The Agency Gap in Work-Life Balance: Applying Sen's Capabilities Framework Within European Contexts

The New Roles of Men and Women and Implications for Families and Societies

“…The approach has been applied focusing on gendered agency and capabilities to form and maintain stable relationships and have and care for children (Hobson and Oláh 2006;Hobson 2011). Studies on fertility and partnership changes and women's increasing labor market activities frequently rely on the policy regime framework, first presented by Esping-Andersen (1990), addressing the constraints and opportunities for individuals and families that affect the organization of paid and unpaid work and family formation.…”

Family policies and single parent poverty in 18 OECD countries, 1978–2008

“…These hypotheses are based loosely on Sen's capability approach (1992; also see Hobson 2011Hobson , 2013. The capability approach has often been used to examine gender (and class) differences in relation to the welfare state (Korpi, 2000).…”

The expatriate’s family as a stakeholder of the firm: a responsibility viewpoint

“…In general, due to global trends such as changing values regarding the importance of the work/life balance, individuals' professional decisions are increasingly influenced by family considerations in all organizational life (Greenhaus and Powell 2006). According to Hobson (2011), many European-level attitudinal surveys reveal that the majority of women and men regard work/life balance as their first priority when considering their workplace. Given the clear negative impact of work/life conflict on employees (Greenhaus and Beutell 1985;Hobson 2011) and the emerging evidence that work/life balance and enrichment have positive effects (Greenhaus and Powell 2006), organizations are increasingly expected to establish policies and practices aimed at assisting employees with managing the demands of work and life and supporting their wellbeing in general (Beauregard and Henry 2009).…”

“…According to Hobson (2011), many European-level attitudinal surveys reveal that the majority of women and men regard work/life balance as their first priority when considering their workplace. Given the clear negative impact of work/life conflict on employees (Greenhaus and Beutell 1985;Hobson 2011) and the emerging evidence that work/life balance and enrichment have positive effects (Greenhaus and Powell 2006), organizations are increasingly expected to establish policies and practices aimed at assisting employees with managing the demands of work and life and supporting their wellbeing in general (Beauregard and Henry 2009). Moreover, because of changing values, which increasingly stress the importance of life balance as well as social relations and values in general (Inglehart 2000), particularly in many Western societies, it seems evident that employing organizations are expected to take these values into consideration in their HRM policies, practices and activities (e.g.…”

“…Socially responsible HRM practices need to be evaluated in terms of their contribution to enriching and supporting the lives of the expatriate's family so that the family can achieve the wellbeing and quality of life that they value. The capabilities approach stresses that people should have the opportunity to do and be what they value (Robeyns 2005;Hobson 2011). Safety, social relations, cultural integration, health, free-time activities and the expatriate's chances of investing in family life are examples of capabilities (cf .…”