Work-life balance policy in the UK : gendered ICT workplaces and the culture of resentment

Keogh, C 2010, Work-life balance policy in the UK : gendered ICT workplaces and the culture of resentment , PhD thesis, University of Salford.

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Abstract

Previous studies have recognized the low adoption of corporate work-life balance policies during a time when reports indicate the continual pressures of balancing work and personal life. Alongside these stresses there is additional pressures for women in the ICT labour market due to the continual 'culture of resentment' they face on a daily basis, when they attempt to balance work and non work activities. This study aims to provide a more comprehensive explanation of the phenomenon of the culture of resentment than those currently available in work-life balance policy. This thesis provides a critical review of the work-life balance literature which deliberates on organisational and individual solutions and the belief that this method of analysing or concentrating on work-life balance issues is the best way forward. The exclusion of gender as a social structure or major force and the omission of the socio-political environment in which work-life balance arrangements are made is at best inadequate. This qualitative case study research was theoretically informed by critical and feminist perspectives; it sought to investigate women's experiences within the context of Information Communication Technology (ICT) organisations. Over a four year period, in-depth interviews were conducted with thirty one women from the ICT profession, a further 236 women took part via an on-line questionnaire survey. The findings from this study revealed that women ICT professionals often feel lonely, angry and rejected. Women are experiencing resentment from senior management, line managers, peers and indeed other women working in the industry. A major implication from this study for ICT as a profession relates to the need to create a discourse that values women as ICT professionals.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Contributors:	Richardson, H (Supervisor)
Schools:	Schools > Salford Business School
Depositing User:	Institutional Repository
Date Deposited:	18 Aug 2021 13:56
Last Modified:	04 Aug 2022 11:21
URI:	https://usir.salford.ac.uk/id/eprint/61618

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