Prelims

Half Title Page

Work-Life Inclusion

Endorsement Page

This book will be a very valuable tool to help HR professionals and organizations to take their health and wellbeing strategy to the next level. To optimize its impact, a strategy should be based on the health risks and needs of its workforce throughout the employee ‘life course’. The CIPD fully supports the notion that employers need to consider the whole person if they are to be effective in reducing work-life conflict and supporting their health and wellbeing as they journey through work and life. The book provides an excellent narrative of how this needs to include the multidimensional nature of people’s identity and experiences. The different chapters cover a range of key life-stage events, such as menopause transition, that individuals can encounter through the employee lifecycle and which can understandably impact on health and work. The book is a welcome clarion call to breakdown the silence and taboo that persists in many workplaces around broader wellbeing issues that affect so many, so that people can receive empathy, support and understanding.

—Rachel Suff, Senior Policy Advisor, CIPD

I am delighted to provide an endorsement for this handbook edited by Dr Krystal Wilkinson and Dr Helen Woolnough. Through a series of well-informed empirical chapters, they respond to the call to broaden understandings of the work-life interface to consider a range of challenges for different groups across the life-course. Many of the chapters highlight topics that have previously been underexplored in work-life literatures, and are highly topical, such as social class in Chapter 2, the earliest stages of working lives (Chapter 3 and 4) solo-living for women (Chapter 5), menopause (Chapter 12), apprenticeship (Chapter 9) and male perspectives on parenthood (Chapter 11). The ground-breaking work is carried in the middle of the book with chapters 6 to 8 on topics that are historically missing from academic agendas; bound by the development of theory on the connection between fertility treatment, miscarriage and perinatal mental illness respectively. These chapters successful illuminate silenced and taboo topics, bringing them into mainstream workplace narratives to the benefit of readers.

Strength and depth are added by intersectional empirical studies with reflections on work-life complexities from older workers (Chapter 13), ethnic minority female workers that manage chronic illness (Chapter 10) and older ethnic workers (Chapter 14). Taken as a whole, authors draw on a range of theoretical frames and lenses including the work-life interface; equality, diversity and inclusion, career theory, empowerment, training and wellbeing. The book is pitched to appeal to both academics and practitioners through its accessible credible approach. The style is provocative and critical; it challenges our assumptions as researchers or organisation practitioners to think creatively and be more work-life inclusive. All chapters conclude with implications for practice. Thanks to insightful guidance and analysis from Dr Wilkinson and Dr Woolnough, their book plants a stake in the sand that others in the field will need to observe.

—Professor Carol Woodhams, Human Resource Management, Surrey Business School

Taking an inclusive approach to the work-life issues employees face at different stages of the life-course should be part of an organization’s overarching inclusion strategy. This book is a welcome step forwards in deepening our understanding of the multi-faceted nature of people’s lived experiences of the work-life interface. Feeling included at work has a positive impact on employees’ engagement, productivity and wellbeing. This book is a call to action for organizations to go further in cultivating inclusive cultures by shining a light on some of the under-explored and ‘hidden’ issues employees face when navigating their working life and personal experiences. A highly informative and valuable read which will help readers think more creatively about how people experience the work-life interface.

—Craig Oddy, Head of Talent and People Experience, Novuna Financial Services

Title Page

Work-Life Inclusion: Broadening Perspectives Across the Life-Course

EDITED BY

KRYSTAL WILKINSON

Manchester Metropolitan University, UK

AND

HELEN WOOLNOUGH

Manchester Metropolitan University, UK

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

Copyright Page

Emerald Publishing Limited

Emerald Publishing, Floor 5, Northspring, 21-23 Wellington Street, Leeds LS1 4DL.

First edition 2024

Editorial matter and selection © 2024 Krystal Wilkinson and Helen Woolnough.

Individual chapters © 2024 The authors.

Published under exclusive licence by Emerald Publishing Limited.

Reprints and permissions service

Contact: www.copyright.com

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without either the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying issued in the UK by The Copyright Licensing Agency and in the USA by The Copyright Clearance Center. Any opinions expressed in the chapters are those of the authors. Whilst Emerald makes every effort to ensure the quality and accuracy of its content, Emerald makes no representation implied or otherwise, as to the chapters’ suitability and application and disclaims any warranties, express or implied, to their use.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-80382-220-4 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-80382-219-8 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-80382-221-1 (Epub)

Dedication Page

We dedicate this book to all the voices we have collectively attempted to elevate through highlighting under-researched areas of the work-life interface and absent narratives in the workplace.

Contents

About the Editors

Dr Krystal Wilkinson is Reader (Associate Professor) in Human Resource Management, based at the Business School’s Centre for Decent Work and Productivity at Manchester Metropolitan University. Her research focuses on the work-life interface, women’s health and well-being at work. Recent research projects have focused on solo-living staff; complex fertility journeys (including employees going through fertility treatment, experiencing pregnancy loss and involuntary childlessness); mental health in pregnancy and post-birth; and women’s health more broadly and employment. She has published in academic journals including Work, Employment and Society; Human Resource Management Journal; Gender, Work and Organization; and The International Journal of Human Resource Management. She is passionate about knowledge exchange and is working with various stakeholders to raise awareness and create resources, including the CIPD, National charities and employers. Her research has also been featured in the media and trade press including the Wall Street Journal, the BBC and People Management Magazine. Prior to studying for her PhD at Leeds University, Krystal held operational Human Resource Management roles in different industries, including construction, retail and hospitality. She is a Chartered Member of the CIPD and was a member of the CIPD National Examinations team for 15 years.

Dr Helen Woolnough is Senior Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Manager at Equans UK and Ireland and Visiting Research Fellow at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK. Prior to this, Helen was Inclusion, Diversity and Well-Being Manager at Novuna Financial Services. Before moving into the corporate space, Helen worked in the education sector and held a variety of academic roles at numerous universities. Her research focused on generating routes for women’s leadership and bridging the gap between research evidence and practice to support diversity and inclusion in the workplace. She is a Chartered Psychologist, an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society (BPS) and Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). Helen is passionate about making work a place where all colleagues feel that they belong and are supported to succeed.

About the Contributors

Dr Marilena Antoniadou is a Reader in Business Psychology at the Department of People and Performance of the Manchester Metropolitan University. One stream of her research activities pertains to organizational phenomena that involve emotional processes, such as emotional intelligence, leadership and values. She has published within the fields of educational management and organizational psychology. She is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy/Advance HE, a Chartered Academic member of the CIPD, and a member of the CMI.

Prof Carol Atkinson is Professor of Human Resource Management, based in Manchester Metropolitan University Business School’s Centre for Decent Work and Productivity. Her research interests center on creating decent work, including the intersection of gender, age and careers, and employment in the adult social care and small- and medium-sized enterprise sectors. She is currently working on a project on women’s health, including menopause transition, in a large NHS Trust in the north of England and has previously undertaken work on menopause transition in the police service. She was a Co-author of the Department of Health and Social Care’s (2020) Gender Pay Gap in Medicine project. In adult social care, she is leading an NIHR/DHSC-funded project on pay variation and has recently completed an ESRC Good Employment Learning Lab project where she led the adult social care learning lab exploring employment quality in the sector.

Prof Fiona Carmichael is Professor of Labor Economics at the University of Birmingham. Her research looks into issues relating to the employment of marginalized workers with particular emphasis on inequalities and vulnerabilities including those relating to gender, caregiving, aging, disability and poverty. Recent research has focused on aging and menopause at work and gender inequalities in low and middle-income countries.

Prof Jérôme Chabanne-Rive is a Professor of Human Resource Management at IAE Lyon School of Management, Université Jean Moulin. With a strong focus on international management and fostering global relations in higher education, he actively contributes to the field. Since September 2018, he has served as the Executive Director of the European Institute for Advanced Studies in Management (EIASM). Previously, he held the position of Dean of IAE Lyon School of Management.

Dr Mark Crowder is a Reader in Education at Manchester Metropolitan University, which he joined in 2013, having previously taught at the University of Chester. He has more than 20 years’ management experience and studied at Liverpool John Moores University and the University of Liverpool before gaining his PhD at the University of Chester. He is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy/Advance HE and a Fellow of both the Chartered Management Institute and the Institute of Leadership.

Dr Eileen Cunningham is a Senior Lecturer in Business Psychology at Manchester Metropolitan University, Chartered Occupational Psychologist, Careers Adviser and Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Her special interest lies in career development and her PhD research explored student experiences of unpaid work.

Prof Jo Duberley is Professor of Organization Studies at University of Birmingham. Central to her research is an interest in the concept of career. In recent years, she has developed research examining the impact of gender, ethnicity, social class and age on careers in a variety of contexts, including defense, professional service organizations and the police in the UK. Current interests focus on the career progression of women in the professions, aging and menopause at work.

Dr Keely Duddin is a Chartered Psychologist (British Psychological Society), and a Lecturer in the Faculty of Business and Law at the Open University. With expertise in Health Psychology and Policing, Keely’s knowledge and experience contribute significantly to her research and teaching. Previously the Head of Research for a UK policing organization, her focus is on research that informs best practice and delivers service improvements. Her research interests are diverse, but she has a strong emphasis on well-being and mental health, maternity experiences and perinatal mental health, suicide prevention, health psychology, and evidence-based practice. She frequently employs a mixed-methods approach and has conducted both quantitative and qualitative research.

Dr Samantha Evans is Senior Lecturer in Human Resource Management at the University of Kent and the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Lead for Kent Business School. Her research examines diversity in organizations and how social class impacts the experiences and opportunities of employees. Her research has been published in journals such as Work, Employment and Society; The International Journal of Human Resource Management; Management Learning; Employee Relations & Personnel Review.

Dr Sajia Ferdous is a Lecturer in Organizational Behavior at Queen’s Management School, Queen’s University Belfast. Her research explores employment and labor market inequality issues for marginalized workers (e.g., migrants, women and older workers) within the UK and European labor market contexts. She is interested in studying these issues from the critical management and intersectional perspectives. She is an Associate Fellow of the Advance HE in the UK and also an Associate Member of the CIPD UK.

Dr Grace Gao is a Senior Lecturer in Leadership and HRM at Northumbria University, UK. Her area of expertise encompasses relational and interdisciplinary perspectives on equality, diversity, and inclusion at work. This involves incorporating feminist theories (e.g., intersectionality) and interrogating work on the gendered nature of non-traditional employment and the emergence of women in male-dominated sectors across borders. Her work has appeared in international outlets such as Gender, Work and Organization. She is currently doing projects on the topic of singlehood, cohabiting and mobility. She also serves as the Social Media Editor for Gender, Work and Organization and the Co-editor for Special Issues “Towards an Integrated Theory of Gender, Time and Organizations” at the International Journal of Management Reviews (IJMR) and “(Un)learning from the Margins in Management and Organization Research” at Management Learning.

Dr Robin A. Hadley is a Leading Expert on the psychological and sociological impact of male childlessness across the life course. He has written several invited academic pieces and contributed blogs and podcasts to infertility and involuntary childless support groups and he is a Founder Member of the Campaign Group Ageing Without Children. He is from Old Trafford, Manchester (UK). He comes from a large working-class family and left school with few qualifications. His previous careers include counselor, deputy technical manager, scientific photographer, and kitchen assistant. In his 40s, Robin switched careers and trained as a Counselor. Robin’s training as a Counselor and his own experience of desperately wanting to be a dad led him to research the desire for fatherhood for his self-funded MA (2008) and MSc (2009) and involuntarily childless older men for his PhD (2015). His research has been widely published in international and national media and his book How Is a Man Supposed To Be a Man? Male Childlessness a Life Course Disrupted has received critical acclaimed.

Dr Gail Hebson is a Researcher at the Manchester Metropolitan University and Honorary Senior Lecturer at the Alliance Manchester Business School. Her research interests focus on employment, gender inequalities and job quality. Her current research interests include job quality in the social care sector and apprenticeship training in the hospitality sector as a lever to improve job quality and skills.

Dr Sarah-Jane Lennie is a Chartered Psychologist (British Psychological Society) and Lecturer in the Department of Police, Organization and Practice, at the Open University. Sarah-Jane specializes in social psychology, emotions in the workplace and the mental health and well-being of police officers. Prior to returning to academia Sarah-Jane served for 18 years as a Police Officer, to the rank of Detective Inspector. Sarah-Jane is an Associate to the College of Policing, as a subject matter expert in mental health and organizational culture, and leadership. Sarah-Jane’s research focus is on supporting police officer’s emotional well-being through the exploration of officer lived experience and the impact of organizational culture and leadership on individual mental health. Sarah-Jane works with police forces around the country and challenges the perception that mental well-being and “resilience” are individual qualities, raising awareness of the role of stigma, emotional suppression, and dissociation in the increasing cases of PTSD within British officers.

Dr Humera Manzoor is an Associate Professor in Management Sciences at Institute of Business Studies, Kohat University of Science and Technology, Pakistan. She has a strong interest in exploring the nuances of embodied and emotion dynamics at workplace. Her current work includes the investigation of embodied and emotional experiences in relation to gender inequality at workplace. She is a Qualitative Researcher with a particular interest in ethnographic and narrative methods.

Dr Clare Mumford is a Researcher specializing in qualitative research methodologies. Since 2016 she has worked on a number of research projects across the University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University, and Lancaster University Management School, where she is currently a Senior Research Associate. Her research interests broadly focus on the experience of work and work relations and on the theme of care.

Prof Katrina Pritchard is a Professor in the School of Management, Swansea University. Her research interests include identity (in a variety of employment/volunteering contexts) and diversity (with a focus on age, sexuality and gender). She is a Qualitative Researcher who embraces methodological diversity and innovation and has published widely on topics ranging from digital ethics, ethnography and visual studies to multi-method research.

Dr Cara Reed is a Senior Lecturer in Organization Studies at Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University. She has been involved in both international and national projects on the topic of age and organizations and has published her research in a range of leading publications such as the likes of Management Learning. She has also conducted policy-based studies on the topic of age, collaborating with a range of quantitative and qualitative researchers from Europe to review evidence regarding transitions to retirement for the Centre for Ageing Better.

Dr Fabio Rizzi is a Lecturer, Researcher, and Business Consultant in the realm of leadership and employee empowerment. He helps people and organizations develop innovative solutions to business challenges, such as growth, extreme competition, and organizational change. His focus is very much on providing the necessary support to ensure people develop the skills, knowledge, behaviors and experience they need to overcome day-to-day challenges and achieve their long-term goals.

Dr Linna Sai is Assistant Professor in the School of Economics and Management at Inner Mongolia University, China. Prior to this, she worked at several universities in the UK, including University of Huddersfield, Open University and Keele University. Linna’s work examines the challenges individuals face in different work contexts and she seeks to contribute to a deeper understanding of work, organizations, and society, informing policies for more inclusive and equitable environments.

Katy Schnitzler is a Business Consultant, Researcher and Lecturer, specializing in the areas of reproductive health, and childlessness, at work. Katy is the Founder and Director of MIST Workshops Ltd., a company working with organizations to provide training, policy guidance and support for the prevalent and significant (yet often overlooked) issues of pregnancy loss, infertility and childlessness. Her work with organizations is informed by the most current academic research, notably findings from her PhD. Katy has also taught and supervised students on a variety of degree and Masters courses, including Psychology, Business and Health and Social Care. Katy has presented at academic conferences, and has won awards for her research. Through her consultancy, Katy has collaborated with various organizations, including The NHS, CIPD, global energy and financial companies, universities and baby loss charities.

Prof Marc Valax is a Professor of Human Resource Management at Université Côte d’Azur. He holds the position of Director of Executive Doctorate and Executive Master’s in Business Administration programs. In addition to his role as a Professor, he serves as an assessor for International Relations. With his expertise in the field of business administration, he plays a crucial role in providing executive-level education and fostering international collaborations.

Dr Rebecca Whiting is a Reader in Organization Studies at Birkbeck, University of London. Her research interests include socially constructed aspects of diversity (particularly age, gender and class), work-life boundaries, research ethics and the role of digital technology in the organization and meaningfulness of contemporary work. Her research has used a variety of qualitative methodologies, including participatory video diaries, multimodal analysis of online data and discourse methods.

Dr Madeleine Wyatt is Reader in Diversity and Inclusion at King’s Business School, King’s College London, and a Chartered Occupational Psychologist. Madeleine’s research examines diversity in organizations and how gender, ethnicity and social class can impact on the leadership journeys and career experiences of employees. Her particular focus is on how individuals perceive and navigate informal and political workplace processes and how organizations can build more inclusive political cultures. Her research has been published in The Leadership Quarterly, Human Relations and the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology.

Dr Mengyi Xu is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Human Resource Management (HRM), and Course Director of MSc in Management and HRM at Cranfield School of Management, Cranfield University, UK. She lectures and researches in the areas of HRM, with a strong focus on work-life interface, hybrid working and the future of work such as AI application in HRM.