TY - JOUR

T1 - In search of the perfect manager? Work-life balance and managerial work

AU - Ford, J

AU - Collinson, D L

PY - 2011/6

Y1 - 2011/6

N2 - Work-life balance debates continue to proliferate but give relatively little critical attention to managerial workers. This article draws on research into the experiences of managers in a local government organization revealing an intricate, multifaceted and heterogeneous picture of fragmentation, conflicting demands, pressures and anxieties. The study highlights the importance of paid work for public sector managers; the concomitant difficulties in controlling working hours for those in managerial roles and the extent to which shifts in work orientation occur during managers’ careers. Research findings suggest that in practice work-life balance initiatives may only serve to increase managerial anxieties and pressures, the very opposite outcome to that intended. These themes do not feature in many work-life balance debates, which tend to assume the perfect manager who is able and willing to create a symmetrical balance between different spheres of life.

AB - Work-life balance debates continue to proliferate but give relatively little critical attention to managerial workers. This article draws on research into the experiences of managers in a local government organization revealing an intricate, multifaceted and heterogeneous picture of fragmentation, conflicting demands, pressures and anxieties. The study highlights the importance of paid work for public sector managers; the concomitant difficulties in controlling working hours for those in managerial roles and the extent to which shifts in work orientation occur during managers’ careers. Research findings suggest that in practice work-life balance initiatives may only serve to increase managerial anxieties and pressures, the very opposite outcome to that intended. These themes do not feature in many work-life balance debates, which tend to assume the perfect manager who is able and willing to create a symmetrical balance between different spheres of life.

KW - contradictory demands on workers

KW - managerial identities

KW - managerial work

KW - orientation to work

KW - public sector managers

KW - work-life balance

U2 - 10.1177/0950017011398895

DO - 10.1177/0950017011398895

M3 - Journal article

VL - 25

SP - 257

EP - 273

JO - Work, Employment and Society

JF - Work, Employment and Society

SN - 0950-0170

IS - 2

ER -