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Work–Life Balance and Wellbeing for Sustainable Workforces
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Work–Life Balance and Wellbeing for Sustainable Workforces

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Psychology of Sustainability and Sustainable Development".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 March 2023) | Viewed by 35991

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Anne Bardoel

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Management and Marketing, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn 3182, Australia
Interests: work–life; hybrid work; telework; resilience; caregiving; allied health teams; evidence based health
Dr. Melissa Wheeler

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Management and Marketing, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn 3182, Australia
Interests: flexible work; applied ethics; moral psychology; diversity; responsible leadership
Dr. Asanka Gunasekara

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Management and Marketing, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn 3182, Australia
Interests: migrant employees; emotional and social wellbeing; protean career; work–life

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The COVID-19 pandemic is a catalyst for employers to rethink how they implement workplace flexibility and work–life policies that meet the needs of their employees (Baird et al., 2021). The relationship between employees and employers has fundamentally changed, and new frontiers of the work–life balance are emerging.

The rapid shift to remote working in response to COVID-19 restrictions demonstrated that employees, leaders, and HR professionals were able to successfully work from home, busting a myth previously held by many about the possibility and effectiveness of remote working. Kossek and colleagues (2014) argued that many workplaces are not designed in ways that are conducive to supporting both work–life balance and employee wellbeing in the context of an organization’s business strategy and performance. However, there is evidence that sustainable human resource practices are associated with employees meeting job demands and being able to flourish in their multiple roles, ultimately contributing to enhanced business performance (Copperider and Fry, 2012).  Human resource strategies that achieve a strong connection with work–life balance and wellbeing can lead to social benefits (Kossek et al., 2014). Wellbeing is currently receiving much attention from the scientific community as an important aspect of organizational effectiveness and social change in organizations. As the world enters a post-pandemic environment, we have a unique opportunity to rethink the type of workplace cultures that enable the uptake of work–life balance policies, and to develop new policies that meet the changing needs of employees in terms of  flexibility and mental health support. We welcome a variety of contributions (e.g., quantitative, qualitative, conceptual and literature reviews) in relation to sustainable workforces from the perspective of work–life balance and wellbeing.

Sustainability, from a business perspective, is focused on making decisions that provide long-term benefits and minimize negative impacts for both employees and employers. In a similar vein, workforce sustainability is reliant on making sure that we act with our long-term wellbeing in mind and avoid settling for short-term ‘trade-offs’. Finally, this Special Issue welcomes a variety of contributions that explore the concepts of work–life balance and /or wellbeing in accordance with the movement towards social sustainability, which is understood in terms of working conditions, community integration, gender equality, and the need to care for dependents (Gálvez, Tirado and Martínez, 2020).

The focus of this Special Issue is to explore how to create sustainable workforces from the perspective of a different work–life balance, theoretical frameworks of wellbeing and methodological approaches.

Sample topics of this Special Issue

The contributions to this Special Issue may include, but are not limited to, the following research topics:

  • Sustainable careers—reducing burnout and fatigue;
  • How flexible work allows for greater work–life integration—more flexibility and allocation of time for individuals;
  • Four day working week and other initiatives to increase productivity and decrease procrastination (these improvements contribute to a better future and a more sustainable engagement with work);
  • Work–life balance, conflict, enrichment, integration—these are different terms, but which are more future-oriented?
  • Working and caring—more engagement from both men and women—a household with two incomes requires both parents to embrace work–life balance; 
  • Restrictions and lockdowns and their impact on work–life balance;
  • Changes to work preferences and work-related health and safety challenges following COVID-19;

The role of leaders in promoting employee wellbeing to achieve a sustainable workplace.

References

Baird, M.; Hamilton, M.; Gulessarian, L.; Williams, A.; Parker, S. An employer lens on COVID-19: Adapting to change in Australian workplaces. Cepar Industry Report. 2021. Available online: https://cepar.edu.au/publications/reports-government-submissions/employer-lens-COVID-19-adapting-change-australian-workplaces

Cooperider, D.; Fry, R. Minor flourishing and the positive psychology of sustainability. Journal of Corporate Citizenship, 2012, 46, 3–12.

Gálvez, A.; Tirado, F.; Martínez, M.J.; 2020. Work–Life Balance, Organizations and Social Sustainability: Analyzing Female Telework in Spain Sustainability. MDPI, Open Access Journal, 2020, 12, 1-21.

Kossek, E. E.; Valcour, M.; Lirio, P. The sustainable work force: Organizational strategies for promoting work–life balance and wellbeing in Work and Wellbeing: Wellbeing: A Complete Reference Guide, Volume III. Edited by Peter Y. Chen and Cary L. Cooper. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Published 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2014, 295-319. DOI: 10.1002/9781118539415.wbwell14.

Prof. Anne Bardoel
Dr. Melissa Wheeler
Dr. Asanka Gunasekara
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 439 KiB  
Article
Honey, How Can I Help? Gender and Distribution of Unpaid Labour during COVID-19
by Dharshani Thennakoon, Shalini Dananja Kumari Wanninayake and Pavithra Kailasapathy
Sustainability 2022, 14(22), 14972; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142214972 - 12 Nov 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1756
Abstract
Societies’ ideologies on the distribution of unpaid labour seem to have remained stagnant despite dramatic shifts in the worlds of work and society. The distribution of unpaid labour has implications for the wellbeing of individuals and the sustainability of their various personal and [...] Read more.
Societies’ ideologies on the distribution of unpaid labour seem to have remained stagnant despite dramatic shifts in the worlds of work and society. The distribution of unpaid labour has implications for the wellbeing of individuals and the sustainability of their various personal and professional relationships. Our study addressed the less-researched “what” and “why” of the distribution of unpaid labour among dual-earner couples during the COVID-19 pandemic. We used a qualitative approach, conducting 32 semi-structured interviews with individuals belonging to dual-earner couples in Sri Lanka. Interview data were thematically analysed using social role theory. Six major findings emanated from our study; (1) the pandemic did not drastically change the distribution of unpaid labour in most dual-earner couples, confirming traditional gender norms; (2) there was a change in the contribution of men towards unpaid labour when the woman was at home (working from home or during maternity leave), or had other means of support from domestic aid or extended family; (3) three clusters of men were identified as “sharing”, “chipping-in”, and “not-my-problem” types, depending on their involvement in unpaid labour; (4) “chipping-in” and “not-my-problem” type men reinforced the notion of gendered distribution of unpaid labour; (5) three clusters of women were identified as “sharing”, “asking-for-help”, and “bearing-the-cross” types; and (6) these couples, and women specifically, endured the unequal division of unpaid labour with the assistance of parents, in-laws, or paid domestic help. Our study has implications for the sustainability of individuals, as well as their wellbeing, families, organisations, and society. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Work–Life Balance and Wellbeing for Sustainable Workforces)
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14 pages, 969 KiB  
Article
Sustaining Workforce Engagement: From Mindfulness to Psychological Flourishing
by Connie Zheng and Asanka Gunasekara
Sustainability 2022, 14(21), 14413; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142114413 - 3 Nov 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2761
Abstract
(1) Background: Practising mindfulness has been suggested in several recent media reports to help employees reduce stress in their effort to balance work and life pressures, especially during the pandemic when they have to work from home. During COVID-19, organisations have also struggled [...] Read more.
(1) Background: Practising mindfulness has been suggested in several recent media reports to help employees reduce stress in their effort to balance work and life pressures, especially during the pandemic when they have to work from home. During COVID-19, organisations have also struggled to effectively engage, retain and sustain employees when managing their work remotely. It is uncertain whether there is a close link between mindfulness and sustained workforce engagement. Although data were collected prior to COVID-19, this study contributes to adding new knowledge to this line of research by investigating how the flow-on effect of being mindful and psychological flourishing helps create positive effects on workforce engagement. (2) Methods: Path analysis was run to test the hypothesised relationships among key constructs with a sample of 229 participants. Direct and indirect effects were further tested with organisational mindfulness training program. (3) Results: The findings show that positive emotions gained from being mindful and maintaining a high level of psychological flourishing enhance workforce engagement. Organisational mindfulness training programs moderated the mediating effect of psychological flourishing on the relationship between mindfulness and workforce engagement, in which the indirect effect of mindfulness on workforce engagement via psychological flourishing is stronger when employees participated in mindfulness exercises and training programs. (4) Conclusions: Positive emotions attained from being mindful and experiencing psychological flourishing help sustain workforce engagement. (5) Implication: In order to sustain an engaged workforce, organisations need to implement effective mindfulness training programs that help the workforce broaden and build their personal resources via psychological flourishing and positive emotions, especially in times of facing difficult circumstances and managing uncertainty in challenging circumstances. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Work–Life Balance and Wellbeing for Sustainable Workforces)
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16 pages, 277 KiB  
Article
The Impact of Working from Home during COVID-19 on Time Allocation across Competing Demands
by Asanka N. Gunasekara, Melissa A. Wheeler and Anne Bardoel
Sustainability 2022, 14(15), 9126; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14159126 - 25 Jul 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3155
Abstract
(1) Background: We apply the Total Leadership approach to better understand how employees allocate their time across the domains of work, family, community, and self at three points: pre-, during, and post-COVID-19 restrictions. (2) Methods: The study employed a mixed methods design with [...] Read more.
(1) Background: We apply the Total Leadership approach to better understand how employees allocate their time across the domains of work, family, community, and self at three points: pre-, during, and post-COVID-19 restrictions. (2) Methods: The study employed a mixed methods design with qualitative and quantitative survey data from 106 Australian employees who worked from home during the pandemic. (3) Findings: Three categories of participants emerged: work-centric, family-centric, and self-centric. The results showed a reduction in time allocated to work during restrictions, an anticipated further reduction post-restriction, and significant increases in the family and self domains. Qualitative analyses confirmed the shift away from work and a divergence between those who preferred the integration of domains verses those who preferred a segmentation approach. (4) Implications: The Total Leadership approach is relevant to this shift in values and priorities away from the work domain, since it encourages employees and employers to take a holistic perspective on their lives. This rethinking could help to reduce burnout and employee turnover—which are particularly salient due to the ‘great resignation’—and could contribute to the sustainability of workforces, as organisations strive to retain and recruit employees who increasingly value work–life balance and wellbeing. (5) Originality: The application of the Total Leadership approach provides a novel theoretical foundation to investigate how employees allocate time across different domains of their post-COVID-19 lives. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Work–Life Balance and Wellbeing for Sustainable Workforces)
14 pages, 1046 KiB  
Article
Building Relations between the Company and Employees: The Moderating Role of Leadership
by Urszula Słupska, Zbigniew Drewniak, Rafał Drewniak and Robert Karaszewski
Sustainability 2022, 14(14), 8840; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14148840 - 19 Jul 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2476
Abstract
The relationships between employees and the actions taken by leaders have become critical. The purpose of this paper is to highlight activities that may improve internal relations in an enterprise, and how managers and employees perceive such actions. The study was conducted between [...] Read more.
The relationships between employees and the actions taken by leaders have become critical. The purpose of this paper is to highlight activities that may improve internal relations in an enterprise, and how managers and employees perceive such actions. The study was conducted between 2018 and 2020 and focused on the importance of relational competencies in creating enterprise value and the importance of leadership. The analysis included 10 large companies operating internationally. Both managers (N = 10) of the surveyed companies and employees (N = 185) participated in the study. It can be stated that it is not uncommon for the studied businesses to take steps to improve their internal relationships. The evaluation of the steps taken to improve internal connections, on the other hand, differs between the groups tested. Cluster analysis revealed that managers’ views of the importance and application of the provided measures in their organizations were similar, whereas employees’ assessments of the researched phenomena were not. Building intra-organizational relations plays an important role in ensuring the sustainable operation of modern enterprises. It is of great importance, especially in the crisis situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the geopolitical uncertainty in the world currently. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Work–Life Balance and Wellbeing for Sustainable Workforces)
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32 pages, 2413 KiB  
Article
Authentic Leadership, Trust, and Social Exchange Relationships under the Influence of Leader Behavior
by James K. C. Chen and Thitima Sriphon
Sustainability 2022, 14(10), 5883; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14105883 - 12 May 2022
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 10855
Abstract
During the pandemic, government policies such as social distancing and telework have impacted trust and working or social exchange relationships in the workplace. The behavior of leaders is critical for good leadership, employees’ trust, and social exchange relationships. Therefore, the main objective of [...] Read more.
During the pandemic, government policies such as social distancing and telework have impacted trust and working or social exchange relationships in the workplace. The behavior of leaders is critical for good leadership, employees’ trust, and social exchange relationships. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to assess the associations among authentic leadership, trust, and social exchange relationships under the influence of leader behavior. A regression-based approach was used to test the moderating and mediating effects. The results show that authentic leadership positively impacts trust and social exchange relationships, whereas trust directly affects social exchange relationships. During COVID-19, leader behaviors with ability, ethics, and positive relationships have had a positive impact on the association between authentic leadership, trust, and social exchange relationships. Additionally, trust positively mediates authentic leadership and social exchange relationships. The findings of this paper suggest that authentic leadership promotes trust and high-quality social exchange relationships. Moreover, based on leader behaviors during COVID-19, the ability to manage change effectively, boost employees’ work motivation, provide support, and take appropriate action is essential for authentic leadership to increase trust and foster a positive working relationship based on social exchange. Finally, regarding social exchange theory, high-quality leader behaviors and the leader–follower relationships drive positive associations among variables. These results will help organizational management teams to find methods to improve their organizational working relationships. The implication is that the abilities, ethics, and supportive and positive relationship behaviors of leaders are essential for effective management to improve leadership, trust, and social exchange relationships. Leaders should have the ability to manage work and people, even with teleworkers. Therefore, leader behaviors are important to maintain organizational sustainability. Further discussion on theoretical and practical implications is provided in the section. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Work–Life Balance and Wellbeing for Sustainable Workforces)
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Review

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21 pages, 980 KiB  
Review
Seeing the Forest and the Trees: A Scoping Review of Empirical Research on Work-Life Balance
by Ka Po Wong, Pei-Lee Teh and Alan Hoi Shou Chan
Sustainability 2023, 15(4), 2875; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15042875 - 5 Feb 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 5645
Abstract
Work–life balance (WLB), which has become a central issue in workers’ everyday lives, is a global issue with a growing body of investigation into its meaning and the construction of suitable measurement scales, but varying meanings for WLB have been observed in studies. [...] Read more.
Work–life balance (WLB), which has become a central issue in workers’ everyday lives, is a global issue with a growing body of investigation into its meaning and the construction of suitable measurement scales, but varying meanings for WLB have been observed in studies. Due to these discrepancies, review or summary work is needed to identify the trends and development of WLB among workers, including (a) the commonly used WLB scales, (b) the antecedents and outcomes related to WLB and (c) the frequency of the emergence of these antecedents and outcomes. This review aims to provide an overview of empirical studies investigating the antecedents and outcomes of WLB. A total of 99 published articles from 77 journals over the period of 2006–2020 were extracted. The research methods, analysis methods, countries investigated, pivot of WLB scales used, and thematic topics and research gaps were identified. The trends of WLB, including the establishment of standard working hours, the availability of working from home, the effects of technologies on achieving WLB and the benefits of WLB for subjective wellbeing, are discussed. The research insights will provide the research directions for constructing WLB scales and investigating issues that significantly affect the WLB of employees. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Work–Life Balance and Wellbeing for Sustainable Workforces)
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Other

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33 pages, 917 KiB  
Systematic Review
Individual and Organizational Strategies for Promoting Work–Life Balance for Sustainable Workforce: A Systematic Literature Review from Pakistan
by Shawana Fazal, Sobia Masood, Farrukh Nazir and Muhammad Iqbal Majoka
Sustainability 2022, 14(18), 11552; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141811552 - 15 Sep 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 5493
Abstract
This systematic review aimed to explore the challenges and strategies for maintaining a work–life balance (WLB) between individual workers and their organizations during COVID-19 in the Pakistani context. Using the inductive approach in thematic synthesis, we analyzed eight qualitative studies on WLB from [...] Read more.
This systematic review aimed to explore the challenges and strategies for maintaining a work–life balance (WLB) between individual workers and their organizations during COVID-19 in the Pakistani context. Using the inductive approach in thematic synthesis, we analyzed eight qualitative studies on WLB from December 2019–April 2022. The Quality Appraisal process for selecting studies, constant comparison method, and critical discussion was frequently used to enhance the validity and reliability of findings. Eight analytical themes provided insight related to the challenges of maintaining WLB, strategies for facilitating, and recommended strategies for a sustainable workforce. Workload during COVID-19, lack of resources, training in technology, and mental pressure appeared as significant barriers, while family support, counseling provided by the organization, and self-motivation emerged as facilitators for WLB. Further, the findings highlighted the need for organizational interventions, for instance, emergency preparedness and capacity building of employees. Findings provided insight about guidelines for policymakers and government to make informed decisions and policies about maintaining WLB for mental well-being and a sustainable workforce, particularly women. The synthesis implied that investment in the well-being and productivity of employees could contribute to retaining a more resilient and skilled workforce, ensuring women’s workforce sustainability, and enabling lasting recovery from the pandemic. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Work–Life Balance and Wellbeing for Sustainable Workforces)
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