Dissertation Abstracts
Men's Work-Life Balance: A Case study of UK Police Force
Author: Kritika Bahadur, kritikabahadur@gmail.com
Department: Business School
University: University of Worcester, United Kingdom
Supervisor: Dr. Catharine Ross
Year of completion: 2017
Language of dissertation: English
Areas of Research: Work , Family Research
Abstract
The phrase ‘work-life balance’ has gained widespread attention and is frequently used in strategic discussions by academics, consultants, management and HR experts, and in common day language by employees. Work-life balance therefore, has become a key issue in people’s lives however, both in research and practice, it is primarily women centric focusing on their multiple roles in the work and non-work domains. There is little focus on men’s changing roles as fathers, husbands, and workers and how they juggle these roles while striving to achieve a work-life balance. Although, recent research focuses on men’s roles as fathers and the ways in which workplace strengthens traditional gender roles, their need for work-life balance has long been ignored. The area of men’s work-life balance thus calls out for attention and it is on this motivation that the current research is based. In addition, the study is based on the police sector particularly, male police personnel. Police work is known to be characterised by dangerous situations, unpredictable work hours, violent offenders, and high stress levels which have detrimental effects on their personal and professional life. Further, it has also been suggested that excessive work demands can cause work-life conflict thus affecting their work performance. The unpredictable nature of police work coupled with high levels of stress, makes it imperative to understand how male police personnel manage these challenges and their multiple roles to achieve a work-life balance. The aim of the research is to examine work-life balance from a male point of view by focusing on how men define work-life balance, the factors that affect this balance, and the effects of the factors on their personal and professional lives. The specific objectives of the research are as follows: 1. Explore the definitions of work-life balance by male police personnel and how it influences their achievement of balance. 2. Identify the factors affecting work-life balance for male police personnel. 3. Examine the negative and/or positive effects of the factors on the personal and professional lives of male police personnel.