INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

International Human Resource Management



International Human Resource Management

Introduction

The topic under study relates to the national institution's influence over the adoption of work life balance policies. It includes the effectiveness of these policies using the evidence of two countries.

Discussion

Work-Life Balance

The term “Work-life Balance” refers to at the balancing between life and work. Work-life balance is a broader concept. Work includes Career and ambition, life includes Health, Pleasure, leisure, family and development. Therefore, the concept of work-life balance covers these two aspects in a broader context.

Influence of National Institutions on Firms to adopt Work-life Balance Policies

In the United States, for example, A common and crucial feature throughout the country, though, is that implementing work-life balance—even in traditional organizations. For a work context, industry, and strata of the workforce, certain objective criteria of success apply. All these measures somehow linked with an individual's contribution to the success of the organization, be it through sales, production, cost saving, or innovation. Controllers and HR departments alike spend time devising meaningful measures to design remuneration and incentive packages. Consequently, objective career success largely determined through what the organization or industry considers successful. In the business world, work-life balance is a key measure; among academics, publications or impact points serve a similar function. Consequently, we also have to take into consideration work-private-life balance to establish comprehensive measures of career success, which should cover at least four dimensions: (1) objective career success and the rewards by which that is measured, since subjective career success is in part a processing and a reaction to those rewards; (2) job satisfaction, that is, how the job itself is going; (3) career satisfaction, which deals not only with the job at hand, but also with the long-term prospects of work and development; and (4) finally, life satisfaction (Cohen, 2002, p.343)

Most studies that refer to subjective career success use career satisfaction as the core metrics. It is doubtful whether career satisfaction can be clearly distinguished from job satisfaction. Consequently, career satisfaction might be high due to a motivating job but not necessarily due to the perception of success. Studies show that work-life balance plays a crucial role in achieving success. Most studies that refer to subjective career success use career satisfaction as the core metrics. It is doubtful whether career satisfaction can be clearly distinguished from job satisfaction. In fact, there is evidence that managerial lifestyles often inhibit people from doing what they want to do. Career practice still upholds the notion that the less of a life outside the job one has the better and the fruitful one is to the organization. However, this is not necessarily true. There lies enormous potential in trying to set up the work situation so that family life can be well-lived out. To reap these benefits, one needs to recast the view as to what constitutes an exemplary employee. Empirical evidence suggests that the greater an individual's perceived work-family conflict, the lower his or her career ...