Introduction
There have been dramatic changes in the work as well as family lives of the employees which also have been observed in the households that are run by dual-earners as well as in the families that have single parents (Kim, Kim & Kim, 2017). The changes in the family and work lives have also been relevant in the families where a larger number of adults who are employed are in involve din taking care of the infirm or elderly relatives. This simply denotes the fact that a large number of employees are juggling between paid professional work and unpaid nonwork.
High-stress factors and workload have been causing conflicts both the home and work and the common conflicts are further leading to many kinds of health issues and diseases associated with the family and healthy functioning of the employees. These further have led to the employees confronting issues associated with both fertility and making decisions regarding the labor market.
Flexible Work Arrangements
Most of the companies in many countries have adopted flexibility in the work arrangements which has been helping the managers as well other employees in having necessary changes in the regulation of the work time, having an expansion in their family lives as well as improve the overall work and non-work live of the employees. According to Kelly, Moen & Tranby (2011), in the competitive world and society at the present age, having a balanced work and non-work life is crucial (Kelly, Moen & Tranby, 2011).
Business organizations are seeking different ways for making the lives of the employees balanced between the family and work at a rapid rate. Conventionally employment was the means which would support the live personal lives of the people. The improvement in the balance between work and non-work lives has been considered very seriously by most often business organizations. This has been incorporating changes in their human resource policies. This has been assisting in having reconciliation between negative family work family and family work spillover. In many ways, the business organizations have been integrating significant changes and flexible approaches in terms of responding to the requirements and needs of the managers as well as the other employees (Kelly et al., 2008).
It has been observed that most business organizations are responding to the requirements of the managers and employees. On the other hand, it has been observed that many governmental organizations only provide targeted and minimal public assistance regarding flexibility in the work-life of the employees.
It is a fact that every individual is looking for obtaining a perfect balance between both work and non-work life. Obtaining a top and competitive position on the corporate ladder at a faster rate by sacrificing the time that is spent with family and working for a long duration of time can have a very negative implication on family life. In this world that is filled with competition, an individual has to concentrate very prominently on the development of professional growth to be able to support his or her family financially.
Shoemaker, Brown & Barbour (2011) said that due to the prevailing shortages in skills theta refaced by many countries and the aspect of the aging human resource, it has become increasingly important for the business organization for embracing the balance between the work and non-work life practices for retaining and attracting talent both form the conventional sources and diverse and untapped social community (Shoemaker, Brown & Barbour, 2011).
These social communities can mostly demand increasing attention to the work and non-work life balance that involves mature workers, working mothers, and some minority communities. It has been becoming increasingly important for the business organization to encourage as well as mandate a work as well as practical policies associated with work and non-work life. This would lead to the fulfillment of both the employees as well as the business organization to retain a competitive position in the market. Moreover, Kelly et al (2008) said that the business organizations can opt for themselves to increase the numbers of unproductive as well dissatisfied employees by not identifying the real opportunities for attaining a counteracting the negative work-family and family-work spillover (Kelly et al., 2008).
Therefore, the companies need to realize the significance of creating a policy structure for creating a balance between the work and non-work lives and also vet the proper and effective implementation of the policies. These developments of an encouraging and amicable culture in the business organization which would support the most effective use of the prevailing policies have increased significantly in this aspect.
Cost the business organizations are around to be reluctant regarding implement relaxed and flexible conditions of work because of the concerns regarding the implications of the costs (Kelly, Moen & Tranby, 2011). Most of the regulations, practices, and policies associated with work-life do not bear any of the actual implications associated with cost, however, they rely more on the approaches that are imaginative and can be incorporated into the working conditions regularly (Kim, Kim & Kim, 2017).
The flexible arrangements for work like the sharing arrangements of job, working hours of job, unpaid leave, and arrangements of work from home do not happen to result in costs to the companies to a greater effect. The aspects such as care leave, child care, and counseling for balancing work-life can result in costs for the business organizations, however, the long-term advantages and benefits to the company can outweigh the resulting costs.
Changing approaches in the workplace and the role of flexibility
The conflicts in the work and non-work life are related to the demands that are placed on the senior managers and other employees at work and the prevalent resources that are supplied to the individual’s artwork along with the resources and demands that are present at home. As per Kelly, Moen & Tranby (2011), the business organization with flexible initiatives associated with work and family are found to be responding to the evolving norms stating good companies to be family-friendly (Kelly, Moen & Tranby, 2011).
The incorporation of such initiatives likely denotes that these employees are seeking recognition as well as legitimacy as good and reputed corporate citizens instead of waiting for clear relevance of investments returns. However, even if the economic rationality on a stricter note does not explain the integration of the initiatives always, it is still very valuable to the practitioners of management for investigating the economic returns
On these initiatives, the business organization has been taking in association with the increased benefits to the managers and the employees along with their families. Moreover, some business organizations are found to be very reluctant in adding programs and policies till the time an enhanced “business case” is structured which is orienting the direction towards stronger studies on the questions which assist in broadening the access of the employees to these policies and initiatives (Kelly et al., 2008). There has been greater attention to the execution of the initiatives regarding work-family which includes the barriers to the utilization of the benefits and policies after they have been incorporated.
It was found that there have been extensive body o studies associated with the perception of the employees regarding the work environment to the conflicts of work-family and the work-life of the employees, however, it has been very difficult in determining the initiatives and conditions of the organizations that result in positive perceptions in and about eh work environment as well as the reduced levels of conflicts associated with work-family.
Though many disciplines identify the value of the quasi-experimental and experimental designs with the available data for creating strong claims that are casual, research studies in the field of work-family utilize such frameworks very rarely in the cases while investigating the initiatives of work-family. There are some exceptions of research studies that are based on the longitudinal data in the field of work and non-work lives of the managers, yet there is a lack of the use of the designs that are quasi-experimental and experimental (Michielsens, Bingham & Clarke, 2013).
Workplace flexibility
Workplace flexibility is a very simple method to define when, where, and how the work gets completed. It includes the aspects associated with having conventional flextime which denotes the set of the daily working hours within a specific range periodically. It includes the daily flextime and being allowed to leave offs during the working days for addressing the matters of family. It has been observed that the perspective of the employees at present is to obtain balance in the work-life (Davey, 2015).
The employees, especially the managers have to juggle multiple responsibilities both at work and at home. Hence, employees are found to consider job which only offers flexibility. In regards to the cultural and economic trends, Timms et al (2015) said that it has been observed that for the employees who are parents with children and women employees, assist of public regulations and policies that assist the balance of work and non-work have been devised. Most government organizations like the State Government of Queensland have devised elaborated policies regarding achieving balance in the work-family (Timms et al., 2015). For instance, legislative reforms like the International Labour Organization Convention 156, Workers with Family Responsibilities 1981, affirmative and anti-discrimination legislation, and changes in industrial relations have also focused on the issues associated with the balance between work and non-work.
It has further been found that in countries like New Zealand and Australia the governments are encouraging the business organization for providing support regarding childcare to their managers and other employees who have families. The employees in the private, as well as public business organizations in both these countries, are entitled to unpaid maternity leave for a year provided the employees have not broken the contract and policies of employment (Olsen et al., 2017). Further, the business organization has been observed to develop formal policies which attempt in facilitating the nexus of work and life. The strategies devised for balancing work and life develop the autonomy of the employees in integrating and coordinating the non-work and work aspects of their lives.
Recommendations and conclusion
Both the public and private business organization needs to follow the regulations and policies for providing an enhanced balance between the life and work of the managers and the other employees. It is very important the devise support strategies by the management of the organization regarding the creation of work-life balance e on the lives sofa the employees which will eventually lead to satisfaction of the employee that will contribute to the success of the business organization. This further denotes the fact that devising policies only will not work. Business organizations need to conduct regular surveys on the lives of the employees for understanding the needs of the human resources and layout appropriate policies for the creation of work and non-work balance.
The management one the business organizations need to assist the employees in prioritizing their work which will limit the sense that every other thing is equally important. The human resource management department has to train the supervisors and the managers in understanding the limit at which the staff in the organization is overworked. Moreover, seminars and training programs must be conducted by the organizations to explain the significance of balance between the non-work and work lives to the employees including the senior managers. The management must restrict the taking of work home by the employees. This has to be the responsibility of the respective supervisor to ensure that the work gets completed at the office and not at home.
A business organization with managerial support will succeed in creating a set of flexible options for work. However, this also needs support from co-workers. The employer, as well as the employees, requires being very willing and enthusiastic in cooperating regarding this matter. Small yet significant compromises will result in achieving optimum harmony between the work and personal lives of the managers as well as the other employees in any kind of business organization.
References
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Kelly, E. L., Moen, P., & Tranby, E. (2011). Changing workplaces to reduce work-family conflict: Schedule control in a white-collar organization. American Sociological Review, 76(2), 265-290.
Kelly, E. L., Kossek, E. E., Hammer, L. B., Durham, M., Bray, J., Chermack, K., … & Kaskubar, D. (2008). 7 Getting There from Here: Research on the Effects of Work-Family Initiatives on Work-Family Conflict and Business Outcomes. Academy of Management Annals, 2(1), 305-349.
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Timms, C., Brough, P., O’Driscoll, M., Kalliath, T., Siu, O. L., Sit, C., & Lo, D. (2015). Flexible work arrangements, work engagement, turnover intentions, and psychological health. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 53(1), 83-103.
