Become unemployed: how it affects the perception of work-life balance

The aim is collect information about the perception of work-life balance on a sample of unemployed, investigating, also, the meanings of work and the discrepancy between the phase of occupation and unemployment in order to observe the change of perception of time devoted to work-family balance in the absence of work and develop the most appropriate instrument to investigate these issues. Ad hoc questionnaire was administered to 75 subjects. Items were taken from main scales that detect relevant factors in balancing work and family and proposed to the unemployed: Swing Scale (Geurts, et al. 2005), Carlson Scale (Carlson, et al., 2006), Clark Scale (Clark, 2001), Fisher Scale (Fisher, et al., 2009), items for unemployed from Boerchi, Garavaglia, Rustici (2006) and items for the meaning of work before and during unemployment. T-test analysis showed significant differences in perception of meaning of work before and during the period of unemployment. The new scale of reconciling work and family for the unemployed identified five factors, the first well-defined (24% of the variance). ANOVA and non-parametric analysis showed correlations with age, working hours, seniority, qualifications and familiar role of respondents. The sample size (that is increasing) and the specifical origin of the sample cause the non-generalizability of data. Areas of interest for training activities or support for mobile workers or unemployed by the policies of support to these workers, often abandoned. The use of a scale for the work-life balance in unemployed workers and the integration with the perception of meaning of work.