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Work-Life Balance in the 21st Century

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  • © 2005

Overview

Authors:
  1. Diane M. Houston

    1. University of Kent, UK

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Part of the book series: Future of Work (TFW)

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Table of contents (13 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xv
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  2. Work-Life Balance in the 21st Century

    • Diane M. Houston
    Pages 1-10

  3. Gender and Work-Life Flexibility in the Labour Market

    • Alison L. Booth, Jeff Frank
    Pages 11-28

  4. The Costs of a Career in Minutes and Morbidity

    • Michael Rose
    Pages 29-54

  5. Sex Differences in Work-Life Balance Goals

    • Catherine Hakim
    Pages 55-79

  6. Working, Caring and Sharing: Work-Life Dilemmas in Early Motherhood

    • Diane M. Houston, Gillian Marks
    Pages 80-105

  7. Part-Time Employment among Women with Preschool Children: Organisational Cultures, Personal Careers and Sense of Entitlement

    • Maria Sigala
    Pages 106-121

  8. ‘Daddy, I don’t like these shifts you’re working because I never see you’: Coping Strategies for Home and Work

    • Jeff Hyman, Dora Scholarios, Chris Baldry
    Pages 122-146

  9. Mens’ Conditions of Employment and the Division of Childcare Between Parents

    • Irene Bruegel, Anne Gray
    Pages 147-169

  10. Gender, Job Insecurity and the Work-Life Balance

    • Nickie Charles, Emma James
    Pages 170-188

  11. Workplace Partnership and Work-Life Balance: A Local Government Case Study

    • Stephanie Tailby, Mike Richardson, Andy Danford, Paul Stewart, Martin Upchurch
    Pages 189-210

  12. Multiple Burdens: Problems of Work-Life Balance for Ethnic Minority Trade Union Activist Women

    • Harriet Bradley, Geraldine Healy, Nupur Mukherjee
    Pages 211-229

  13. Combining Family and Employment: Evidence from Pakistani and Bangladeshi Women

    • Angela Dale
    Pages 230-245

  14. Care Workers and Work—Life Balance: The Example of Domiciliary Careworkers

    • Clare Ungerson, Sue Yeandle
    Pages 246-262

  15. Back Matter

    Pages 263-271
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Keywords

About this book

As we begin the twenty-first century, UK employees work the longest hours in Europe. Workplace stress and home responsibilities are among the top five causes of absence from work. Yet work-life balance has emerged as a key concern for employers, policy makers and the media. This edited volume contains findings from 14 research projects within the ESRC's Future of Work Programme. The research examines the notion of employment flexibility and the effects of gender and care responsibilities on work and work performance. Conflicting needs of employers and employees and the gender divisions in work and family life call into question the feasibility of achieving the Government's aim of work-life balance for everyone.

Reviews

'This important book is the culmination of seven years of study, carried out by economists, psychologists and sociologists in the UK. It's not a self-help book, but an in-depth analysis of UK working practices, from stay-at-home parents and part-time workers to workaholics. Readers may gain inspiration from some of the book's case studies, and employers may find useful the discussion of flexible and part-time working. It's a valuable overview of how we live and work.' - Management Today

'...a highly useful volume offering something to readers from different disciplines and with different perspectives, but at the same time presenting an opportunity to engage with the debate in a broader manner.' - Gill Kirton, Industrial Relations Journal

Authors and Affiliations

  • University of Kent, UK

    Diane M. Houston

About the author

CHRIS BALDRY Professor of Human Resource Management, University of Stirling, UK ALISON BOOTH Professor of Economics, Australian National University, Australia and University of Essex, UK HARRIET BRADLEY Professor of Sociology and Dean, School of Social Science and Law, University of Bristol, UK IRENE BRUEGEL Professor, ESRC Families and Social Capital Research Group, London South Bank University, UK NICKIE CHARLES Professor of Sociology, University of Wales, UK ANGELA DALE Professor of Quantitative Social Research, Cathie March Centre for Census and Survey Research, University of Manchester, UK ANDY DANFORD Reader in Employment Relations, Employment Studies Research Unit, Bristol Business School, BUWE, UK JEFF FRANK Professor of Economics, Royal Holloway College, University of London, UK ANNE GRAY Doctor, ESRC Families and Social Capital Research Group, London South Bank University, UK CATHERINE HAKIM Senior Research Fellow, Sociology Department, London School of Economics, UK GERALDINE HEALY Professor of Employment Relations, Centre for Business Management, Queen Mary, University of London, UK EDMUND HEERY Professor of Human Resource Management, Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University JEFF HYMAN Professor of Human Resource Management, Department of Management Studies, University of Aberdeen Business School, UK EMMA JAMES Research Fellow, National Centre for Public Policy, University of Wales, UK GILLIAN MARKS Lecturer in Psychology, Leeds Metropolitan University, UK NUPUR MUKHERJEE Former Research Officer, University of Bristol, UK MIKE RICHARDSON Senior Researcher in Industrial Relations, Employment Studies Research Unit, Bristol Business School, BUWE, UK MICHAEL ROSE Professorial Research Fellow, Department of Social and Policy Studies, University of Bath, UK DORA SCHOLARIOS Reader in Organisational Behaviour, University of Aberdeen Business School, UK MARIA SIGALA Researcher, Department of Social Policy and Social Work, University of Oxford, UK PAUL STEWART Professor of the Sociology of Work and Employment, Employment Studies Research Unit, Bristol Business School, BUWE, UK STEPHANIE TAILBY Principal Lecturer in Employment Relations, Employment Studies Research Unit, Bristol Business School, BUWE, UK CLARE UNGERSON Honorary Professor of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, University of Kent, UK MARTIN UPCHURCH Reader in International Employment Relations, Employment Studies Research Unit, Bristol Business School, BUWE, UK SUE YEANDLE Professor of Sociology and Director, Center for Social Inclusion, Sheffield Hallam University, UK

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