The Impact of COVID-19 on Work-Life Balance Policy Disclosures of the Top Fortune 500 Companies: An Empirical Investigation

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to widespread challenges across the different sectors of the economy, significantly disrupting organizations and human resource management (HRM) practices. In response, employers have pivoted towards flexible work arrangements and enhanced Work-Life Balance (WLB) policies to safeguard employee health and stable employment. Organizations have communicated important policy initiatives to their various stakeholders through disclosures on their websites. There is a gap in the literature regarding the types of WLB website disclosures and the factors that drive such communication. The objectives of this mixed-methods research are three-fold. First, it analyzed the websites of the 150 largest U.S. corporations on the Fortune 500 list for information on their WLB policies. Second, it examined whether the pandemic affected these disclosures. Third, it investigated the relationship between these disclosures and financial variables, such as revenues, return on assets, and return on equity. Content analysis was employed to understand the types and intensity of WLB disclosures from corporate websites in 2019 (before COVID) and 2021 (after its peak). The codes for a-priori content analysis were derived from the Federal WLB Survey, conducted by the Office of Personnel Management, and adapted based on the latest literature in HRM. The results of the content analysis provided the data on WLB disclosures that were used for the quantitative analyses. Results from the Paired Sample T-Tests revealed substantial growth in WLB policy disclosures from 2019 to 2021 in all reviewed categories. This indicates an increased emphasis on the development and communication of WLB policies by organizations following the pandemic. Results of the multiple regression analysis revealed a statistically significant relationship between revenues of corporations and their website disclosures, after controlling for industry type. The results of the study have both practical and theoretical implications. It validates the importance of WLB policies in areas such as workplace flexibility, leave, health and wellness, family and dependent care, and employee assistance. The results affirm some of the studies in corporate sustainability that companies that have more financial resources seem to provide their employees with more benefits and are more likely to engage in external disclosures.