Enhancing the effectiveness of work-life balance initiatives use

Project facts

Project promoter:
Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine
Project Number:
PL12-0060
Target groups
Foreign migrant workers
Status:
Completed
Initial project cost:
€706,731
Final project cost:
€677,092
From Norway Grants:
€ 575,528
The project is carried out in:
Poland

Description

Despite of increased efforts aimed to build up conditions for successful balancing work and family demands many workers still experience difficulties in maintaining equilibrium between work and private life. The project aims to study social, organizational and individual determinants of utilization of Work-life balance (WLB) initiatives and maintaining the healthy balance between work and life. The results of the project should serve as a background for planning the changes in WLB policies aimed for increasing their effectiveness. The result of the project will be also of practical use for policy makers, employers, management and employees facing work-home conflicts. Project partners are institutions of the high experience in social studies. Human capital of the consortium will allow to expand the body of knowledge on cultural, psychological and socio-economical determinants of work-life balance initiatives use.

Summary of project results

The project aimed to answer the question of individual, organizational and social characteristics influencing the utilization of work-life balance (WLB) benefits, work-home interferences, and perception of WLB. Despite of large amount of research devoted to WLB, there is still the gap in the knowledge on factors affecting WLB benefits use, perception of WLB and their relation to sociocultural and economical context. We also don’t know much about families’ adaptation strategies in migrant workers. We obtained qualitative data from 48 families living in Poland and Norway and surveyed 1462 employees. Results show that (1) people experience WLB as a dynamic process depending on individual and external factors. (2) Polish families in Norway are more eager to make use of the full range of entitlements for parents in Norway. In Poland parents come back to full-time work earlier and relay on support from close family members with relatively minor adaptations to a new life situation (3) family friendly culture of organization was important predictor of WLB benefits utilization, (4) in Poland using WLB benefits is not gender neutral. Significantly more women than men use them whereas in Norway this proportion is better balanced, (5) the strongest predictor of perceived WLB was negative work-home interference, (6) Norwegian were more satisfied with obtained work-life balance than Polish employees. (6) PWLB appeared to be relatively stable and not affected much by variables controlled in the study. The short term outcomes of project are: 10 scientific publications, one e-book, a brochure, 24 presentations of results at national and international conferences, a master thesis and professorships for 3 researchers. The project team organized I International Conference of Women and Men Facing Everyday challenges and 5 seminars on WLB for employees. All results are in line with planned outcome or exceed it but one (PhD thesis which is delayed for independent reasons). Collaboration between partners resulted in a new project initiative. Thanks to dissemination and promotion activities WLB issues will be better recognized and understood by wide public. In long term perspective project results will be use in training for workers, employers, and OH professionals. Strengthening awareness of WLB issues should be visible in increase of WLB initiatives utilization, more equal opportunities for women and men in the labor market and, in improvement of employees’ quality of life.

Summary of bilateral results

All project partners contributed in each stage of the project. NOVA, POLICY and NIOM prepared jointly 1 scientific publication already submitted to the Journal and another two are being prepared for submission in the middle of 2017. Thanks to exchange of thoughts and ideas we could become more familiar with habits, routines and approaches to work and life in Poland and Norway what inspires and motivates us to further scientific research efforts. In our interdisciplinary project Norwegian sociologist and Polish psychologists made each other more familiar with approaches to conduct research in their disciplines what increased research potential of our organizations. Nova, POLICY and NIOM were organizers of International conference “ Women and men facing everyday challenges” which was a great opportunity to make new scientific liaisons with other European partners and increased visibility of our research institution in Europe. All partners of the project agreed to continue collaboration in future.