Engendering Work-Life Balance in an Occupational Environment

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Other Title
  • ワーク・ライフ・バランスの職場環境
  • ワーク・ライフ・バランスの職場環境 : 労働市場の女性化をめぐる問題
  • ワーク ・ ライフ ・ バランス ノ ショクバ カンキョウ : ロウドウ シジョウ ノ ジョセイカ オ メグル モンダイ
  • 労働市場の女性化をめぐる問題
  • A Consideration from the Viewpoint of Feminization of the Labor Market

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Abstract

Becoming an aging society with fewer children,it has been predicted that a serious decline in the working population will occur in Japan. The government is pushing forward with a work-life balance(WLB)policy for gender-sensitive society. Traditionally,women have typically quit their jobs after marriage or childbirth to act as housewives and undertake domestic duties such as childcare. At a later stage, they returned to paid work outside the home. This kind of social process can be considered a“feminization of the labor market.” Many women thus held“dual roles” in the ambits of work and family,creating a work/family life duality in a society with no consensus on work-life balance. More recently,a tendency towards work-life balance policies has heralded the entering of a new phase where society provides a support system for women’s changing roles. In this paper,we discuss three topics. Initially we analyze the difference in WLB conditions in three situations. Secondly,using interview data,we present successful WLB management cases. Thirdly we examine changes in the workplace necessary for favorable WLB conditions. Findings are: 1)The larger the company,the more likely there will be a system in place where returning women can choose flexible working hours or part-time work as regular employees. 2)Improved workplace conditions reduce the need for women’s retirement. Greater flexibility allows returning women to reduce work responsibilities while maintaining a routine family life. 3)The smaller the company,the longer the delay in engendering a work-life balance in the occupational environment. Problems relating to equal opportunity between regular workers and non-regular workers are likely to occur where a WLB policy has been introduced,raising the question,“How free are women to choose their work status?”

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