Critically Asses The Extent To Which Hrm Is Able To Reconcile Employer's Need For Flexibility And Employee's Need For Work/Life Balance.
Critically asses the extent to which HRM is able to reconcile employer’s need for flexibility and employee’s need for work/life balance.
In recent years, escalating market pressures have caused shareholder values to become highlighted as an indicator of success, resulting in “increasing demands on companies to restructure and derive maximum productivity from their workers” (Edwards and Wajcman, 2005: 46). 40 hour weeks are no longer considered standard, and instead we see work patterns shifting to accommodate the emergence of the 24 hour service sector. This means that growth has been predominantly in casual and part- time jobs; accompanied by a considerable increase in the number of people working unsociable hours and weekends (Edwards and Wajcman, 2005: 47). Longer hours, unsatisfactory holiday provisions and weekend working may make family time harder to achieve (Edwards and Wajcman, 2005:47), which introduces the issue of obtaining what is known as ‘Work/Life balance’.
The notion of work/life balance (WLB) aims to describe a point of equilibrium where time orientated around paid work, and time which is concentrated on aspects of unpaid work and leisure activities, does not impinge on the enjoyment or satisfaction of the other. This ‘balance’ however, can have both “objective and subjective meaning and measurement, and will vary according to circumstances and will also vary across individuals.”(Guest, 2001) Critics such as Osterman, 1995, suggest that employers can boost “organisational commitment” by indicating their understanding of the problems that arise when balancing work and other aspects of life. Giving employees the opportunity to work flexibly, so as to accommodate these demands, is the “most obvious gesture employers can make”. (Felstead et al., 2007: 58) It is argued that employing WLB policies within a company is “good for business… benefits can be measured directly financially and include increased productivity; improved recruitment...
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