Importance of Work-Life Balance - Research Paper Example

Question Business organizations have to provide their employees with an adequate work-life balance to ensure the workers have a high level of employee satisfaction. A work life balance can be achieved utilizing a variety of techniques and strategies. For instance the work life balance of a lot of employees can be improved by implementing a flexible time program. Flexible time is a work arrangement that allows the employees the ability to select the hours he or she will work (McKay, 2012). Flexible time is becoming more widespread in the industry.

The use of flexible time is preferred by working parents (Baxter, 2011). Giving the employees added benefits such as the installation of a gymnasium in the work facilities for the free use of the employees can enhance the work life balance of the staff. A third technique that can be used to improve the work life balance of employees is giving the workers extended vacation time every year. Instead of the industry standard of two weeks of vacation time, the firm can offer one month of vacation time per year.

Vacations are important because people that suffer from recreation deprivation act crankier and the person becomes more critical of their co-workers (Reinhold, 2012).Question #2 A few years ago I faced a tough family situation that required me to take time off work to help my family. I could not ask for vacations because a few months earlier I used up all my vacation time. I also could not afford to take an unpaid leave because I was in a tough economical situation as well. I talked to my supervisor about my problem.

He told me that I was in luck because he could arrange for me to work flexible hours despite the fact that a flexible time program was not available at the firm yet. Question #3 The careers paths of men and women are often different due to gender issues and the different responsibilities societies impose on genders. Women often have tougher challenges in the workplace due to family responsibilities. After pregnancy the child is highly dependent on his mother. Women typically perform more shores and have higher house responsibilities than men.

During the last 30 years the role of women has changed in the workplace (Erbschloe, 2009). Society has imposed on men a higher financial responsibility over the home finances. Men consequently are expected to obtain better paying jobs which required a higher level of education. There is a lot of parity in the workplace among genders, but the glass ceiling has hurt the chances of women moving up the corporate ladder. In other parts of the world such as Singapore the glass ceiling effect is much worse than in the United States (Dimouski, Skerlava, Mandy, Man, 2010).

ReferencesBaxter, J. (2011). Flexible Work Hours and Other Job Factors in Parental Time with Children. Social Indicator Research. Retrieved December 8, 2012 from EBSCOhost database.Dimouski, V., Skerlava, M., Mandy, M., Man, K. (2010). Is There a Glass Ceiling For Female Managers in Singapore Organizations? Managing Global Transactions: International Research Journal 8(4). p.307-329. Retrieved December 8, 2012 from EBSCOhost database.Erbschloe, M. (2009). Gender & Management. Gender & Management – Research Starters Business. p.1-7.

Retrieved December 8, 2012 from EBSCOhost database.McKay, D.R. (2012). Flextime: An Alternative Work Arrangement. Retrieved December 8, 2012 from http://careerplanning.about.com/cs/flextime/a/flextime.htm Reinhold, B. (2012). The Importance of Vacation. Monster. Retrieved December 8, 2012 from http://career-advice.monster.com/in-the-office/Work-Life-Balance/The-Importance-of-Vacation/article.aspx