An exploratory study of workplace provisions for work-life balance

Abstract

This thesis is an exploratory and descriptive study of employer-provided work-life balance initiatives (WLB initiatives). Research on WLB initiatives is vast in size and scope, and recent studies in this field have been emerging from multiple academic disciplines. Findings from literature review raise questions about whether these provisions do actually help workers to balance their many roles and responsibilities in paid work and personal life. Based on an original case study in an Atlantic Canadian workplace, the current research is a focused inquiry of what WLB initiatives offer to workers. The formats of WLB initiatives, the relevance and accessibility of provisions to workers, and the interactions with organizational productivity objectives are explored. It is argued that WLB initiatives exist within and are influenced by a wider social structure that values the public sphere over the private, and that these provisions therefore do not necessarily promote real work-life balance for workers.