Managing Careers In A World Of Diversity & Change: Understanding The Work Life Balance Issue

Abstract

The last few decades have witnessed many social, economic and political changes thathave influenced the characteristics of the contemporary work environment. Theincreasing involvement of women in the workforce, the growing need to balance workand family life and the changing importance of career in people’s lives are influencingthe career decisions of men and women. This paper seeks to highlight the key issuesassociated with employees’ need to balance work and their personal life. Organisationsneed to design human resource policies that better enable their employees to balance theirwork and non-work lives. Researchers and organisations can no longer assume that thetraditional male model of career development is relevant in today’s dynamic world, orthat it is the normative measure for career progress and success.