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Changing socioeconomic conditions are enticing more and more Nigerian mothers to work and pursue careers. This article explores how middle-class professional women navigate working mother subjectivities in the context of Nigeria's strong patriarchal culture, where traditional notions of maternal femininity prevail. We argue that the working mother's subjectivity is a key site where the struggle over gendered cultural meanings takes place. Drawing on 32 qualitative interviews, we demonstrate how a small group of women refused traditional feminine subject positions; however, most mothers either embraced or reluctantly acquiesced to traditional femininity, despite having access to broader cultural repertoires and material resources. By unveiling the complexities of the cultural appeal of traditional femininity and social penalties for breaching it, the article extends our understanding of how patriarchal cultures resist gendered change and the nuances and limits of individual patterns of resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While there is now an extensive body of literature on employee voice behaviour in the global North, research evidence from the global South is limited. This has constrained our understanding of the barriers that female workers face in expressing their views and concerns in developing countries such as Nigeria. This article examines the cultural factors that shape female employee voice behaviour in Nigerian workplaces. Using a meta-synthesis of 52 semi-structured interviews and approximately 200 h of non-participant observation, we identify a high-power distance orientation and patriarchal norms as two cultural factors that contribute to gender imbalance in the workplace, making it difficult for female employees to express their opinions, suggestions, ideas, or complaints about important workplace issues. Our findings highlight a system of patriarchal hegemony and gender inequality that makes voice behaviour difficult for female workers. The findings also show that contextualised religious norms and teachings encourage silence among female employees. We provide valuable insights into the cultural norms that inhibit female employee voice behaviour in the Global South context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The looming argument on the decision of the United Kingdom (UK) to leave the European Union (EU) popularly referred to as Brexit is UK's greatest concern today. While business experts and economic analysts have been trying to decipher the potential effects of this decision, many businesses are beginning to prepare themselves for the worst-case scenario. This study is primarily aimed at investigating the potential economic impact of Brexit on business performance in the United Kingdom with specific reference to the construction industry which serves as one of the UK's major contributor to output. The methodology, therefore, is based on an epistemological assumption grounded in positivistic philosophy with the use of a deductive and applied research approach. Additionally, both quantitative and qualitative research methods were employed using secondary sources of data. The data was further estimated using a t-Test statistical model to test the significance level between the population means of the variables measured along a time period that covers 2014 to 2018. The variables measured include industry labour employment, interest rate, inflation and exchange rate, output, imports, and exports. The research findings suggest that there are potential adverse effects of Brexit on labour activities within the industry if a favourable deal is failed to be struck. Additionally, external economic factors were deemed to have a very high negative influence on business performance. It was also reported that trading activities which were the core performance measures in the industry were not significantly reactive to Brexit since the leave vote although there are potential threats after the implementation period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the numerous existing works of literature on work-life balance (WLB) in Western countries, there are yet to be sufficient studies that explore the countries in the Sub-Saharan African (SSA) region. This paper purposed to explore the dynamic roles of organisational culture (OC) on WLB practices while examining the implications of workplace expectations and workplace support within the Nigerian army. The study employs the use of qualitative data generated from 10 semi-structured interviews and 100 open-ended questionnaire responses extracted from members of the Nigerian army across the country's six geo-political zones aimed at investigating the various roles of OC in the context of WLB. The findings reveal that workplace expectations characterised by long working hours, a required physical presence at work, and deployment and relocation adversely affected the actualisation of WLB, while an unsupportive OC led to work-life conflict (WLC) among the service members. Working for longer hours was revealed to be one of the prevalent organisational culture, likewise workplace inflexibility. The study explores the SSA region, which is yet to be given the needed attention as it pertains to the WLB of employees and specifically the military personnel. It reveals the need for HR to provide effective policies that bolster WLB practices taking into consideration the roles of institutional influences and OC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ongoing research on the uncertainties surrounding Brexit as a form of regional disintegration is a teeming challenge for many of the industries in the United Kingdom, and as such, various researches are being undergone by experts in different fields to analyse the potential effects both positive and negative on the various industries. This research, therefore, aimed to focus mainly on the effect of regional disintegration on industry performance with emphasis on Brexit. The research considers the financial services and insurance industry in the United Kingdom as a case study. To consider the potential effect of regional disintegration, the research examined a 5-year quarterly data trend analysis spanning from 2014 till 2018 which represents two years before and two years after the pronouncement of the referendum in June 2016. The study further adopted a deductive approach while using both quantitative and qualitative research strategies. The data collection method involved the use of secondary data gotten from government reports and statistical bulletins. The variables were grouped into three categories including the macroeconomic factors (inflation, exchange rate and interest rate), trade performance (imports, exports and industry consumer price index), and demand and supply of labour (employment levels). The data analysis was conducted using a t-test statistic to ascertain if there is any significant difference in the population means of the variables. The findings revealed that the macroeconomic factors have more significant adverse effects on the industry's performance, while there are both positive and negative effects of regional integration on trade performance. Lastly, a no-deal outcome is likely to pose a significant threat to the industry's demand and supply of labour. In general, the findings of the research allude to the fact that regional disintegration has both positive and negative effects on industry performance. Some recommendations were provided based on a no-deal or deal outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]