Worcestershire: A Place to Live and Work. Work-life Balance Issues in Rural Areas: Report to Adjust the Balence, Worcestershire County Council, Birmingham and Solihull Learning and Skills Council

This research emerges from the Adjust the Balance programme which aims to promote and improve work-life balance strategies in the West Midlands through liaising with employers, raising awareness of individual needs and promoting flexible working practices. It is obvious that a diverse range of issues impact on an individual’s work-life balance. These will be linked to personal attributes such as age, gender, ethnicity and class as well as to issues such as education, health, (dis)ability, living conditions, housing, family and household circumstances. Similarly, ‘external’ factors such as the size and nature of rural businesses, service provision, transport and accessibility will play a role in shaping people’s ability to achieve a satisfactory quality of life and their ability to balance work commitments with other aspects of their lives.
Although the broader issues associate