Talking the talk and walking the walk How managers can influence the quality of work-life balance in a construction project
Purpose – The construction industry in Australia is characterised by a long work-hours culture, with conditions that make it difficult for staff to balance their work and non-work lives. The objective of this paper is to measure the success of a work-place intervention designed to improve work-life...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
Emerald
2010
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/39103 |
| _version_ | 1848755499890114560 |
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| author | Bradley, L. Brown, Kerry Lingard, H. Townsend, K. Bailey, C. |
| author_facet | Bradley, L. Brown, Kerry Lingard, H. Townsend, K. Bailey, C. |
| author_sort | Bradley, L. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Purpose – The construction industry in Australia is characterised by a long work-hours culture, with conditions that make it difficult for staff to balance their work and non-work lives. The objective of this paper is to measure the success of a work-place intervention designed to improve work-life balance (WLB) in an alliance project in the construction industry, and the role the project manager plays in this success. Design/methodology/approach – The paper focuses on an alliance case study. Interviews were conducted at two points in time, several months apart, after the interventions were implemented. Findings – Results showed that staff on the whole weremore satisfied with their work experience after the interventions, and indicated the important role that managers’ attitudes and behaviours played. Originality/value – Managerial support for work-life initiatives is a critical element in achieving WLB and satisfaction with working arrangements. The fact that the manager “talked the talk and walked the walk” was a major contributing success factor, which has not previously been demonstrated. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T08:57:17Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-39103 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T08:57:17Z |
| publishDate | 2010 |
| publisher | Emerald |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-391032017-09-13T14:23:34Z Talking the talk and walking the walk How managers can influence the quality of work-life balance in a construction project Bradley, L. Brown, Kerry Lingard, H. Townsend, K. Bailey, C. Purpose – The construction industry in Australia is characterised by a long work-hours culture, with conditions that make it difficult for staff to balance their work and non-work lives. The objective of this paper is to measure the success of a work-place intervention designed to improve work-life balance (WLB) in an alliance project in the construction industry, and the role the project manager plays in this success. Design/methodology/approach – The paper focuses on an alliance case study. Interviews were conducted at two points in time, several months apart, after the interventions were implemented. Findings – Results showed that staff on the whole weremore satisfied with their work experience after the interventions, and indicated the important role that managers’ attitudes and behaviours played. Originality/value – Managerial support for work-life initiatives is a critical element in achieving WLB and satisfaction with working arrangements. The fact that the manager “talked the talk and walked the walk” was a major contributing success factor, which has not previously been demonstrated. 2010 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/39103 10.1108/17538371011076064 Emerald restricted |
| spellingShingle | Bradley, L. Brown, Kerry Lingard, H. Townsend, K. Bailey, C. Talking the talk and walking the walk How managers can influence the quality of work-life balance in a construction project |
| title | Talking the talk and walking the walk How managers can influence the quality of work-life balance in a construction project |
| title_full | Talking the talk and walking the walk How managers can influence the quality of work-life balance in a construction project |
| title_fullStr | Talking the talk and walking the walk How managers can influence the quality of work-life balance in a construction project |
| title_full_unstemmed | Talking the talk and walking the walk How managers can influence the quality of work-life balance in a construction project |
| title_short | Talking the talk and walking the walk How managers can influence the quality of work-life balance in a construction project |
| title_sort | talking the talk and walking the walk how managers can influence the quality of work-life balance in a construction project |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/39103 |