Work Life Balance Essay

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Recommended: Review of literature on work life balance

The strategies employers offered to help employees achieve work-life balance varied dependent on the type of company and the resources available. Some companies have policies designed to encourage the balance, while others have yet to take action. Six strategies employers should consider are supportive work cultures, organizational leave, flexible work arrangements, work from home, on-site childcare, and technology use.
Work culture. Companies are able to retain trained employees through work cultures that are supportive of work-life balance. For instance, many women are concerned that they will find themselves on the outside of the workplace social circle or overlooked for a promotion because they have decided to start a family. Because of this, pregnant and new mothers may choose to leave the workforce if they feel excluded from the group or feel torn between work and life responsibilities. Slaughter (2012) …show more content…

High commitment employment politics and executive positions are particularly challenging (Seierstad & Kirton, 2015; Slaughter, 2012). However, even with high commitment positions, utilizing work-life balance strategies are not entirely impossible. According to Kossek et al. (2015), “Many high-level professional jobs where most work is done by voice or online can allow employees to modify their schedules or work from home” (p. 18). Furthermore, in a study conducted by Seierstad and Kirton (2015), the results suggest there may certain times of the year, such as summer break, when flexible working hours are easier to negotiate. Some employees may be able to take advantage of every work-life balance strategy; other positions may only be able to take advantage of a few options. This should not deter employers from offering a variety of options to meet the needs of their employee

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