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Australian Work and Life Index (AWALI)

AWALI 2010

The Australian Work and Life Index (AWALI) is a national survey of work-life outcomes amongst working Australians. AWALI commenced in 2007 and has been repeated annually by the Centre for Work + Life at the University of South Australia in partnership with the SA and WA governments.

REPORTS

The 2010 national AWALI report was launched on 3 August 2010 at CEDA. This report together with a South Australian report for SafeWork SA are downloadable below. Launch presentation.

How much should we work? Working hours, holidays, and working life: the participation challenge. 

Executive Summary <PDF 533 kb>  SA AWALI

Full Report  <PDF 1.1 MB >

Juggling work-life balance in South Australia

Executive Summary <PDF 450 kb>

Full Report  <PDF 1.1 MB >

Appendix <PDF 467kb>

About AWALI

AWALI serves as a benchmarking tool to compare and contrast work-life outcomes across various groups defined by geographic location, employment characteristics (e.g. occupation, work hours, industry, job quality) and social demographics (e.g. gender, age, parenthood, income).

It also serves as a powerful analysis tool to examine the protective and risk factors related to work-life conflict, and the social, community and health outcomes affected by the state of the work-life relationship.

AWALI makes a new and useful contribution to existing knowledge and policy in four ways:

  1. It includes a random sample drawn from all working Australians, permitting analysis of work and family issues but extending more broadly to work–life issues as they affect all Australian workers across the life cycle.
  2. It is annual in nature, allowing for the analysis of change over time, based on a cross-section of surveyed working Australians.
  3. It includes work-to-community interactions.
  4. It analyses a wide range of life issues (including care responsibilities, relationships and health outcomes) with a wide range of work effects (including hours of work, job quality, forms of employment, industry, occupation and unionisation). This analysis is set in the context of geographic, personal and household factors (including gender, age, education, location and commuting time).

At the core of AWALI is the five-item work–life index which assesses the work–life relationship on five key dimensions:

  1. 'General interference' (i.e. the frequency with which work interferes with responsibilities or activities outside work and vice versa)
  2. 'Time strain' (i.e. the frequency with which work keeps workers from spending the amount of time they would like with family or friends and vice versa)
  3. Work-to-community interaction, measuring the frequency with which work affects workers' ability to develop or maintain connections and friendships in their community
  4. Satisfaction with overall work–life 'balance'
  5. Frequency of feeling rushed or pressed for time.

AWALI data has been collected annually (March/April) using computer-assisted telephone interviews.

EARLIER AWALI REPORTS AWALI 2009 Report

A national report summarising key findings is produced following each data collection. Each AWALI survey takes a particular focus: in 2007 it was on working time, in 2008, workplace culture, and in 2009, it focuses on requests for flexibility and their outcomes, undertakes some international comparisons and considers how work-life pressures affect participation in education and training. AWALI is funded as part of the Work, Life and Health Project, an ARC-funded study in partnership with SafeWork SA and the Western Australian Department of Health. 

Contact person: Dr Natalie Skinner: natalie.skinner@unisa.edu.au; ph 08 8302 4234

2009 ReportAWALI report 2008
Work, life and workplace flexibility: the Australian work and life index 2009 (PDF 685 kb)
Barbara Pocock, Natalie Skinner and Reina Ichii, Centre for Work + Life, 2009.

Presentations at AWALI launch, 30 July 2009:
Barbara Pocock, Work, life and workplace flexibility (PowerPoint 2.90 Mb)
Natalie Skinner, Participation in Education and Training-A Work-Life Issue (PowerPoint 2.48 Mb)

2008 Report
Work, life and workplace culture: the Australian work and life index 2008 (PDF 3.3 MB) Natalie Skinner and Barbara Pocock, Centre for Work + Life, 2008.AWALI report 2007

2007 Report
Work, Life and Time: The Australian Work and Life Index 2007 (PDF 1.22 MB)
Barbara Pocock, Natalie Skinner and Philippa Williams, Centre for Work+ Life, 2007.

For more information on the concepts and methodology underpinning AWALI see the CWL Discussion Paper No. 1/07 The Australian Work and Life Index (AWALI): Concepts, Methodology and Rationale (PDF 226 kb).

 


 

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