Learning Resources Collection

This thought-provoking book provides a detailed exploration of work-life balance, considering the perspectives of specific groups such as parents, academics, the self-employed, and migrants. Moreover, it sheds more light on the dynamics of self-care, childcare as well as informal care. Collaborative and interdisciplinary in its approach, featuring researchers ranging from quantitative to interpretative scholars, it highlights the importance of a sustainable work-life balance and the instruments needed to improve this. Focusing on both working arrangements and life events, this book assembles a diverse range of researchers to provide a holistic understanding of work-life balance, with chapters covering the organisational aspects of work-life balance and the effects of digitalisation. The authors analyse the experiences of working parents and how work-life balance changes after retirement, and provide diagnostic instructions for employees and employers to re-organise the way they work across the life-span in order to maintain and enhance work-life balance. Exploring newly emerging work-life issues, this expansive book will be an invaluable resource for practitioners, scholars, and for students of business management, public administration, Human Resource Management, social policy and the sociology of work. Its extensive policy recommendations will also make it a crucial reading for policy makers and employers seeking to improve workplace support.

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. * Gives readers an in-depth look at the history of work, from prehistory to the present * Offers practical, scientifically tested solutions to organizational problems such as burnout, absenteeism, and presenteeism * Compares the work-life balance status of the United States with other countries around the world, including those in Europe and Asia * Includes primary documents that emphasize the need for organizational flexibility to allow for creative, de-stressed workers and a satisfied managerial hierarchy

Stop running on empty. Every day you juggle the many components that fill your life. Between work and family commitments, volunteer work, hobbies, and managing your physical and mental health, it's easy to feel overwhelmed and that you're letting someone down or neglecting some aspect of your life. But you can find ways to honor all of your commitments without collapsing. The HBR Guide to Work-Life Balance will help you: Evaluate and adjust your priorities Manage expectations Set and spend your time budget Make plans--and backup plans Understand how to make trade-offs Prioritize self-care Discover what works for you

The coaching and mentoring profession is facing a major challenge - helping clients cope effectively with life's complexities and conflicting demands in a rapidly changing environment. Conversations around work-life balance need to address not only the interconnectedness of work, leisure, home, and social life but also the fact that these elements are in flux and require continuous rebalancing. This book is a practical and evidence-based resource to help coaches and mentors in supporting clients to achieve greater work-life balance. Written by an experienced academic-practitioner team, this book provides coaches and mentors with a way of addressing work-life tensions with their clients. It is grounded in research and practice and offers a wide range of tools and techniques which are supported with real-life case studies illustrating how they can be employed. On top of this, readers are also supported with reflective questions to enhance understanding and a series of downloadable worksheets for practical use. Coaching and Mentoring for Work-Life Balance is essential reading for professional coaches and mentors who are helping their clients to develop personal resilience and will also be a valuable resource for students in postgraduate coaching and mentoring courses. The authors present some of the latest thinking on this topic, underpinned by their own research and model for work-life balance, making the book indispensable to all those engaged in leadership, coaching, mentoring, and supervision.