Organizational Advantages of Work-Life Balance Policies - Literature review Example

HUMAN RESOURCE POLICIES Name: ID: Course Name: Instructor: Institution: City, State: Date: Human Resource Policies Introduction For the past two decades, one of the budding themes has been work-life balance. This has prompted restructuring in organizations as well as work amplification. In the course of recruiting employers, there is one major concept that employers should focus on. This is flexible working policies. As argued by Perry-Smith and Blum (2000, p. 1), work-life balance (WLB) policies are a Human Resource approach in gaining a competitive advantage. In its purest definition, flexible policies as directed by the Human Resource management are aimed at creating a conducive environment for the employees enabling them to develop a balance between work and personal life. This balance simply means that the demand of personal or family and professional life is at equilibrium. These policies are characterized by flexible working times and provide a platform whereby all employees regardless of their social responsible can request and apply (Manuel, 2013). According to studies done, there are benefits which stem from these policies (Beauregard & Henry 2009, p. 6). The benefits reaped by organizations that implement these policies can be varied that is ranging from financial or organizational. Studies available clearly illustrate that organizations which practice friendly and flexible working policies experience optimal employee performance and efficacy and reduced levels of job dissatisfaction and absenteeism. It is further suggested that such organizations attract top talents from the employee pool as it illustrates openness of the establishment as well as meets the high expectations of these job seekers. Organizational Advantages of Work-Life Balance Policies Studies on work- family balance offer opinions from a conflicting perspective. This is mainly because the conferred view is individuals often experience stress when involved in multiple roles (Greenhaus & Beutell 1985, p. 10). The approach that should be encouraged is to view work and family life as aspects which can be balanced. This enables one to clearly observe the advantages of this balance. On reviewing research conducted, it is essential to focus on implementation of the WLB strategies and the impact of this action as opposed to those that focus on definition and hypothetical facts. According to Greenhaus & Gary (2001, p. 12), the ‘scarcity hypothesis’ casts a negative light on work-life balance because it is assumed it stresses the individual. In an effort to argue out this notion, ‘work-life enrichment’ has been developed through these policies (Greenhaus & Powell 2006, p. 14) It is also important to understand when reviewing the impact of flexible work practices; two types of studies are available. There are studies which focus on the availability of flexible work practices. They basically expound on the types of flexible policies available, their popularity and targeted employee category. The other type focuses on the actual realization and implementation of these policies and how they impact establishments. The discussed topics in these studies are mainly on the implementation process, the resulting effects and challenges faced. Human resource policies that promote work-life balance have a positive impact on the employee which is synergistically related to the organizational benefits (Yuile, Gudmundsson & Sawang2012, p. 5). The wellbeing of an employee is paramount if any organization aims to achieve optimum performance. Owing to the competitiveness in the business world today, organizations demand more commitment and dedication from employees thus neglecting the role in their personal life (Seligson, 2012, p.1). According to studies carried out, this reduces the physical well being of an employee bringing about cases of job dissatisfaction. A balance of both work and personal life is encouraging as it circumvents the issue of capitalization by an establishment and also benefits both parties (Yuile, Gudmundsson & Sawang 2012, p. 2). There are there models which illustrate the positive impact of these human resource policies on an employee. The addictive model illustrates that both work and family experiences are essential to the employee. This addiction is positive in that they experience increased quality of life, family and work satisfaction and a sense of happiness (Greenhaus, Collins & Shaw 2003, p. 11). Psychologically, a stress-free mindset empowers a person enabling them to perform at their maximum and increasing their productivity. A workforce with such individuals is unlikely to experience job dissatisfaction or absenteeism. The buffer model exemplifies the fact that work-related stress can be relieved by a satisfactory family life. This depicts the buffering effect of the work-family relationship where one aspect can positively impact the other. Lastly and most importantly is the synergistic model. It is similar to the buffering model as it focuses more on the impact of one role to the other. For instance, roles of an individual in a family setting can increase work performance by enhancing a certain skill required in employment. This model can be viewed as transitioning and transfer of beneficial experience between work and family life when WLB policies are utilized. The balance between work and life is essential to every worker and characterizes their performance. The management of this aspect has been an issue long recognized as an important facet in strategic management as well as of high value to the employees. Due to the crucial part this balance plays, it is imperative for organizations to put into consideration measures that ensure every employee is able to balance out their life and work. This can only be achieved through setting up flexible policies. A research conducted on 527 U.S firms showed that organizations which have implemented work-family policies illustrate high performance (Hughes & Bozionelos 2007, p. 5). It is through such policies that the establishment is empowered and is able to attract and retain talented workers. The WLB (work-life balance) strategies play a crucial role is creating awareness and also motivating actions which are aimed at their implementation. Considering the competitive nature of the labor market, an establishment that has incorporated WLB strategies in its system not only attracts the top talent in the market but is also guaranteed of optimal efficacy and performance from the employees. Work-life balance strategies are correlated to organizational performance. There are several factors in support the linkage between these parameters. Firstly, WBL practices attract high achievers to the said company thus making the recruitment and training process less involving (Hughes & Bozionelos 2007, p. 2). These pools of employees are characterized by maximum productivity and efficacy with regards to how they handle tasks and performance duties. This translates to high organizational performance. According to studies carried out on the correlation, it is suggested that there are modifications that should be implemented to ensure organizational performance increases steadily as a result of WBL practices (Hughes & Bozionelos 2007, p. 8). There are other business advantages that can result from such practices besides organizational performance. They include increased cost savings, improvement in productivity, enhancement of social exchange processes and reduced turnover. The advantages of WLB are supported by three surveys which were carried out in Australia between 1997 and 2000. It is evident from the findings that Australian organizations have a varied range of WBL strategies they have implemented. The benefits, challenges and barriers to such implementation are also outlined in the findings. Despite the barriers which come about in the management and uptake of the strategies, the positive aspects have outweighed the challenges (De Cieri, Holmes, Abbott & Pettit 2005, p. 11). Several reasons support this business strategy. Firstly, Australian organizations value the quality of employees they attract. This is due to the competitive nature of the labor market. Secondly, WBL strategies have gained profound attention from various fields in the corporate world, thus it is only essential for most of these organizations to embrace change. Thirdly, enhancement of workers’ autonomy is highly valued in Australia as it provides the employees with a platform to coordinate and manage both work and personal life thus increasing productivity and performance (De Cieri et al 2005, p. 12). Australia is exemplary in implementation of WLB strategies and can be used as a successful experimental unit to organizations which are willing to incorporate these policies. Flexible policies are more beneficial to the female-dominated workforce as opposed to a male-dominated one. This means that the impact of these policies is affected by the gender of the employees. Judging on the results of the survey done on U.S firms, it was deduced that establishments that hire more women have a higher performance level. This is attested to the fact that work-family bundle assist female workers to manage work and family roles (Perry-Smith & Blum 2000, p. 5). The most popular policies include flexible work schedules, dependent care services such as child care services for parents, full-time job sharing, leave programs and working from home (Felstead, Jewson, Phizacklea & Walters 2002, p. 7). Gender-based policies are one of the features which have promoted research on the effects of family friendly policies on firm-level performance. Though both male and female workers report of work imbalance, it is more inclined towards women due to the fact that they have more responsibilities as care givers and maintaining families. Reported gender differences are rampant in culturally rooted countries such as India where women are considered the lesser sex (Perry-Smith & Blum 2000, p. 9). According to Doble & Supriya, policies that allow a female employee to manage working and child rearing have become more accepted as the extended family setting disappears. Conclusion Flexible policies are important in organizations. The benefits of their implementation are varied. They cut across the board in that both the organization and the employees are benefited. Increased organizational performance, top talent workforce, reduced cases of job dissatisfactions and gender discrimination are amongst the organizational benefits. There are several parameters which are affected by such policies, gender being the most outstanding one. This means that organizations should critically evaluate workforce characteristics in developing policies to maximize on the resultant effects. References Beauregard, T.A. & Henry, L.C. 2009. Making the link between work-life balance practices and organizational performance.  Human Resource Management Review, 19: 9-22. De Cieri, H., Holmes, B., Abbott, J. & Pettit, T. 2005. Achievements and challenges for work-life balance strategies in Australian organizations.  International Journal of HRM, 16(1): 90-103. Fell, S.S. 2013. Top 10 Benefits of Flexible Work Policies for Companies. 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Work-life human resource bundles and perceived organizational performance.  Academy of Management Journal, 43(6): 1107-1117 Seligson, Hannah. 2012. When the Work-life Scales Are Unequal. The New York Times. Yuile, C., Gudmundsson, A., & Sawang, A. S. 2012. The role of life friendly policies on employees' work-life balance. Journal of Management and Organization. 18 (1): 53-56 Read More