Work-life balance

The Foundation for Human Resources Development (FHRD), the Malta Employers' Association (MEA) and the Workers' Participation Development Centre (WPDC) of the University are organising a breakfast seminar tomorrow between 8.30 and 11 a.m at the St George's Suite of the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Sliema. The event is being kindly sponsored by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES)

The debate about work-life balance very often centres on the effectiveness of family-friendly measures in labour legislation and the provision of childcare services and facilities. This seminar will take a different approach by focusing on issues which are considered by workers to be useful parameters to measure their work-life balance.

These issues were raised during a focus group discussion which formed part of an empirical study conducted by the Workers' Participation Development Centre (WPDC) in conjunction with Malta Employers' Association (MEA).

Work-life balance stems from the fact that workers have other needs besides the economic ones. What this balance suggests is that workers have to find a satisfactory state of equilibrium between their work and non-work domains.

There is however no mechanical device which one can regulate or adjust to achieve this ideal balance between these two domains. Thus an appraisal of workers' subjective views on how they are managing to combine their working life with their personal and social life can provide that much needed added value to an analysis of work-life balance.

To give a more wholesome picture, a questionnaire was sent to employers in which they were asked to explain the rationale of the working time arrangement in their firms. Their responses indicate the family friendly measures introduced in labour legislation are not likely to provide workers with a menu a la carte about their working time arrangement.

The seminar will start with breakfast at 8.30 a.m., followed by a welcome address and seminar opening, presentation of findings of the empirical study, and panel reaction including John Camilleri who will chair the panel, Dr Angela Abela, Alfred Buhagiar and Manwel Micallef. The programme will conclude with questions and discussion with floor participation.