Literature review

In certain sectors, women are taken as cheap labor and are paid fewer wages than
their male counterparts. Females workplace, too, is not often adequately designed
where they could feel at ease during work and break timings. Such unfriendly and
oppressive behavior of employers is not a peculiarity of our society; rather it is a
world-wide problem, and an offspring of the capitalistic approach, in which the real
goal of any entrepreneur is profit maximization, and not human welfare (Hyder,
2009).
As far so, the capabilities of women are concerned, they are no less than men. Even
from our indepen-dences earlier days, women have worked to overcome outdated
social attitudes and to improve conductions for their sisters in the country, yet the
Pakistan population census of 1981 states that only 3% of these builders of the
national are what the government defines as working women. Thus, is a gross
distortion of womens actual economic contribution to the national productivity
(Hussain, 2001).
Poor transport system is also adding to the problems of working women. Public
transport is costly, scarcely available and unpleasant. Government is still unable to
provide adequate transport facilities to the commuters,
Zhu et al. 11369
even in the major cities of the country. Working women find themselves in another
dilemma: they always feel that home is their original domain, which they have to
sustain in all circumstances. Women generally prefer to stay at home, and normally,
do not opt for the job out of choice, but out of necessity. They always have a feeling
of guilt for sparing less time for family and maternal respon-sibilities. This dual
responsibility proves the double burden on her, and resultantly, she has to fight
simulta-neously on two fronts (Hyder, 2009). Discussing the problems of working
women, she explained that they have to face different types of difficulties and
harass-ments. Harassment, in different manifestations from staring and stalking to
sexual advances, is fear for many of them. Women do not generally feel intellectually
challenged in their pursuits; rather they face psycho-logical pressures, which restrict
their active participation in work. Such annoying behavior is not limited to any
specific society or any section of the society; even the employers, highly educated

bosses and government officials, are also the cause of the psychological pressures
faced by these women (Hyder, 2009).
In a recent workshop on womens employment con-cerns and working conditions
organized by the employers Federation of Pakistan (EFP), Sindh Governor,
Muhammad Soomro admitted the fact that integration of women in the development
process as equal partners, has become one of the crucial areas of governments
policies not only for us here in Pakistan, but at the global level as well. Rahul (2009),
notes that womens employment today is increasingly viewed as a necessary and
integral component of the overall national economy. Importance attached to
womens issues and particularly those related to their employment and human
resources development are accepted as crucial to development of any country and
economy (Hussain, 2001).
According to Baines and Wheelock (1998), the fear of police is more common in
women than men, and they avoid going to the police station for registering a
complaint for any offending incident. It is unfortunate that citizens feel more
defenseless in the presence of a police official Boden (1999). A woman is always
apprehensive of likelihood of harassment from the policemen. Police needs to be
sensitized on gender issues, and made human friendly in their responses to the
public complaints. A woman would go to a police station only if she is provided with a
secure and trust-worthy environ-ment (Hyder, 2009; Awan, 2000).
Women are however not always weak and subjugated; they enjoy active support and
respect as well from their male relatives and colleagues. In professional sectors,
many women have made their marks with their con-fidence, and have proven their
abilities. There are cases where organizations also facilitate them with equal rights
and remunerations (Hyder, 2009).
The Faisalabad Textile Industry which has a history of

11370 Afr. J. Bus. Manage.

about a century is largely and overwhelmingly recognized in the manufacturing of
low value added products such as cotton yarn of low counts, grey cloth, low quality
finished and printed cloth, etc. This explains Pakistan relatively low export earning
through textile despite largeness of these export volume wise. It is now well know
that Faisalabad Textile export to Quato countries are usually the cheapest priced as
compared to export of similar items from other textile exporting countries (Khan,
2001).
Harassment at the work place exists in several forms and manifestation. Incident of
harassment at office operate against women and if unchecked, these simple remarks
and gestures can take the form of violence causing deep psychological, emotional
and mental strain. Such behavior pollutes the working environment and affects
performance and productivity, resulting in economic loss to individual, family, society
and indeed the women Birley (1989). Working women want change and are looking
for help. For the AFL-CIO, the survey findings will inform and inspire our efforts on a
fall range of issues concerning all working women including raising pay, improving
opportunities for advancement, defending economic security, extending health
insurance, child care, and elderly care. Pensions and other benefits, and helping
working women and non-working women organize a stronger voice and better deal in
the society would help solve their psychological pressures (DAWN, 2002).
Report on the national survey from the working womens department, AFL-CIO.
Early in 1997, the nations largest organization of working women-the AFL-CIO, with
5.5 million women members set out to learn about the issues that shape womens
lives on and off the job (Abramson, 1989).
Problems faced by working women in China
Gender discrimination is widespread, Didi Kirsten Tatlow wrote in the New York
Times. Only a few women dare to sue employers for unfair hiring practices,
dismissal on grounds of pregnancy or maternity leave, or sexual harassment, experts
say. Alsos and Ljunggren (1998), employers commonly specify gender, age and
physical appearance in job offers. There are gaps in the law. A major problem,
according to Feng Yuan is that it does not define gender discrimination. The law also
sticks to the longstanding requirement that women retire five years earlier than men
at the same jobs, thereby reducing earnings and pensions (Tatlow, 2010).

Highly qualified candidates such as Angel Feng struggle to find jobs. Didi Kirsten
Tatlow wrote in the New York Times, Fluent in Chinese, English, French and Japanese,
the 26-year-old graduate of a business school in France interviewed between January
and April with half a dozen companies in Beijing, hoping for her first job in the private
sector, where salaries are highest. Tatlow
quoted Ms. Feng who said: The boss would ask several questions about my
qualifications, then he would say, I see you just got married. When will you have a
baby? It was always the last question. My response would be not for five years at
least, but they did not believe me (Tatlow, 2010)
Even though the Red Guards' violence was directed against the "class enemies", it
was still often "sexualized" and "gendered". Many young women were exposed to
sexual assault, on the countryside by local cadres, in the cities by Red Guards and
other gangs. During the cultural revolution, women were attacked because they wore
fashionable clothes or looked "feminine". The female Red Guards dressed like men.
Whoever behaved like a women could be seen as a "backward element". There were
cases where women were attacked under the pretense of "sexual immorality". One
woman says: "at that time, people were attacked for bad class origin. To women, at
that time, people would say, you had 'lifestyle problems' [a euphemism for sexual
immorality]. Such lifestyle problems would be a huge blow to you. When they had no
reasons to attack you, they would say that you had lifestyle problems. I remembered
during the cultural revolution, those women who were said to have lifestyle problems
wore a string of worn shoes around their shoulders, parading through the streets,
being tainted as 'broken shoes', a euphemism for a loose woman (Liu 38)2.
Problems faced by working women in India
Working women in India are faced with lot more challenges than their counterparts in
the other parts of the world. In India, men do not share on most of the household
chores, it is women who have to cook, clean the house, do the dishes, wash clothes,
get their children ready for school, etc. Men just took care of few chores that are to
be dealt outside the house. So the major burden of running the family is on the
shoulders of women. It was alright for women to handle all the chores as long as they
were homemakers. Now with their increasing need for getting some income for the
family, they have to work all the more harder. They have to take up a 9 to 5 job plus
handling all the household chores that they handled as a homemaker. Mens role has
not changed much (Neetu, 2009).

They have to handle harassment's at their work place, sometimes just over look
things to ensure that their job is not jeopardized in anyway. Many Indian families are
still living as joint families along with the parents and in-laws. This adds to their
stress, further because they have to please all the family members of their husbands.
These women have to listen to the complaints made against them and turn deaf ears
towards them if need be. Overall, majority of women in India look towards or live in
the hope that things will change. Some of us have given

up that hope and learnt to accept that nothing can be done about it. India has a long
way to go before our women will be able to live their lives to the fullest (Neetu,
2009). It is an open truth that working women have to face problems just by virtue
of their being women Brockhaus (1980). Working women here are referred to those
who are in paid employment. Social attitude to the role of women lags much behind
the law. This attitude which considers women fit for certain jobs and not for other
jobs is determined by those who recruit the employees. Thus, women find
employment easily as nurses, doctors, and teachers in the care and nurturing
sectors, and secretaries or assembling jobs in the routine submissive sectors. But
even if well qualified women engineers or managers or geologists are available,
preference will be given to a male of equal qualification. A gender bias creates an
obstacle at the recruitment stage itself. When it comes to remuneration, the law
proclaims equality but it is seldom put into practice. The inbuilt conviction that
women are capable of less work than men or less efficient than men governs this
injustice of unequal salaries and wages for the same job. The age old belief of male
superiority over women creates several hurdles for women at their place of work.
Women on the way up the corporate ladder discover that they must be much better
than their male colleagues to reach the top. Once at the top male colleagues and
subordinates often expect much greater expertise and efficiency from a woman boss
than from a male boss. Conditioned by social and psychological tradition women
colleagues do not lend support to their own sex. Working in such conditions
inevitably put much greater strain on women than what men experience. These
problems tend to make women less eager to progress in their careers. Indeed, many
of them choose less demanding jobs for which they may even be over-qualified. A
womans work is not merely confined to paid employment (Rahul, 2012).
Technological advancement results in retrenchment of women employees. No one
thinks of upgrading their skills. Maternity leave is seldom given. It is much easier to
terminate the womans employment and hire someone else. Trade unions do little to
ameliorate the lot of women workers. Womens issues do not occur on the priority
list of most of the trade unions. Women going to work are often subject to sexual
harassment. Public transport system is overcrowded and men take advantage of the
circumstances to physically harass women (Lurie 1998). Colleagues offer unwanted
attention which can still be shaken off, but a woman is placed in a difficult situation
if the higher officer demands sexual favors. If refused, the boss can easily take it out

on the woman in other ways to make life miserable for her. There have been several
cases of sexual harassment recently involving even the senior women officials. On
the other hand, if a woman is praised for her work or promoted on merit, her
colleagues do not hesitate to attribute it to sexual favors Birley (1989). The
psychological pressure of all this can easily Zhu et al. 11371 lead to a woman
quitting her job. Most of the problems that beset working women are in reality
rooted in the social perspective of the position of women. Traditionally, men are seen
as the bread winner and women as the house-keepers and child bearers. This
typecast role model continues to put obstacles before the working women. A
fundamental change is required in the attitudes of the employers, policy makers,
family members and other relatives and the public at large (Rahul, 2012).

2nd
Henley (1979) stated that the feminine stereotype depicts women as being more
concerned than men about their bodies, their clothing, and their

appearance in

general; as is often the case, there is both truth and reason to the stereotype.
Women are subject to a great deal more observation than men; their figures and
clothing; their attractiveness is the criteria by which they most often are judged. Not
surprisingly, then women are more conscious than men of their visibility. This
difference translates into both a power and a sex difference. In a situation where one
person is observing and the other is being observed, the observer dominates
the situation. When a man on the bases of her dress and appearance judges a
woman, the man is able to dominance over the situation.
Johnson (1979) in his study started that women , if theory act in an acceptable
feminine manner, would rely on indirect personal and helpless forms of power. The
interplay of these sex roles expectations and opportunities form and male styles.
Kapur (1979) his shown that the twin roles of women cause tension and conflict due
to her social structure which is still more dominant .In her study on working women
in Delhi, she has shown that traditional authoritarian set up of Hindu social
structure continues to be the same basically and hence. Women face problem of role
conflict change in attitudes of men and women
according to the situation can help to overcome their problem.
Locke (1979) in his study stated that a cause-effect
relationship is available between family functioning and work life,
this cause-effect relationship could work in both directions, that is,
work attitudes could affect family attitudes and vice versa. The
mechanism that is positive in bringing about such effect is
emotional generalization of spill over.
M.R Wood (1979) in his study of middle class urban
sanitary women un Gujarat showed that some of the women is his
sample including one whose marriage was arranged, had
established a give and take relationship with their husbands,
Women also take part in important decisions.
Rosen and Jerdee (1979) in their study stated that
women were seen less favourably in terms of the knowledge,

aptitudes, skills, motivation, interests, temperament, and work

habits that are demanded in most managerial roles.
Sandhu and Singh(1979) reported that motivation
factors viz. feeling of achievement, ability utilization, recognition
and rewards, creative work freedom of expression and scope for
professional growth contributed comparatively more to job
satisfaction than factors like behaviour of immediate officers, job
security and advancement, adequacy of salary, administrative setup
and social status attached to the job.
Sharpe (1979) in his book titled Double Identity stated
that, there are some signs of change. Men are now recognizing and
having to reconcile work and family demands. When it comes to
the division of labour in the home, however, despite some optimistic
fore casting women still do the large majority of tasks associated
with house work and childcare. Thus while men are increasingly
making career discussions with their partners and families in mind,
nevertheless most men do not do their share of house hold and
child care tasks. This makes it more difficult for most women to be
serious contenders in the competition for promotion in their career.
Beth anne Shelton (1980) in their book presented her
analysis that paid work and household responsibilities not only
impact on each other but may conflict. That is time spent in one
sphere mean less time spent in another. If commitments to paid
labour and household labour call for full time participants in both,
that time must come either at the expense of leisure or else some of
the demands of paid labour or household labour must go unmeant.
Deborach and Judith (1980) in their in book stated
that their survey was designed to elicit response from both parents
and non-parents on how they have reached decisions in their work
family choices. For example, 85 percent of the 902 women believe
that reducing hours of work is detrimental to womens career.
Despite this widely held perception, 70 percent of the women with
children decreased their hours of work after the birth of their first
child. Knowing that the traditional rules of a male dominated work

culture challenge their role as a parent, the Harvard women

demonstrated a fierce determination to forge new definitions for
being involved parent and a committed professional.
Drucker (1980) in his book stated, that the lobour force
participation of married women under age fifty is now just as high
as that of men. It is therefore unlikely to rise any further. But a
very large number a women in the labour force the of those who
entered when the inrush of women began are now reaching their
mid-thirties. And also he states that most of the married women
stay in the labour force after first child.
Julia (1980) in her study that by focusing on womens
careers the short -term objectives has been to correct the gender
imbalance, but long-term objective must be to develop theoretical
concepts and explanation which the gender neutral and inclusive of
both men and women. Second the changes currently under way in
work organization and professions will as well be referred to as
providing new difficulties for womens careers as wells as presenting
an opportunity for the re-conceptualization of the successful
career.
Kate Young (1980) in her book stated that The sexual
division of labour also applies to the organization of the household.
The dynamics of bargaining, decision making and gender relations
within the household have made an important contribution to our
understanding of production and consumption. We learn that the
household is not a homogenous unit but as Amartys Sen. calls it, a
sector of co-operative conflict, where there are different interest,
expectation, contributions, needs and degrees of control.
Reddy and Venkateswarlu (1980) in their study
concluded that farm scientists valued creativity and independence
most in carrying out their tasks. They did not prefer to work in
rural areas. The other work valves of scientists differed slightly
according to their age and experience in the present post.
Robinson and Skarie (1980) in their article on stress of
working women stated that in the area of stress and its relationship

to locus control reveals that internally oriented individuals show

less perception of role overload and role ambiguity.
Rowbotham (1980) in her book stated that movements
of women, now in the past provide more than criticism; they can be
a basis for valuable knowledge about needs and well being that
have been theoretically disregarded. They also enable us to think
about society and the economy in new ways and discover a great
deal about the process of politics and culture.
Templeton (1980) in her book stated that contracting
out requirements for occupational pension schemes make it
extremely difficult to achieve equal treatment, because they are
based on the unequal at pension ages. The use made of separate
sex actuarial tables often leads to unequal treatment of women and
men in pensions. Many women are not in apposition to take care of
their occupational pension rights during breaks in

3rd
Worklife balance is defined as an employees perception
that multiple domains of personal time, family care, and work
are maintained and integrated with a minimum of role conflict
(Clark, 2000; Ungerson & Yeandle, 2005). Workfamily
balance reflects an individuals orientation across different life
roles, an inter-role phenomenon (Marks and MacDermid,
1996). Work-life balance is a key issue in all types of
employment as dual-career families have become common
and high work demands with long working hours have become
the norm. The importance of helping employees achieve a
balance between the demands of their work and their home
lives has been emphasized. Demographic changes as seen in
the increasing number of women in the workplace and dual
career families have generated an increasingly diverse
workforce and a greater need of employees to balance their
work and non-work lives (Bharat, 2003; Komarraju, 1997;
Rajadhyaksha & Bhatnagar, 2000; Ramu, 1989; Sekharan,
IRACST International Journal of Commerce, Business and Management (IJCBM),
ISSN: 23192828
Vol. 2, No.5, October 2013
275
1992). The knowledge economy has created greater access for
women coupled with factors such as changes in marital
patterns and smaller families. This has led to an increase in the
number of working women and, hence, working mothers
(Grossman, 1981). The gift of this knowledge era for women
is occupational opportunity and mobility. But this gift has
become a great challenge for the working women of today as
they are not only exposed to the same working environment as
men but in turn are also exposed to the pressures created by
the multiple role demands and conflicting expectations. By
fulfilling their economic needs, employment has no doubt

made women independent with an identifiable social status but

it has also made them to juggle into two main domains of lifework
and family. They have stepped into work place but the
role responsibilities of women still remain the same, i.e.,
women may be a top executive, still the nurturing or care
giving roles are considered much a part of feminine roles.
(Sunita Malhotra & Sapna Sachdeva, 2005). Many women
today are wearing multiple hats in their attempts to balance
both career and home/family responsibilities. Concern about
family can interfere with work to a great extent and worries
about work issues can also be exhibited in the family front.
The study by Francene Sussner Rodgers (1992) with the
sample consisting of employees of 20 Fortune 500 companies;
28 percent of the men and 53 percent of the women reported
that work-family stress affected their ability to concentrate at
work hence revealing that more than half the women and
almost a third of the men reported that work/family stress
affected their ability to concentrate on the job. Life at work
seems so difficult for working women. Plecks (1977) research
suggests that family-to-work spill-over is stronger for women
and the work-to-family spill-over is stronger for men.
Research suggests that female respondents in all parts of the
world are pressured for time, rarely have time to relax and feel
stressed and overworked most of the time, but women in
emerging countries feel the strain even more so than women in
developed countries. Women in India (87%) are most
stressed/pressured for time (Nielsen Survey, June 2011).
Several studies have explained the effect of work-life conflict
on the health of working women. ASSOCHAMs study based
on the survey of 103 corporate female employees from 72
various companies/organizations across 11 broad sectors of
the economy focused on the issues of corporate female
employees. One of their significant finding is that high
psychological job demands like long working hours, working

under deadlines, without clear direction leads 75 percent of the

working females suffer depression or general anxiety disorder
than those women with lowest level of psychological job
demands (Nusrat Ahmad, March 2009).
Striking a perfect balance between personal life and
professional life is becoming near to impossible. There is real
balance only when the individual feels that she has done justice
to all her roles and is satisfied about it. Work-life balance
problems can be really serious and needs to be addressed in due
time. In the renowned book, Work and Family: Allies or
Enemies, Friedman and Greenhaus (2000) argue that conflict
between work and family has real consequences. It
significantly affects the quality of family life and career
attainment of both men and women. The consequences for
women may include serious constraints on career choices,
limited opportunity for career advancement and success in their
work-role, and the need to choose between two apparent
oppositesan active and satisfying career, or marriage,
children, and a happy family life. Work and family balance, in
a way, deals with the role balance of an individual both at
home and work. Work-Life Balance Programs (WLBPs)
developed by employee friendly organizations can be a good
solution to solve the problems of work-life balance. WLBPs
have been found to increase employee control over time and
place of work (Thomas & Ganster, 1995) and reduced workfamily
conflict (Kossek & Ozeki, 1998) and stress (Thompson
& Prottas, 2006). Kirchmeyer (2000) views living a balanced
life as achieving satisfying experiences in all life domains,
and to do so requires personal resources such as energy, time,
and commitment to be well distributed across domains. The
purpose of striving very hard both at home and work at the cost
of her individual health and well-being for every married
working woman is to have a good quality of life. But this
quality of life that she craves for is often influenced by worklife

balance. Any imbalance in the work and family of an

individual can hamper the quality of life thoroughly for the
individual. Kofodimos (1993) suggests that imbalancein
particular work imbalancearouses high levels of stress,
detracts from quality of life, and ultimately reduces
individuals effectiveness at work. Jeffrey H. Greenhaus, Karen
M. Collins & Jason D. Shaw (2003) suggested that an equally
high investment of time and involvement in work and family
would reduce workfamily conflict and stress thereby
enhancing an individuals quality of life. And so it goes
without saying that married working women of this era can
have a healthy quality of life only when work-life balance is
maintained making the topic of work life balance for working
women, the need of the hour.

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Fine-Davis, M., Fagnani, J., Gioviannini, D., Hojgaard, L. & Clarke, H.

(2004). Fathers and Mothers: Dilemmas of Work-Life Balance. A
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Kodz, J., Harper, H., and S Dench (2002). Work-Life Balance: Beyond
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Latta, M., and O'Conghaile, W. (2000). Aspirations, Restrictions and

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work and time'. Paper given at the Industrial Law Society Annual
Conference,

16th

September

2001.

Available

from

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Seabury, B. and Sinclair, E. (2004). Taking the Temperature: Work
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Industry

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Woodland, S., Simmonds, N., Thornby, M., Fitzgerald, R., and McGee,
A. (2003). The
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European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working
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June

2004.

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culture and maternity/childcare issues - A literature review Coolahan,
J. (ed.) (1998). Report on The National Forum for Early Childhood
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McCashin, A. (1996) Lone mothers in Ireland: a local study. Combat
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McGoldrick, E. (2005). Work, Motherhood and Guilt. Unpublished
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Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD)

(2003). Babies and Bosses: Reconciling Work and Family Life,
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Paull, Gillian, Taylor, Jane, and Alan Duncan (2002). Mothers'
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London.
Programme for Prosperity and Fairness (2002). Report of the Working
Group on the Reviewof the Parental Leave Act 1998. Government
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Programme for Prosperity and Fairness (2001). Report of the Working
Group on the
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Government Stationery Office: Dublin.
Quinton, D. (2004). Supporting Parents: Messages from Research.
Jessica Kingsley Publishers: London.
Working Group of the National Childcare Co-ordinating Committee
(2005). Developing School Age Childcare. Childcare Directorate,
Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. Government
Stationery Office: Dublin.
Working Party on Child Care Facilities for Working Parents (1983).
Report to the Minister
for Labour. Stationery Office: Dublin.
7.5 Economic policy and statistical references

Bakker, I. (ed.) (1994). The Strategic Silence: Gender and Economic

Policy. Zed Books:
London.
Bellamy, K., and Rake, K. (2005) Money Money Money: Is it still a rich
man's world?: An
audit of women's economic welfare in Britain today. The Fawcett
Society. Available from
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Central Statistics Office (2004). Quarterly National Household
Survey: Quarter 4, 2004.
Central Statistics Office: Dublin.
Conroy, P., and O'Leary, H. (2005). Do the Poor Pay More? A Study of
Lone Parents and
Debt. OPEN: Dublin.
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Men in Ireland: Facts
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Partnership Agreement,
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culture

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2003-2005. Government Stationery Office: Dublin.
Elson, D. (1994). 'Micro, Meso, Macro: Gender and Economic Analysis
in the Context of
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Gender and Economic
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Council

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2002,

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Available

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Advantage: A National
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International Labour Organisation (ILO) 2005. Facts on Women at
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of

Trade Unions

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Dublin.
McMinn, J. (2005). 'Review of the CSO Report on Women and Men in
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Short, S. (2000). Time Use Data in the Household Satellite Account October 2000. Office for
National Statistics (UK): London.
Summary of 2006 Budget Measures available from
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7.6 Gender equality and equal opportunities references
Bacik, I., Costello, C. and Drew, E. (2003). Gender InJustice:
Feminising the Legal
Professions?. Trinity College: Dublin.
Drew, E. and Emerek R. (1998) 'Employment, Flexibility and Gender'
pp. 89-99 in Drew,
E., Emerek, R., and Mahon, E. (eds.) (1998). Women, Work and the
Family in Europe.
Routledge: London.
Equality Authority (2005). Annual Report 2004. Equality Authority:
Dublin.

Equality Tribunal (2005). Annual Report 2004. Equality Tribunal:

Dublin.
Flanagan, N. and Lyons, M. (1999). Equal Opportunities in the State
Sponsored Sector:
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Sector. Department of
Justice, Equality and Law Reform: Dublin.
Gareis, K. and Kordey, N. (1999). The Spread of Telework in 2005.
Available from
www.ecatt.com/news/madrid_paper(final).pdf
Gender Equality Unit, Department of Justice, Equality and Law
Reform (2001). Gender
Equality in Enterprise Development and Research: Fact Sheet for the
Productive Sector
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2006. NDP Gender
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Humphreys, P.C. Drew, E., & Murphy, C. (1999). Gender Equality in
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Delivering Gender
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O'Connell, P.J., and Russell, H. (2005). Equality at Work? Workplace
Equality, Flexible
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Authority: Dublin.
O'Connor, P. (1999). Emerging Voices: Women in Contemporary Irish
Society. Institute of
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Competitiveness
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Russell, H., Smyth, E., Lyons, M. and O'Connell, P.J. (2002). Getting
Out of the House:
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Shephard, J., and Saxby-Smith, S. (2000). 'Overcoming Barriers to
Employment for
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7.7 Other references
Ferguson and Hogan (2004) Strengthening Families through Fathers:
Developing policy
and practice in relation to vulnerable fathers and their families.
Family Support Agency,
Dublin.
Hantrais, L. and Mangen, S. (eds.) (1996). Cross - National Research
Methods in the Social
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Labour Court (2005). Synopsis of Determinations Made by the
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Ungerson, C. (1996) ' Qualitative Methods' in Hantrais, L. and
Mangen, S. (eds.) Cross National Research Methods in the Social Sciences. Pinter: London.

Work-life balance, workplace culture and maternity/childcare issues A literature review PAGE 123
Appendix 1. Glossary of terms
Adoptive leave Leave for an eligible employee adopting a child
Annualised hours An employee will have a defined number of hours
per year. Working time can be scheduled around a
number of core days or hours that must be
worked. Working time can be adjusted to meet
business demands
Banking of hours This means time worked in addition to normal
working time can be banked and taken as leave at
the end of a period, usually between 4 and 6
weeks. There are usually limitations on how much
time can be banked and when the leave must be
taken
Bereavement leave Leave given on the death of an immediate family
member
Career break A period of leave agreed by both the employer and
employee for a specified period, generally unpaid
Carer's leave An employee is entitled to unpaid leave to
personally care for a person full-time. All
entitlements are governed by the Carer's Leave
Act (2001)
Compassionate leave Leave given to an employee for personal
reasons
Compressed hours Standard amount of hours worked over fewer
days
E Working Forms of flexible working that utilise technology
and telecommunications to conduct work outside
the workplace
Flexitime An employee's starting and finishing time are

made flexible within certain core hours

Force majeure A legal entitlement to emergency leave to deal
with urgent family crises
Job sharing An arrangement which divides one full-time job
between two workers with the responsibilities and
time divided between them
Job splitting An arrangement similar to job sharing which
divides specific tasks between two workers, giving
them separate responsibilities
Long-hours culture Working longer than standard hours in order to
progress or impress in the workplace
PAGE

124

Work-life

balance,

workplace

culture

and

maternity/childcare issues - A literature review

Maternity leave Statutory leave given at the time of childbirth to a
mother
Paternity leave Leave given at the discretion of the employer at
the time of the birth of their child
Parental leave Statutory leave of 14 weeks for parents to look
after a child under 8 years or up to 16 years in the
case of children with disabilities
Part-time work Where an employee works less than full-time
working hours in their organisation
Presenteeism Refers to an employee being valued for time spent
at work rather than outputs whilst there
Sabbatical Period of absence from employment which may or
may not be paid, usually calculated by length of
service
Teleworking Similar term to E Working - using technologies for
flexible location working
Term time working Employees work only during school terms in order
to fit in with childcare demands.

Their pay can be given on a pro rata basis or spread out over the
yearly pay period
Work-life

balance

balance

between

work

and

domestic

responsibilities
Work-life balance, workplace culture and maternity/childcare issues A literature review PAGE 125
Crisis