Work Life Balance on International Women’s Day 2016
Dr Almuth McDowall presents academic research focusing on work-life balance.
Birkbeck organizational psychologist, Dr Almuth McDowall, was invited to speak at a leading London business club this week, to present academic research focusing on work-life balance.
Dr McDowall spoke at The Clubhouse’s inaugural Women in Business Fortnight event held at the organisation’s Mayfair premises on Tuesday 8 March. The event coincided with International Women’s Day, a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.
Attendees at the event were offered the opportunity to network over breakfast and discuss the subject matter with peers and new acquaintances. Dr McDowall presented a coherent path through work-life literature and research to set the scene for an evidence-based approach to the topic. The discussion of case studies from previous research and personal anecdotes also ensured the room could relate to the issues at hand.
Practical considerations, such as the cost of childcare, were addressed, as well as the implications of policy, particularly in the case of flexible working. Dr McDowall drew on her recent research to suggest that flexible working is not necessarily a solution to work-life balance. Whilst more employees and especially men are now considering flexible work options, it only has positive effects when employees can ‘craft’ a solution which works for them, not when they are being told that their work pattern has to change. Thus, even on International Women’s Day, Dr McDowall was still keen to highlight that work life balance is a subject for both men and women to consider more often and with greater diligence.
Moving on to consider the role of technology in work life balance, the audience could clearly associate with both the positive and negative effects of current information technology. This theme will be explored further by the Switched On Culture Research Group, of which Dr McDowall is a member, in an upcoming conference hosted at Birkbeck, 21 April.
Dr McDowall said “I am a passionate advocate for the contribution that our research and practice can make, which is why I have been very involved in making the training path for occupational (work) psychologists fit for purpose. We need to be able to bridge a rigorous evidence-based approach with real understanding of business needs; you can’t have one without the other if you want to make a real difference to people’s working lives.”
Alongside Dr McDowall, the Clubhouse’s Women in Business Fortnight also features Julie Meyer MBE, Mich Turner MBE and Nancy Cruickshank as speakers.
Read the full event report on the School of Business, Economics and Informatics’ news page here
Find out more
The School of Business, Economics and Informatics will hold an Open Evening on Thursday 14 April 2016. Find out more
- Dr Almuth McDowall and research in the Department of Organizational Psychology
- E-Resilience Conference at Birkbeck, Thursday 21 April 2016
- Courses in the Department of Organizational Psychology
- Information on postgraduate loans
- International Women’s Day on twitter #IWD2016 and #pledgeforparity