Quadrant I

Module 9: Work Life Balance(WLB)

1. Learning Outcome

2. Introduction

3. The Six Components of Work Life Balance

4. WLB Theories

5. WLB Practices

6. Work Life Conflict

7. American/European MNCs Vs. Indian Companies

8. Some Examples

9. Summary

Module 9: Work Life Balance

1. Learning outcomes After completing this module the students will be able to:

Understand the importance of Work life balance

Know the difference between the MNC’s and Indian companies WLB practices.

Implement WLB in their own organizations and eliminate work life conflict

2.Introduction

“The purpose of this module is to analyze the concept of Work Life Balance and its importance in today’s

organization. We will also look at the components of the Work Life Balance and its relevance in today’s

world. Also, about how many organizations are providing this benefit to their employees and whether it is

one of the major factors that attract talent to join the organization at the first place. Employees working in

the organizations are often asked to devote more time than required to perform outstandingly and align

their individual goals with the organizational goals. In such scenarios the employees often tend to

complain about the work pressure that they have to face and the problems at home or in their personal

lives. Further, it talks about the practices and theories of Work-Life Balance and also about the conflicts.

In this study, we have also analyzed the difference between work-life balance approaches between

American and Indian Companies.

Work-Life Balance does not have a universal definition but many researchers have tried to figure out its

meaning. In a layman’s language one can say that it means a balance between WORK and LIFE of any

working individual irrespective of the person’s gender, level of employment, organization or industry.

Precisely, one can also say that it refers to the balance between an employer’s personal and professional

life. Personal Life includes friends, family and Professional Life includes work in the office. Another

definition could be “how an individual manages his/her time by focusing on both on-the-job and private

time to facilitate health and personal satisfaction without negatively impacting productivity, personal and

professional success.” These days it is a very important concept because people are working continuously

and hence expect some leniency from the company.

Some say it is the ability to experience a sense of control and to stay productive and competitive at work

while maintaining a happy, healthy home life with sufficient leisure. It’s attaining focus and awareness,

despite the tasks and activities competing for your time and attention. Also, work-life balance entails

having some breathing space for oneself each day, feeling a sense of accomplishment, while not being

consumed by work and having an enjoyable domestic life without short-changing career obligations. And

it’s rooted in whatever fulfillment means to someone within 24-hour days, seven-day weeks.

There is no perfect, one size fits all, balance one should strive for. The best work-life balance is different

because of different priorities and lives that everyone has. It does not mean an equal balance. It may vary

over time though. Various researches have shown that Achievement and Enjoyment are the two most

important aspects of Work-Life Balance. It means pride, satisfaction, happiness, celebration, love, a sense

of wellbeing etc. Therefore, according to many, another good definition for Work Life Balance would be,

“Meaningful daily Achievement and Enjoyment in Work, Family, Friends and Self.” “

3.The Six Components of Work Life Balance

“Self-Management refers to sufficiently managing one’s self which can be challenging,

particularly in getting proper sleep, exercise, and nutrition. It is the recognition which tells us that

effectively using the spaces in our lives is vital, and that available resources, time, and life are

finite.

Time Management or more appropriately said effective time management involves making

optimal use of your day and the supporting resources that can be summoned – one can keep pace

when the resources match the challenges. Time management is enhanced through appropriate

goals and discerning what is more important and urgent, versus important or urgent. It entails

knowing what you do best and when, and assembling the appropriate tools to accomplish specific

tasks.

Stress Management refers to managing the stressful situations. Since, societies tend to become

more complex over time therefore these days stress on an individual is inevitable. More people,

distractions, and noise require each of us to become adept at maintaining tranquility and working

ourselves out of pressure-filled situations. Most forms of multitasking ultimately increase our

stress, versus focusing on one thing at a time.

Change Management refers to the continuous adaptation of new methods and re-adapting others

is vital to a successful career and a happy home life. Effective change management involves

making periodic and concerted efforts to ensure that the volume and rate of change at work and at

home does not overwhelm or defeat you. In our fast-paced world, change is virtually the only

constant.

Technology Management refers to effectively managing technology which means ensuring that

technology serves you, rather than abuses you. Technology has always been with us, since the

first walking stick, flint, spear, and wheel. Now, the rate of change is accelerating, brought on by

vendors seeking expanding market share. Often there is no choice but to keep up with the

technology, but one must rule technology, not vice versa.

Leisure Management is the most overlooked part of the work-life balance supporting

disciplines, it acknowledges the importance of rest and relaxation- that one can’t shortchange

leisure, and that “time off” is a vital component of the human experience. Curiously, too much of

the same leisure activity, however enjoyable, can lead to monotony. Thus, effective leisure

management requires varying one’s activities.”

4.Theories in Support of Adoption of WLB Policies by

Management

“Mainly there are four theories that explain the foundation behind the adoption of work-life policies by

the management of organizations. Each of these theories identifies a distinct set of predictive conditions

(Felstead et al., 2002) and has received validation through its adoption by other researchers. These

theories derive their explanatory powers from the organizational theory, namely, institutional theory,

resource dependence theory and strategic choice theory. The following are the theories:

Institutional Theory: This approach links management‟s decision to adopt WLB practices to

conform to normative pressures in the society (namely, organization size, ownership, industry,

unionization levels and other factors that influence).

Organizational Adaptation Theory: This theory connects the responsiveness of organizations to

internal environmental factors (namely, proportion of female staff, skill levels, work processes

and senior management values).

High Commitment Theory: This theory regards the WLB practices as strategic HRM initiatives

taken up in order to generate increased employee commitment to the organization.

Situational Theory: This approach explains the adoption in terms of pressures to increase

profitability and productivity and to deal with problems of employee recruitment and retention

(Felstead et al., 2002). “

5.Work-life Balance Practices

“Work-life balance practices/initiatives at the workplace typically include flexible working options such

as flexible hours, tele-work, part time, term-time, job-sharing, as well as childcare and eldercare facilities,

information or financial support pertaining to the non-work sphere of life, and various onsite services.

Such interventions are typically termed as family-friendly policies (FFPs) or work-life benefits and

policies (WLBPs) (Osterman, 1995; Scheibl and Dex, 1998). WLBPs include flexible work arrangements

such as flexibility in scheduling time of arrival and departure to and/or from work, flexibility in choosing

the place of work, leave in lieu of family reasons such as parental leave, direct financial assistance for

child care and information services such as finding a childcare center for a new employee etc.”

Wise and Bond (2003) cite four main drivers for introducing work-life policies:

- recruitment, enables becoming an ―employer of choice, also countering negative work practices such

as longer working hours;

- retention ―more responsive to the workforce's changing and diverse needs;

- supportive working environment – improving organizational culture with resultant heightened morale;

and - motivation among staff and

equality – improving access through inclusiveness.

“Work-life balance programs listed by Konrad and Mangel (2000) were: on-site day care, nearsite day

care, sick childcare, emergency childcare, sick days of childcare, on-site conveniences, extended

maternity leave, gradual return to work, paternity leave, adoption leave, parental leave, spouse placement,

supervisory training in work, family sensitivity, flex-time, job sharing, partyear work, part-time

workforce, voluntary condensed time and part-time work for professionals. This measure was similar to

the measure used by Osterman (1995), but more detailed since his measure included only nine distinctive

work-life initiatives.

Compressed work week: A compressed work week is an arrangement where an employee works the

standard number of hours in a one or two week period, but compresses those hours into lesser work days

thereby working longer hours at work (Enterprise One Insights, 2006). Compressed workweeks are

suitable for employees who do not need to deal with incoming work on a daily basis or there are several

employees doing the same job. Organization can reduce stress; employee absenteeism and turnover

thereby increase employee morale and loyalty.

Flexi-time: Flexible working arrangements take a number of structures. These include the flexibility in

working time arrangement, the number of hours worked and with regard to place of work (Papalexandris

and Kramar, 1997). These day‟s organizations adopt various kinds of flextime policies such as flexible

scheduling program, job sharing, part- time work, tele-working etc in workplace. Prior researches on flex-

time examined that absenteeism and turnover could be reduced and employee‟s job satisfaction was

enhanced when implementing such flexible programs (Narayanan and Nath, 1982; Pierce and Newstrom,

1983). For employees, flexible working arrangement can facilitate the reconciliation of work and family

needs and let individuals to balance both responsibilities and thereby achieve quality of life. Besides,

Grover and Crooker (1995) also reported a negative relationship between this strategy and turnover

intention. Therefore, it is believed that employees are more likely to stay in the organization when they

were approved flexibility work schedule. Olorunsola and Ibegbulam (2003) conducted a study among

Jamaican librarians, finding show that 78 per cent of respondents agreed that flexible working hours

promote or appeal to one's autonomy. Ball (1998) argues that new ways have to be found to attract and

retain, ―motivate and develop‖ library workers in the profession and one of these is to build up

―competency Chapter 2 42 in balancing working and non-work‖. The concept of flexibility especially in

terms of working time (flexitime) and work location (flex place) are often looked as effective ways to

achieve positive spill over and are essential to achieve work-family balance (Hill et al., 2001; Galinsky

and Johnson, 1998; Thornthwaite, 2004).

Family Leave: Family leave policies allow employees to be away from the workplace for varying period

of time in order to deal with family responsibilities (Bond and Wise, 2003).

Employee Assistance Programs (EAP): Employee assistance programs are intended to recognize the

interaction between peoples domestic and working lives and to offer confidential counselling to staff to

address personal or other problems, including work-related stress that may be affecting their performance

(Clemmet, 1998). The nature of today EAPs is different from organizations to organizations. The

typically examples of EAPs included providing assistance in the areas of personal issues, relationship

issues, eldercare, childcare, parenting issues, harassment, substance abuse, job stress, balancing work and

family, financial or legal and family violence. Some EAPs providers are also able to offer other services

including retirement or layoff assistance, and wellness and health promotion and fitness while others may

offer advice on long term illnesses, disability issues, counselling for crisis situation. Therefore, EAPs

does not just limit on counselling services and may include life skills programs and fitness programs. It

can help employees in managing stress and resolving personal problems as well. Carolyn and Cooper

(1994) reported that EAPs are an important to improve employee mental and physical well-being so that

they have enhanced performance at work and enhanced job satisfaction and reduced turnover intention.

Job sharing: Is a very widespread form of work that has many constructive aspects and is also viewed as

a family-friendly practice. It is an employee driven trend and is variously used ―in response to the

perceived need for more family friendly policies or as a means of tackling the unemployment crisis in

some economies‖ (Gunnigle et al., 1998). According to Stennett (1994), job sharers can be more focussed

and more motivated, showing ―energy and enthusiasm‖. Brocklebank and Whitehouse (2003) concluded

that over 90 per Literature Review 43 cent of job sharers are women – a reflection most likely of the

traditional role of females in child and home care. Job sharing is much more extensive in the public

sector. Hybrids of job-sharing may characteristically involve one fulltime job with all responsibilities and

benefits shared; others entail split weeks, split days or week-on week-off situations.

Job splitting: It is similar to job sharing except that responsibilities and tasks are generally equally

divided; both staff members are responsible for their own different tasks. This can be a useful approach in

that it may make use of the particular skills of each employee, with a resultant net gain for employers. It

also requires less co-ordination, although overlap of sometime can be advantageous for the employees.

Compressed hours: Compressed working weeks, involve the reorganisation of work time into extended,

but fewer, ―chunks‖ during a working week. This could mean working hours being compressed into 3, 4

or 4.5 days a week, or 8, 9 days out of a fortnight. Another possibility is working four 10-hour days per

week as opposite to five 8-hour days. This can be achieved by starting work early and/or finishing late,

building up bonus hours which may then used to take a half-day or a full day's leave from work. The

benefits of this type of flexible leave are savings on travel and traffic, and opportunities to put up days for

rest, family or holidays. With these schemes, workers or groups of workers may start and finish work at

different pre-arranged times within agreed limits. Although there is some discretion, staggered hours

should ideally form part of a set timetable that does not differ from day-to-day. The benefits of a

staggered working week can be seen in less traffic congestion, more time for work life balance and

improved access to childcare and other facilities. At present, establishment of work-life balance in the

workplace is usually left to individual employers, amongst whom there is large variance in awareness,

interest, commitment and resources to deal with it (Hyman and Summers, 2004).”

6.Work-Life Conflict

“Work-life conflict refers to the experience of conflict between work and life domain. Kanter (1977)

points out that while work certainly affects life, also life affects work. He concluded that ―family

situations can define work orientation; motivation; abilities, emotional energy, and the demands people

bring to the workplace. Work life conflict is a form of inter-role conflict in which the demands of work

and life roles are incompatible in some respect so that the participation in one role is more difficult

because of participation in the other role. Work-life conflict is experienced when demands from one role

domain interfere with participation or performance of the other role. When one gives extra time and

energy into the work role (or the family role), the family role (work role) is assumed to suffer.

Two types of work-family conflict have been identified; work-interfering-with family (WIF) and family-

interfering-with-work (FIW).

WIF conflict occurs when work-related activities spill over or interfere with home responsibilities (e.g.

bringing work home and trying to complete them at the expense of family time) and,

FIW conflict arises when family-role responsibilities spill over or impede work activities (e.g. having to

cancel an important meeting because a child is suddenly ill). Although strongly correlated with one

another, they are conceptually and empirically distinct constructs. While the best predictors of WIF

conflict are work-related variables, the antecedents of FIW conflict are mainly family-related variables.

Greenhaus and Beutell (1985) classified WFC into three types, i.e. conflict based on time, conflict based

on stress and conflict based on behavior. All types of WFC are bidirectional, including work-to-family

conflict, work interference with family (WIF) and family-to-work conflict, and family interference with

work (FIW). So, six dimensions are formed correspondingly. Studies have demonstrated that both types

of conflict are associated with health problems such as psychological strain, depression and anxiety, or

lower sleep quality. As shown by previous studies, pressures arising from both the work and family roles

can lead to conflict between these two domains. These pressures include time spent in work or family

activities, stressors within the work or family domains, and more involvement in work or family life. A

large proportion of work-family conflict research is largely based on the measurement of strain-based

and/or time-based conflict.”

7.Differences in work–life balance approaches between

American and Indian Companies

“An analysis of the information provided in their respective websites revealed marked differences in their

approaches to Work-Life Balance. The content and selection of services varies across different countries,

according to local practice, legislation and other factors. Given below are some examples:

American/European multinationals - Flexi working hours: Most American and European

multinationals have a large number of facilities that allow flexibility between work and life outside.

Formal flexible work arrangements on offer include part time, term time, compressed working week,

tele/home-based work and so on. At HewlettPackard (HP) formal flexi arrangements and job share is seen

even at vice president level. Over 90% of HP employees also take advantage of global flexi-time that

allows them to customize their schedules.

Whereas, Indian companies focus on:

- Employee assistance programmes Employee assistance programme (EAP) at HP provides information

and advice to employees and their families free of cost on a range of issues such as emotional problems,

legal matters, wealth management, consumer advice and domestic issues.

- Childcare and helpline HP runs a dedicated helpline service that provides expert advice on a wide

range of child and dependent care issues. In addition, the childcare vouchers provide tax relief to

employees. Work– life balance programmes at Microsoft include flexible work arrangements, grocery

services, adoption assistance, backup childcare assistance, commuting and public transportation

assistance, dinners-to-go programme, disease management programme, dry cleaning and laundry service,

employee affinity groups, employee development courses, employer-sponsored discount programmes,

ergonomics programme, financial planning, fitness benefits, legal assistance, longterm care for extended

family members, maternity and paternity leave programme, on-campus convenience shopping, online

parenting resources and referrals for counselling and education, school-out programme, tuition assistance

programme and weight management programme.

- Tools to support work–life balance Everyone working for HP has access to equipment such as laptops

and mobile phones and broadband funding, which facilitates and encourages mobile and flexible working.

In addition, HP offers global access tools to enable easy, but secure, access to work files and email,

regardless of an employee‟s location. IBM‟s mobility programme, launched in 2003, enables employees

to access information and perform work from anywhere and at anytime. It gives employees an

opportunity to enhance their effectiveness by providing tools to use at any location, whether it is a

customer office, airport, IBM mobility workstations or home.”

Source: http://cms.outlookindia.com/Uploads/outlookbusiness/20100109/34_Feature_Work3_Office.jpg

8.Some Examples

In recent years, though some large public sector organizations such as National Thermal Power

Corporation (NTPC), Powergrid, Indian Oil and Oil and Natural Gas Commission have started talking

about WLB, as yet, the discussions have not resulted in major initiatives or programmes towards WLB.

For the Indian public sector, WLB still means holistic services in townships and mother and childcare

facilities at the time of pregnancy and beyond. For example NTPC townships provide an environment of

serenity, natural beauty and close community living. Numerous welfare and recreation facilities including

schools, hospitals and clubs are provided at the townships to enhance the quality of life and the well-being

of employees and their families. An entire range of benefits, from childcare leave to postretirement

medical benefits, is extended to employees to meet any exigency that may arise in a person’s life. NTPC

also recognizes the contribution of employees’ families. The private sector companies seem to have more

innovative ways of making work more enjoyable. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) started Maitree with

an objective to strengthen the relationship between employees and their families as well as to provide a

platform to encourage children. It strives to encourage the hidden aspirations and talents through cracking

quizzes to conquering tall peaks, from shaking a leg, to bending it like Beckham. It also conducts

workshops on theatre, yoga, flower arrangement, chocolate making, and a host of others that allow

employees to learn and know about things they always wanted to. Maitree provides everyone at TCS an

opportunity to establish relationships that extend beyond work and thereby helps build bonds that make

work so much more fun. Infosys’ Health Assessment and Lifestyle Enhancement initiative focuses on

enhancing the emotional value-add of employees by optimizing their health, quality of life and work

environment. It has created world-class gymnasiums, swimming pools, aerobic centres, tennis courts and

so on.

9.Conclusion

In this module we learnt the components of Work Life Balance and also understood the categories of

Work Life Conflict. Some of the best WLB practices were also cited in the module and comparison

between Indian and American & European multinationals were highlighted

Interestingly, while almost all American multinationals focus on flexible working practices as the main

thrust, Indian companies focus on employee welfare (public sector) and employee EAPs for cultural,

recreational, health and educational programmes. It shows that the conceptualization of WLB initiatives

in Indian companies is different from the way it is done in Anglo-Saxon and West European countries.

Also, the concept of WLB is still new to the old economy industries in India, although the welfare focus

is equally there in the latter.

The meaning and content of welfare and employee assistance services in IT and modern, new economy

industries is different from that in the old economy industries. For example, in the IT sector, few care for

retirement benefits and most want everything in cash. Further, they want some assistance in taking care of

some domestic chores such as booking of tickets, payment of electricity and water bills, and refilling of

gas cylinders.