Abstract

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It is well known that working conditions can have a strong impact on health. Further, research has shown that poor work life balance can result in stress and on the long run in health problems. Recent expert forecasts of the EU and Eurofound even rank issues of the work-life interface among the most important psychosocial risk factors in modern working life. This is substantiated by the various empirically investigated associations between a good work life balance and a better physical or mental health status. Regarding psychological components of health, work-family conflict was found to be linked with increased levels of anxiety, depressive moods and life distress. In the context of physical health outcomes research has examined associations of work-family conflict with a higher prevalence of self-reported physical symptoms and somatic complaints. The phenomenon work life balance is discussed under many different theoretical perspectives. Most research has analyzed work live balance from a conflict perspective, focusing on work to family and family to work conflict of higher educated women and in particular of women in academia. Current approaches increasingly consider positive spillover effects between working and private life domains (e.g. work-family enhancement). But there are still many open questions in this field like for example:

• Can we find these positive spillover effects just in high educated and upper class women and men?

• How are different aspects of social inequality linked to work-life balance and their associations to health?

• What problems in work life balance do lower educated and lower class men and women perceive?

• And how are these problems linked to health problems?

• What are the pathways of the associations between work life balance and health in men?

• What health problems - related to their work life balance – have care workers who are payed for reproductive work of higher educated women?

• What differences regarding the associations between work life balance and health can we find between different European countries and around the world?

Papers are welcome that address one of the topics described above. We encourage to submit both, papers grounded on qualitative or quantitative empirical social research and theoretical oriented papers.

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Session organizer(s)

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Johanna Muckenhuber (AT) – is professor at the department of sociology at the university Graz. After her studies in Graz, Paris and Vienna she received her PhD at the Institute for Advanced Studies Vienna and the University Vienna. Her research interests center on sociology of health and illness, social inequality, working conditions, gender and migration. She is a specialist in empirical social research and international comparative research.

 

Hannah Volk (AT) – is a PhD candidate and researcher at the department of sociology at the University of Graz/Austria. She completed her Master in Sociology in Graz and Amsterdam. Her main research interests are located in the areas sociology of health and illness, working conditions, work-life-interface and international comparative social research.

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