Work-Life balance - Essay Example

? Work-Life balance AFFILIATION: Work-life Balance Introduction to Work-life balance Human Resource Management (HRM) is a crucial part of the organizations in today’s world as the corporations have realized that they can compete effectively in the respective industry by developing a competent and valuable workforce. The importance of the human resources can be reflected from the viewpoint that it is actually the employees who execute the plans for the firm. A plan on its own is f no use until effective hum resources carry it out Hence human resources are the crux of any organization for achieving the goals and objectives of the organization. When the companies focus their attention on nurturing a well-skilled and highly qualified staff, they are able to enhance their level of productivity and earn sufficient amount of Return on Investment (International Labour Office, 2011). Almost all the leading firms have realized that they can maintain their edge in the market by investing heavily in the personnel rather than other resources because a reliable, loyal and capable workforce will ensure that a company is able to attain the desired objectives effectively (Brough et al., 2008). As personnel are the key source of competitiveness of the firm, the management has to ensure that they provide each employee with the desired work-life balance provision. At times to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the workforce, the organization has to provide certain training programs to the employees to polish and strengthen their skills regarding certain elements. In today’s every changing business environment, it has become crucial for the industry players to address the HRM issues proactively so that the employees can be retained for a long period and they are motivated to make valuable contribution in the business operations (Abendroth, 2011). Skilled and talented employees may be attracted towards other organizations due to a number of factors and so organizations need to ensure that they deal with their human resources in an effective way so as to retain qualified and talented employees in the firm. Work-life balance has become an alarming point of concern for the employers because they have noticed that the firms that do not address this aspect for the employee’s enhanced job satisfaction level have to face difficulty in keeping them loyal to their business. Employees need to balance their professional life as well as personal life on equal grounds so that they perform the best in both these roles. According to Work Life Balance (2007), work-life balanced is described as “the ability of an individual to engage in both non-work and work lives without any undue pressure from one that undermines the suitable experience of the other.” With the advent of time, the concept of work-life balance had undergone drastic changes because there has been a significant shift in the working culture, demographic profiles of the workers and external factors such as technology, economy and politics (Hobsen, Fahlen & Takcas, 2011). Changing trends in work-life balance As the lives of both sexes have become fast paced and there is less free time available, there is an increasing pressure for time management in both work and personal domains that is causing widespread imbalance in work-life (Morrison & Thurnell, 2012). Under pressure employees tend to have a burden on their minds as they are not able to balance their work life and personal life, one part may be dominating the other one. The employment rate of women has increased, while that of men has remained constant, which is forcing both genders to remain outside the home for work purposes. Traditionally, it was believed that men is the sole bread earner for the family but there has been a shift in the society norms as the concept of dual-earner households has developed into the latest market trend in every culture for the last few years and both partners work and share the family responsibility (International Labour Office, 2011). Likewise, the working parents who are younger are looking for jobs that provide them flexible working hours and avoid getting engaged in over-time work so that they can keep an adequate work-life balance. Moreover, the number of single parents in the workforce has increased and a large number of population is entering the ageing segment; it shows that there is a rising demand for child and elderly care needs (Masood & Mahlawat, 2012). Within the workplace, the work intensification has increased and all of these societal shifts are pressurizing people to keep a balance in both work and personal lives. The extent of work-life balance varies among individuals on the basis of their personal desires, stages of life and personalities. It is believed that work-life balance is multi-faceted and can be easily addressed on various levels. While, others think it is a personal issue, some believe that it is the organizational responsibility to address this problem and some others believe that it should be addressed and regulated by the government (Abendroth, 2011; Poelmans, Kalliath, & Brough, 2008; Roberts, 2007). Factors mandating the need of work-life balance In order to address the changes happening in the society and the rise in the work-life conflict, the employers are implementing various work-life balance initiatives. All of these interventions are aimed at helping to improve the work-life balance of each employee. According to Tang and Woodsworth (2010), the work-life balance categories can be divided into four main parts i.e. leave arrangement, general services, flexible working arrangements and dependent care assistance. The work-life balance has grown to be an important part of HRM as the personnel are required for ensuring the creation of right working environment along with favorable working policies that will allow the staff members to optimize their level of efforts (Baral & Bhargawa, 2011). It is imperative to understand the individual needs of every employee so that they are provided appropriate set of working conditions that will assist them in keeping a balance between the personal and professional lives. The implementation of work-life balance policies is a crucial task for HR professionals as they have to accommodate such a wide array of staff that will eventually lead towards the development of higher quality employees which is a mandatory requirement for the company’s enhanced performance and maintenance of its competitive advantage in the respective industry (Deery, 2008). With the help of effective work-life balance policies, employees can be easily attracted and retained which will ensure that the recruitment cost is controlled to a great extent. Some of the advantages associated with such an important balance are that the employee turnover will decrease, there would be reduction in the stress level, decline in work-life conflict and enhancement in the well-being of personnel which will ultimately improve the organization’s level of productivity and performance (Parks & Langford, 2008). However, there is still a point of conflict between the theorists that whether the positive work-life balance will be experienced by every employee (Masood & Mahlawat, 2012) or the effect of its benefits will vary among the sub-population of employees (Nathvani, 2010). Viewpoints held by various theorists According to Hobsen, Fahlen and Takacs (2011), the concept of work-life balance has evolved from the family friendly policies that were developed with the aim of providing a conducive working environment to the employees so that they can have a proper balance between the work life and outside of work life. The early problems were highlighted when the male breadwinner model was eroded because women started to participate at an accelerating rate in the labor market. Previously, it was believed that women are responsible for taking care of the home, children and elder family members; this ideal nuclear family concept was challenged by the changing trends of the workforce (Abendroth, 2011). The main factors that contributed to the increased involvement of women in the labor force were the introduction of equal opportunity laws in the developed nations in 1970s along with easy access to ample opportunities for the women training programs in education and employment fields, extensive desire of maintaining a suitable standard of living and the drastic changes in the structures of families that were marked by a decline in the family size, delay in parenthood and rising number of single parents (Wickham & Fishwick, 2008). In order to explain the imbalance between work life and outside of work life, there are five well-known models developed by the experts such as Zedeck and Mosier (1990) and O’Driscoll (1996), cited by Kossek, Lewis and Hammer (2008): 1. Segmentation model – It states that work and personal lives are independent and have no influence on each other. There is lack of empirical research evidence about the authenticity of this model. 2. Spillover model – It is based on the hypothesis that one of the two lives can influence the other in a positive or negative way. Some experts have conducted studies on this model but there are various causes, factors and consequences that have to be studied in-depth by the theorists. 3. Compensation model – It proposes that one of the spheres might lack some features such as demands or satisfaction that can be fulfilled by the other sphere of life. For instance, the work might be viewed as a routine task and it can be compensated by making a valuable contribution in the society outside the work life. 4. Instrumental model – It states that one life will facilitate the success in the other sphere. For example, an employee will be motivated to earn more income even by doing work in overtime schedules so that he/she can purchase the home or car for the family. 5. Conflict model – It suggests that some choices have to be made in each sphere and there is a possibility that a conflict arises between the two spheres which can cause an individual to suffer extensive burden of making a difficult decision. Although these models have been proposed on the basis of solid grounds, but the individuals working on the work-life facet of the organizations have to ensure that they study this concept from various aspects such as individual, psychological, organizational, social and economical so that the employees are provided with right policies for maintaining an effective work-life balance (International Labour Office, 2011). According to Byrne (2005), cited by Morrison and Thurnell (2012), the best way of ensuring work-life balance is to follow the balanced wheel concept of life; according to this approach, there are eight crucial segments of every individual’s life such as family, self, hobbies, work, finance, health, spiritual and social. Every person tries to keep a balance between all of these sections so that the life can be enjoyed with extremism. However, it is difficult to ensure proper balance between every element of the wheel as each person values the sections differently. For instance, for one person, hobbies might be more important than spiritual activities, likewise, for some other person, family will be more valuable than work. Hence, everyone in the world assigns different weight to all elements and it is vital for the organizations to understand the varying perceptions held by their employees so that they can assist them in having a well-balance work life and personal life. Resolving work-life balance issues The achievement of the work-life balance can be a priority and desire of the employees; however, it is not only their responsibilities as organizations have to play a crucial role in implementing the measures that will allow the employees to handle work-life balance issues (Deery, 2008). Employers are the advocates who set the norms and conditions required at the workplace for understanding, identifying, designing and embedding the facilitators required for combining the work elements and family needs of every employee (Masood & Mahlawat, 2012). However, organizations cannot do by themselves without seeking input from the workforce; it is mandatory for the managers to involve the employees in setting work related policies so that the employees feel motivated and satisfied with their jobs. According to Roberts (2007), when the strategy of management relives the interference from one sphere, the demands of the other one are ultimately met and they prove to be less troublesome for the first sphere. The companies have to ensure that they develop adequate policies that will allow employees to have flexible working hours, reduce the factors causing work pressure, decline their stress level and fulfillment of their family roles. Most of the companies have implemented Work-life Benefits and Programs (WLBPs) which are the structural, procedural and institutionalized arrangements in the form of informal and formal policies that allow the individuals to effectively manage the conflicts that arise between family and work lives (Hobsen, Fahlen & Takcas, 2011). For some organizations, these programs have proven to work exceptionally well and few had to encounter problems as there was lack of alignment between the purpose of the program and the culture of the firm (International Labour Office, 2011). In order to enhance the implementation phase of WLBPs, it has been broken down into three broad categories i.e. benefits, policies and services. The benefits comprise of compensation for protection against the payment of medical expenditures, loss of earnings and vacations that are sponsored. While, policies comprise of the formal and informal ways by which the work and leave schedules of employees are developed such as flexible working time, part-time work and family or parental leave. Likewise, the services category constitute of facilities such as childcare centers, counseling sessions and medical amenities. In addition to the aforementioned services, some organizations ensure that they allow their employees to define their work-family integration viewpoint so that the work related policies and practices ensure that the employees are stress free and they can fulfill their life roles along with foster personal development goals (Baral & Bhagarwa, 2011). There is even growing body of literature which supports the notion that the organizations have to understand the family responsibilities and needs that are not evident on the surface level such as working mothers have to fulfill the child care responsibilities (Brough et al., 2008). It is generally believed that effective work-life balance policies will incorporate all aspects of the employees’ needs and will allow the organizations to present them with flexible working conditions, appreciative reward programs and opportunities for career development (International Labour Office, 2011). These policies are now considered to be part of the latest ‘high commitment working systems’ that mandate an additional responsibility on the employees that is enhanced commitment level and innovation. According to a survey by CIPD, cited by Abendroth (2011), there is a huge range of influences that can be found among the employees regarding the work-life balance. In the study, regression analysis was done on the data retrieved from ten organizations in USA; all the respondents were selected on the basis of stratified sampling so that the entire population range was properly covered. The study revealed that the imbalance was the highest amongst those people who had to work for long hours, people employed at the managerial positions earning high income, women employees especially those who had dependent family members and children, and multiple job holders. However, the balance was found in those organizations that had a friendly climate along with human resource practices that were set in consensus with the employees as they were provided the opportunities to demonstrate their power of autonomy and participation. One crucial aspect that was revealed in the survey was that these family-friendly practices had no direct association with the work-life balance which implies that the WLBPs have to be effectively implemented to eliminate the work-life balance issue. Simultaneously, similar results were reported in the studies of Borugh et al. (2008), Morrison and Thurnell (2012), Parks and Langford (2008) and Tang and Woodsworth (2010) about the work-life issues. All of these studies support the viewpoint that employees value the importance of work-life balance and want to remain associated with a firm that will allow them to have a satisfactory working and personal life. On the other hand, it has been emphasized that the corporations have to develop the policies in accordance to the requirements of the individual employees so that they can make successive career progression and remain loyal to the company for a long time. Loyal and dedicated employees will have their personal goals and objectives aligned with the organization's goals and objectives and hence a win-win situation will be present for both the employee and the organization. Conclusion Hence, the organizations have to comprehend that they can help their employees in having an appropriate balance between work and personal lives by involving them in the setting up of work-life balance policies. Although there are many factors that tend to cause problems in the balance but they have to be adequately handled so that their effects are kept to a minimal level. The theorists have shed light on various aspects of this issue but it varies a lot among the organizations as it depends on their structure, type of business they are engaged in, skill level of employees and individual employee’s set of values and beliefs. If organizations succeed in helping their valuable employees to balance work and life equally then this will impact the productivity and profitability of the organization to a very large extent. Long working hours may cause employees to be dissatisfied. A satisfied employee tend to be a highly productive employee for the firm. Therefore, it has become mandatory for the HR professionals to understand the psychology of each worker so that they can ensure that all the requirements of an employee regarding work-life balance are identified and they are provided support in every stage when they encounter problem that create a conflict between the two domains. Every firm has to ensure that adequate WLBPs are implemented as this will enhance the performance of the firm and allow employees to have flexible working times, avail the opportunities for personal development and receive appreciation in the form of rewards on the successful attainment of targeted goals. Rewards as we know can impact the employees in a highly positive manner and also with rewards employees may give in their best performance at all times. References Abendroth, A.K. (2011). Support for the work-life balance in Europe: the impact of state, workplace and family support on work-life balance satisfaction. 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