ABSTRACT
There has not been a lot of attention paid towards women workers who work in the labour-intensive manufacturing industry and the problem of how they juggle the demands of family and work, as well as overcome their work-family problems. The importance of this study is shown due to the inability of previous research to show that the balance between work and family has a negative impact on women workers and their environment. This paper is the result of a case study conducted between 2013 and 2015 on women workers (working as operators) in the quality export sports shoe factory in Tangerang, Banten. The purpose of this study is to determine the source and impact of the problems facing women workers, the environmental support required to achieve a ‘work-family balance’ and how they interpret the conditions of a ‘work-family balance’. Research findings reveal a number of causes at work, in the family and in individual women workers that inhibit them from achieving a ‘work-family balance’, as well as a number of other factors that support the achievement of a ‘work-family balance’. The support of both the government and companies are required to assist women workers to overcome their problems, through policies and programmes that are sensitive to the needs and limitations of women workers in managing a work-family balance, in order to achieve ‘worker well-being’.
