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Wetherly and Otter: The Business Environment

Chapter 08

Work-Life Balance: a Psychological Perspective is a recent book of articles edited by Fiona Jones, Mina Westman and Ronald J. Burke which looks in detail at the issues discussed in this chapter, including the use of legislation to encourage employers to take steps to improve their employees' work-life balance and examples of some of the approaches taken by employers in practice. The book is particularly strong on the impact of poor work-life balance on people's psychological state. An international perspective is provided in several of the articles.

In 2002 the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development's journal, People Management published a supplement covering many aspects of work-life balance practices from the employer perspective. Several feature articles focus on practice in different organizations, including the problems faced in introducing policies. There are also a number of shorter opinion pieces. CIPD also carries out regular surveys looking at employer and employee attitudes. The most recent was published in January 2007.

The Myth of the Work-Life Balance by Richenda Gambles, Suzan Lewis and Rhona Rapoport (2006) sets out in a very accessible way the results of a major international research project looking at a range of work�life balance issues. The book is thought-provoking in that it argues that policies developed by governments and employers are insufficient if a genuine, long-lasting change is to be brought about in the way we balance our work and home lives. Gender issues are dealt with effectively in this context.

Debates about regulatory aspects of work-life balance are explored and summarized effectively by A. C. L. Davies in Perspectives on Labour Law (2004). The relevant chapter is number 6 entitled 'Working Time', but the discussion encompasses family-friendly statutes as well as the Working Time Regulations 1998. This is a particularly good source of accessible ideas on the purposes behind the legislation and the economic arguments in favour of laws of this kind. The reports of the Pensions Commission are indispensable for an understanding of the dimensions of the pensions crisis.