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1 – 10 of 155Angus J. Duff and Scott B. Rankin
The purpose of this study is to understand the lived experience of workers who live in vans to explore how work and non-work interact when one's living environment is mobile.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to understand the lived experience of workers who live in vans to explore how work and non-work interact when one's living environment is mobile.
Design/methodology/approach
In this qualitative study, semi-structured interviews were carried out with 18 participants. Thematic analysis of interview transcripts, coded while listening to each interview recording, provided a rich account of the interaction of work and non-work life domains.
Findings
Several themes were identified, including seeing the van as a home, hidden or disclosed identity stemming from living in a van, financial freedom, career freedom and work/non-work synchronization. Overall, findings suggest that flexible home arrangements, the relocation of one's home to adapt to work, aligned work and non-work domains to positively impact their overall work and non-work satisfaction, providing career freedom and expanded career opportunities.
Research limitations/implications
The understanding of workers who live in vans broadens one’s understanding of mobile work and the work/non-work interface, providing insight into the dual alignment of work and home to accommodate each other, which the authors term work/non-work synchronization.
Originality/value
This is one of the first studies to consider van living from a work and career perspective and for the first time conceptualizes the notion of flexible home arrangements.
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Despite widespread acknowledgement that work‐family conflict and career success are salient issues that impact individual wellbeing and organizational effectiveness, there is…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite widespread acknowledgement that work‐family conflict and career success are salient issues that impact individual wellbeing and organizational effectiveness, there is little research that studies how the two concepts are related. The purpose of this paper is to develop and present a tentative framework for understanding the relationships among antecedents of interrole conflict between work and family and career success.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on existing theoretical and empirical evidence the paper develops and presents a conceptual framework of the relationships between domain‐specific variables, work‐family conflict, and career success. The paper also presents propositions based on the relationships suggested by the framework.
Findings
The framework suggests that individual‐specific variables will be more likely to predict family‐to‐work conflict and perceived career success, while work‐specific variables will be more likely to predict work‐to‐family conflict and perceived career success. It also suggests that such domain‐specific variables influence both work‐family conflict and career success.
Research limitations/implications
Future research should examine empirically the linkages suggested by this framework, along with other domain‐specific and, perhaps, cultural‐specific variables that may explain or predict dimensions of organizational cultures that are most relevant to the types of work‐family conflict and to indicators of career success. The paper suggests that employees and employers would be well advised to identify appropriate strategies for balancing work and non‐work domains in such a way that employees strive to perform work and family roles successfully, and employers ensure that employees have the necessary “infrastucture” and tailored‐made family supportive programs to encourage them to achieve dual‐success: success in family relationships and success in careers.
Originality/value
This paper makes a valuable contribution to both the work‐family conflict and career success literatures by being one of the first to examine the effects of domain‐specific characteristics on the relationships between these important organizational concepts and by revealing that managing work‐family conflict and career decision making is relevant for employees, employers, and career consultants.
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The purpose of this paper is to present studies on how the demands of work impact the family – the work‐family conflict (WFC) – and how the demands of family life impinge on the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present studies on how the demands of work impact the family – the work‐family conflict (WFC) – and how the demands of family life impinge on the workplace –the family‐work conflict (FWC). The goal of this paper is to examine the antecedents of the WFC and the FWC in a different cultural setting–Israeli health care administration.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from a sample of 168 female employees in two public hospitals in Israel.
Findings
The findings showed a strong relationship between work attitudes, particularly job satisfaction, and the two conflict variables. A higher level of job satisfaction was related to lower levels of WFC and FWC. The relationship of organizational support to the two conflict variables was weak and not in the expected direction.
Research limitations/implications
The study is based on a sample taken from one occupation, dominated by public employees.
Practical implications
The findings suggest that an effective way to reduce the WFC and the FWC is to create positive attitudes among employees regarding their job and work setting.
Originality/value
The paper examines common antecedents of WFC and FWC such as background and role variables, together with two antecedents rarely considered in the literature – organizational support for work‐related activities and organizational support for non‐work activities.
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Babatunde Akanji, Chima Mordi, Ruth Simpson, Toyin Ajibade Adisa and Emeka Smart Oruh
This study investigates the overarching ideology of work–life balance (WLB) or conflict as predominantly being a work–family affair. Based on a Nigerian study, and using…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates the overarching ideology of work–life balance (WLB) or conflict as predominantly being a work–family affair. Based on a Nigerian study, and using organisational justice as a theoretical lens, it explores perceived fairness in accessing family-friendly policies by managers and professionals who are single and do not have children – a workgroup conventionally ignored in research on WLB.
Design/methodology/approach
Relying on an interpretivist approach, the data set comprises of interviews with 24 bank managers and 20 medical doctors working in Nigeria.
Findings
The authors’ findings highlight employers' misconceptions concerning the non-work preferences and commitments of singles as well as an undervaluation by employers of their non-work time. Conceptualised as “time biases”, such time is routinely invaded by the organisation, with profound implications for perceptions of fairness. This fosters backlash behaviours with potential detrimental effects in terms of organisational effectiveness.
Research limitations/implications
The study is limited to investigating the WLB of singles in high-status roles, namely banking and medical careers. Future research may examine the experiences of a more diverse range of occupations. The sample comprises heterosexual, never-married professionals, whose experiences may differ from other categories of single workers, such as childless divorced people, widows, non-heterosexual singles and partners who have no children.
Practical implications
In order to avoid counterproductive behaviours in the workplace, WLB policies should not only focus on those with childcare concerns. Inclusive work–life policies for other household structures, such as single-persons, are necessary for improving overall organisational well-being.
Originality/value
The majority of WLB studies have been undertaken in Western and Asian contexts, to the neglect of the Sub-Saharan African experience. Additionally, research tends to focus on WLB issues on the part of working parents, overlooking the difficulties faced by singles.
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David G Allen, Robert W Renn and Rodger W Griffeth
As more companies and employees become involved in telecommuting, researchers and managers will need to understand the effects of this relatively new working arrangement on the…
Abstract
As more companies and employees become involved in telecommuting, researchers and managers will need to understand the effects of this relatively new working arrangement on the work perceptions and behaviors of the individual telecommuter. The extant empirical literature provides mixed results and is limited by a lack of theory; consequently, neither researchers nor managers can rely on this literature for clear direction on how telecommuting will likely affect individual telecommuters. There is a critical need for theoretical frameworks to guide research on how telecommuting may affect the telecommuter’s job perceptions, working relations, and work outcomes. We present a multi-dimensional framework of telecommuting design, and focus on how telecommuting design may affect the telecommuter’s work environment and outcomes through its effects on the social system of the telecommuter, autonomy and self-management opportunities and requirements, and role boundaries, particularly in terms of the work and non-work interface. Our goal is to provide a framework to assist managers and researchers in systematically addressing questions of how to design telecommuting arrangements to maximize their potential benefits while minimizing their potential drawbacks.
Justin B. Keeler, Noelle F. Scuderi, Meagan E. Brock Baskin, Patricia C. Jordan and Laura M. Meade
The purpose of this study is to investigate the complexity of how demands and stress are mitigated to enhance employee performance in remote working arrangements.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the complexity of how demands and stress are mitigated to enhance employee performance in remote working arrangements.
Design/methodology/approach
A time-lagged snowball sample of 223 full-time remote working adults in the United States participated in an online survey. Data were analyzed using R 4.0.2 and structural equation modeling.
Findings
Results suggest remote job resources involving organizational trust and work flexibility increase performance via serial mediation when considering information communication technology (ICT) demands and work–life interference (WLI). The findings provide insights into counterbalancing the negative aspects of specific demands and stress in remote work arrangements.
Practical implications
This study provides insights for managers to understand how basic job resources may shape perspectives on demands and WLI to impact performance. Specific to remote working arrangements, establishing trust with the employees and promoting accountability with their work flexibility can play an important part in people and their performance.
Originality/value
This study contributes theoretically to the literature by evidencing how components of the E-Work Life (EWL) scale can be used with greater versatility beyond the original composite measurement because of the job-demand resource (JD-R) framework and conservation of resources theory (COR). This study answers several calls by research to investigate how ICT demands and WLI play a complex role in work performance.
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Adela McMurray, Don Scott and Claire A. Simmers
The purpose of this paper is to examine the constituents of personal discretionary non-work activities and their influence on the work values ethic (WVE).
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the constituents of personal discretionary non-work activities and their influence on the work values ethic (WVE).
Design/methodology/approach
The constituents of personal discretionary non-work activities and their relationship to the WVE for 1,349 employees drawn from three manufacturing companies were surveyed. The data was used to test a measure of WVE, to develop a valid measure of personal discretionary non-work activities and to test a model of the relationship between personal discretionary non-work activities and a WVE.
Findings
Data obtained from the survey enabled the identification of a valid measure of personal discretionary non-work activities and the components that made up this measure. A measure of WVE was shown to be both valid and reliable, and a model of the relationship between personal discretionary non-work activities and WVE was tested.
Research limitations/implications
A positive relationship between personal discretionary non-work activities and WVE was identified. However, the study was not designed to investigate motivations and such relationships should be the subject of future research.
Practical implications
Personal discretionary non-work activities were shown to be of importance for a major proportion of the study’s respondents and to contribute to the employees’ work ethic.
Originality/value
The study has extended the non-work and work literature and has identified a formative non-work measure that was able to be tested in an overall model.
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The purpose of this paper is to use the kaleidoscope career model as a lens through which to explore the career choices and decisions of young professional couples and the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to use the kaleidoscope career model as a lens through which to explore the career choices and decisions of young professional couples and the strategies that they use to facilitate successful dual careers while attempting to balance their work and non-work lives.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were gathered through face-to-face interviews with 18 couples. Couples were interviewed separately to explore how individual career values and choices shape decisions in partnership. Template analysis was used to identify career patterns as defined by the kaleidoscope career model.
Findings
Gender-based patterns suggested by the kaleidoscope career model appear to be giving way to different patterns based on individual career aspirations, earning capacity and motivation within a dual career (as opposed to simply dual income) household. For some young professionals challenge and balance are equally important and so unlike the original interpretation of the KCM their careers reflect dual priorities not challenge followed by balance as their careers evolve.
Research limitations/implications
The sample size is small and participants were recruited through purposeful sampling which may have resulted in a more homogeneous cohort than would have been achieved through random sampling.
Practical implications
Changing demographic profiles and emerging social norms are changing the way Gen Y approach work and careers. Organisations and professional bodies need to respond to these changes through implementation of appropriate HR policies within supportive organisational cultures if they are to attract and retain young professionals.
Social implications
This research is important because there is clearly a gap between changes at a societal level and the way in which organisations are responding to those changes. The paper provides insights into how public policy and organisational practices can be designed and implemented to meet the needs and expectations of Gen Y professionals.
Originality/value
This study provides an insight into the way Gen Y professionals are navigating dual careers as opposed to dual incomes. It builds on and expands the kaleidoscope career model by showing that Gen Y professionals are less constrained by gender stereotypes than previous generations in their quest for challenge and balance and that some couples are determined to have both challenge and balance, not either/or.
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