WORK LIFE BALANCE
INTRODUCTION
WHAT IS WORK LIFE BALANCE?
Work life balance is about effectively managing the juggling act between paid work and the
other activities that are important to people. It’s not about saying that work is wrong or bad,
but that work shouldn’t completely crowd out the other things that matter to people like time
with family, participation in community activities, voluntary work, personal development and
leisure.
When an individual maintains the balance between his personal and professional life, the
phenomenon is called work-life balance.
The balance between personal and professional life vary from person to person and the
organization he or she is working. When an individual does not maintain a balance and works
too much in the organizational setting, this may cause some medical, psychological and
behavioral consequences as a result his or her productivity will also be low. Work life
balance improves individual’s health, job satisfaction commitment, involvement and reduces
absenteeism.
People are more interested in looking for a job that gives them flexibility at work. Necessary
arrangements for work life balance are required by all workers at different times in their lives
because balance is instrumental in quality initiatives by preparing an individual to deal with
the change.
WORK LIFE BALANCE IN TODAY’S WORLD
A lot of people face the problem of balancing work and family life. Many multinationals
companies remain open for 24hrs. Employees need to work in shifts. Day shift and night
shift. Night shift employees feel hard to cope with family life and health this in turn lead
divorces and bad health. Many mothers feel difficult to continue work after delivery because
her home becomes her first priority. Many companies have come up with the option of flexi
time and work from home opportunity to tap these employees. Companies have introduced
flexi timings for working so that an individual employee can complete his scheduled work by
coming to office any time. This lessens the burden of reaching office on time when personal
life needs more attention.
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NEED OF WORK LIFE BALANCE
A work life balance refers to an employee’s ability to maintain a healthy balance
between their work roles, their personal responsibilities, and family life. Companies
are increasingly recognizing the importance of helping their employees to achieve this
balance as more staff is experiencing conflict between their work and personal roles.
In today’s age, many workers are seeing their personal responsibilities increase, from
childcare and elderly care, to volunteer work, and family commitments. This comes at
a time when their work responsibilities are also increasing, resulting in a conflict
between personal and work commitments and an increase in stress.
Another factor which is contributing greatly to the difficulty in achieving a work life
balance is the changing landscape in how and where employees are expected to work.
As more and more companies embrace the technological age and move into
globalization, work is no longer restricted to the workplace. Employees can work
from almost any location with use of laptops, tablets, and smart phones and
telecommuting is on the increase. Employees can access work emails and assignments
24/7, meaning that they can also be accessible to employers and clients. Although
there are multiple benefits to this flexible working pattern, it can run the risk of
blurring the lines between work and personal life. Remote working also means that
staff may now find that their typical work week is no longer restricted to the
traditional 40 hours a week.
The result of poor balance between work and personal life not only affects employees,
but it also affects the companies that they work for. Employee stress can increase to
the level of burnout , resulting in lower productivity at work , a higher potential for
stress related health problems and absenteeism , with the associated costs related to
these being passed on the company. In addition to this employees may also experience
poor personal and co-worker relationships and reduced job satisfaction.
There are several ways in which companies can help to encourage a work life balance
for their employees, both in the policies that they implement and in ensuring that
managers actively encourage employees to take advantage of these policies. Offering
employees flexible working options helps employees design their work pattern to fit
their personal commitments, ultimately reducing conflict between the work and
personal responsibilities. Flexible working options include allowing employees to
work from home, adjust their working hours to meet personal commitments, use
remote working, compressed work weeks, and job sharing. Managers should
encourage staff to use annual leave and help employees to set boundaries by
encouraging staff not respond to work related emails and calls during non-working
hours.
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Some organizations are also implementing wellness programs, which include offering
stress reduction and time management workshops, while others are creating
wellness centers on the work site, helping to connect employees with physicians,
mental health counselors, or on- site gyms.
An employee’s satisfaction in their personal life and their ability to meet personal
commitments greatly affects their success as a worker, which greatly benefits any
company. Helping employees to achieve a good work life increases work satisfaction,
increases their loyalty to their employer and helps employers to achieve career
longevity. A company which recognizes these benefits and implements policies to
promote a work life balance is one which will not only see an increase in the
productivity of their workforce but which also sees increased retention of staff and
reduction in costs associated with high turnover
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OBJECTIVES OF WORK LIFE BALANCE
1. TO MAINTAIN YOUR MENTAL HEALTH ---
It’s unfortunate that not all employees place enough importance on mental
health in the workplace.
But the topic is really prevalent at the minute, at the minute, as studies show
the dangers and risks that could lead to variety of issues, from stress-related
illness to depression.
A very common issue that you may have heard about is burnout. This occurs
when immense pressure is put onto a person, culminating in “chronic stress”.
That stress could be caused by a variety of things, from outrageous workloads
(and no work life balance) to simply not feeling valued for the hard work you
do.
2. TO ENSURE YOUR PHYSICAL HEALTH AND WELL BIENG ---
And as, the old adage says: healthy body, healthy mind… So a great way to
maintain your mental health is to ensure that you are physically feeling healthy
too.
That includes regular exercise and eating healthy but also not overdoing it a
work!
Perhaps money can buy happiness in certain circumstances, but if you spend
all of your time working or thinking about work then it’s more than likely that
it won’t.
3. TO INCREASES PRODUCTIVITY ---
Company wants employees who are hard-working and productive.
And staying for unnecessarily long hours at the office might make you feel
like you are contributing lot to the office ; however the quality of work is
probably worse … making the effort much less productive .
Studies reveal that those who maintain a steady work- life balance are much
more productive than those who do not. A positive way of life automatically
leads to amazing results.
4. TO BECOME A MORE ROUNDED INDIVIUAL ---
If your life revolves around work, then you lose a lot of the other positive
dimensions that make you attractive to employers.
Having interests outside of work will increase and improve your skills and
make you a more rounded and interesting individual.
You’ll be able to share those experience and knowledge with other people.
This is seriously something that employees look for. That’s why you need to
include a hobbies section on your CV and that’s why they ask what you enjoy
doing in your spare time.
5.Simply Make Time
A famous commencement speech by the former President and CEO of Coca-Cola
Enterprises, Brian Dyson, paints a beautiful picture of why we strive for balance:
“Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name
them—work, family, health, friends and spirit…and you’re keeping all of these in the air.
You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But
the other four balls—family, health, friends and spirit—are made of glass. If you drop one
of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They
will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for balance in your life.”
We all fundamentally understand that making time for the things that matter in life is
important, but demanding careers often send us down the path of total imbalance. Striving for
healthy habits and discipline in certain areas—such as actually scheduling time for family to
ensure it happens—is the key.
6.Minimize Technology Where Possible
Technology and the use of our personal devices is pervasive in every facet of modern life.
Sitting in meetings or presentations, often half of the audience is looking down at their
phones, unable to concentrate on the immediate and present activity going on right in front of
them. In addition, professionals have their rhythms set by the very technology invented to
make their lives easier and free up time. Computers and mobile devices operate at high
speeds, continuously, for hours on end. We try to keep up, but it’s a “Groundhog Day” type
of never-ending challenge, and we’re destined to fall behind.
Taking a deliberate and routine break from computers and devices is really the key to rising
above the noise and putting purpose back into a daily routine. This will help individuals to
remain focused on long- and short-term goals and maintain—rather than erode—performance
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FACTORS OF WORK LIFE BALANCE
The major variables that could contribute to work life balance are individual and
organizational factors
THE INDIVIUAL FACTOR-
Three categories in individual factor in term of personality, well being and emotional
intelligence
PERSONALITY
In personality aspect focusing on BIG FIVE factor model, in human resource professionals
use this big five model personality to determine the employee placement. The dimensions
consider the individual traits that make up individual’s overall personality.
The dimensions are –
1. Openness- related to individual that are open minded, ready for new things or
experience, intelligence, imaginative, creative on their life and have wide variety of
interest.
2. Conscientiousness- those people in conscientiousness is the reliable and prompt, goal
oriented, neat and orderliness, high responsibility and hardworking.
3. Extraversion – is very energetic person, they had specific plan on their duty, easy to
attract with others, get motivation from the surrounding environment.
4. Agreeableness- these individuals are friendly and compassionate, easy to cooperate,
forgiveness, kindness, and trust.
5. Neuroticism- sometimes called emotional stability, person with this personality
always involved in negative emotions, easily involve in instability emotion such as
moody, tension and worry.
Basically the personality will define how people react and deal with situation. The
ability of person in making decision in making sure it wouldn’t affect the surrounding.
The big five personality build in person through their upbringing, the external factor
contribute minor chances in making decision.
EMPLOYEE WELLBEING
The other aspect of individual is employee’s wellbeing. It’s related to physical,
psychological, and employee’s mental health, the common disorder such as anxiety or
depression and impaired wellbeing. Employee involvement in organization success affect
employee wellbeing, World Health Organization’s (WHO) defined employee wellbeing is
correlate with mental health which everybody realizes his or her have their own potential
enable them to cope with the normal stress of life, able to work productively and contribute to
the community .
Conflict between work-life significant affect to individual health, it may goes to poorer
mental and physical health, less life satisfaction, higher level of stress, higher level of
emotional exhaustion, less physical exercise, increased anxiety and depression levels.
As to increase the employee productivity, the organizations have to concern in improving the
health status and well-being of their employees. Lower performance organization often do
not understand the potential power of the health and work behavior , its mean health
(wellbeing), work separate between health care and work productivity will bear indirectly on
the financial liability such as medical cost.
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
Individual aspect also involve emotional intelligence which it’s closely related to employee
and organization behavior,
Emotional intelligence is an ability of individual in recognizing feeling and understanding
behavior in adapting the surrounding situation that involve with emotions, the emotion
information been used a guide to think and react through behavior. Emotional intelligence is
also able to measure the skills of self awareness, self management and interpersonal
relationship management and recognize own emotions when experienced.
Emotional intelligence is the right tools to manage the relationship between the success at
work and external demand at roles. The quality of work life and happiness contributes
towards achieving higher quality of work life and greater perceived and happiness.
THE ORGANIZATIONAL FACTORS
The mass changes of organization forces by the external environment demands (political,
economic, social, technology, legal and other environment) of forces contribute to intense
pressure, constant deadlines, and organization restricting system. The characteristic of
organization consists of formalization, specialization, and decision making, in adapting
changes, organization required employees to align with them towards achieving the company
mission.
Formalizing organization defined as a structures and system in organization toward the
decision making, communication and controlling. The controlling system in organization
being applied through standard of practices (SOP), code of conduct, standard regulation or
might be policies.
Specialization is how the task being structure to the individual and how well the task being
defined by the employee. There is horizontal and vertical specialization management, the
horizontal condition means the delegation of responsibility and duties to others within the
same line authority.
In vertical management one manager has authority over another; they report the same output
and or result to the top management.
In examples, one manager may be assigned to human resources, a second to operation, third
to accounting. Vertical specialization occurs in organization grows, more complex and
required commitment of individual to cope up with additional workload.
WORK LIFE POLICIES AND PROGRAM
In maintaining and sustain the competitive advantage of the organization, the organization
should willing to hear employee’s needs, need of the quality work life balance. The nearest to
the company staff is the immediate superior or line manager, to implement the policies and
program of work life balance in the organization and in avoiding the work life conflict.
Work life balance policies designed formally by the Human Resource Director or manager
that adopted every organizational level.
In implementing work life policies, company should ask , did their organizational culture
ready for work/life initiatives, it’s important to know the organization culture is ready to
support from senior management which the environment able to look on the bigger
perspective of acceptance.
COPING STRATEGIES TO ACHIEVING A WORK-LIFE
BALANCE
1. Track Your Time
Analyzing your present situation is the beginning step in achieving a balanced life. Keep a
time log of everything you do for one week, including work-related and personal activities.
This data will serve as an eye-opener, helping you understand how you are using -- and
where you are losing -- your time.
2. Determine Your Priorities
Spend some time seriously reflecting on what is most important to you, and make a list of
your top priorities at work and at home. Then analyze your time audit by asking yourself
these key questions: What do I need to Start doing? Stop doing? Continue doing? Do more
of? Do less of? Do differently?
3. Set Specific Goals
Take your list of priorities and turn them into concrete and measurable goals. Block time into
your schedule for activities just like you would for an important meeting or a doctor's
appointment.
4. Schedule Scrupulously
Successful people plan their work and then work their plan. You have one life, so have one
date planner. Whether paper or electronic, this is the vehicle by which you turn your priorities
and goals into reality. Set aside 10 to 20 minutes at the beginning of each day (or the night
before) to plan your tasks and activities for the day and evening ahead.
5. Establish Boundaries
Set fair and realistic limits on what you will and will not do both at work and at home.
Clearly communicate these boundaries to your supervisor, coworkers, partner and family. For
instance, you might commit to not working late on certain days unless there is a crisis.
Additionally, set aside a time at home during which you will not check or respond to work-
related emails or voice mails.
6. Take Care of Your Health
Your health should always be your No. 1 priority. If you are not in good shape physically,
mentally, and emotionally, both your work life and your personal life will suffer. Take care of
yourself by eating healthy meals (especially breakfast), exercise at least three times per week
and sleep a minimum of seven hours per night. While you may not think you have time to
add exercise and extra sleep to your jam-packed schedule, these practices relieve stress, raise
your energy level, increase your stamina, improve your mental clarity, boost your immune
system, and make you a happier, more engaged, and more productive person. Additionally,
refrain from the excessive use of alcohol, tobacco, or drugs to relieve stress. These substances
only tend to keep the body in a stressed state and cause even more problems.
7. Nurture Your Family/Relationships
Relationships with family, friends, and loved ones are, by far, the greatest source of inner
satisfaction. If your job or career is damaging your personal relationships, both areas will
ultimately suffer. Sure there will be days when you will need to work overtime. The issue
becomes problematic when these days become the rule, not the exception. By making your
personal relationships a priority, your productivity and effectiveness on the job will actually
increase.
8. Make Time for You
As much as work, health, and relationships take priority in your life, it is also important to
schedule time for your own renewal. Indulge in some small pleasure daily. Take at least 30
minutes of uninterrupted "you time." It will do wonders for your well-being, and your
relationships and your career will benefit too. Connect with your spiritual source. Belief in
God, or a higher power, can be a deep well from which to draw inspiration, guidance, and
strength. Setting aside a weekly day of rest can be helpful, as well.
9. Leave Work at Work
Develop a mental on-off switch between work and home. It helps to establish a transitional
activity between the two realms. This might consist of listening to music or recorded books
during your evening commute, exercising at the fitness center, running errands, or keeping
personal appointments. Scheduling such activities immediately following your normal work
hours also prevents you from spending that extra twenty minutes at the office which then
turns into several hours.
10. Exercise Your Options
Many forward-thinking companies today are creating policies and programs that facilitate
work-life balance. Find out what options your business offers in terms of flex hours,
telecommuting, a compressed work week, job-sharing, or part-time employment. You may
find an arrangement that allows you to work more productively, while at the same time
cutting stress and freeing-up valuable personal/family time. If your company does not yet
have a flexible scheduling program, consider proposing one.
11. Work Smarter Not Harder
Using time more efficiently is an important skill that everyone from the receptionist to the
CEO can learn. Adopting the right combination of time-management practices can cut stress
and save you up to an hour a day. This can include the use of technology to become more
organized, grouping emails and voice messages, avoiding procrastination and learning to say
"no."
12. Know When to Ask for Help
If you are overwhelmed at work, and it is causing undue stress don't suffer in silence. Shed
the Superwoman/Superman image and explain your situation to your boss or supervisor.
Untenable work situations can usually be alleviated, but it will take some assertiveness on
your part. Similarly, if a balanced life continues to elude you, or you are experiencing chronic
stress, talk with a professional -- a counselor, mental health worker, or clergyperson. Take
advantage of the services offered by your employee assistance program.
Try as we all may, work-life balance isn't an exact science. Each person must find his or her
own way of combining career, relationships, and personal care into an integrated whole.
What is right for you now will likely change as new circumstances arise, so periodically
review your situation and adjust accordingly.
Don't get overwhelmed by assuming that you need to make big changes all at once. Even if
you implement only a few of the above strategies, they will have a positive and measurable
impact in your life.
WORK LIFE BALANCE BENEFITS
BENEFITS FOR BUSINESSES
Improved recruitment and retention rates, with cost savings;
Reduced absenteeism and sick leave usage;
A reduction in worker stress and improvements in employees satisfaction and loyalty;
Greater flexibility for business operating hours;
Improved productivity;
BENEFITS FOR EMPLOYEES
Being able to effectively manage multiple responsibilities at home, work and in the
community without guilt and regret.
Being able to work in flexible ways so that earning an income and managing
family/other commitments become easier.
Being part of a supportive workplace that values and trusts staff.
BENEFITS FOR FAMILIES AND COMMUNTIES
Over the past 20 years the demands of the modern workplace are perceived to heavily on
family and community life. Parents wish they had more time with their children. ‘Me time’
seems to be shrinking and an ageing population means eldercare is becoming a serious issue.
Work life balance initiatives can make it easier to juggle multiple responsibilities at home,
work and in the community. People with a good work life balance are physically healthy and
have a sense of control over their life.
CONSEQUENCES OF WORK LIFE IMBALANCE
1. STRESS
Employees must be ever performing and ever learning to adapt themselves to the dynamic
market conditions. Adding to this is constant pressure from their superiors to meet the targets
that keep the employees on their toes. Thus, employees have no other choice but to
sacrifice most of their personal space. The entire process is creating stress on the
employees which is the root cause for many other problems.
2. Physical Problem
The number of employees suffering from many ailments including hypertension, diabetes,
heart attacks has grown considerably in the recent past. Women employees are the worst
affected because of the long and stressful working hours and are facing severe problems
like cancer, abortions, etc.
3. Relational Problems –
As mentioned earlier, employees are spending more time at the workplace rather than at
home. Spouses, parents, children and family are no longer given the time they deserve.
4. Hangover –
Working for long hours in the office, increases employee interaction. Like “Alice in
Wonderland” employees tend to stay in their professional world (mentally
though they are physically at home. Not only this, the effect of professional
anger is also carried on to their personal life. For example, if there is a conflict
in the organization, the irritated behavior of the individual may reflect in the family thereby
igniting many negative effects in the family.
5. UNTHETICAL PRACTICES
To handle the stress in the organization and the family-related issues as well,
employees tend to adopt unethical practices like boozing, smoking, drugs,
improper relations, etc. Also, there is a high probability that employees may
resort to unfair means to get their work done ultimately by hook or crook.
6. DISTURBED FAMILIES
The worst hit people in the entire scenario are the families of the employees. Fighting with
time to achieve the organizational targets, family is often overlooked. The number of
broken families has gone up drastically. If the reasons are carefully observed, they
are simple but affect the psychological being of the individual.
7. DECREASED PERFORMANCE
Employees in the organization are never at peace. When they are at workplace, the
personal issues are a concern and when they are at home, the professional issues are a
concern. They try to balance both but in vain if there is no organizational support.
Unknowingly, the employees get into a frustrated mode and cannot give their best to their
profession.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
CASE STUDY
A STUDY ON WORKLIFE BALANCE OF EMPLOYEES IN INFORMATION
TECHONOLGY (IT) SECTOR AT CHENNAI
INTRODUCTION
In a society filled with conflicting responsibilities and commitments, work/life balance has
become a predominant issue in the workplace. Three major factors contribute to the interest
in, and the importance of, serious consideration of work/life balance: 1) global competition;
2) renewed interest in personal lives/ family values; and 3) an aging workforce. Research
suggests that forward-thinking human resource professionals seeking innovative ways to
augment their organization’s competitive advantage in the marketplace may find that
work/life balance offer a win solution.
WORK-LIFE RESEARCH IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SECTOR
Information Technology (IT) sector in India is doing very good. There are more job
opportunities due to the IT boom. Just after the completion of professional qualifications like
B.Tech and MCA (engineering graduates and computer post graduates), the applicants are
getting jobs. The pay and perks are encouraging. But the work life is highly complicated and
highly demanding. There are many pulls and pressures during the work life. There are too
many commitments and deadlines and there are too much of unpredictable peaks and troughs
during the course of the working time. Managerial personnel have to work for long hours and
in different shifts to meet those deadlines. All these things make the work as a hectic activity
and a strenuous one and creating enormous stress due to work-life conflict there by
hampering performance, which is causing decline in productivity levels and also forcing them
to leave organizations due to work-life problems. Many organizations of Information
Technology sector adopted work styles and organizational practices from developed countries
in the west. Workers were expected to work 24/7 × 365 days of the year. To prevent such a
work style from affecting worker health and productivity, workplaces offered services
traditionally associated with the family and non-work domain within their premises such as
gymnasiums, day-care facilities, laundry facilities, canteen facilities, even futons to sleep on
if felt like a nap.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Diversity and work/life initiatives can be found at the core of the new social contract being
negotiated between employers and employees. “The basic outline of the social contract, as it
has emerged during the past several years, calls for workers to commit their best
contributions and greatest energies to the job in return for interesting work, respectful
treatment, developmental opportunities, and an environment that responds to individual
needs. Where those provisions conflict (e.g., the degree of commitment and energy expected
by employers versus the flexibility required by employees), the expertise of both diversity
management and work/life professionals will be critical to find win-win solutions. Life and
work are essentially two separate spheres of activity, but they overwhelmingly intermingle.
This overlapping has blurred borders between the two spheres. In this corporate working
scenario, work in the office seems unending. Demand in life home and family reach new
heights. An individual may work too much, sacrificing quality family time, reaches the top of
the corporate ladders quickly but the achievement and material gain will not compensate the
price he has forced to pay in the long run. This obviously leads to work stress, less time to
spend with their family and shallow relationship with their family. The current emphasis on
fulfillment makes the need for balancing greater and more pressing. In the present day world
where technology and speed gives “lead” time in the area of production, speed delivery has
become a necessity in the service sector, leading to greater time demands professionals.
While some companies may view diversity and work/life balance as separate functions, the
business case for managing diversity is, in large part, the same for work/life balance. Both
diversity and work/life initiatives promote employee commitment, improve productivity,
lower turnover, result in fewer employee relations challenges, and decrease the likelihood of
unethical business practices. Thus the researcher decided to focus to study the Work Life
Balance of Employees working in Information Technology Sector at Chennai.
NEED AND IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY WORK
Life balance means different things to different people and different things at different stages
of life. The commitment of employees can make the difference between those companies
which compete in the market place and those which cannot. Employers who can best
combine the requirements of their business for flexibility with the needs of employees and
potential employees will be well placed to succeed. Employees may have their own reasons
for preferring one pattern of working time to another. For example people with responsibility
for the care of children, the sick or the elderly may not be able to work certain shifts,
weekends or during school holidays. Meeting both the employees and overall business needs
requires a significant commitment from senior management. Each workplace should tailor its
work/life policies to suit their own particular needs and corporate culture. This ‘best fit’
should be done with frequent consultation with employees. As with other health and safety
programs, for work/life initiatives to be successful and sustainable, both employers and
employees must take responsibility for making the program work effectively. An evaluation
or feedback system should also be part of that process. A program dealing with work/life
issues could, for example, be part of a complete health and safety program. However, it
should not take away resources or distract addressing other health and safety concerns or
hazards that may be present in the workplace. It is very important to remember that for many
workers balancing work/life demands is just one of the many challenges they face on a
regular basis. While most people would agree that these issues should be addressed, they may
not know where they can be resolved. So this research is the need of the hour and it will be
more helpful for the organizational excellence in Information Technology Industries
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
•To know the demographic details of the respondents.
•To study the existing system of Work-Life Balance of Employees in Information
Technology Sector.
•To find out the factors influencing Work life balance of Employees.
•To analyst the benefits of Work life balance.
•To suggest suitable strategies to improve the level of Work life balances
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
In this study majority of the respondents (78 percent) extend their work timings. More than
half of the respondents (54 percent) have constant pressure at work due to heavy work load.
A large number of respondents (70 percent) never take office work voluntarily to home.
There are 60 percent of the respondents complete the work assigned to them within the
working hours. More than half of the respondents (58 percent) work for long hours to prove
themselves in performance appraisals. A significant number of respondents (88 percent) work
more to climb the career ladder quickly. A large number of respondents (94 percent) take
more initiatives to plan activities effectively in order to find time for other engagements.
Majority of respondents (96 percent) feel satisfied at their work as a result of effective work
life balance. More than 54 percent of respondents are allocating time and effort to manage
their work and spend time on activities of their choice or on personal and family
commitments. In this research 100 percent of the respondents admit that they lead a happy
life by ensuring a balance between work and life. 92 percent of the respondents feel that
having a work-life balance increases the commitment level with the organization. More than
64 percent of respondent’s opinion that balancing work and the other activities for the self
and family decreases work pressure and thereby stress in work. There are 76 percent of the
respondents admit that work-life balance initiatives by the organizations helps in retaining the
employees. A significant number of respondents undergo work-life balance initiatives that
pertain to wellness programs (74 percent) and alternate work schedules (54 percent), also 34
percent for employee assistance program and 32 percent for dependent care program. A quite
a few 22 percent take up personal initiatives.
OBSERVATION
•Majority of the respondents have stated that extraction of excess work from the employer is
one of the causes of work-life imbalance. It is suggested that the organization can grow in
size so that the work can be divided and the required work can be allocated properly without
extending the working hours of the employees. Thereby reducing pressure and enhancing
work-life balance.
•A work-life balance plan can be charted out for every employee by their respective project
managers during the time of their appraisal which may reduce working more for the sake of
organizational policies like performance appraisals and promotions therefore, convenient
them with proper work-life balance. Thus the organization can have friendly and procedures.
•Since a majority of the respondents has proved a greater benefit by attempting to find
balance in their lives, the organization can engage a specialist to conduct workshops and
seminars on how to prioritize different commitments, how to manage time effectively and
how to plan out activities in order to be making time for hobbies, developments pursuits and
quality time for family and friends.
•By designing a work-life balance plan for every individual employee, it would lead to job
satisfaction and act as a talent retention tool.
•Work-life balance initiatives can be used as a strategy for talent attraction by highlighting
the initiatives of the organization during placement and induction of candidates. This will
help in creating a brand for the organization as one of the best places to work for family and
friends.
•By designing a work-life balance plan for every individual employee, it would lead to job
satisfaction and act as a talent retention tool.
•Work-life balance initiatives can be used as a strategy for talent attraction by highlighting
the initiatives of the organization during placement and induction of candidates. This will
help in creating a brand for the organization as one of the best places to work for.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Work-life balance remains an issue that requires considerable attention from society. The
changing nature of the global economy, where organizations often operate on a 24/7 schedule
and technological advances have made it possible for an employee to be connected at all
times, has ushered the work-life balance issue into the forefront of the minds of many. In this
study was able to understand the concept of work-life balance that is prevailing in an
Information Technology industry. It also exposed the various work-life balance strategies
implemented by various organizations and the employees by their self. Being the Information
Technology era, this study could be of use as it enables to understand the important concept
which has a direct impact over the productivity of the employees. Hence, to maintain a
healthy workforce, it should be able to cater to their needs and fulfill them. There is a lot of
scope of research in this area. This concept being a growing phenomenon, it does open its
doors for research. The area that the researcher covered was limited, there are number of
areas that could be covered to understand the whole concept of work-life balance.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SERIAL CONTENT PAGE NO.
NO.
1. INTRODUCTION
WHAT IS WORK LIFE BALANCE
WORK LIFE BALANCE IN TODAY’S
WORLD
2. NEED FOR STUDY
3. OBJECTIVES OF WORK LIFE BALANCE
4. FACTORS OF WORK LIFE BALANCE
5. COPING STRATEGIES
6. BENEFITS
7. CONSEQUENCES
8. INITIATIVES
9. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
CASE STUDY ON IT SECTOR
10. CONCLUSION
11. BIBLIOGRAPHY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
SITE REFFERED:-
WWW.WORKLIFEBALANCE.COM
WORK LIFE BALANCE
BY – WIKIPEDIA, the free encyclopedia
WWW.RESEARCHGATE.NET
WWW.ACADEMIA.EDU
GURU NANAK DEV UNIVERSITY
REPORT ON WORK LIFE BALANCE
SUBMITTED TO SUBMITTED BY
DR. JASVEEN KAUR AKANKSHA SHARMA
MBA(HRD)
2018MRB1002
INITIATIVES OF WORK LIFE BALANCE
1. Create flexible leave policies.
In recent years, many organizations have changed their leave policies. Instead of offering
specific amounts of sick time, vacation time, and other categories, they’ve combined them
into a general category, usually called PTO (paid time off).
Employees tend to find this helpful as they don’t feel they have to account for how they are
using their time off.
2. Train your managers to help.
Line managers are the people in your organization who are best positioned to help employees
improve their work/life balance.
Train your managers to look for problems such as burnout and overwork. Work on improving
their coaching skills and give them options for supporting their team members. You might
allow managers to offer specific benefits to employees who are struggling.
3. Offer flexible scheduling.
Now that our world is so connected, it’s often not necessary for employees to adhere to a
strict 9-to-5 schedule. Explore ways to let your employees have more schedule flexibility.
You might want to go so far as to change to a results-oriented work environment, where
people can work as many or as few hours as necessary to complete their projects.
One other thing to consider is job share and part-time options. Some employees may be
unable to commit to a full-time job, but could contribute at half-time. Look into whether that
makes sense for your needs.
4. Consider creative incentives.
While cash bonuses are always welcome, research has indicated that employees may get
more value from other incentives.
Look for ways to offer tangible bonuses for your team, such as vacation vouchers or even
extra time off. One recent study showed that offering time-saving services significantly
improved employees’ happiness
5. Give employees time to foster creativity.
The most common example of creative time is Google’s 20% policy, where they allow
engineers to spend 20% of their time working on their own ideas.
You don’t have to be that flexible, but look for ways to create space for employees to be
creative. Even offering structured spaces for employees to contribute their own ideas and
suggestions can be helpful
6 Provide educational support.
Most people are at their best when they are growing and learning. .
In some organizations, you might consider offering tuition assistance for people pursuing
ongoing education. Other firms might reimburse employees for attending development
sessions, or just offer in-house “lunch & learn” style programs.
Look for ways to help support your employees’ personal development.
7. Team-building exercises
One step further from social activities is team-building exercises. These endeavors have the
specific purpose to bring colleagues closer together and demonstrate how well they can work
together as a team – think escape rooms, trust exercises, or problem-solving puzzles. It’s even
better if you can get out of the office to do some team-building – this gives it more of an
“event” feel, as well as a little break from sitting at a desk all day.
