Work–Life-Balance Policies for Women and Men in an Islamic Culture: A Culture-Centred and Religious Research Perspective

Abstract

This paper aims to explore the nature of Work–Life Balance (WLB) policies offered within a developing country (Gaza; Palestine) by two telecommunication companies. Firstly, the cultural context is described, in which two semi-public companies have developed a particular set of family-friendly policies, which have attempted to serve the needs of employees of a country enduring blockade and bombardment. Then, ideas are developed exploring why the adoption of Work–Life Balance (WLB) policies in these organisations may have taken a particular pathway. Using the value assumptions of an Islamically informed critical realist approach, qualitative studies have been undertaken in which 20 managers and 42 employees (one third female) have been interviewed in two semi-public companies during a time of turbulence (2015 to 2021) in the political economy of Gaza. These interviews have been subjected to systematic qualitative analysis and interpreted from the methodologies of critical realism and auto-ethnography. The reasons for the provision of WLB benefits identified by respondents were often different in kind and degree from those found in studies in Western countries. These assumed reasons also differed between managers and professional employees. Generally, WLB benefits supported women in an Islamic and Arabic culture in ways which were resonant with cultural settings, but which also reflected local political and union pressures, government regulations, and international influences. The reasons for the provision of WLB benefits identified by respondents were often different in kind and degree from those found in studies in Western countries. These reasons also differed between managers and professional employees. Generally, WLB benefits supported women in an Islamic and Arabic culture in ways which were resonant with cultural and religious settings. This study, the first of its kind in a Muslim, Arabic culture deserves replication with both qualitative and quantitative methodologies.