A relational understanding of work-life balance of Muslim migrant women in the West: future research agenda

Increasing globalisation and work intensification has led to a blurring of roles and boundaries between work and family. Such influences are more pronounced in migrant workforces who often struggle to balance their work and life in a new national context. The problem of work life balance (WLB) is further compounded in the case of minority migrant groups such as Muslim women living and working in a Western context, as it is unclear how, in the face of discrimination, Islamophobia, family and other socio-cultural and religious pressures and the WLB issues of migrant Muslim women (MMW) are enacted. As most studies of WLB are at a singular level of analysis, this paper contributes to the WLB literature, through the lens of intersectionality, by providing a multi-level relational understanding of WLB issues of MMW working in a Western context. Future research and themes identified in this paper provides a multi-level and relational understanding of WLB of MMW and implications for managers tasked with managing WLB issues for Muslim migrant women in Western contexts are also discussed.