against a backdrop of dramatic and ongoing social and workplace change and must continue to reflect current and future context. The article overviews current trends that have implications for work and family and considers some possible future scenarios. It identifies a number of research areas and questions that build on previous theoretical and practical developments in the work-family field and reflect current trends. It is argued that questions about the well-being and sustainability of workplace human resources, of families in their diverse forms, and of communities are of overriding significance for the work-family research agenda, particularly if current trends continue unabated.

Is job insecurity changing the psychological contract

The paper examines young adults’ perspectives on and experiences of job insecurity, including both objective insecurity and perceived uncertainty, as they emerged in a series of focus groups and interviews. It discusses young adults’ changing notions of security and career, effects of insecurity and uncertainty on planning future work and non work lives for people with different levels of occupational skills and qualifications, the gendered effects of insecurity and the impact of insecure employment on attitudes to employers. The impact of perceptions and experiences of job insecurity on young men and women’s expectations of work are considered in terms of a changing psychological contract.

Reflections on the integration of paid work and the rest of life

Despite a wealth of research and policy initiatives on “work‐family”, “work‐life balance” or what we prefer to call work‐personal life integration, societies seem stuck about how to make equitable, satisfactory and sustainable changes in the ways in which paid work can be combined with the rest of life. So what is holding back satisfactory change? And how can people move beyond this apparent deadlock in workplaces and other institutions and really go forward? This paper looks at some of the reasons why issues about work‐personal life integration have become so pressing and then reflects on implications for working towards more fundamental changes at many different levels. It highlights sticking points holding back change and argues that these could be developed into new levers for change by emphasising the need to rethink and question many deeply held – but outdated – assumptions about working practices, families, culture and personal lives.