Organizational responses to work-life balance issues: The adoption and use of family-friendly policies in Korean organizations

Abstract

ABSTRACT Korea’s low birth rate raises the issue of work-life balance (WLB) in the country. Given this context, this study aims to explore the factors that contribute to the adoption and use of family-friendly policies (FFPs) as a result of companies’ adaptive responses to internal and external pressures. This study explores these factors by focusing on the organizational slack and internal constituents based on organizational adaptation theory. The findings indicate that internal constituents (i.e., labor unions and the proportion of female, older and professional employees) have an impact on the adoption and use of FFPs, while the impact of organizational slack is limited. The results suggest strengthening policies to facilitate communications between employees and employers as well as among employees to enhance the effectiveness of WLB policies.