The Relationship between Work and Life Has Become a Key Feature of Much Current Government - Case Study Example

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WORK AND LIFE HAS BECOME A KEY FEATURE OF MUCH CURRENT GOVERNMENT, PRACTITIONER AND ACADEMIC DEBATE Contents Sr. # Topic Pg.# 1. Introduction 2 2. Definitions and Meaning 3 2.1. Work Life Balance 3 2.2. Work Life Boundary 3 3. Key Concepts 4 3.1. New Economy 4 3.2. Contemporary World of Work 5 4. Relationship Between Work and Life 6 5. Impact of Work Life Balance / Boundary on the Contemporary World of Work 7 6. Conclusion 9 References 10 1. Introduction The notion of work life balance has been a subject of wide spread research from various perspectives i.e. from the point of view of organizations, people, as well as the society at large. A great deal of research and studies have endeavored to associate the work life balance programs with the ‘bottom line’ performance in organizations. These studies which were largely centered on workers adopting the work-life balance strategies have asserted that the major concerns regarding the reasonable arrangement of work and private life fields are still primarily comprehended as an individual concern. However, issues revolving around the work – life phenomenon have recently achieved a wider social implication since the unconstructive consequences that culminate on account of the augmented incapacity on the part of the employees, which restrict their quest of striking a perfect balance between work and life, are becoming more and more palpable within the highly industrialized Western societies. In order to achieve a work life balance it is mandatory for organizations and individuals concerned to affirm that strategies and policies concerning organizational working needs of the employees be more comprehensive and must include the need to assimilate diverse perspectives such as principles, approaches and values held within and by organizations, individuals and societies and of the manner in which their interaction envisages the capability to accomplish a personal work - life balance. The pursuit for an idyllic means of combining the habitually contradictory spheres of work and private life has engaged scholars and practitioners for decades. However, the debate has deepened and gained momentum over the years to become a "hot topic" under the banner of work - life balance. 2. Definitions The concepts of work life balance and work life boundary have gained wide spread popularity in the recent times and have been widely defined by a range of authors, researchers and theorists. Some of the key definitions of the two terms are mentioned below. 2.1. Work Life Balance: Clutterbuck, (20031) defines work life balance as: "A state where an individual manages real or potential conflict between different demands on his or her time and energy in a way that satisfies his or her needs for well - being and self - fulfillment" It also refers to the state of being aware of the different demands on an individuals time and energy, the ability to make appropriate choices in terms of the manner in which one choose to allocate his or her time and energy, knowledge of the values that one desires to apply in making such choices and being able to make conscious choices without hesitation. 2.2. Work Life Boundary The boundary between work and life is viewed as a grave concern. The new forms of employment and varying locations of employment have distorted the division between paid employment and personal life. Technology has played a major role in redefining the scope and meaning of boundaries of work and hence is been regarded as both a boon and bane in modern times. Modern technology, on one hand, has significantly stretched the range of opportunities available to the employees in terms of ability to exploit the work options available to them driven by flexible work hours, such as telecommuting, and teleconferencing while on the other hand it has led to an infringement of peoples personal spaces. Thus in a nut shell, the work life boundaries in recent times are characterized by highly efficient workforce enabled to work irrespective of the place or time restrictions, and at the same time subjected to an invasion of their personal lives by transforming their cozy homes into digital workspaces, ultimately blurring the boundaries between work and home. 3. Key Concepts 3.1. The New Economy The expression "NEW ECONOMY" signifies diverse connotations to a wide range of people. In common parlance, however, it is frequently used with reference to the information economy, the high tech economy, and / or the technology revolution, as well as to the diversely faceted influence of the impulsive development of the World Wide Web. The term ‘New Economy’ has been used to indicate the improved efficiency brought about by an assortment of technological innovations, or with reference to the long - lasting development that initiated in the 1990s through the 2000 as well as the enduring stock market boom during the late 1980s through 20002. The New Economy according to some authors denotes the advent of networks i.e. information technology which shattered all trade barriers that existed between richness and reach and transformed the economics that motivated the development of industry and organizational structures; it also indicates the development of the information work whereby value creation is a function of information and thoughts. Along with the elemental reallocation of the manner in which value was conventionally created, a new management challenge surfaced simultaneously, that of managing knowledge work and modernization; and it also indicates the spurt in globalization of trade and international competition which was facilitated by the demolition of political and logistical barriers, and with the realization that it is a pre requisite for every organization to retrace its own economic landscape3. In a nutshell, the new economy can be portrayed as a shift from the conventional ‘production based economy’ to a much enlarged and revolutionary ‘knowledge based economy’ that materialized with the onset of technology during late 70s and flourished during the 90s. 3.2. Contemporary World of Work Beck perceived contemporary society as a combination of both: an exceedingly asymmetrical and egalitarian individualized society while the post modernist theorists who claimed that it brought about an end to the class owing to the broadening material disparity which no longer sustained the ideologies related to class, or communities, and the escalating individualization that ensued brought about the destruction of all the relationships that prevailed between economic arrangements and cultural distinctiveness4. The concept of Contemporary world of work refers to the world we currently live in and work. It is highly characterized by the development and surfacing of key post - industrial civilizations populated by migrants or resident groups with widely differing cultures as compared to the dominant local culture. On account of the rapid development of such multi cultural societies the world has shrunk further making the geographical boundaries a distant blur. The relatively globalized nations, of present times, have assisted in the swift rise in an individuals economic value which is ascertained by wider standards characterized by counter dominant models of self knowledge and integration into global markets5. 4. Relationship between Work and Life The enunciation of work and life, widely referred to as work - life, has become a crucial characteristic of the current administration, practioners and academic debates. The chief significance of such a dispute lies in the necessity for achieving a "good work - life balance". The concern is being progressively documented as having strategic relevance not only for the governing authorities but also for organizations employees alike. An organizations need to draw and maintain esteemed employees in an exceedingly competitive labor market is a critical encouraging aspect for achieving improved organizational consciousness and action with respect to human resource policies and practices that address work / life balance. From an employees perspective, it signifies the safeguarding of equilibrium between accountabilities; both at work as well as at home. The employees perceive such reimbursements available to them in the form of working conditions that the organizations offer to help them achieve the much required balance between the family and work domains in the form of work life benefits (Bardoel, Tharenou, & Moss, 1998)6. Work and life effects in Australia are administered by a wide range of factors which include overriding values and models such as availability of suitable and efficient forms of care, the appropriate role of parents, etc; work / care institutions such as labor regulation, childcare provisions, leave provisions, working time and welfare systems; and the performance and preferences of individuals. (Pocock, 2005). Work and care are collectively perceived within the multifaceted social, cultural and institutional situations, which in turn shape work - life consequences and help in ascertaining whether work - life balance is feasible7. 5. Impact of Work Life Balance / Boundary on New Economy Industrialization and urbanization have repeatedly been quoted as the key factors that led to a major transformation within the Western society, fundamentally restructuring peoples lives. Thompson, sensationalized the upsetting impact that industrialization had on families. According to him "Each stage in industrial differentiation and specialization struck also at the family economy, disturbing customary relations between man and wife, parents and children, and differentiating more sharply at work and life... meanwhile the family was roughly torn apart each morning by the factory bell". Until recently, the majority of sociological research concerning families, facilitated by the presumption of social collapse, disputed that industrialization led to the distraction of conventional family patterns that previously existed within societies. The theory is founded on two essential opinions: One that the industrialization split the concept of a conventional three - generational extended family and led to the formation of a secluded nuclear family. According to him the families became progressively nuclearized to accommodate the requirements of the new industrial system and the second argument, was that the industrial development and the ensuing migration of large number of people from rural to urban centers uprooted people from their long-established affinity networks, and that the demands of industrial work and urban life led to a gradual collapse of the family unit. Adjustment to such industrial life consequently stripped the emigrants of their conventional way of life8. In the wake of the dot com boom and bust it might seem inconsistent to consign the new economy at the core of a dispute on the potential of the workplace, mainly a dispute that strives to embrace concerns of sustainability. New economy implies the structural transformations in the forces that help redefine our society through a series of revolutions beginning from the agricultural revolution, to the industrial revolution and the current digital revolution. The virtualization of products and services facilitated by the digital revolution has radically transformed the conventional approach in which organizations function and hence has further reshaped the working norms and practices that existed traditionally between the employees and the organizations. The change in management approach is an outcome of the changing economy which is today having a significant impact on the work life balance and changing the work life boundaries that previously existed prior to such a revolution9. 7. Conclusion From the above discussions it is apparent that strategies and policies revolving around formal work family or work life are essential but not adequate to bring about the essential transformations which will allow the employees to assimilate their work and non work lives in non gender biased ways. In order to achieve such equitable work places that ensure a fair work life balance requires more deep-seated modifications in workplace practices, and the principles and hypothesis that fortify them. A main issue faced by the researchers and theorists today is developing innovative and viable methods of transcending beyond the present deadlock by manipulating workplace strategies, constitutions and customs. Additionally, current inclinations with respect to working hours and absorptive work family boundaries generate novel confrontations for incorporating employment with family life or other activities. As the global 24 / 7 marketplace continues to engulf space and time boundaries condensed by information and communication technology, chronological and spatial limitations between paid work and personal life continue to blur. References: Clutterbuck, D., (2003). Managing Work - Life Balance: A Guide for HR in Achieving Organizational and Individual Change, CIPD Publishing, Pp. 8 Jansen, D. W., (2006). The New Economy and Beyond, Edward Elgar Publishing, Pp. 1 Magretta, J., (1999). Managing in New Economy, Harvard Business Press, Pp. viii Bottero, W., (2004). Sociology: Class Identities and the Carnoy, M., (2002). Sustaining New Economy: Work, Family, and Community in the Information Age, Harvard University Press, Pp. 202 Bardoel, E., Tharenou, P., MOss, S., (1998). Organizational Predictors of Work - Family Practices, Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 36 (3): Pp. 31 - 49 Pocock, B.,(2005). WOrk - Care Regimes: Instituitions, Culture and Behavior and the Australian Case: Gender, Work and Organization, vol. 12, no.1, Pp. 32 - 49 Hareven, T. K., (1982). Family Time and Industrial Time: The Relationship between the Family and Work in a New England Industrial Community, Cambridge University Press, Pp. 1 Harrison, A., Wheeler, P., Whitehead, C., (2004). The Distributed Workplace: Sustainable Work Environments, Taylor and Francis, Pp. 8 Identity of Class, viewed from: Pp. 988 Read More