Work-family balance of Knowledge Workers in Poland

IntroductionKnowledge workersWork-family balanceResearch Objectives

MethodologyPreliminary Results

Other StudiesReferences

Work-family balance of KnowledgeWorkers in Poland

Aleksandra Wilczynska

Thesis Coordinators:Dr. Joan Torrent Sellens & Dr. Dominik Batorski

Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3)Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC)

Warsaw, 6 June 2014

Aleksandra Wilczynska Work-family balance of Knowledge Workers in Poland




Outline

1 Introduction

2 Knowledge workers

3 Work-family balance

4 Research Objectives

5 Methodology

6 Preliminary Results

7 Other Studies

8 References





A few words about mePhD project

A few words about me

Master Degree at the University of Warsaw, Faculty ofEconomic Sciences (2011)

PhD Candidate at the Interdisciplinary Internet Institute(IN3), UOC (2012-present)

Member of Interdisciplinary Research Group on ICT’s (i2TIC)

Visiting Scholar at the University of Warsaw (March-June2014)






The research project

The presented research is apart of a PhD project:

From standard of living toquality of life. Assessmentof objective and subjective

well-being of knowledgeworkers. Figure 1 : Simplified version of SEM

model






Work-family balance as one of thecapabilities.

RESOURCES CONVERSIONFACTORS

CAPABILITIES PERSONALITY LIFE SATISFACTION

Income Age Mental health Beliefs Partial SatisfactionsSavings Gender Physical health Attitudes Cognitive Well-being

Material Goods Marital Status Work-family balance Actions Emotional Well-beingChildren Social relations Life DesirePlace of living Job security

Personal Security

Table 1 : Draft list of variables used in SEM





Definition

Knowledge workers: Conceptualization vsOperationalization

ConceptualizationSomeone whose work requires levels of creativity, intellectiveskills and theoretical rather than purely contextual knowledge.

OperationalizationAll those

who work in the top three standard occupationalclassifications (managers, professionals, associateprofessionals)with high levels skills, indicated by degree or equivalentqualificationswho perform tasks that require expert thinking andcomplex communication skills with the assistance ofcomputers.





Definition & ModelsWork-Family Balance in numbersMeasures of Work-family balance

Work-family balance

Work-family Balance

Work-family balance can be defined as(. . . ) satisfaction and good functioning at work and at home,

with a minimum role of conflict

Main models of work-family balance

Segmentation model

Spillover model

Compensation model

Instrumental model

Conflict modelAleksandra Wilczynska Work-family balance of Knowledge Workers in Poland





Work-life balance in Poland

Time worked per week - 40.7h (37.2h)

Time worked per week (self-employed)- 53h (44.8h)

Time spent on leisure activities - 14.2h (15h)

Time spent on domestic activities (including care) - 31.4h(32.8h)

Part-time jobs - 7.1% (19.1%)

Shift work - 31.6% (18%)

Temporary contracts - 26.8% (13.8%)






WFB in Knowledge Economy

Time spent on working increases with earnings

Work-life balance problems grow together with education

Managers and professionals report work-family conflictmorefrequently than other occupational groups

Use of information and communication technologies blurs theboundary between work and home sphere

Although ICT’s enhance work performance, they casueshrinkage of family time and lower its quality






Measures of Work-family balance

Time use variables

Time devoted to workTime spent on commuting between work and homeDays spent away from home due to work tripsTime devoted to familyTime spent on domestic activities. . .

Subjective measures

Being able to relax and forget about workHarmony between work and familyInterference of work into family life. . .






Our Approach

Problem No sufficient data to construct a standard measure ofwork-family balance (no time use variables measuring”family time”, no variables measuring work-familyinteraction)

Solution We model causal relationship between problems infamily sphere and work sphere, time devoted to workand working from home with use of ICTs





Research ObjectivesResearch Questions

Research Objectives

To investigate if extended work dimensionmay harm quality of family life.





Research ObjectivesResearch Questions

Research questions

Are the family problems triggered by work problems?

Are family problems caused by the extended amount of timespent at work?

Is the family life of persons who work long hours moreadversely influenced if they report work problems?

Does using ICT’s at home for professional reasons increasesfamily problems?





MeasuresModelData

Measures

Family Problems Index

Problems in marriage (self-reported and reported bypartner)Problems with childrenProblems with elderly relatives

Work Problems Index

Feeling the job is dirty, tiring or dangerousOverload of dutiesUnjust treatment at work

Other work-related measures

Average number of hours worked weeklyUsing the Internet and e-mail at home for workreasons reasonsManagerial position





MeasuresModelData

Model

f .problemsi = β0 + β1sexi + β2agei + β3inci + β4childreni

+β5manageri + β6w .hoursi + β7w .problemsi

+β8w .hours ∗ w .problemsi + εi





MeasuresModelData

Social Diagnosis 2013

13,000 Workers in the sample

Out of which 2,490 Knowledge workers

1,731 cases used in the analysis (married or living withpartner)





Samply Description

Sample description

Type of Worker

Other Worker Knowledge WorkerMean Column % Mean Column %

Income 2124 3385Age 44 41Children 1.2 1.14Working hours 42 40Family Problems 25.87 25.42Work Problems 7.08 7.28Manager 9.3% 25.9%

SexFemale 40.1% 58.3%Male 59.9% 41.7%

InternetNever 53.0% 15.4%Sometimes 25.8% 38.3%Last week 21.1% 46.2%

Work Type No WP, ≤45h 45.7% 53.3%WP, ≤45h 23.8% 21.1%Workaholics 16.7% 15%Overworkers 13.7% 10.5%

Table 2 : Characteristics of Knowledge Workers and Other workers





Samply Description

Sample Description

Figure 2 : Usage of the Internet at home for work reasons

46,22%

38,37%

15,41%

Usage of Internet at home for professional reasons

last weeksometimesnever

Strona 1





Samply Description

Sample Description

Figure 3 : Workers classification according to working time and workproblems

Worker Type

OverworkersWorkaholicsProblems, working less then 45h

No problems, working less than 45h

Perc

ent

60,0%

50,0%

40,0%

30,0%

20,0%

10,0%

0,0%

10,54%15,03%

21,14%

53,29%

Strona 1





Samply Description

Sample Description

Figure 4 : Using the Internet for work at home and family problems

26.29

25.78

25.60

26.33

25.89

25.93

Never Sometimes Regularly

25.5

25.6

25.7

25.8

25.9

26.0

26.1

26.2

26.3

26.4

Frequency of working from home using the Internet

Fam

ily p

robl

ems

scor

e

Knowledge WorkersOther Workers





Job Satisfaction of knowledge workers

Employment Flexibility and Job Security asDeterminants of Job Satisfaction. The Caseof Polish Knowledge Workers I

Aim of the study

To investigate relationships between job security,employment flexibility and job satisfactionTo show how these factors impact groups of knowledgeworkers and other workers differently

Methods

Data from Social Diagnosis 2011Two logistic models, separate for knowledge workers andother workersJob Satisfaction as a dependent variable





Job Satisfaction of knowledge workers

Employment Flexibility and Job Security asDeterminants of Job Satisfaction. The Caseof Polish Knowledge Workers II

Type of contract, insecure source of income, overload ofduties andunjust treatment at workplace as independentvariables

Results

For all employees job insecurity is the most influentialdeterminant of job satisfactionFlexible workers much more vulnerable to job insecuritiesJob satisfaction of knowledge workers more influenced byjob security





References I

Clark, S. C. (2000).Work/Family Border Theory: A New Theory of Work/FamilyBalance.Human Relations, 53(6):747–770.

Eurofund (2012).Working time and work – life balance in a life courseperspective.Technical report, Eurofund, Dublin.

European Comission (2013).Labour Force Survey.





References II

Guest, D. E. (2002).Perspectives on the Study of Work-life Balance.Social Science Information, 41(2):255–279.

OECD (2014).Better Life Index. Poland.

Pichler, F. (2008).Determinants of Work-life Balance: Shortcomings in theContemporary Measurement of WLB in Large-scale Surveys.Social Indicators Research, 92(3):449–469.





Thank you for your attention


Work-family balance of Knowledge Workers in Poland

Economy & Finance

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