Work-Life Balance Policies in Jordanian Telecommunication Companies

Abubaker, Mahmoud; Bagley, Christopher

doi:10.15604/ejbm.2016.04.03.002

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Nevertheless, these women managers clearly experienced a "glass ceiling" in their dual roles as family managers and workers. Our parallel study in Jordan points to similar conclusions[9].…”

supporting

confidence: 86%

“Muslim Women Seeking Power, Muslim Youth Seeking Justice”: An Edited Volume of Research Findings, Resources and Advocacy

Adam-Bagley¹

2019

OALib

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This article gives an overview of a recently published book on the search of Muslim women and youth for social justice and equality, both in Muslim-majority cultures, and in Western countries of the Muslim diaspora. The theoretical and research model of critical realism is employed, in which levels of disadvantage and oppression are identified using a value-based approach. The model is applied to Islamic ontology, and the "middle path" of Islamic modesty, peace-making and compromise within multicultural, plural societies, with a focus on Islamic feminism. In a study of Muslim women in management in Western, Middle Eastern and Asian cultures, barriers to women's employment are identified. Empirical work using "situation tests" comparing ethnically-identified CVs submitted in employment applications showed significant discrimination against Muslim women and young people in the spheres of employment in England and The Netherlands. A study of citizenship education in English schools showed that Muslim adolescents were particularly likely to adopt positive citizenship values, despite social pressures such as Islamophobia, which could lead to discrimination, and alienation. Case studies of Bangladesh and Pakistan (Muslim-majority cultures) in the search for social systems which could apply Islamic values in positive ways proved disappointing. We identified numerous ways in which girls and women in these cultures were exploited and oppressed, socially, economically and sexually. A final chapter explores why higher order values have so little purchase in some Muslim-majority (and other) cultures. The case study of women in Gaza, surviving intermittent warfare, did offer a model of Islamic peace-making, and prospects for a rapprochement of Muslim, Jewish, Christian and Humanist moral positions in seeking to establish co-operative multicultural, plural societies.

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“…Nevertheless, these women managers clearly experienced a "glass ceiling" in their dual roles as family managers and workers. Our parallel study in Jordan points to similar conclusions[9].…”

supporting

confidence: 86%

“Muslim Women Seeking Power, Muslim Youth Seeking Justice”: An Edited Volume of Research Findings, Resources and Advocacy

Adam-Bagley¹

2019

OALib

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“…This is not the complete story however, because compliance with such basic practices might not be the same as in other Arabic countries, since whatever the guiding principles concerning family welfare derived from Islam, implementation is usually at the discretion of the owners or managers of organisations, and governments in Arabic countries do not see it as their role to monitor 'non-compliance' (Budhwar & Mellahi, 2007;Al-Hamadi et al, 2007). Adoption of the guiding principles of WLB benefits is, by and large, voluntary in Arab countries previously studied, such as Jordan (Abubaker and Bagley, 2016a).…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Importance of Cultural and Organisational Contexts in the Adoption of Work-Life Balance Policies: Case Studies of Palestinian Telecommunication Companies

Abubaker¹,

Astley²,

Bagley³

2018

Preprint

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This paper explores the nature of Work-Life Balance (WLB) policies offered within a developing country (Gaza, Palestine), by two telecommunication companies. The cultural context is described, in which two semi-public companies have developed a particular set of family-friendly policies. Then ideas are explored on why the adoption of Work-Life Balance (WLB) policies in these organisations may have taken a particular pathway, and may resemble organisations in other Muslim and Arab countries. Design, methodology and approach: Using the value assumptions of critical realism, two qualitative studies have been undertaken in which 17 managers, and 32 employees were interviewed in the two companies. These interviews were then subjected to standard qualitative analysis. Findings: Reasons for the provision WLB benefits identified by respondents were often different in kind and degree from those found in studies in Western countries. Furthermore, perceived reasons for the introduction of these benefits differed between groups of employees, namely managers and professional employees. Generally, WLB benefits supported women in an Islamic and Arabic culture, in ways which were resonant with this cultural setting, but which also reflected both local trade union pressures, government regulations, and international influences. Research limitations and implications: This study, the first of its kind in a Muslim, Arabic culture deserves replication with both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. If the findings of this initial study are replicated, there may be important implications for both public and private management, and for international firms investing in Arab countries. Practical Limitations: This interpretation is a value-based approach, resulting from the subjective analyses of the researchers, and further generalisations must be based on replication studies. Social Implications: The findings of this study do have important implications, since they appear to show that the ethos and range of WLB benefits, and the reasons for their implementation can be quite different when Arab and Western countries are compared. These initial results, if replicated, could be an important guide for international investors considering WLB benefits in Arab countries. Originality and Value: This is a pioneering study, using a critical realist methodology, and the research model could have wider implications for crosscultural studies of Work Life Balance.

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“…An unemployed man is not expected to stay at home during the day. Women who enter the external labour force are able, through the deference to women afforded by Islam, to command Work Life Balance benefits that their Western sisters would envy [54,55].…”

Section: The Manchester Case Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Muslim Woman Seeking Work: An English Case Study with a Dutch Comparison, of Discrimination and Achievement

Bagley

Abubaker

2017

Social Sciences

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Abstract:The measurement of discrimination in employment is a key variable in understanding dynamics in the nature of, and change in "race relations". Measuring such discrimination using 'situation' and 'correspondence' tests was influenced by John Rex's sociological analyses, and earlier work, begun in America, was continued in England in the 1960s, and further replicated in Europe and America in later decades. This literature is reviewed, and the methodologies of testing for employment discrimination are discussed. Recent work in Britain and the Netherlands is considered in detail in the light of changing social structures, and the rise of Islamophobia. Manchester, apparently the city manifesting the most discrimination in Britain, is considered for a special case study, with a focus on one individual, a Muslim woman seeking intermediate level accountancy employment. Her vita was matched with that of a manifestly indigenous, white Briton. Submitted vitas (to 1043 potential employers) indicated significant discrimination against the Muslim woman candidate. Results are discussed within the context of Manchester's micro-sociology, and Muslim women's employment progress in broader contexts. We conclude with the critical realist comment that the "hidden racism" of employment discrimination shows that modern societies continue, in several ways, to be institutionally racist, and the failure to reward legitimate aspirations of minorities may have the effect of pushing some ethnic minorities into a permanent precariat, with implications for social justice and social control in ways which may deny minority efforts to "integrate" in society's employment systems.

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Work-Life Balance Policies in Jordanian Telecommunication Companies

Cited by 7 publications

References 24 publications

“Muslim Women Seeking Power, Muslim Youth Seeking Justice”: An Edited Volume of Research Findings, Resources and Advocacy

“Muslim Women Seeking Power, Muslim Youth Seeking Justice”: An Edited Volume of Research Findings, Resources and Advocacy

Importance of Cultural and Organisational Contexts in the Adoption of Work-Life Balance Policies: Case Studies of Palestinian Telecommunication Companies

Muslim Woman Seeking Work: An English Case Study with a Dutch Comparison, of Discrimination and Achievement

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