Work/life Balance Strategies: Progress and Problems in Australian Organizations

Work/life balance (WLB) is an issue increasingly recognised as of strategic importance to organizations and of significance to employees. We argue that an organization's need to attract and retain valued employees in a highly competitive labour market is a strong motivating factor for increased organizational awareness and action with regard to implementation and management of WLB strategies. This article reports the findings of three surveys conducted from 1997 to 2000 of organizations in Australia. We explore the range and usage of WLB strategies in Australian organizations, and identify the barriers to those strategies. It is evident that, while some progress has been made over the years, there remain substantial challenges for the implementation and management of WLB strategies.