The Development of a Tool to Monitor the Impact of Flexible Conditions, Including Remote Employment, on Youth Work-Life Balance Parameters

Ural State University of Economics, 620144 Ekaterinburg, Russia

^* Corresponding author: tmark@mail.ru

Abstract

Transformational processes in labor relations affect the employees’ social well-being. The published empirical works show that the values and perceptions of employment conditions differ among employees of various generations. The authors set the goal to develop and test a tool to monitor the work-life balance parameters of young people, belonging to the economically active part of Generation Z. The tool should be able to identify real and desired models of work-life balance and monitor well-being by satisfaction with the established ratio in the distribution of personal time over key areas that characterize the quality of life depending on the form and type of labor relations. When developing the tool, the authors paid special attention to the possibility of measuring the impact of modern flexible employment formats, including remote employment, on the social well-being of working youth of generation Z. The authors rely on the provisions of work/family border theory, generational theories and methods for assessing workplace toxicity. The application of sociological methods and instruments is justified. The authors developed a questionnaire for monitoring the satisfaction rate, tested during the pilot expert survey of young specialists in the Russian labor market by running a personal formalized survey. The respondents' responses were recorded in Google online questionnaire. An expert survey was conducted in May 2020. The results obtained confirmed that the tool allows to assess the required parameters. There was identified a positive relationship between flexible forms of employment and satisfaction with the work-life balance in the youth environment. Further research is considered to be promising.