Work Life Balance In The Global Human Resource Management - Coursework Example

Work-life Balance in the Global Human Resource Management Contents Introduction 3 Brief Analysis about the Case Studies and Identification of Issues regarding Work Life Balance 3 Understanding the Changing Nature of the Workplace and its Effect on Work-life Balance in a Global Context 5 The Range of Work-life Balance Initiatives and Flexible Working Practices 6 Analysis and Evaluation on the Key Features of Cultural Specificity and Variation across Countries and Regions in terms of Issues of Work-life Balance 9 Conclusion and Recommendation 9 Introduction Work life balance is a nothing but a concept which helps the employees to keep a proper balance between his work and his life style. Here work means the pressure and stress related to their profession and their ambition and life style means their health, family, leisure time, meditation and spiritual development. In the 18th century this concept was first invented which describes that happiness and some leisure time are very much essential to anyone’s life. Otherwise productivity in work will get decreased. There are 6 components which are very important to balance a person’s life between family responsibilities and work responsibilities. These components are change management, stress management, technology management, leisure management, self management and time management. If any employee’s mental health is sick then the work will be affected. There will not be any kind of outcomes even if the employee works hard. To keep all these factors in mind employers now arrange the work schedule in such a way so that every employee should get some time for their own and personal purpose. The management of many companies also arrange vacation trips for the employees or provide vacation allowances to the employees for enjoying the trip with their families in a relaxed mood. Brief Analysis about the Case Studies and Identification of Issues regarding Work Life Balance Here in the two mentioned case studies one common sentence can be found. This is ‘the work life balance’. In one case study this is observed that a person’s professional life has been changed after death of her daughter in an accident. Before this accident Mrs. Hughes was involved only in her work and spent most of the time to develop her career path. But after that tragedy she realized that apart from work she has to do something which will be beneficial for the society and through this process she will get mental satisfaction. She began a safety campaign along with her professional work. The main objective of this campaign is to reduce the risk factors at railway crossings. Her campaign got significant success at this work. As per the view of many people this can be said that any incident in personal life will affect the work life also. If there is something wrong with a person then his ability of work will be reduced in a significant way (Kramar and Syed, 2012). Personal experience most of the time change the behaviour towards work. Some people do not want to share his personal stories in the work place. That is fine but communication with the peer group apart from work related matter is necessary. This will help to reduce the work load or the stress of work and prevent a person from becoming a machine. Many people are there who gave resignation from their professional field and involve in non profit organization for the mental satisfaction as they have faced some tragedy in their personal lives. Those tragedies shape their path for work (Harzing and Pinnington, 2011). In another case study this is observed that a law firm opened their new branch in a new place. To fulfil the demand of its employees, management of that firm provided a music room in their new office for the purpose of entertainment of their employees. This will reduce the work stress and the employees need not have to move out from the office when they want to take a break from work for few minutes. It shows that now companies and employers understand the necessity of work life balance and for the productivity of work they are providing such kind of facilities so that employees can feel relaxed as and when necessary (Mayrhofer, Brewster and Morley, 2007). Most of the staffs of that law firm Norton Rose have agreed with this issue that music is such a common thing which is loved by everybody. There are so many options which also the management can provide such as arrangements of indoor sports or games, facilities of gym etc. but those are not acceptable by all the employees of firm. So it was a great idea which also helps in unity among many departments in an office. No hierarchy has been maintained at least in this room of the whole office all the employees feel equal when they are practicing their vocal cord (Sims, 2007). Every employee should work in such a way so that they can feel that they are doing work with individual and not with the business entity only. This will help to build a team who will work together to get the target of a company and at the same time bring success for the employees also. Mr. Stove Jones is an example of that person who was less interested and less focused on how much money he has made whereas it was his one of main objectives in the earlier days. But certain reason has changed his life and now he is very much focused on giving value to his family and his personal life. So this is also observed that people can change their view or way of thinking about balance of their personal and professional life. Understanding the Changing Nature of the Workplace and its Effect on Work-life Balance in a Global Context In the present day nature of organizations have been changed than the earlier days and at the same time culture of work also has been changed. 40 years ago people could find time to sleep properly at least the minimum standard hours after finishing a busy working day. But the scenario has changed now. In today’s world people hardly can find some time to give rest their brains. Total structure, process and content of work have changed. Now a days’ work is more time pressured, more dependent on the technological competence, more dependent on social skills and more cognitively complex. These all are very much effective and harmful on the personal lives of the employees and the balance of their work life and personal life is on the downturn (Mathis and Jackson, 2008). In the mentioned case studies this can be observed that employees are much more stressful in their work lives and for that reason they completely avoid their personal life. Example of such person is Miss Tina Hughes who realized that work life balance is necessary after the death of her 14 year daughter. Mr. Steve Jones is another example who was a co founder of Mercator. After an accidental incident in his life he changed the definition of his career path and quit from his position in that company. After that he formed a new company and the name of that company is ‘N4 solutions’ which is engaged in software business. By forming the new company he has separated his personal life and business life completely in a distinct way (Harzing and Pinnington, 2010). From the above mentioned examples this can be said that in the global context the effect of work life balance is significant. There are two aspects which have to be observed and these are ‘life interference with work’ and ‘work interference with life’. Increased complexity of work, different ways of thinking and continuous development of competency will insist the ‘work interference with life’ aspect. But it is a good sign that employers of the organizations now take the initiatives to implement ‘life interference with work’ attitude in the work culture. Norton Rose, the famous law firm is one of its example which provide gym facilities, doctor & medical facilities to its employees and not only that health related matters but they are also concerned about the mind refreshing issue of the employees and for that reason they provide a room in their office for practicing music on daily basis which is a very unique idea for work life balance procedure (Amos, Ristow, Pearse and Ristow, 2009). The Range of Work-life Balance Initiatives and Flexible Working Practices Most of the employers and employees already started to practice the work life balance process to keep their career path in a stable and improved way as well as maintain their personal lives in such a way so that they and their families shall remain happy. This balancing method will bring success in their both lives i.e. personal and professional. They can enjoy so many benefits from their work life balance process. These benefits are as follows. Employees can efficiently manage their multiple relationship and responsibilities which are related to their family, community, office place without any regret or guilt. If they can do work in a flexible way and also can earn money without a stressful and haphazard way then they can easily fulfil their commitments towards their family and organization in a smooth way. If they will get support from their work place regarding the work life balance then they will give value for their work and the objectives of the organization and at the same time trust worthiness also will be increased. An employee always wants an enjoyable work life with the progression of his career path, a good quality of life, good health, further scope of improvement of their work, further scope of education, time to travel, affordable child care, more benefits and high salary or wages structure, training and development, time to do exercise to keep themselves fit and healthy, time to do hobbies and sports, time to spend with family and friends and last but not the least time to do voluntary work. In the case study “The heart must rule at work too”, it can be observed that Miss Hughes also took initiative to do voluntary work apart from her professional career and management consulting job. This voluntary work will balance of her personal and professional life. She can live happily through this work life balance even after losing her daughter (Gary, 2011). Now management of many organizations have taken wide range of initiatives for work life balance. Those are as follows. Flexible working hours provide both physical and mental comfort to the employees of the organization especially to the shift workers. Otherwise shifting job will create an unsatisfactory condition among employees. Flexible leave arrangement facilities will help the employees to fulfil their personal commitments and they can support their families on the basis of emergency. Job mobility such as transfer between various branches of the office and suitable working environment also can maintain the balance of work life and family issues. Health care facilities such as gym, health check up by good doctors etc. will also help in such cases. In the mentioned case study this is clearly observed that the well known law firm Linklaters provide physiotherapy facilities, dental check up facilities and gym facilities on site or at their offices which will improve the mental and physical conditions of employees (Gopinath, 2008). Not only the medical treatment but also refreshment is required for the employees. So Norton Rose has provided the facility so that the employees can practice music which will refresh them between their working hours. For example this can be said that if any employee learn the piano and find that it is a great way to get some quite time for him and this will give the mental happiness which will reflect on the productivity of his work. This also gives him a chance to do something different from the daily monotonous work schedule. At the time of designing their new office management of the company decided to put the music room beside the staff restaurant and the room was visible, well used and well known by all the employees of that office branch. Employees become happier than the earlier days as they are recognized in a different way in their office apart from their work efficiency and job performance (Briscoe, Schuler and Tarique, 2012). The confidence level is also increased among the employees of that organization. Networking of the organization is offering opportunities to its employees for attending or taking participation in different concert and programs in the city which make happy to its employees. A good bonding is established among the employees apart from their professional relationship and this 2nd family concept will be an advantage for the future growth of the business and employee retention in an organization (Armstrong, 2006). Technological improvement now gives the advantages to the employees for working from their respective homes at the time of work pressure. This will help to manage the work pressure of their offices as well as they can do their family responsibilities as they remain at their home. Analysis and Evaluation on the Key Features of Cultural Specificity and Variation across Countries and Regions in terms of Issues of Work-life Balance Cultural specificity means the cultural aspects that make differences among person to person. These differences can be observed from one country to another country. For example it can be said that European work life balance procedure and culture was far better than the US and later US has adopted that work culture from Europe. The balance of work life also differs from person to person and varies from organization to organization. In the mentioned case studies it can be observed that there are two different ways through which people can find their work life balance. So here the differences are clear and it can be said that if one employee can get satisfaction and balance his work life by doing music practices then on the other hand another employee will do some voluntary work for the benefits of the society which will balance his / her work & personal life. Again some person will feel relaxation in playing games and someone can get it through meditation (Wilkinson, Bacon, Redman and Snell, 2009). Conclusion and Recommendation At the part of recommendation and conclusion this can be said that work life balance is an important chapter in every organization’s work procedure. So to plan such procedure, training and development is required for the managerial level in an organization. Managers will decide how they will provide comfort to the employees in the work place. They will also focus how effectively they will implement the flexible work practices. In the recent years organizations are engaged to offer unique facilities to its employees for work life balances. These unique facilities include offering such kind of arrangements in the work area so that employees can practice music or offering vacation trip with peer group or family. These are very much effective to improve the willingness of the employees towards their work and increase the stability and retention procedure of employees in one organization. Employees also can be involved in some other volunteer and social works apart from their professional work which will bring the mental satisfaction in their life. So the companies and the organizations should provide that kind of support by making flexible work schedule so that an employee can find that extra time which they can devote in their social work. References Amos, T., Ristow, A, Pearse, N. and Ristow, L. 2009. Human Resource Management. Claremont: Juta and Company Ltd. Armstrong, M. 2006. A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. London: Kogan Page Publishers. Briscoe, D., Schuler, R. and Tarique, I. 2012. International Human Resource Management: Policies and Practices for Multinational Enterprises. Oxford: Taylor & Francis. Gary, D. 2011. Human Resource Management. New Delhi: Pearson Education India. Gopinath, C. 2008. Globalization: A Multidimensional System. London: SAGE Publications. Harzing, A. and Pinnington, A. 2010. International Human Resource Management. London: SAGE Publications. Harzing, A. and Pinnington, A. 2011. International Human Resource Management. London: Sage Pub. Kramar, R and Syed, J. 2012. Human Resource Management In A Global Context. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Mathis, R. and Jackson, J. 2008. Human Resource Management: Essential Perspectives. Boston: Cengage Learning. Mayrhofer, W., Brewster, C. and Morley, M. 2007. HRM in Europe. London: Routledge. Sims, R. 2007. Human Resource Management: Contemporary Issues, Challenges, and Opportunities. Carolina: IAP. Wilkinson, A., Bacon, N., Redman, T. and Snell, S. 2009. The SAGE Handbook of Human Resource Management. London: SAGE Publications. Read More