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Organizational Work-Life initiatives: Context matters

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  • Ariane Ollier-Malaterre

    (Tr@jectoires - Pôle Trajectoires - Rouen Business School - Rouen Business School)

Abstract

Why are organizational work-life initiatives endorsed in some countries such as the US or the UK, while they generate little interest in France and other non-Anglo-Saxon environments? In a qualitative theory-building approach, this paper assesses the gap in workplace practices adoption among the US, the UK, and France and analyzes in-depth interviews with 44 human resources (HR) officers, employee representatives, unions, and work-life service providers in France. Five main factors explain the adoption of organizational work-life initiatives in France and potentially other countries: (1) employer versus State legitimacy in the nonwork sphere of life, (2) industrial relations and unions' stance toward work-life practices, (3) the complexity of the legal framework, (4) the awareness of work-life issues within HR departments, and (5) the framing of work-life as a business or a social issue. With reference to prior research, a model is built to account for the influence of the national context on employees' expectations and employers' leeway at the macrolevel, and for strategic choices made by employers at the mesolevel.

Suggested Citation

  • Ariane Ollier-Malaterre, 2009. "Organizational Work-Life initiatives: Context matters," Post-Print hal-00565488, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00565488
    DOI: 10.1080/13668800902778942
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-00565488
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Budd, John W. & Mumford, Karen A., 2005. "Family-Friendly Work Practices in Britain: Availability and Perceived Accessibility," IZA Discussion Papers 1662, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
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    3. U. Kelle, 1997. "Theory Building in Qualitative Research and Computer Programs for the Management of Textual Data," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 2(2), pages 10-22, June.
    4. John M. Evans, 2001. "Firms' Contribution to the Reconciliation between Work and Family Life," OECD Labour Market and Social Policy Occasional Papers 48, OECD Publishing.
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    1. Ollier-Malaterre, Ariane & Valcour, Monique & Den Dulk, Laura & Kossek, Ellen Ernst, 2013. "Theorizing national context to develop comparative work–life research: A review and research agenda," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 31(5), pages 433-447.
    2. Trefalt, Špela & Drnovšek, Mateja & Svetina-Nabergoj, Anja & Adlešič, Renata Valentina, 2013. "Work-life experiences in rapidly changing national contexts: Structural misalignment, comparisons and choice overload as explanatory mechanisms," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 31(5), pages 448-463.
    3. Jarrod M. Haar & Albert Sune & Marcello Russo & Ariane Ollier-Malaterre, 2019. "A Cross-National Study on the Antecedents of Work–Life Balance from the Fit and Balance Perspective," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 142(1), pages 261-282, February.
    4. Den Dulk, Laura & Groeneveld, Sandra & Ollier-Malaterre, Ariane & Valcour, Monique, 2013. "National context in work-life research: A multi-level cross-national analysis of the adoption of workplace work-life arrangements in Europe," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 31(5), pages 478-494.
    5. Delphine Brochard & Marie-Thérèse Letablier, 2017. "Trade union involvement in work–family life balance: lessons from France," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 31(4), pages 657-674, August.
    6. Lobel, Sharon, 2013. "Predicting organizational responsiveness to poverty: Exploratory model and application to Brazil and the United States," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 31(5), pages 522-535.

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