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Work-Life Balance

S/S/261. Work-life balance and family-friendly policies are women's issues. Discuss.

WORDS:

2700

DATE:

2010

PRICE:

29.99 GBP

The paper critically evaluates the issues which lie behind the assumption that work-life balance and family-friendly policies are matters of interest only to women. It also assesses the business implications of such thinking. The paper refers to a range of literature on the subject: The Nature and Pattern of Family-Friendly employment policies in Britain, a report by the social think-tank, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, to Clutterbuck's 2003 book, Managing the Work-Life Balance published by the Institute of Personnel and Development. The study shows that the work-life balance ideas are still considered to be of relevance to women – partly due to the large number of women who work part-time. And it is also often the case that human resource policies promote arrangements which are more beneficial to women than men. The paper argues that the eligibility for more flexible, family-friendly arrangements could also be extended to men and male workplaces.

KEYWORDS: Work-life balance, family-friendly policies, employment policy, HR, gender in the workplace,