Key performance indicators of work-life practice: data

Full description

This dataset contains the results of a national paper based survey about what work family policies the human resources managers have in their organisations and how the policies are linked into their business strategy. It is an output of a project funded by Converge International where researchers from Monash University, Anne Bardoel, Helen De Cieri and Tracey Shea, measured work-life balance using a scale which they developed by integrating academic literature and data from focus groups conducted with 27 practitioners. Following a pilot test, a mailing list from a commercial company called ListBank was used to target Human Resources managers from all over Australia. 203 Human Resource Managers completed the survey questions in 2009 according to 4 subscales: planning and alignment, customization, supportive culture & leadership and demonstrated value. The dataset includes a range of organisational demographic data and the answers to questions such as how many within the organisation accessed work-life policies and why organisations were offering these family policies and practices. Following the survey the aggregated de-identified data from each subscale was subjected to Rasch model analysis using RUMM2020 software. The rigorous process followed could also be used as a template for developing other measures of organisational performance, for example, organisational health. Other users may wish to run the survey again to see what has changed or to run parts of the survey as a scale.

Notes

1 survey 116 Kb (16 pages) pdf; 203 x surveys (paper); 1 version of survey which maps to SPSS file data; 1 excel spreadsheet; 1 x SPSS file

Significance statement

The dataset comprises the results of a survey using the first known instrument to determine whether there is an association between attitudes to work-life balance and the extent of the work-life initiatives that are offered by an organisation. The framework and scale will provide useful tools for scholars and practitioners seeking to measure and understand the contribution and impact of work-life initiatives. Organisations trying to measure progress to establish work-life integration and how these practices are connected to business outcomes may use the data to inform changes to organisational policy and practice.