Management control of work‐life balance. A narrative study of an Australian financial institution

Purpose – This paper aims to understand how managers in an Australian financial institution coordinated different organisational actions for the management of the work health of employees, by adopting “work‐life balance” initiatives. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses a narrative approach to analyse various internal and external documents and has also collected “self‐accounts” of employees. Findings – It was found that management used “work‐life balance” initiatives to manage both the physical and emotional health of employees. Management's main focus was on community volunteering, which was satisfying for employees, but also of significant benefit to the organisation in terms of marketing and branding. Thus, management was able to use these initiatives to motivate employees to work towards organisational goals. Originality/value – The paper contributes to the developing literature on human competence accounting by using employee “self‐accounts” to compare with organisational statements in relation to worker health.