Many people struggle with balancing work and family life as they pursue their career goals. Work life balance is a term that is often used to stress the importance of balancing work and family life. The term is defined as “the division of one’s time and focus between working and family or leisure activities” (Arenofsky, 2017, p. 4). It is based on the needs of working men and women and it can affect relationships, finances, health and happiness. (Arenofsky, 2017, p. 3) This can be hard to do when you have a limited time of leave available after the birth of a child or your role has already been defined for you. Women take on multiple roles automatically and this may hinder their balance between work and home life. Corporations that are looking to be successful can embrace diversity by supporting work life balance and offering incentives. This will promote employee engagement, productivity, and managerial support in a culture. (Arenofsky, 2017, p. 3)
One thing to look at that still plagues some in the United States is the role of women. There is a stereotypical thought that women have the responsibility of raising children. (Moran, Abramson, & Moran, 2014, p. 154) Women sometimes hold off on having children in order to pursue their careers because of the thinking that they can’t have both. During the past couple of years thing have started to change slowly as companies realize the importance for diversity. There are some jobs that offer daycare services to help support working mothers. The balance is important to be efficient at work and provide quality of work. The needs of men and women have changed over the years. In some careers individuals may experience working long hours that make it hard to have leisure time.
Another aspect is the amount of time people are spending at work. When an individual is overworked the quality of their work suffers and so will company production. In the United States about 11 percent of people work long hours and in Japan it is about 20 percent. (Arenofsky, 2017, p. 17) In Sweden they are incorporated ways to help bring balance by having a policy on subsidized childcare and required parental leave. (Moran, Abramson, & Moran, 2014, p. 155) Taking steps to ensure that all employees are not being drained and made to feel unimportant helps to build strong relationships with the employee and the employers so that both parties will be successful.
There are things to consider whenever a process is being reconstructed to improve the way of life. As we work towards breaking barriers, we may run into other hurdles that can have an affect on promotions or advancements in career opportunities. One thing that stands out is that women are still looked over when it comes to promotions because they are balancing both work and home. (Moran, Abramson, & Moran, 2014, p. 155) This is unfortunate because their circumstances does not mean that they will not be able to perform these job duties efficiently. Therefore, it is important that there is support by corporations to make vital changes to support diversity and balance.
References
Arenofsky, J. (2017). Work-Life Balance. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, LLC.
Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences . New York: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.
Hi Markeia,
I agree with you that the lack of adequate opportunities for work-life balance in the United States and other developed nations is a prominent issue. As you mentioned, a positive change in this deficit could raise morale and employee engagement, but I would also argue that those affected would also be healthier and happier. However, I do not think that this problem is able to be easily solved just by companies changing their policies.
For example, it is my opinion that this problem affects small business owners just as much as their employees. What I mean by this is that businesses with less resources simply cannot offer some or all of the benefits that would allow their employees–and even the owner most times–to cultivate a more stable work-life balance because such benefits cost a lot of money. As a small business owner myself, there is no way I can offer things such as parental leave because I would be out of business if I did! This is why many people flock to large companies who offer full benefits, which results in the large companies just getting larger and the rest of us small business owners are left to grasp at straws when it comes to finding great people to work for us. I would love to offer full benefits for my employees, but the numbers just do not add up right now.
That is just another way of looking at this situation. Good job with your post!
Hello Markeia,
Great post! I can genuinely relate to your topic because I struggle with work-life balance, especially as a single mom. To add to your post, did you know that in Canada parents can take a standard parental benefit for 35 weeks, and extended parental benefits go up to 61 weeks? That is a vast difference than the U.S Family and Medical leave act of 1993, where Mothers takes no more than 12 weeks to be with their newborn baby. One of my co-workers, who is Canadian, moved to the U.S because her husband is a U.S Citizen. When they finally felt ready to start their family, they decided to move back to Canada because of their maternity leave benefits.
I was a manager for over seven years and decided to step down from managing because I wanted to have a better work-life balance and more time to spend with my kids. With my first child, I had a hard time going back to work after 12 weeks. When I had my second child, I had to go back to work after six weeks. I had complication before my baby was born, and I was ordered to be on bed rest. Being off for six weeks before the birth of my child made me lose precious time that I wanted to spend with him when he was born. Had I not returned to work after 12 weeks of total leave, I would not have my job! It would be great if the U.S government or companies are more supportive of working mothers.
Source:
Social Development Canada. (2019, June 11). Government of Canada. Retrieved from https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/ei-maternity-parental.html.