Exploring the Barriers to Work-Life Balance - Research Paper Example

Exploring the Barriers to Work-Life Balance among Employees in Emerging Economies: A Case of Saudi Arabia

Research Question

The article proposes research on evaluating Barriers to Work-Life Balance among Employees in Emerging Economies such as Saudi Arabia.

Background and Rationale

Saudi Arabia is one of the most developing countries in the world, basically because of both multinational and domestic investments. With a lot of dedication invested in the petroleum and oil among other companies, people are forced to overwork and take long hours in workplaces that eat upon their time of performing family responsibility. As people are engaged in overtime work, the companies are making a lot of profit that helps increase the amount of tax collected. Usually, the international companies have contributed a lot to improved revenues in Saudi Arabia that put it among the top growing countries in the third world nations. Unfortunately, the economy of Saudi Arabia is growing, but her people are suffering from a lot of work and could not allow them to attend to their family roles. This kind of overworking employees would harm the country's economy as well as deteriorating the health of the citizens. This is because, with employees who are under poor health conditions, the rate of production in various companies in Saudi Arabia would go down hence bringing down the country’s economy. Therefore, this research study hypothesizes that evaluating the barriers to Work-Life Balance among Employees Saudi Arabia employees is necessary to offer solutions to the challenging burden to employees needful for improving the safety of the workers who are the drivers of the country's economy.

Objectives

The main aim of this research study is to evaluate the Barriers to Work-Life Balance among Employees in Saudi Arabia, and they can be reduced to a minimum level to ensure the safety of workers as well as the improved economy. The specific objectives would be to determine:

(i) To identify the main barriers affecting the work-life balance

(ii) To identify the Causative agent of obstacles that affect work-life balance

(iii) To determine the reasons why barriers to work-life balance exist.

(iv) To assess the impact of the barriers to women and men employed in various sectors.

Literature Review

Overview of Saudi Arabia Economy

The market economy of Saudi Arabia is in its stages of development. The country due is ranked as one of the leading economies in oil and petroleum products worldwide. It is also ranked as the biggest economy among Arabic countries in the Middle East (Haque, 2019). These good markets put Saudi Arabia as part of the G20 group of countries (Nurunnabi, 2017). Also, Saudi Arabia is an emerging second and fifth in the availability of valuable resources (Khan, 2016). These include petroleum products and natural gas reserves taken to several countries globally (Tong & Baslom, 2019). Hence Saudi Arabia's economy is mainly dependent on the marketing of oil products. However, during the year 2016, the government of Saudi Arabia introduced its Saudi Vision 2030, which was meant to diversify countries' economies by investing in other resources rather than petroleum and oil products (Yusuf & Albanawi, 2016). After that, the expanding economy is observed due to the surplus marketing of non-oil and non-petroleum commodities globally, improving their revenue collection.

Despite being an energy superpower having a good economy, her employees distributed in many working industries that significantly contribute to the increased economy face a lot of challenges in executing their duties. Unfortunately, such barriers hinder the morale of the workforce group whom the country's economy depends on exporting valuable products in the world market (Alomari, 2019). Commonly, the struggle to balance work and people’s lives is a challenge that affects human races worldwide (Amirat & Zaidi, 2019). Numerous studies have found that these difficulties associated with the imbalanced situation are experienced due to inflexible work policies and practices, significant workload coupled with long working hours, and dependent care( Al Rasasi, 2016). This problem negatively affects the human psychological way of living (Banafea & Ibnrubbian, 2018). It poses the threat of developing stress complications like worsened health conditions if the situation is not solved among companies and employees (Alkhteeb, 2017). Therefore, it means that the workforce would be much affected if a large number of employees become sick or entirely under severe cases resulting in weak economies. Thus it would be appropriate to identify areas of concern and come up with laws that would ensure mutual gain between the companies and their employees.

To provide a valuable solution to this problem, many researchers in the world have proposed several strategies. The proposed measures have been structured to curb the barriers to work-life balance among employees in developing economies require (Alshuaibi, 2017). They need that human resource management must consider factors that include; consistent communication that is taking care of the companies’ core values, mission, vision and the policies that guide workforce. Also, human resource department have been advised to examine the culture of their companies including task processes to evaluate if they conform to the work life measures. Further, the human resource taskforce are encouraged to occasionally identify and examine needs of the staff through surveys that is helpful in modifying the required life benefits (Akter, Akter, & Turale, 2019). They are also directed to offer a lot of benefits that is crucial in satisfying individual needs. Furthermore, the human resource teams are encouraged to make the companies’ supervisors, directors, and managers responsible for the campaign of advocating for work-life balance (Al-Ismail, Carmichael, & Duberley, 2019). Lastly, human resource departments are expected to measure results by evaluating the staff's participation in various activities.

However, with Saudi Arabia, things are different. The government of Saudi Arabia encourages excess use of human labor that may not correctly follow the mentioned guidelines advised by researchers in combating challenges faced in work-life balance (Alferaih, 2017). The Saudi government has even reached a point that they engage and overwork women in long-hour activities also though they should be given a break to take care of them. According to the ‘international legislative commitments to Non-Government Organizations dedicated to women's welfare,' Saudi Arabia has put in place policies and plans looking forward to bringing women labor market. Unlike previous years that women were making only 15% of the country's workforce (Zerwas, 2019). This low number of women was initially contributed by challenges that included Legislative, educational, occupational, and social bottlenecks that did not allow women to offer their support in the labor market.

Getting Women into Work and Influence on the Work-Life Balance

The Saudi government has put some initiatives to ensure women also participate in building the country's economy as their male partners do. Some of these strategies are; equipping women with knowledge and skills required in performing various activities in the labour market (Al-Asfour, et al., 2017). This measure of educating females has improved the number of women involved in the taskforce across the county. Saudi women are prepared for even other competitive work.

Additionally, Saudi legislation has loosened the tight rules that restricted women's participation in some activities. The government decided to change a state that hinders women's involvement, and the labor law now requires that gender equality is practiced in industrial sectors that hire human labor (Al-Asfour, et al., 2017). Again, Saudi Arabia has provided equal opportunity to both men and women to encourage women to be engaged in senior positions in a work environment.

Unfortunately, engaging women to work for long hours have affected family relations and care. Such effects are; increased conflicts among the couples due to the belief culture dictating the role of men and women in Society (Oyewobi, et al., 2019). Typically, the underlying purposes of taking care of the family are often left for women; thus, failure to undertake such duties results in quarrelling between husbands and wives that may even cause a physical fight (Abubaker & Bagley, 2016). Another problem that is likely to occur is financial insecurity. Women may opt for parenting in the working condition and do not allow them to take care of their children. As a result, the nature of women's responsibility at home, lack of proper balance between workplace and their role at home may significantly challenge women's choice to look for employment but rather stay at home (Rajeh, et al., 2017). In eliminating the challenges experienced by women, several studies have recommended that balancing the needs of the workplace with families is essential in enhancing the families' stability and financial security. Also, a well-balanced workplace and family management scenario has been found helpful in promoting national and family integrity.

Competition in hiring Employees

Competition between employees is a mandatory scenario in any work environment. In Saudi Arabia, most of the workplaces, such as companies experience competition from both the native people and those from other countries who are legal residents of the country for a specific period. Currently, in Saudi Arabia, there is a lot of competition for employment (Ismail, 2018). This kind of game is brought about by non-Saudi nationals who are looking for jobs. Usually, the non- Saudi nationals seek approval from the Ministry of Labor and interior, which permits them to work in the county, just like the Saudi people (Petrongolo, 2019).

Additionally, the existence of the sponsorship system that encourages expatriate workers' entry also poses competition in the Saudi country's job market (Alshuwaikhat & Mohammed, 2017). However, the non-Saudi nationals are can only be offered a job for the fixed period indicated in their residential visa (Habibi, 2019). This process of ever looking for a position among unsuccessful Saudi nationals may cause talented individuals to opt for self-employment or go to other tasks that they don't have skills, leading to vast cases of unexploited talents in the country.

Overcoming the Barriers of Work-Life Balance among Employees

Work-life balance is one of the underlying issues that affect the wellbeing of an employee. With the intensive nature of the work in many companies, Saudi employees find it challenging to perform some of their life responsibilities. However, it is manageable provided that the employees observe some personal rules such as; tracking time by planning for both work and own activities (Zoubi, et al., 2019). The employees can also determine their priorities and list essential areas of concern, including employment and home. Again, setting a specific goal would enable the employees to have time to achieve such aims and not for any other things (Alquwez, 2017). Another strategy is to plan for the work both at job and home then focus on achieving them. Establishing boundaries is also a strategy essential in overcoming barriers to work balance. It is produced by setting what the employee will do at work and home while identifying what not to do. Another vital aspect to consider is personal health, the employees should take care of their life, and it should always appear in the top list (Tanquerel &Grau-Grau, 2019. With good health like physical, emotional, and mental fitness, employees’ performance would improve in various Saudi Arabia’s companies and organizations. In achieving good health conditions, the employees need to do some exercise and have a peaceful sleep of not less than seven hours (Phan, et al., 2016). Proper diet should not be forgotten, since eating balanced meals would keep the employees' health checked.

The other things to do for proper balancing of roles at work and home among Saudi Arabians are; making time for themselves by scheduling for renewal that would include self-meditation and spiritual consultation hence promoting inspiration and strength in doing any activity. Also, doing work at its appropriate time is suitable for establishing transitional roles between the reams that may involve doing exercise, or attending to personal appointments (Terry & Fobia, 2019). But when the time for other things clock, the employee should be able to obey and shift to work. This method would help prevent waste of time, such as spending extra minutes on a particular duty. Most importantly, the employees should know when they need assistance to avoid complications resulting from overstayed stress in their minds.

Influence of Multinational Companies to Saudi Arabian Job Market

Multinational companies provide employment opportunities to Saudi Arabians. With the existence of international trading and investment and operation of the multinational corporations in the developing such as Saudi Arabia, market economies may be influenced positively or negatively. Nonetheless, the developing country often benefits from such a business. Usually, regarding employment, the multinational companies have provided a wide field for an employment opportunity in Saudi Arabia (Al-Bassam, et al., 2018). As several companies are introduced in the country, it always brings fortune to those who are looking for a job. Even though to a developed country, employees frequently complain of low pay, but this is opposite to developing countries such as Saudi Arabia. Like other third world countries, Saudi Arabia enjoys the intervention of the companies when they increase employment opportunities, especially by absorbing a large number of jobless youths. In reality, the wages are relatively low than when the companies were to offer in their countries of origin.

On the other hand, the companies may create an environment not conducive to indigenous companies of Saudi Arabia that may be looking for the taskforce to hire. This competition to hire expertise always depends on the number of wages offered by the companies. Typically people with always go for the highest bidder, that is the multinational companies whose little wages when converted to Saudi Arabia currency becomes more than what is offered by the indigenous companies. Also, they provide a field of competing for expertise (Cherif, 2020). It, therefore, means that only the multinational companies will have the privilege of accommodating a vast number of employees, including the most talented. Hence the Saudi Arabia’s companies may lack skilled professionals due to low pay.

Research Methodology

This research seeks information that would answer the specific objectives of this study. The data would be obtained through interviewing a sample population of the employees in different companies invested in Saudi Arabia. The people would be drawn from both indigenous and international companies. Concerning these companies, the study would focus on the main challenges women are facing. The sample size for this study is based on the number of companies that will be visited, and at least 30percent of the employees will be interviewed. Besides, the observation method would be used to record the information that could be seen and cannot speak, for instance, the physical behaviours of both the managers and employees. The data will be recorded in portable audio recorders and notes templates during the interviews and observation sessions. Data will be managed with Microsoft excel for useful analysis.

Interview as a Tool for Data Collection

The interviews will be carried out in ten companies, five leading indigenous and the five leading international companies. A total of 300 people will be interviewed, 30 coming from each company. In each company, a CEO, human resource, five male and female employees will be interviewed. The focus on human resource and CEOs will be essential to analyze the managerial aspect of the employee in each company. The interview session will take a maximum of 30 minutes for each interviewee to respond to the questions. The interviews will be open-ended to be able to capture other relevant information that might be left out. The conversations will be recorded in audio recorders and transcribed to ensure safe storage of the collected data that is relevant to the study.

Observation as a Tool for Data Collection

Observation method is vital in capturing other information not included in the interviews, thus enriching the data collection process. The observations will be made on the behaviours of the employees in the working environment of each company. Also, to understand the managerial practices in each company, the observation method of collecting data are essential will be essential in evaluating the relations of the managers with their employees. Besides, the observation as a data collection tool is vital to deal with the situation where verbal information about behaviour, feeling or activities cannot be recorded. Further, observation is the appropriate tool for cases of deaf and dumb individuals. Furthermore, it would help get data from those who may be an abnormality or do not understand the language used.

Ethical Consideration

The participation of the interviewees would on voluntarily basis; each participant will be asked for his or her time for providing the relevant information. The first thing to consider will be to have a written document that asking for companies participation will be sent two months to the actual interviewing process. Seeking permission from the management of the company would be useful in allowing their employees to take part in the whole process of the interview. Also, taking notes, audio recording, and visual data like picture and videos would require consent from the concern parties before they are captured. For security reasons, there will be no publication or sharing personal information to the general public.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the study on exploring the Barriers to Work-Life Balance among Employees in Saudi Arabia would be a good avenue for making appropriate policies in the labor department to improve the working environment for the employees. This study is also beneficial to the companies to understand areas that need immediate actions to improve on their taskforces. Moreover, analysis of women situations will help know what they are going through with the existence of imbalance between work and family responsibilities.

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However, during the year 2016, the government of Saudi Arabia introduced its Saudi Vision 2030, which was meant to diversify countries' economies by investing in other resources rather than petroleum and oil products (Yusuf & Albanawi, 2016). After that, the expanding economy is observed due to the surplus marketing of non-oil and non-petroleum commodities globally, improving their revenue collection.

Despite being an energy superpower having a good economy, her employees distributed in many working industries that significantly contribute to the increased economy face a lot of challenges in executing their duties. Unfortunately, such barriers hinder the morale of the workforce group whom the country's economy depends on exporting valuable products in the world market (Alomari, 2019). Commonly, the struggle to balance work and people’s lives is a challenge that affects human races worldwide (Amirat & Zaidi, 2019). Numerous studies have found that these difficulties associated with the imbalanced situation are experienced due to inflexible work policies and practices, significant workload coupled with long working hours, and dependent care( Al Rasasi, 2016). This problem negatively affects the human psychological way of living (Banafea & Ibnrubbian, 2018). It poses the threat of developing stress complications like worsened health conditions if the situation is not solved among companies and employees (Alkhteeb, 2017). Therefore, it means that the workforce would be much affected if a large number of employees become sick or entirely under severe cases resulting in weak economies. Thus it would be appropriate to identify areas of concern and come up with laws that would ensure mutual gain between the companies and their employees.

To provide a valuable solution to this problem, many researchers in the world have proposed several strategies. The proposed measures have been structured to curb the barriers to work-life balance among employees in developing economies require (Alshuaibi, 2017). They need that human resource management must consider factors that include; consistent communication that is taking care of the companies’ core values, mission, vision and the policies that guide workforce. Also, human resource department have been advised to examine the culture of their companies including task processes to evaluate if they conform to the work life measures. Further, the human resource taskforce are encouraged to occasionally identify and examine needs of the staff through surveys that is helpful in modifying the required life benefits (Akter, Akter, & Turale, 2019). They are also directed to offer a lot of benefits that is crucial in satisfying individual needs. Furthermore, the human resource teams are encouraged to make the companies’ supervisors, directors, and managers responsible for the campaign of advocating for work-life balance (Al-Ismail, Carmichael, & Duberley, 2019). Lastly, human resource departments are expected to measure results by evaluating the staff's participation in various activities.

However, with Saudi Arabia, things are different. The government of Saudi Arabia encourages excess use of human labor that may not correctly follow the mentioned guidelines advised by researchers in combating challenges faced in work-life balance (Alferaih, 2017). The Saudi government has even reached a point that they engage and overwork women in long-hour activities also though they should be given a break to take care of them. According to the ‘international legislative commitments to Non-Government Organizations dedicated to women's welfare,' Saudi Arabia has put in place policies and plans looking forward to bringing women labor market. Unlike previous years that women were making only 15% of the country's workforce (Zerwas, 2019). This low number of women was initially contributed by challenges that included Legislative, educational, occupational, and social bottlenecks that did not allow women to offer their support in the labor market. Read More