The effects of work alienation on organizational commitment, work effort and work-to-family enrichment

Aim: The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of work alienation on organizational commitment, work effort and work-to-family enrichment. Background: There is substantial research on the effects of work alienation on passive job performance, such as organizational commitment. However, studies analyzing work alienation on active performance, such as work effort, and outside work, such as work-to-family enrichment, are scarce. Method: Two dimensions of work alienation are considered: powerlessness and meaninglessness. Hypotheses are tested using surveys collected among a national sample of midwives in the Netherlands (respondents: 790, response rate 61%). Results: Findings indicate that work alienation (powerlessness and meaninglessness) influence organizational commitment, work effort and – to a lesser extent - work-to-family enrichment. High work meaninglessness, in particular, has negative effects on these outcomes. Conclusion: When people feel that they have no influence in their work (hence, when they feel ‘powerless’) and especially when the feel that their work is not worthwhile (when they feel ‘meaningless’), this has substantial negative effects. Implications for nursing management: Managers should increase the meaningfulness people attach to their work, thereby maintaining a high-quality workforce. Possible strategies include: 1.Improving person-job fit, 2. Developing high-quality relationships, 3. Better communicating the results people help deliver

Parents' experiences of flexible work arrangements in changing European workplaces

Various leaves and other forms of flexible working arrangements have been implemented in workplaces to support employees with family commitments. Some are a response to public policy, others developed voluntarily. However, research examining the effectiveness of these policies in a search for “good practices” often neglects the impact of specific national and workplace contexts. Some researchers are calling for more attention to social systems, especially at the macro and meso levels, and the relationships between them, to extend understanding of work family processes and experiences. We argue that this is critical for evaluating work-family policies and practices. However it is important to recognize that social systems are not static. They are dynamic and changing, particularly in the context of globalization processes. Drawing on data from six case studies of private sector organizations undergoing rapid change and transformation, carried out in six European states, as part of a qualitative cross-national EU project (Transitions)1 , this paper explores the impact of multiple layers of context on parents’ experiences of flexible working arrangements for managing work and family boundaries. The study shows that although various aspects of macro layers of context are important and it is easier to make use of flexibility to combine work and parenting in some national and workplace contexts than others, changes taking place at the workplace level in response to global competition and efficiency drives can undermine both regulatory and voluntary initiatives to enhance flexibility for parents. This is occurring across national boundaries. Some implications for debates on “good practices” and for future work-family research are discussed

Managing work-life policies in the European Workplace: explorations for future research

In this paper we focus on the implementation and management of work-life policies in the workplace and the key role of managers in this context. We review the existing literature, enabling us to set a research agenda focused on explaining managerial attitudes and behaviour toward work-life policies in different organisational and national contexts. The evidence found in several studies suggests that managers often receive mixed messages about the implementation of work/life policies because these policies are not embedded in the workplace; managers are often unaware of such policies and lack training in them, leading to inconsistency in implementation and short-term thinking rather than a long-term perspective that cherishes human capital. Our review points to the need for more research allowing a full understanding of managerial attitudes and behaviour in different organisational and national contexts. Although a few interesting studies do exist, research in the field is still in its infancy. More research is needed, in particular systematic studies with well-developed theoretical frameworks. Keywords Line managers, work-life policies, allowance decisions, European workplac

Working Parents' Use of Work-Life Policies

In this paper, we examine working parent’s use of work-life policies in three financial sector organizations in the Netherlands. We analyse the barriers and support regarding the actual take up of work-life policies by working parents and to what extent this in turn influence their experienced work-life balance. We collected survey data in three Dutch financial sector organizations: one public sector organization and two private firms. All three differ considerably regarding their organizational culture and working practices. Two of the organizations are characterised by a contradictory work-life culture, and one by an approving work-life culture. Findings point out that household characteristics and the work-life culture in the organization determine the take up of work-life policies. With respect to the work-life balance of working parents, organizational culture is an important determinant, no impact is found of the utilization of policies

Work–Family Conflict Among Employees and the Self-Employed Across Europe

This article examines the level of work–family conflict of self-employed persons, a changing but neglected group in work–life research, compared to employees in Europe. Differences between the two groups are explained by looking at job demands and resources. The inclusion of work–family state support makes it possible to examine differences between countries. Multilevel analysis has been applied to data from the European Social Survey (ESS 2010). The results show that job demands and resources operate differently for employees and the self-employed. The relationship between employment type and WFC is mediated mainly by job demands such as working hours, working at short notice, job insecurity and supervisory work. The results also reveal variation across countries that cannot be explained by state support, signalling the need for a more complete understanding of WFC from a cross-national perspective

Financial hardship and well-being: a cross-national comparison among the European self-employed

Based on data from the 2004 and 2010 European Social Survey, this multidisciplinary and cross-national comparative study investigates the relationship between financial hardship and subjective well-being among 9,755 self-employed individuals from 31 European countries. It also aims to identify potential mitigating factors in this relationship on both the individual and the country level. Multilevel regression analyses reveal a strong relationship between financial hardship and impaired well-being, explaining about 36% of variance in well-being between conditions (countries and time periods) and 8% of variance between individuals. In other words, economic conditions matter significantly. Additionally, education and social trust act as important buffering factors for individuals, and the relationship between financial hardship and impaired well-being is somewhat weaker for self-employed persons living in countries with a more supportive social policy in the form of unemployment allowance. Entrepreneurs can hence mitigate the consequences of financial hardship by protecting social resources, and policymakers can be advised to invest in education and social security

De werk-privé balans van zelfstandig ondernemers

Het doel van dit artikel is om een overzicht te geven van wat we tot nu toe weten over de ervaren werk-privébalans van verschillende typen zelfstandig ondernemers in verschillende landen. De bevindingen in dit artikel zijn grotendeels gebaseerd op een proefschrift met zes afzonderlijke, recent gepubliceerde studies die allemaal een landenvergelijkend-onderzoek-ontwerp hebben. Deze zes studies bestaan uit een literatuurstudie, een overzichtsstudie van de overheidssteun in Europese landen voor de werk-privébalans van ondernemers, een drietal kwantitatieve, empirische studies op basis van de European Social Survey (2004 en 2010) en de Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (2013) en een kwalitatieve-interview-studie (2016) onder vijftig zelfstandige professionals in drie landen (Nederland, Spanje en Zweden) (Annink, 2017). De bevindingen laten zien dat het van belang is om de heterogeniteit van zelfstandig ondernemers in ogenschouw te nemen. Kenmerken van het werk en het bedrijf beïnvloeden de ervaren werk-privébalans. In het bijzonder noodgedwongen ondernemerschap en veel contact met klanten beïnvloeden de balans negatief. Ook het beleid, de economische situatie en culturele aspecten in een land hebben invloed op de ervaren werkprivébalans van zelfstandig ondernemers

A business case or social responsibility? How top managers’ support for work-life arrangements relates to the national context

The extent to which organizations supplement statutory work-life arrangements varies systematically between countries. Empirical evidence on how organizations’ approaches to work-life arrangements relate to the national context is, however, mixed. This study aims to elucidate this complex relationship by focusing on how top managers’ considerations about whether or not to provide work-life arrangements are related to the national context. Semi-structured interviews were held with 78 top managers in Finland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and the UK. This study finds that top managers’ relate their considerations whether to provide work-life arrangements to the extensiveness of national legislation: only in the context of few state work-life policies top managers saw it as a business issue. Top managers also take into consideration what they believe is expected of them by employees and society at large, which can work either in favor or against the provision of work-life arrangements. Perceiving the provision of work-life arrangements as a social responsibility seems more apparent for top managers in Slovenia and Finland. By leaving the social responsibility argument out of the central framework of most studies, the existing literature appears to tell the story mainly from an Anglo-Saxon perspective placing business oriented arguments central

Meaningful work for a meaningful life? Work alienation and its effects in the work and the family context

Abstract: This paper examines the impact of work alienation on work-related outcomes (organizational commitment and work effort), and its impact outside work (work-family enrichment). Hypotheses are formulated based on two research streams: sociology of work and organization in relation to work alienation and work-family literature in relation to enrichment. Two dimensions of work alienation are considered: powerlessness and meaninglessness. Both literature streams expect a negative impact of work alienation on employee outcomes. Hypotheses are tested on survey data collected among a national sample of midwives in the Netherlands (respondents: 790, response rate 61%). Findings indicate that work alienation does not only have an impact on work related outcomes but also influences the degree of work-to-family enrichment. In particular work meaninglessness is relevant for both work outcomes and family life. This underscores the importance of lowering the degree of work alienation, which has effects inside and outside the work context