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2 - Reviewing policies for harmonizing work, family, and personal life

from Part I - Describing different work–life policies, policy development, and pitfalls

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 September 2009

Paula Caligiuri
By
Steven A. Y. Poelmans  and
Barbara Beham
Edited by
Steven A. Y. Poelmans
Paula Caligiuri
Affiliation:
Rutgers University, New Jersey
Steven A. Y. Poelmans
Affiliation:
Assistant Professor IESE Business School, Spain
Barbara Beham
Affiliation:
Post-Doctoral Research Fellow University of Hamburg, Germany
Steven A. Y. Poelmans
Affiliation:
IESE Business School, Barcelona
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Summary

In order to better align business needs to the needs of employees with caring responsibilities, companies have started to implement family-supportive human resource (HR) policies over the last years referred to as work–life policies, work–family policies, or work–family arrangements in this chapter. Work–life policies and benefits are the most visible indicators of a family-responsible workplace and can be defined as any employer sponsored facilities and benefits, designed to support the combination of paid work and family responsibilities of its employees (den Dulk, Van Doorne-Huiskes, & Schippers, 1999). Work–life policies aim at enhancing the ability of employees to manage competing demands from work and personal interests and to alleviate work–family conflict.

Poelmans and Sahibzada (2004) proposed a model of four main decisions that managers need to consider when thinking about the implementation of a work–life program in their company. The central question of the first decision, the adoption decision, is whether and when to start incorporating work–life programs. Companies do not exist in a vacuum. The social, economic, legal, and technological contexts as well as the political dimension need to be carefully reviewed and incorporated into this decision. In the design decision, the right constellation of human resource policies needs to be selected according to business requirements and workforce needs. The implementation decision focuses on how to implement and diffuse these policies within the firm, how to secure managerial support for the program, and how to stimulate cultural change within the company.

Type
Chapter
Information
Harmonizing Work, Family, and Personal Life
From Policy to Practice
 , pp. 39 - 77
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2008

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