IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/gender/v24y2017i2p99-114.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Who Gets to ‘Work Hard, Play Hard’? Gendering the Work–Life Balance Rhetoric in Canadian Tech Companies

Author

Listed:
  • Amrita Hari

Abstract

This article is based on an exploratory study of the implicit gender norms in work–life balance (WLB) rhetoric in ten Canadian information and communication technologies (ICT) organizations. Interviews with human resources (HR) managers and preliminary company website analysis revealed a masculinist and heterosexist bias in the implementation of WLB practices, legitimized by the gender composition of the workforce and the demanding yet inherently rewarding nature of the ICT sector. Participants deliberately separated care (read: childcare) from WLB (read: flexible hours and working from home), reproducing the assumption that an ‘ordinary’ worker is a man with a female partner who assumes primary responsibility for the reproductive realm. The study concludes with: (i) recommendations to increase HR's role in providing functional support for WLB practices and (ii) three future directions for research. This article contributes to a general call in feminist scholarship to apply a gendered lens to WLB practices.

Suggested Citation

  • Amrita Hari, 2017. "Who Gets to ‘Work Hard, Play Hard’? Gendering the Work–Life Balance Rhetoric in Canadian Tech Companies," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(2), pages 99-114, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:gender:v:24:y:2017:i:2:p:99-114
    DOI: 10.1111/gwao.12146
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12146
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/gwao.12146?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Janet Currie, 2004. "The Take Up of Social Benefits," NBER Working Papers 10488, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Jean-Pascal Gond & Valérie Swaen & Assâad El Akremi, 2011. "The Human Resources Contribution to Responsible Leadership: An Exploration of the CSR-HR Interface," Post-Print halshs-00738192, HAL.
    3. J.P. Gond & J. Igalens & V. Swaen & A. El Akremi, 2011. "The human resources contribution to responsible leadership : an exploration of the CSR-HR interface," Post-Print hal-00798471, HAL.
    4. Baldwin, John R. Beckstead, Desmond, 2003. "Knowledge Workers in Canada's Economy, 1971 to 2001," Insights on the Canadian Economy 2003004e, Statistics Canada, Economic Analysis Division.
    5. Dennis Yao Dzansi & Marius Pretorius, 2009. "Addressing and measuring small business social responsibility in the African context: a stakeholder framework," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 5(2), pages 245-256, June.
    6. Diane Coyle, 1999. "The Weightless World: Strategies for Managing the Digital Economy," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262531666, December.
    7. Jean-Pascal Gond & Jacques Igalens & Valérie Swaen & Assâad El Akremi, 2011. "The Human Resources Contribution to Responsible Leadership: An Exploration of the CSR–HR Interface," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 98(1), pages 115-132, January.
    8. Simon Duncan & Rosalind Edwards & Tracey Reynolds & Pam alldred, 2003. "Motherhood, Paid Work and Partnering: Values and Theories," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 17(2), pages 309-330, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Dries Van Gasse & Dimitri Mortelmans, 2020. "Single Mothers’ Perspectives on the Combination of Motherhood and Work," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-19, May.
    2. Georgia‐Zozeta Miliopoulou & Ilias Kapareliotis, 2021. "The toll of success: Female leaders in the “women‐friendly” Greek advertising agencies," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(5), pages 1741-1765, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Edyta Bombiak & Anna Marciniuk-Kluska, 2019. "Socially Responsible Human Resource Management as a Concept of Fostering Sustainable Organization-Building: Experiences of Young Polish Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-28, February.
    2. Tommy Borglund & Magnus Frostenson & Sven Helin & Katarina Arbin, 2023. "The Professional Logic of Sustainability Managers: Finding Underlying Dynamics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(1), pages 59-76, January.
    3. Maira Jam & Dr. Warda Najeeb Jamal, 2020. "Impact of Green Human Resources Management Practices on Organizational Sustainability and Employee Retention: An Empirical Study Related to Educational Institutions," iRASD Journal of Management, International Research Alliance for Sustainable Development (iRASD), vol. 2(1), pages 34-48, June.
    4. Maria Järlström & Essi Saru & Sinikka Vanhala, 2018. "Sustainable Human Resource Management with Salience of Stakeholders: A Top Management Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(3), pages 703-724, October.
    5. Juan Herrera & Carlos de las Heras-Rosas, 2020. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Human Resource Management: Towards Sustainable Business Organizations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-24, January.
    6. Gregorio Sánchez-Marín & Gabriel Lozano-Reina & Mané Beglaryan, 2022. "HRM Policies and SMEs Performance: The Moderating Role of CSR Orientation," Central European Business Review, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2022(1), pages 85-110.
    7. Andrea Cardoni & Evgeniia Kiseleva & Paolo Taticchi, 2020. "In Search of Sustainable Value: A Structured Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-18, January.
    8. Ioannis E. Nikolaou, 2019. "A Framework to Explicate the Relationship Between CSER and Financial Performance: an Intellectual Capital-Based Approach and Knowledge-Based View of Firm," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 10(4), pages 1427-1446, December.
    9. Marcus Wagner, 2013. "‘Green’ Human Resource Benefits: Do they Matter as Determinants of Environmental Management System Implementation?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 114(3), pages 443-456, May.
    10. Stephan Blaha & Wim Lambrechts & Jelle Mampaey, 2021. "Twalk Your Talk: On the (Non)-Formative Influence of Corporate Social Responsibility Communication on Supply Chain Sustainability Measures," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-21, August.
    11. Rafael García Martín & Alfonso Duran-Heras & Karen Reina Sánchez, 2022. "Analysis of the Main Corporate Social Responsibility Drivers and Barriers and Their Foreseeable Evolution—Evidence from Two Leading Multinationals: The Airbus and TASL Cases," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-23, July.
    12. María Isabel Saz-Gil & José Paulo Cosenza & Anabel Zardoya-Alegría & Ana I. Gil-Lacruz, 2020. "Exploring Corporate Social Responsibility under the Background of Sustainable Development Goals: A Proposal to Corporate Volunteering," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-21, June.
    13. Sophie Lythreatis & Ahmed Mohammed Sayed Mostafa & Xiaojun Wang, 2019. "Participative Leadership and Organizational Identification in SMEs in the MENA Region: Testing the Roles of CSR Perceptions and Pride in Membership," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 156(3), pages 635-650, May.
    14. Jacqueline C. Wisler, 2018. "U.S. CEOs of SBUs in Luxury Goods Organizations: A Mixed Methods Comparison of Ethical Decision-Making Profiles," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(2), pages 443-518, May.
    15. Zhe Zhang & Juan Wang & Ming Jia, 2022. "Multilevel Examination of How and When Socially Responsible Human Resource Management Improves the Well-Being of Employees," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 176(1), pages 55-71, February.
    16. Harsha Sarvaiya & Gabriel Eweje & Jim Arrowsmith, 2018. "The Roles of HRM in CSR: Strategic Partnership or Operational Support?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 153(3), pages 825-837, December.
    17. M. Guerci & Giovanni Radaelli & Elena Siletti & Stefano Cirella & A. Rami Shani, 2015. "The Impact of Human Resource Management Practices and Corporate Sustainability on Organizational Ethical Climates: An Employee Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 126(2), pages 325-342, January.
    18. Pyounggu Baek & Taesung Kim, 2021. "Socially Responsible HR in Action: Learning from Corporations Listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index World 2018/2019," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-17, March.
    19. Sandra Castro-González & Belén Bande & Pilar Fernández-Ferrín, 2019. "Responsible Leadership and Salespeople’s Creativity: The Mediating Effects of CSR Perceptions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-17, April.
    20. Yi-Ping Chang & Hsiu-Hua Hu & Chih-Ming Lin, 2021. "Consistency or Hypocrisy? The Impact of Internal Corporate Social Responsibility on Employee Behavior: A Moderated Mediation Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-21, August.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:gender:v:24:y:2017:i:2:p:99-114. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0968-6673 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.