Exploring Resources, Life-Balance and Well-Being of Women Who Work in a Global Context

This volume presents research on women's experiences, attitudes and perceptions, considering their work roles and in the context of their lives outside work. It explores the various choices women may opt to take, and the resources they may use, and presents options they may wish to consider over the course of their working lives. The research presented here is varied and the methods used include cross-sectional and longitudinal research, reviews of literature, as well as experiences and practical suggestions from clinical, organisational, health and occupational health psychologists, in addition to occupational safety and health practitioners. It looks at women who are part-time employees, those in vulnerable positions in the informal economy to women in mainstream, full-time employment. The chapters present theoretical underpinnings of how, what, when and where women approach work options, approach life and approach living. The overarching factor that links these chapters is the focuson women as a vital resource in the world economy, with an exploration of the options that are available to them and how these could be maximised to retain a productive and healthy female workforce.

Auteur

Roxane L. Gervais has worked in diverse organisations and at present, she is a Senior Psychologist at the Health & Safety Laboratory in the United Kingdom. In her role, she researches and promotes solutions to work-related issues. This research covers stress and well-being at work and this aspect of her research has led to her facilitating training on work-related stress and well-being as well as undertaking stress audits within organisations. Her research interests include also assessing women over the life-course, especially with respect to their work patterns and practices, along with those other organisational practices, such as work-life balance, engagement, resilience, and organisational change processes that allow a more holistic view of today's workforce. Due to the changing work environment that includes globalisation and a stronger focus on diversity, her research includes generational differences as well as other diversity issues. She has presented these aspects of her research at international conferences and contributes to her profession by editing papers for three journals and two international conference committees. As well, Roxane volunteers with one of her professional bodies, the British Psychological Society, as she to wants to assist in ensuring that both the science and practice of occupational psychology is maintained and reinforced. She gained her PhD at the University of Hull.

Prudence Millear completed her PhD from the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in 2010. Her doctoral research programme focused on the benefits and effects of individual and workplace resources on well-being, mental health and work engagement in the Australian workforce. She joined the University of the Sunshine Coast as a Lecturer in Psychology in early 2011, as an ongoing position. Prudence's research focuses on how individuals are actively involved in constructing their own lives, in particular, the importance of personal resources, such as optimism and self-efficacy, acting with workplace resources to promote well-being and work engagement. Her research has a particular focus on the intersection of work and family roles across the lifespan. She is interested in women's engagement in the paid workforce, from the important role of childcare provision, to the consequences of menopause on women's work lives. In addition, her research is framed through the lens of successful aging and how the characteristics of persons drive their experiences and behaviours to experience a full and happy life. Bringing together the resources of individuals with the resources of their work and family roles will enable better understanding of resilient well-being, better mental health, and continued engagement in life's tasks.

Contenu

PART I: INTRODUCTION: WOMEN AND WORK.- Chapter 1: Women's Contribution to the Workplace; Roxane L. Gervais.- PART II: WOMEN IN DEVELOPING ECONOMIES: EXPLORING WORK CHOICES AND RESOURCEFULNESS.- Chapter 2: Women's Resourcefulness in the Informal Economy: Evidence from Jordan; Haya Al-Dajani, Sara Carter and Colin Williams.- Chapter 3: Work-family interface: Studying Dhaka City Executives; Syed S M Sadrul Huda.- PART III: CHALLENGES, CHOICES AND CONSTRAINTS.- Chapter 4: Making the Best of a Bad Job? Women and Part-time Work in the United Kingdom; Dr. Clare Lyonette, Beate Baldauf and Heike Behle.- Chapter 5: Understanding the Precariousness of the Glass Cliff: An Examination of Social and Global Context; Dr. Floor Rink, Michelle Ryan and Janka Stoker.- Chapter 6: Support for Female Physicians at a University Hospital: What do Differences between Female and Male Physicians tell Us; Heidi Siller, Angelika Bader and Margarethe Hochleitner.- PART IV: BALANCING WORK: WOMEN'S CHOICESAND THEIR LIVES OUTSIDE WORK.- Chapter 7: Managing the Work-home Interface: The Experience of Women Academics; Gail Kinman.- Chapter 8: Working it Out: Balancing Work and Care after the Birth of a First Child; Wendy Boyd, Prudence M. Millear, Karen L. Thorpe and Sue Walker.- Chapter 9: Building Capacity for Positive Communication: A Web-Based Mother-Daughter Communication Resource to Support Work-Family Balance; Mary Katsikitis, Christian Jones, Melody Muscat and Kate Crawford.- Chapter 10: Age and Experience: A Comparison of Work and Family Demands across the Lifespan; Prudence M. Millear.- PART V: WOMEN'S LIFE CHANGES AND WELL-BEING AT WORK.- Chapter 11: Menstruation as a Work Stressor: Evidence and Interventions; Roxane L. Gervais.- Chapter 12: The Relevance of Menopause to the Occupational Safety and Health of Employed Women; Prudence M. Millear and Roxane L. Gervais.- Chapter 13: Workplace Adjustments and Accommodations - Practical Suggestions for Managing the Menopause: An Overview and Case Study Approach; Jennifer Webster.- PART VI: EXPLORING THE FUTURE FOR WOMEN AND WORK.- Chapter 14: Women at Work: Challenges for the Future; Roxane L. Gervais.