The art of balancing work life and private life : A quantitative study of men and women in blue-light and administrative occupations in Sweden

Konsten att balansera arbetslivet och privatlivet har blivit en stigande utmaning för både arbetsgivare och anställda. Syftet med studien var därför att undersöka om upplevelsen av Work-Life Balance (WLB) skiljde sig mellan kvinnor och män bland blåljuspersonal och administrativa yrken. Via de digitala kanalerna LinkedIn och Facebook fyllde frivilliga deltagare, samtliga heltidsanställda över 18 år (N=90) i Netemeyers m.fl. (1996) skala “Work- Family Conflict and Family-Work Conflict Scales”. De svarade även på frågor om upplevd stress, mätt genom Karolinska Exhaustion Disorder Scale (KEDS), samt på frågor om intern locus of control, mätt genom Rotters (1966) “Internal-External Locus of Control Scale” (I-E scale). Resultatet visade att manliga deltagare upplevde WFC i högre utsträckning än kvinnor, samt att poliser rapporterade högre grad av WFC än administrativ personal. Socialt stöd i hemmet kunde predicera FWC och stress kunde predicera både WFC och FWC. Studiens resultat, svagheter och värde diskuterades avslutningsvis.The art of balancing work life and private life has become an increasing challenge for both employers and employees. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate whether the experience of Work-Life Balance (WLB) differed between women and men in blue-light occupations and administrative occupations. Another factor that was investigated was whether WLB was influenced by children living at home. In addition, various factors were tested to investigate whether they predicted Work-Family Conflict (WFC) and Family-Work Conflict (FWC). Via the digital channels LinkedIn and Facebook voluntary participants, all full-time employees over the age of 18 (N=90) filled in Netemeyers et al. (1996) scale “Work-Family Conflict and Family-Work Conflict Scales”. They also answered questions about perceived stress, measured by The Karolinska Exhaustion Disorder Scale (KEDS), as well as questions about internal locus of control, measured by Rotter’s “Internal-External Locus of Control Scale” (I-E Scale). The results showed that male participants experienced WFC to a greater extent than females, and that police officers reported a higher degree of WFC than administrative staff. Social support at home could predict FWC and stress could predict both WFC and FWC. The study's results, weaknesses and value were discussed in conclusion