The work-life interface and the role of HR: employee experiences in Brazil

ABSTRACT

Work-life studies address an individual's need to reconcile work and non-work aspects of life. With the increasing demands in both spheres, organizations have responded by developing policies and programs aimed at alleviating conflict and providing support for workers. However, the concepts of work-life balance and work-life conflict were constructed within a particular time and place and thus may be culture and context-specific. Despite an increasing trend in cross-cultural work-life studies, most research has focused on developed countries and a key issue remains examining whether theories, models and findings are valid in a less comparable setting. The present research contributes to this understanding by examining the work-life interface from the perspective of human resource professionals in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Findings suggest that there is little organizational support beyond what is mandated by the government and the prevalence of informal arrangements. In addition, there is a remarkable difference in terms of work-life provisions between Brazilian and multinational firms.

RESUMEN

Los estudios de work-life (trabajo-vida) abordan la necesidad de un individuo de conciliar los aspectos laborales y no laborales de la vida. Con las crecientes demandas en ambos ámbitos, las organizaciones han respondido desarrollando políticas y programas destinados a aliviar los conflictos y brindar apoyo a los trabajadores. Sin embargo, los conceptos de equilibrio trabajo-vida y conflicto trabajo-vida fueron construidos dentro de un tiempo y lugar particulares y, por lo tanto, pueden ser específicos para una cultura y un contexto. A pesar de una tendencia creciente en los estudios interculturales de vida laboral, la mayoría de las investigaciones se han centrado en los países desarrollados y un tema clave sigue siendo examinar si las teorías, los modelos y los hallazgos son válidos en un contexto menos comparable. La presente investigación contribuye a esta comprensión al examinar la interfaz entre la vida laboral y personal desde la perspectiva de los profesionales de recursos humanos en Río de Janeiro, Brasil. Los hallazgos sugieren que hay poco apoyo organizativo más allá de lo que exige el gobierno y la prevalencia de acuerdos informales. Además, existe una diferencia notable en cuanto a disposiciones trabajo-vida entre empresas brasileñas e multinacionales.

KEYWORDS:

• Work-life interface
• work-family interface
• work-life support
• organizational policies
• human resources professionals
• Brazil

PALABRAS CLAVE:

• Trabajo-vida
• trabajo-familia
• apoyo
• políticas organizacionales
• profesionales de recursos humanos
• Brasil

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Clarice Santos is currently a researcher at the COPPEAD Graduate School of Business at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where she earned her PhD. She completed her bacheloŕs and masteŕs degrees in the United States and after a few years as a practitioner, Clarice moved to Australia to pursue an academic career. Her research interests include the work-life interface, diversity and gender issues. She is also interested in cross-cultural studies that examine the impact of different contexts on those areas.

Adriana V. Garibaldi de Hilal is an Associate Professor of Organizations and International Business at the Coppead Graduate School of Business at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. She received her PhD from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and her post-doctoral degree from Tilburg University in the Netherlands where she held the position of Hofstede Fellow. She leads a research team on Organizational Behavior and Entrepreneurship with a particular focus on cross-cultural studies.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.