Work-Life Balance

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2011 in the subject Business economics - Personnel and Organisation, grade: 1,3, Ashcroft International Business School Cambridge (International Management), course: Undergraduate Major Project, language: English, abstract: Table of ContentsAbstractiiiList of TablesivList of Figuresv1. Introduction11.1. Background to the study11.2. Objectives of the study41.3. Layout of the study51.4. Usefulness of the study52. Literature Review62.1. Introduction62.2. History of the term Work-life balance62.3. Defining the term Work-life balance72.4. The complexity of Work-life balance102.5. Reasons for the increasing popularity of Work-life balance112.6. Cultural Research on Work-life balance133. Research Methodology163.1. Introduction163.2. Research Objectives163.3. Research Design173.5. Reliability and Validity213.6. Data Analysis224. Findings and Results234.1. Introduction234.2. The results of the U.S. questionnaire234.3. German pilot study255. Analysis285.1. Introduction285.2. Change of society285.3. Demographic changes315.4. Business pressures335.5. Intercultural Work-life balance differences between Germany and the U.S.336. Conclusions and Recommendations376.1. Introduction376.2. Reasons for the popularity376.3. Cultural Differences386.4. Limitations of the study396.5. Future Research and Recommendations397. Referencesvi8. AppendicesixThe term Work-life balance has become very popular over the past decades due to several reasons. For example, the demographic changeand business pressure to be the employer of choice in order to attract a decreasing numberof skilled workforce cause companies all around the world to offer Work-life balance policiesthat aim at supporting their employees in creating a healthy and productive balance betweentheir working and private life.Moreover, certain differences between cultures in terms of the employees Work-life balancesand the employers approaches to it can be noticed. As this dissertation concentrated on thedifferences between the U.S. and German culture, it compared a questionnaire filled out by anAmerican employee working for an American company to a pilotstudy of German companies. Differences were discovered in the attitude towards the Worklifebalance of the leadership within a company. Also, the offerings of sport- and leisurefacilities differed as well as family-friendly policies.Finally, the dissertation came to the conclusion that Work-life balance policies have to becustomised to the respective culture of the employees in order to be really efficient.