The gender gap in work–life balance satisfaction across occupations

Dilmaghani, Maryam; Tabvuma, Vurain

doi:10.1108/gm-09-2018-0109

Cited by 28 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 132 publications

(186 reference statements)

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“…In their in-depth examination of this question, Ferrer-i-Carbonell and Frijters (2004) conclude that assuming cardinality or interpersonal ordinality of survey scores makes little difference to the results. The simplifying option of dichotomizing the dependent variable is also often employed (Dilmaghani and Tabvuma, 2019). The shortcoming of this approach is some loss of information.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

There is a time and a place for work: comparative evaluation of flexible work arrangements in Canada

Dilmaghani

2020

IJM

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PurposeUsing the Canadian General Social Survey of 2016, a large nationally representative dataset, the present paper compares different types of flexible work arrangements in their associations with employee wellbeing and organizational outcomes.Design/methodology/approachThe dataset contains 7,446 observations. Informed by the past scholarship, eight outcomes of job satisfaction, work-life balance satisfaction, organizational belonging, job motivation, perceived advancement prospects, perceived job security, workplace social capital, and turnover intentions are investigated.FindingsFirst, employees with both flextime and flexplace, and only flextime, have a significantly higher job and work-life balance satisfaction. Second, the possibility of working from home without any discretion over timing does not elicit positive wellbeing outcomes. Third, the results show that the combination of flexplace and flextime is synergistic. Fourth, rather unexpectedly, the positive associations of the FWAs with work-life balance satisfaction are stronger among men and women without dependent children. Finally, there are significant positive associations for the combination of flexplace and flextime, and flextime alone, with other outcomes, such as organizational belonging and job motivation, especially among men.Practical implicationsGiven the nonrandom assignment of the workers into the FWAs, the results only reflect ceteris paribus correlations.Originality/valueThis is the first Canadian study of flexible work arrangements, using a large nationally representative dataset.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

There is a time and a place for work: comparative evaluation of flexible work arrangements in Canada

Dilmaghani

2020

IJM

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“…Another research line [68][69][70] shows that, while certain governments and international institutions back and promote important work-life balance measures, organizational structures and cultures do not always welcome them with the required engagement. Often times, they may even employ logic that helps to ensure that women continue to bear the brunt of the problems brought on by a work-life balance and, accordingly, prevents men from becoming engaged in them [53,54]. The most commonplace of these are: (a) a workplace organization that rewards staying at one's desk for long working hours; (b) biased perceptions regarding the capacities and responsibilities of each gender with regard to caring for the family; and (c) business environments that value markedly masculine abilities [71][72][73][74].…”

Section: Wor-life Balance and Social Sustainabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are two reasons why our sample included only women. The first is that a great deal of literature shows that the issue of work-life balance is gendered [14,19,[53][54][55][56] and that gender differences remain embedded in the ways in which respondents negotiate their home and work lives [15,[57][58][59]. Therefore, we believe that women experience the greatest number of problems in achieving a proper work-life balance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Work–Life Balance, Organizations and Social Sustainability: Analyzing Female Telework in Spain

2020

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The concept of work–life balance has recently established itself as a key component on route maps drawn up in the pursuit of social sustainability, both on a local scale, represented by individual organizations, and on a more general one, represented by global institutions such as the United Nations. Our article analyzes telework’s use as a political tool within organizations that either boost or hinder the development of social sustainability. Additionally, we propose the notion of “life sustainability” to analyze how female teleworkers describe the link between specific work cultures and the possibility of fulfilling social sustainability goals in local work environments through the achievement of a good work–life balance. Our research was performed following a qualitative approach, drawing from a sample of 24 individual interviews and 10 focus groups with a total of 48 participants, all of which are female teleworkers with family responsibilities. Our main findings allow us to summarize the interviewees’ social perceptions into two categories, which we have dubbed ‘life sustainability ecologies’ and ‘presence-based ecologies’. We conclude by discussing female teleworkers’ claim that work–life balance is directly linked to social sustainability and that the latter goal will remain out of reach as long as the issue of balance goes unresolved.

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“…Numerous definitions have been given to the term WLB but with significant variations to their meaning (Dilmaghani & Tabvuma, 2019). The present study adopts the position that WLB can be considered as a satisfactory level of involvement or 'fit' between the multiple roles in a person's life (Hudson, 2005).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Finally, it remains important to examine the gendered differences in WLB at the occupational level. The recent investigation into WLB satisfaction undertaken by Dilmaghani & Tabvuma (2019) reveals mixed results, with positive and negative gender gaps, affected by type of occupation, and women employed in HE sectors were found to have low WLB satisfaction compared to their male counterparts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Balancing academia and family life

Ren

Caudle

2020

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Purpose This paper aims to explore and compare academics’ experiences of managing work-life balance (WLB) in the British and Chinese contexts. The authors have three specific purposes. Firstly, to investigate whether there are marked gender differences in either context, given female and male academics’ work is considered fully comparable. Secondly, to examine contextual factors contributing to gender differences that influence and shape decisions in WLB and career paths. Thirdly, to explore the gendered consequences and implications. Design/methodology/approach A cross-national and multilevel analytical approach to WLB was chosen to unpick and explore gender land contextual differences and their influence on individual academics’ coping strategies. To reflect the exploratory nature of uncovering individual experience and perceptions, the authors used in-depth, semi-structured interviews. In total, 37 academics participated in the study, comprised of 18 participants from 6 universities in the UK and 19 participants from 6 universities in China. Findings This study reveals gendered differences in both the British and Chinese contexts in three main aspects, namely, sourcing support; managing emotions; and making choices, but more distinct differences in the latter context. Most significantly, it highlights that individual academics’ capacity in cultivating and using coping strategies was shaped simultaneously by multi-layered factors at the country level, the HE institutional level and the individual academics’ level. Originality/value Very few cross-cultural WLB studies explore gender differences. This cross-national comparative study is of particular value in making the “invisible visible” in terms of the gendered nature of choices and decisions within the context of WLB. The study has significant implications for female academics exercising individual scope in carving out a career, and for academic managers and institutions, in terms of support, structure and policy.

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The gender gap in work–life balance satisfaction across occupations

Cited by 28 publications

References 132 publications

There is a time and a place for work: comparative evaluation of flexible work arrangements in Canada

There is a time and a place for work: comparative evaluation of flexible work arrangements in Canada

Work–Life Balance, Organizations and Social Sustainability: Analyzing Female Telework in Spain

Balancing academia and family life

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