Work–life balance: Does age matter?

Abstract

Abstract. BACKGROUND:Work-life balance is a priority of EU policies but at the same time demographic change affects the labour market. Employers have to deal with the ageing of their employees and adjust human resource management to maintain their competitiveness. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the article is to answer research questions: whether the age of workers determines their assessment of the work-life balance, and whether there is a relationship between the worker's age and their assessment of the activities undertaken by their employer to provide them with work-life balance. METHODS:The article is based on the results of surveys conducted among 500 employees of the SME sector from Finland, Lithuania and Sweden. RESULTS:The results identified a statistically significant difference: employees representing older age groups are more likely to indicate the maintenance of WLB; older workers more frequently do not agree that all workers have equal opportunities to benefit from flexible solutions aimed at ensuring the maintenance of WLB. CONCLUSIONS:The results can be the inspiration for the decisions and actions of employers in the field of personnel management and for creating workplace conditions encouraging senior workers to continue working, even upon becoming entitled to old-age pension.

Keeping work and private life apart: Age‐related differences in managing the work–nonwork interface

“…Replicating prior studies (Hill et al, 2014;Richert-Kazmierska & Stankiewicz, 2016;Tausig & Fenwick, 2001), age was indeed positively associated with work-life balance. More importantly, our hypothesis that boundary strength underlies the positive relationship between age and worklife balance was supported.…”

“…Although few studies have directly addressed work-family dynamics across the lifespan (for a review, see Thrasher, Zabel, Wynne, & Baltes, 2015), several recent studies found older workers to report higher work-life balance than their younger colleagues (Hill, Erickson, Fellows, Martinengo, & Allen, 2014;Richert-Kazmierska & Stankiewicz, 2016;Tausig & Fenwick, 2001), as well as lower work-nonwork interference (Allen & Finkelstein, 2014;Hill et al, 2014).…”

Value of Age Diversity – Declarations and Practice in Polish Organizations

“…Boehm, Kunze and Bruch, 2014;Bieling, Stock and Dorozalla, 2015). Secondly, the discrepancy between the declared opinions and actions taken by managers within the scope of HRM, indicated in the literature, has been confirmed (Richert-Kaźmierska and Stankiewicz, 2014b;Stankiewicz, 2015). However, the results also point to some other discrepancies.…”

“…There are also relatively plenty studies examining the declared opinion of employers and managers on the competencies and specific advantages of older workers (Brzezinski, Milewska, Woszczyk, Nowak and Kobus, 2011;Strzałkowska, 2011, Laus andZiarkowska-Hordyj, 2012;Turek, Perek-Białas, 2013;Richert-Kaźmierska and Stankiewicz, 2014) or the use of specific solutions in the field of HRM addressed to individuals aged 55+ (Kwiatkiewicz, 2010;Richert-Kaźmierska and Stankiewicz, 2014b;Stankiewicz, 2015). These studies, using qualitative research (in-depth interviews, focus group interviews) concentrate primarily on actions taken towards older employees or on the activation of individuals belonging to this age group.…”

Aging at Work: A Review of Recent Trends and Future Directions

“… The significance of different job options before full pension was not assessed. Work expectations, pension, life satisfaction, subjective prosperity [ 42 ] To find out whether the workers’ ages determine the evaluation of their work–life balance. Survey study.…”