Achievements and challenges for work/life balance strategies in Australian organizations

TLDR

Work/life balance is increasingly recognized as strategically important for organizations and employees. The paper argues that attracting and retaining valued employees motivates organizations to implement and manage WLB strategies. The authors examine the range and use of WLB strategies in Australian organizations and identify barriers to their implementation. Surveys from 1997–2000 show that while some progress has been made, significant challenges remain in adopting and managing WLB strategies. Keywords: Australia, work/life balance, stakeholders.

Abstract

Abstract The effective management of work/life balance (WLB) is an issue increasingly recognized as of strategic importance to organizations and of significance to employees. We argue that an organization's need to attract and retain valued employees in a highly competitive labour market is a strong motivating factor for increased organizational awareness and action with regard to implementation and management of WLB strategies. In this paper, we report the findings of three surveys conducted annually from 1997 to 2000 with organizations in Australia. We explore the range and usage of WLB strategies in Australian organizations and identify the barriers to those strategies. It is evident that, while some achievements have been made over the years, there remain substantial challenges for the uptake and management of WLB strategies. Keywords: Australiawork/life balancestakeholders