Work-Life Balance in Africa A Critical Approach

Work-life balance has drawn much attention from academic researchers, professionals, and politicians over the past two decades. However, despite the increased interest globally, there has been an under-representation of academic work on work-life balance across the African continent. So, this book serves as a collection of cases from various contexts across Africa and an exploration of the challenges and how best to manage human resources in this ‘Mother Continent’ with phenomenal potential.

The book’s contributions draw on various types of research (conceptual, theoretical and empirical) and incorporate contextual issues such as technology, politics, culture, and economics to supplement the readers’ insights into the varying work-life balance experiences in African countries. By highlighting theoretical underpinnings and emphasising the practical relevance of issues related to managing work and non-work commitments, this book will offer an insightful guide for students andscholars interested in Business Management, Human Resource Management, Sociology of Work, and Industrial and Organisational Psychology in developing economies.

Chapter 1: An Introduction: The Nature and Determinants of Work-Life Balance.- Chapter 2: Reimagining work-life balance from Africa: Insights for a renewed Human Resource Management.- Chapter 3: A Critical Approach to Work-Life Balance: The Moroccan Perspective.- Chapter 4:Work-Life Balance Experiences in Nigeria: Institutional and Sociocultural Perspectives.-  Chapter 5: Traditional and Contemporary Perspectives of Work-Life Balance Research and Practices: A Case of Kenya.- Chapter 6: An Exploration of the Work-Life Balance Practices in Ethiopia: Leaders’ Role of Incorporating Family-Friendly Policies and Employee Coping Mechanisms.- Chapter 7: Engaging the Flexibility Paradox: Working at/from Home and Work-Family Balance among Working Adults in South Africa.- Chapter 8: Work-Family Conflict among Formal and Informal Sector Working Mothers in Urban Ghana.-  Chapter 9: Understanding the Concept and Practice of Work-life balance. A Case of Nigerian Entrepreneurial Women.- Chapter 10: Work-family Policies and Practices in South Africa: Highlights from a Family-Responsible Employer Survey.- Chapter 11: Work-Life Balance Experiences in the Algerian Health Sector: A Work-Life Border Theory Perspective.

Hakeem Adeniyi Ajonbadi is the Course Director of the MSc Management and lectures in International Human Resource Management and Organisational Development at Birmingham City University, UK. His research addresses the challenges of labour market segmentation, organisation flexibility, work-life balance, and social relations of production. He has taught in several countries, including the UK, the UAE, Belgium and Nigeria. He has published widely in books and journals.

Chima Mordi is a Reader/Associate Professor in the College of Business, Arts and Social Sciences at Brunel University, UK. His research examines international business in emerging and developing markets, including the state of labour relations, comparative HRM in Africa, Asia and Middle Eastern countries, employer’s flexibility, the regulation of workloads in large firms, and work-life balance of white collar-workers.

Olatunji David Adekoya is a Senior Lecturer at the College of Business, Technology and Engineering, Sheffield Hallam University, UK. His research examines HRM in African countries, with a strong focus on work-life balance, organisational flexibility and employment relations. He has published widely in books and journals.