Work-life balance is one of the most important issues facing employers and managers today. Employees at all levels are no longer willing to trade their quality of life in order to get a decent standard of living. Managers can no longer afford to ignore the costs that the long-hours culture imposes on their organisation. Overwork causes stress-related absenteeism, poor retention levels, low creativity, appalling customer service and unethical employee behaviour. Combine that with the risks of being sued by a stressed employee or a parent who wanted to work flexibly, and the business case for paying real attention to work-life issues has never been stronger. This text sets out the roadmap for moving your organisation towards a positive work-life culture. With clear and practical advice for HR and line managers alike, Managing Work-Life Balance shows you how to engage employers, managers and employees in the process of controlling the inherent conflicts between the worlds of work and home.

Work in the construction industry is particularly tough. It demands excessively long hours and frequent weekend work. Other characteristics are particularly marked, such as re-location, job insecurity and distinctive behavioural patterns, which negatively affect employees’ personal lives further. Work–life balance has emerged as one of the most pressing management issues in the 21st century. For construction managers dealing with traditional models of work and rigid work schedules, the issue may be especially difficult to manage, and yet the work–life balance is now recognised as an issue of strategic importance to the construction industry. It is critical to the construction industry’s continued ability to attract and retain a talented workforce, and it is also inextricably linked to organizational effectiveness and employees’ well-being. This book presents the argument for the management of work–life balance in the construction industry. It maps the changes to the workforce demographic profile and the changing expectations relating to work and personal life that occurred during the second half of the 20th century. Legal imperatives for managing work–life balance are set out. It also presents work–life balance theory and discusses the practical implications of research, along with extensive empirical data collected from the industry. Lastly, practical advice is provided about what construction organizations can and should do to manage work–life balance. This provides a unique guide to a key issue.

This powerful resource investigates how a positive work–life balance can help create engaged, productive employees, how imbalances in work–life balance create serious issues for workers, and identifies different ways to greatly improve one's work–life balance. Of the 35 countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), all except the United States provide nationwide paid maternity leave. This is but one example of how the United States has not made adequate provisions to safeguard the work–life balance of its workforce—to the detriment of the overall economic prosperity of the nation. This insightful book shows how problematic an out-of-balance work-to-life ratio is, gives readers the raw data and information to prioritize their values, and describes tools available for selecting a position that matches an individual's talents and is congruent with her desired work–life balance. Work–Life Balance examines the controversies associated with work–life balance in the modern era and emphasizes how winning the struggle to achieve work–life balance requires buy-in from employees, management, and government. Readers will appreciate how optimizing their work–life balance may incorporate employee assistance programs, flextime, improved time management skills, technology-enabled tools, and community programs. The author explains how choosing an appropriate occupation is the first step toward having a positive work–life balance and avoiding the twin scourges of depression and job dissatisfaction. Comparisons between typical benefits in the United States with those in other countries provide data that can be used to advocate and negotiate for greater flexibility, fairness in gender equality, and better employer-employee relationships.

This innovative and thought-provoking Research Handbook explores the theoretical debate surrounding work–life balance, and provides a reflection on the opportunity to adopt multilevel research approaches and perspectives, along gender and temporal axes. The Research Handbook is an international overview of current research on work-life balance, considered in macro, meso and micro perspectives.

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Seminar paper from the year 2011 in the subject Leadership and Human Resources - Miscellaneous, grade: 1,0, University of Applied Sciences Essen, language: English, abstract: Although a day has 24 hours, it seems impossible for many people to perform the number of tasks they are expected to each day. A lot of people in our society are over-worked. They suffer from stress and hectic in ther daily life and the burn out syndrome has become a common condition. According to an article of the focus medicines bargain that 20% – 30% of all working people suffer from burn out syndrome at least once a lifetime. Another statistic shows that in the year 2010 24.05 million out of 64.82 million people felt they did not have enough time.