Working More, Working Less, Working Differently

Abstract

This research analyses Work-Life Balance (WLB) practices in different companies to identify their consequences for two dimensions of work organisation: (1) working hours and (2) work design.

We developed a contextualised, qualitative investigation of seven companies which is distinct in two aspects. On one hand, it involves organisations of different sizes operating in different industries and employees of different profiles, at both the operational and managerial levels. On the other hand, it considers organisational practices that have been designed and implemented as WLB practices and practices that were designed to respond to other organizational requirements, different from WLB purposes, but which have had consequences on work-life balance for employees.

The research resulted in an analytical framework built on two dimensions: (1) number of working hours and (2) work design. The results of our work emphasise the importance of time worked, as opposed to the emphasis in previous literature on organisational supportive culture; and the need to develop awareness about the unexpected effects of some WLB measures on the number of hours effectively worked.

Keywords: Work-life balance, Hours worked, Work organization design.

JEL Classification: D61, D63