Organizational work-life initiativesContext matters -- France compared to the UK and the US

Organizational work-life initiatives

Context matters -- France compared to the UK and the US

Ollier-Malaterre

Ariane

Ollier-Malaterre, Ariane

Associate Professor, Rouen Business School

Author

text

article

20092009monographic

2009

monographic

Englisheng

English

eng

electronicapplication/pdf36 p.born digital

electronic

application/pdf

36 p.

born digital

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 article assesses the gap in workplace practices adoption among the US, the UK and France and analyzes in-depth interviews with 44 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) Employers versus State's legitimacy in the nonwork sphere of life (2) industrial relations and unions' stance towards 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 macro level, and for strategic choices made by employers at the meso level.

Accepted manuscript.

Manuscript of article published in Community, Work & Family 12(2):159-178.

France

Global work-life strategy

International work-life

Multinational enterprises

Work-family

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13668800902778942

This is the author's version of the work. The definitive version was published in Community, Work & Family, Volume 12 Issue 2, May 2009. doi:10.1080/13668800902778942 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13668800902778942)

fulltext.pdf

MChBEnglisheng

MChB

Englisheng

English

eng