Work life
Work life

WORKLIFE consortium

At Radboud University, there is a lot of research on obtaining and maintaining a healthy and sustainable work (or study)-life balance. Work-life balance refers to an optimal distribution of a person's time and attention between work (or study) and activities within the family or for relaxation.

Much remains unclear about the causes and consequences of an imbalance between work or study commitments on the one hand and responsibilities at home on the other. These are causes and consequences for people themselves, the organisations in which they are active, and society as a whole. An important reason for this lack of clarity is that many different factors play a role, such as characteristics of the individual employee (psychology), characteristics of the organisation (human resource management) ; sociological factors (cultural norms and values, sociology) ; and government policy (such as around leave arrangements, public administration).

The aim of the WORK-LIFE consortium is to bring together scientists researching these different factors in order to set up and carry out joint research. This joining of forces is badly needed to gain a better understanding of the work-life balance of both employees and students. In addition, the consortium would like to involve key social players so that cross-fertilisation between science and practice can take place. The consortium wants to provide concrete tools for practice. The consortium's activities are therefore aimed at both researchers and stakeholders from practice, such as (representatives of) trade unions, student organisations, and local and national governments.

More information

Results

 

Edited volume

Kruyen, P., André, S., & van der Heijden, B. (Eds.) (Forthcoming). Maintaining a Sustainable Work-Life Balance: An Interdisciplinary Path to a Better Future. Edward Elgar

Policy notes

Yerkes, M.A., André, S., Besamusca, J., Peeters, I., Remery, C., Zwan, R. van der., Hummer, B., Kruyen, P. (2022) – COGIS-NL Fourth Policy Brief. Anderhalf jaar corona: impact op de ongelijkheid tussen mannen en vrouwen in werk, zorg en welzijn 

Yerkes, M.A., André, S., Besamusca, J., Remery, C., Zwan, R. van der., Kruyen, P., Beckers, D., Geurts, S. (2020) – COGIS-NL Third Policy Brief.

Yerkes, M.A., André, S., Besamusca, J., Remery, C., Zwan, R. van der., Kruyen, P., Beckers, D., Geurts, S. (2020) – COGIS-NL Second Policy Brief. 

Yerkes, M.A., André, S., Besamusca, J., Remery, C., Zwan, R. van der., Kruyen, P., Beckers, D., Geurts, S., & Beer, P. de. (2020) – Werkende ouders in tijden van Corona. Meer maar ook minder ongelijkheid 

Kruyen, P., Heins, E., Heijden, B. van der., van Genugten, M., & André, S. (2021). De thuiswerkende ambtenaar: ervaringen en verwachtingen.

Boonstra, W. (2020). Onderzoek effect thuiswerken op presteren. Binnenlands Bestuur. 

Bakker, N., Venema, A., André, S., & Bleijenbergh, I. (2021). Family Planning in Academia.

André, S., Hooijer, J., Mijl, van der, J., Stevenson, L. (2022). Beleidsnotitie Lerarentekort. Radboud University Nijmegen.

Joint publications

Zwan, van der, R. Yerkes, M.A., Besamusca, J.W., Kruyen, P.M., Remery, C. (Forthcoming). Research Note: What role do occupational differences play in subjective working conditions throughout the COVID-19 pandemic? Sociological Inquiry

Cramer, A., Beekman, E., van Hooff, M., Geurts, S., & Beckers, D. (2023). Het nieuwe normaal? Een visie op toekomstbestendig hybride werken ten gunste van de werk-privébalans en productiviteit. Tijdschrift v. Arbeidsvraagstukken, 39(2), 219–240. 

Kruyen, P., Van der Heijden, B., Borst, R., André, S., Missler, M., & Scheerder, P. (Forthcoming). Homeworking heaven or hell during the COVID-19 pandemic? Lessons for the Job Demands-Resources model in the context of homeworking. Review of Public Personnel Administration. 

van der Zwan, R., Besamusca, J., & Remery, C. (2023). Heeft corona de verdeling van zorgtaken op z’n kop gezet?] Demos: bulletin over bevolking en samenleving, 39(1), 8. 

Sara Wiertsema, Gerbert Kraaykamp, Remco Hoekman & Debby Beckers (2023) Job autonomy and leisure-time physical activity across Europe: a multilevel perspective, European Journal for Sport and Society. Online first. 

André, S., & Zwan, R. van der. (2023). The influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on changes in perceived work pressure for Dutch mothers and fathers. Gender, Work & Organization 30(3), p. 1015–1043. 

Verbakel, E., Visser, M., & Raiber, K. (2023). Informal care trajectories over the lifecourse in the Netherlands. International Journal of Care and Caring (published online ahead of print 2023). 

Petts, R., André, S., Carlson, D., Chung, H., Milkie, M., Remery, C., Scheibling, C., Shafer, K., & Yerkes, M.A. (2023). Fathers stepping up? A cross-national comparison of fathers’ domestic labor and parents’ satisfaction with the division of domestic labor during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Family Studies (Online first). 

Bremer, A. E., van de Pol, M. H. J., Laan, R. F. J. M., & Fluit, C. R. M. G. (2023). An Innovative Undergraduate Medical Curriculum Using Entrustable Professional Activities. Journal of Medical Education and Curricular Development, 10. 

Heijkants, C.H., de Wind, A., van Hooff, M.L.M. Geurts, S.A.E., & Boot, C.R.L. Effectiveness of Team and Organisational Level Workplace Interventions Aimed at Improving Sustainable Employability of Aged Care Staff: A Systematic Review. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation 33, 37–60 (2023). 

Redaelli, M., van Engen, M., & André, S. (2022). Perceived Covid-19-crisis intensity and family supportive organizational perceptions as antecedents of parental burnout: A study conducted in Italy in March/April 2021 and 2022.
Frontiers in Psychology 13. 

Besamusca, J., Zwan, R. van der, & Kruyen, P. (2022). COVID-19 en werk – Ongelijke effecten van generieke maatregelen. In S. 

André, T. Reeskens, & B. Völker (Eds.), De Sociologie en de Pandemie: Inzichten en Vooruitblik na Twee Jaar Coronacrisis. Open Press TiU. 

Remery, C., Petts, R. J., Schippers, J., & Yerkes, M. A. (2022). Gender and employment: Recalibrating women’s position in work, organizations, and society in times of COVID-19. Gender, work, and organization, 29(6), 1927-1934. 

Manuti, A., Van der Heijden, B., Kruyen, P., De Vos, A., Zaharie, M., & Lo Presti, A. (2022). Editorial: How Normal Is the New Normal? Individual and Organizational Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. 

Yerkes, M.A., Remery, C., André, S., Salin, M., Hakovirta, M., & van Gerven, M. (2022) Unequal but balanced. A comparison of high-educated mothers in Finland and the Netherlands. Journal of European Social Policy, 32(4), 376–392.

Yerkes, M.A., André, S., Beckers, D.G., Besamusca, J., Kruyen, P.M., Remery, C., Zwan, R. van der., & Geurts, S. (2020). Intelligent lockdown, intelligent effects? The impact of the Dutch COVID-19 ‘intelligent lockdown’ on gendered work and family dynamics among parents. PLOS ONE 15(11).

Remery, C., André, S., Besamusca, J., Yerkes, M.A. & Zwan, van der. R. (2021). De coronapandemie en de verdeling van huishoudelijke en zorgtaken in Nederland. Preadviezen Koninklijke Vereniging voor Staatshuishouding, 87–92.

Marloes L. van Engen, Inge L. Bleijenbergh & Susanne E. Beijer (2021) Conforming, accommodating, or resisting? How parents in academia negotiate their professional identity, Studies in Higher Education, 46:8, 1493–1505. 

André, S., Yerkes, M.A. & Remery, C. (2021). De invloed van de coronacrisis op de relatieve verdeling van zorg door moeders en vaders. Mens & Maatschappij 96(3): 331–365.

Funding

We have received consortium funding from the CvB of Radboud University.

Partners

RadboudUMC, Universiteit Utrecht, Amsterdam UMC, VU, NIVEL, HAN, Utrecht University of Applied Sciences, Tilburg University, NIDI

Contact information