Rural areas offer unique contexts for work–life balance (WLB) development due to distinct working conditions and employment structures. Employees who have access to flexible work arrangements, non-material bonuses, and peaceful workplaces are more productive (lower absenteeism, greater commitment). The aim of the study was to determine the aspects of support and types of WLB among employees from rural areas. Two analyses were conducted: PCA (principal component analysis) for the entire sample, and a fuzzy c-means cluster analysis for wage employees. Based on PCA, three aspects of WLB support were identified: leave, work, and work hygiene (regeneration). The use of emergency and family leave dominated practices supporting WLB among employees in rural areas. The respondents did not attach much importance to social benefits improving work hygiene; moreover, the work hygiene aspect was not applied in parallel with other aspects of WLB support (leave, work). As a result of clustering the respondents’ answers, four employee types were identified based on WLB assessment, demographic characteristics, and work-related factors. Clustering revealed a clear correlation between WLB assessment and employee age and gender. The highest scores in terms of the quality of work–life balance were recorded among middle-aged men (type 4). Younger people, especially women (type 1), rated their WLB as moderately good. Regardless of age and gender, as stress levels increased and personal quality of life declined, thoughts about changing jobs intensified. Employee well-being significantly influences job retention intentions among rural workers. This study uniquely integrates multiple theoretical frameworks and employs principal component analysis and fuzzy c-means clustering to explore work–life balance among rural employees, a group seldom studied. By focusing on rural contexts and offering systemic, multi-domain insights, the findings advance WLB theory and practice and provide recommendations for employers and policymakers.

W opracowaniu skupiono się na wewnętrznych czynnikach kształtujących efekty pracy grupowej. Celem badań było określenie typu członka, sposobu podejmowania decyzji oraz warunków określania zadań (planowanie, narady, postawy wobec innych członków, ryzyko zadań, występowanie strachu i kar), które towarzyszą zmianie dochodu. Źródłem informacji były opinie rolników zrzeszonych w grupach producenckich województwa podkarpackiego uzyskane w kwestionariuszu wywiadu w 2006 roku. Wyniki wskazują m.in., że w gospodarstwach, w których wzrósł dochód po wstąpieniu do grupy, powszechny był typ rolnika o charakterze plemiennym (przyjacielskim), grupowe i negocjacyjne sposoby podejmowania decyzji, a zadania realizowane były na podstawie planu, dyscypliny i wewnętrznej odpowiedzialności członków, wykazujących respekt wobec siebie i wspólnych zadań.

Work–life balance (WLB) is central to sustainable social and economic development, as reflected in the UN Sustainable Development Goals 3, 5, and 8. The purpose of this article is to identify and examine the key organisational and personal factors influencing the perceived work–life balance of employees in rural areas. The theoretical framework is grounded in three complementary approaches: the job demands–resources (JD-R) model, spillover theory, and boundary theory. Together, they offer a comprehensive perspective on role dynamics in the context of limited resources, technostress, and family-related tensions. The study was conducted on a sample of 700 rural employees in Poland, predominantly women (60.6%), with the majority aged 35–55 years (53.0%). Data were collected via a structured questionnaire and analysed using an exploratory approach based on regression trees (CART), which are effective in identifying latent and multidimensional relationships. The findings highlight the mechanisms underlying WLB disruptions in rural contexts and pinpoint areas for intervention through public and organisational policies aimed at supporting employee well-being. The most influential factors were workplace comfort, work flexibility, time autonomy, and employee age. Notably, younger employees require better working conditions than older ones to achieve similar WLB levels. The CART analysis also indicates that some disadvantages, such as low workplace comfort, can be mitigated by more flexible work schedules. Employers should therefore provide multidimensional support through complementary measures, monitor job demands, and educate employees on the effective use of available resources.

Objective: The article aimed to identify the dimensions and trajectories of work-life balance (WLB) across the Visegrad Group (V4) countries (Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary) during the period 2008-2022. We posed two research questions: which factors are most responsible for WLB and how do the dimensions of WLB evolve over time among the V4 countries? Research Design & Methods: We employed a quantitative and interpretative approach. Based on statistical data, we identified WLB dimensions in the multiple factor analysis (MFA). The estimated factor values formed the basis for analysing the trajectories of changes in three indices (WORK, TIME, FAMILY) for each of the V4 countries over the 2009-2022 period. Findings: Among the three WLB dimensions, WORK was the most explanatory for WLB. The eigenvalue of the first dimension explained 32% of the total variance, the second dimension eigenvalue contributed 26% of the variance, and the third extracted dimension explained 15% of the total variance. We demonstrated the status of three WLB dimensions over a period of 14 years across the V4 countries. We found the greatest stabilization of WLB in the FAMILY dimension, while the WORK dimension distinctly differentiated the V4 countries. Although all V4 countries showed an increasing trend in the WORK index alongside a decrease in the TIME index, they clearly followed different paths in the development of WLB, including the pursuit of diversification (WORK), similarity (FAMILY), and the maintenance of stationarity (TIME). Implications & Recommendations: The findings may be valuable for planning future strategies aimed at enhancing the employees’ WLB. Further research should focus, among other aspects, on the observation of WLB dimensions and the assessment of the trajectories identified in the article, including the impact of the V4 countries’ decisions on the development of work-life balance policies. Contribution & Value Added: The number of studies on WLB has increased significantly over the past ten years, revealing the complexity of the phenomena and presenting diverse research perspectives. The proposed study approach based on multiple-factor analysis allowed us to capture the state of WLB in terms of its dimensions (WORK, TIME, FAMILY) and its dynamics over a longer time frame (14 years) in countries originating from the same political-economic system. The differences identified at this level have led to the conclusion that the state of WLB of employees from the V4 countries is only partly determined by systemic-historical conditions. WLB in the V4 countries reveals national-level differences and prompts further comparative research.

Streszczenie: Głównym celem opracowania jest identyfikacja i ocena kontekstu kształtowania innowacji w grupach producentów rolnych. Grupy postrzegano jako miejsce tworzenia sieci gospodarstw, sprzyjających powstawaniu innowacji otwartych. Kontekst innowacji w grupach rolników odniesiono do klasycznej teorii rozwoju podmiotów rynkowych na bazie innowacji zamkniętych (Josepha Shumpetera) i innowacji otwartych tworzonych w sieciach współpracy według współczesnych teoretyków (Henry’ego Chesbrougha i Claytona Christiansena, Everetta M. Rogersa).Pomocniczym celem badań była próba odpowiedzi na pytanie, czy stan relacji wewnątrzgrupowych stanowi przesłankę do zwiększenia innowacji w gospodarstwach, biorąc pod uwagę zmianę relacji w grupach różnych profili produkcji, wskaźniki dynamiki grupowej oraz ocenę relacji z instytucjami współpracującymi. Badania przeprowadzono wśród grup producentów rolnych województwa małopolskiego, wykorzystując metodę wywiadu bezpośredniego w 2015 r. Wyniki badań wskazują na największe zaangażowanie innowacyjne w grupach sadowniczych przy stałych (niezmiennych) relacjach wewnątrzgrupowych, przeciętnych wskaźnikach grupowych i przy dużej liczbie instytucji współpracujących.

Creating is a feature of human as well as development for economic activities. In the article refers to the development of floriculture farm in the context of their strategy on the market. The history of the farm owners provide the basis for a qualitative evaluation and diagnosis cycle of life Cammeron`s and Quinn was used to assess quantitatively. The effect of both methods was an indication of the current phase of farm life to achieve the objective of holding examinations of the prospective diagnosis with the use of farm life-cycle model organization