{"product_id":"worklife-advantage-9781118944837","title":"WorkLife Advantage","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eWork-Life Advantage\u003c\/i\u003e analyses how employer-provision of family-friendly' working arrangements - designed to help workers better reconcile work, home and family - can also enhance firms' capacities for learning and innovation, in pursuit of long-term competitive advantage and socially inclusive growth.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003eBrings together major debates in labour geography, feminist geography, and regional learning in novel ways, through a focus on the shifting boundaries between work, home, and family\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eAddresses a major gap in the scholarly research surrounding the narrow business case' for work-life balance by developing a more socially progressive, workerist dual agenda'\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eChallenges and disrupts masculinist assumptions of the ideal worker and the associated labour market marginalization of workers with significant home and family commitments\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eBased on 10 years of research with over 300 IT workers and 150 IT firms in the UK and Ireland, with important insights \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWork–life advantage: sustaining\u003cbr\u003eregional learning and innovation\u003cbr\u003eAl James\u003cbr\u003eOxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2017\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 978-1-118-94483-7 (paperback)\u003cbr\u003e248 pp. Price: $39.95\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 978-1-118-94484-4 (hardback)\u003cbr\u003e248 pp. Price: $94.95\u003cbr\u003eThis fascinating book offers a well-grounded\u003cbr\u003eand clearly stated argument that work–life\u003cbr\u003ebalance is a crucial element in the mix of\u003cbr\u003efactors that sustain regional learning and\u003cbr\u003einnovation, making a significant contribution\u003cbr\u003eto the literature that has burgeoned on this\u003cbr\u003etopic in recent decades. In the process, it\u003cbr\u003edevelops a profound critique of the literature\u003cbr\u003eon regional development as largely genderblind\u003cbr\u003eand overly focused on production networks\u003cbr\u003eto the neglect of processes of social\u003cbr\u003ereproduction.\u003cbr\u003eThe book is based on extensive research\u003cbr\u003earound Dublin, Ireland and Cambridge,\u003cbr\u003eUK—including surveys of 150 employers,\u003cbr\u003eover 60 interviews with IT professionals and\u003cbr\u003eadditional interviews with informants from\u003cbr\u003eunions, development agencies and other organisations\u003cbr\u003ebefore the crisis of 2008; supplemented\u003cbr\u003eby online surveys with IT workers in\u003cbr\u003elate 2008 and 2010. While the data were\u003cbr\u003egathered during a particular era of financial\u003cbr\u003eboom and bust, they do not appear dated—at\u003cbr\u003eleast partly because the IT sector suffered less\u003cbr\u003ethan many others and more generally because\u003cbr\u003eissues of gendering and work–life balance in IT\u003cbr\u003ehave been persistent across a variety of technology\u003cbr\u003eand other business cycles.\u003cbr\u003eThis research is presented in three core\u003cbr\u003eempirical chapters. The first of these presents\u003cbr\u003ethe core work processes in IT and the work–\u003cbr\u003elife conflict they create, maintaining a commendable\u003cbr\u003efocus on how the dynamic intersection\u003cbr\u003eof work practices and gendered meanings\u003cbr\u003eof work create varying challenges at different\u003cbr\u003etimes. The second empirical chapter focuses\u003cbr\u003emore closely on policies and practices designed\u003cbr\u003eto reduce work–life conflict within firms.\u003cbr\u003eNicely weaving together statistical and interview\u003cbr\u003edata, the chapter assesses the ‘mutual\u003cbr\u003egains’ for firms and workers of various initiatives,\u003cbr\u003efinding that practices that workers particularly\u003cbr\u003evalue (e.g. working from home,\u003cbr\u003ereduced hours) also provide benefits to firms\u003cbr\u003eof more diverse workforces, less fatigue and\u003cbr\u003eincreased productivity.\u003cbr\u003ePerhaps, the most distinctive contribution\u003cbr\u003eof the book is in the final empirical chapter\u003cbr\u003ethat extends this analysis to inter-firm relations\u003cbr\u003eand regional processes. Part of the\u003cbr\u003eanalysis consists of a critique of the dominant\u003cbr\u003eunderstandings of ‘zero drag’ regional labour\u003cbr\u003emobility as a vehicle of learning and innovation.\u003cbr\u003eHowever, James put his data to good\u003cbr\u003euse to go further and document how the search\u003cbr\u003efor work–life balance is a major motivating\u003cbr\u003efactor in labour mobility and how that mobility\u003cbr\u003eis most constrained for the women workers\u003cbr\u003ewho are in greatest need of its potential\u003cbr\u003ebenefits. Again, firms and regional economies\u003cbr\u003eas well as workers would benefit from worklife\u003cbr\u003efriendly mobility.\u003cbr\u003eThis is an excellent book. It is clearly\u003cbr\u003ewritten and engaging with a commendable\u003cbr\u003emix of empirical rigour and detail, passion for\u003cbr\u003ethe issues at hand and a commitment to the\u003cbr\u003eimportance of tackling them based on careful\u003cbr\u003eresearch. The focus on ‘mutual gains’ proves\u003cbr\u003eto be very useful because James examines the\u003cbr\u003edynamics of actual and potential gains in\u003cbr\u003edetail rather than just relying on the phrase as\u003cbr\u003ea slogan. The book goes well beyond the point\u003cbr\u003ethat there are quite generalised benefits for\u003cbr\u003efirms to outline the various benefits and the\u003cbr\u003edifferent conditions under which they arise—\u003cbr\u003eas well as some potential benefits that are only\u003cbr\u003erarely realised.\u003cbr\u003eThe book also opens up a range of questions\u003cbr\u003ethat it doesn’t quite answer. While the\u003cbr\u003efocus on work–life balance is an advantage, in\u003cbr\u003ethat it provides clear links to organisational\u003cbr\u003echoices and policy relevant issues, a more\u003cbr\u003esustained reconstruction of regional learning\u003cbr\u003etheories at the end of the book would have\u003cbr\u003efurther augmented the findings. The implications\u003cbr\u003eof the analysis for this literature could\u003cbr\u003e The Author(s) (2019). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com\u003cbr\u003eJournal of Economic Geography 19 (2019) pp. 539–540 doi:10.1093\/jeg\/lbz005\u003cbr\u003eAdvance Access Published on 26 February 2019\u003cbr\u003eDownloaded from https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/joeg\/article-abstract\/19\/2\/539\/5365501 by University of Sheffield user on 07 June 2019\u003cbr\u003ebe taken even further. To what extent are\u003cbr\u003einter-personal networks between partner companies,\u003cbr\u003efor example, drivers of an ‘always on’\u003cbr\u003eculture?\u003cbr\u003eMore attention could also have been paid to\u003cbr\u003ethe occupational and organisational difference in\u003cbr\u003ethe workers’ settings, disaggregating the categories\u003cbr\u003eof ‘worker’ and ‘firm’. While the distinct\u003cbr\u003efocus on intra- and inter-firm processes yielded\u003cbr\u003erich insights, this raised the question of how firms\u003cbr\u003einteracted with their broader regional environment\u003cbr\u003eand how this shaped work–life balance.\u003cbr\u003eThe enduring puzzle of unrealised mutual gains\u003cbr\u003eremains—if there are gains to be made by firms\u003cbr\u003e(of which they are somewhat aware), then why\u003cbr\u003edon’t they act to take advantage of them?\u003cbr\u003eCritically, perhaps the solutions as well as some\u003cbr\u003eof the problems lie at the regional level. If many\u003cbr\u003eworkers are partly motivated by the search for\u003cbr\u003ework work–life balance friendly employers but\u003cbr\u003eemployers are still not responding in large\u003cbr\u003enumbers to these ‘market signals’, then collective\u003cbr\u003eaction at the regional level will be critical. Despite\u003cbr\u003ethe rhetorical commitment to limitless growth,\u003cbr\u003eICT firms may be willing to sacrifice a degree of\u003cbr\u003egrowth to forego disruption of gendered practices.\u003cbr\u003eWhile the book touches on these issues,\u003cbr\u003ethere is much more to be said (as James notes).\u003cbr\u003eJames ends the book on a number of\u003cbr\u003epotential extensions of this work, rightly\u003cbr\u003erecognising some limits of an exclusively\u003cbr\u003eregional focus. Some extensions refine the\u003cbr\u003efocus on production and labour networks\u003cbr\u003ethrough a greater focus on inter-firm networks\u003cbr\u003ebeyond the region—particularly because these\u003cbr\u003edynamic regions are as global as they are local.\u003cbr\u003eHow do these inter-regional ties shape firm\u003cbr\u003ecapacities within regions and how do work–life\u003cbr\u003ebalance practices diffuse across these transnational\u003cbr\u003eorganisational networks? Another set\u003cbr\u003eof extensions beyond the regional focus, also\u003cbr\u003enoted by James, are in the direction of\u003cbr\u003ecomparative analysis of different regions and\u003cbr\u003eanalysis of how they are shaped by their\u003cbr\u003epolitical and institutional environments. The\u003cbr\u003ebook touches on the comparative differences\u003cbr\u003ebetween Ireland and the UK without fully\u003cbr\u003eanalysing them.\u003cbr\u003eThis is an informative and insightful book.\u003cbr\u003eFor those interested in gendering of economic\u003cbr\u003elife, this book will be a welcome addition to\u003cbr\u003etheir stock of knowledge, adding the region to\u003cbr\u003ethe list of deeply profoundly gendered economic\u003cbr\u003einstitutions. For those whose focus is on\u003cbr\u003eregional development but who have paid little\u003cbr\u003eattention to gender, this is a must read.\u003cbr\u003eSea´n O´ Riain\u003cbr\u003eDepartment of Sociology, National University\u003cbr\u003eof Ireland Maynooth\u003cbr\u003esean.oriain@mu.ie\u003cbr\u003e540 . Book Reviews\u003cbr\u003eDownloaded from https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/joeg\/article-abstract\/19\/2\/539\/5365501 by University of Sheffield user on 07 June 2019\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eList of Figures viii\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eList of Tables ix\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSeries Editor’s Preface xi\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePreface and Acknowledgements xii\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eList of Abbreviations xv\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1 Inclusive Regional Learning? 1\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2 Recentering Regional Learning: Beyond Masculinist Geographies of Regional Advantage 16\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3 Work]Life Balance and its Uncertain ‘Business Case’ 38\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4 Researching Labour Geographies of Work-Life and Learning in Ireland and the UK 67\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5 Juggling Work, Home and Family in the Knowledge Economy 86\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e6 Overcoming Work-Life Conflict and the Gendered Limits to Learning and Innovation? 117\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e7 Work-Life Balance, Cross-Firm Worker Mobility and Gendered Knowledge Spillovers 145\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e8 Conclusions: Gendered Regional Learning and Work-Life Advantage 176\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eReferences 197\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndex 000\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"John Wiley and Sons Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49406952866135,"sku":"9781118944837","price":33.4,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781118944837.jpg?v=1730497671","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/worklife-advantage-9781118944837","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}