Work - Life Balance in Indian Print Media Industry - A Descriptive Research

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1 Volume-7, Issue-6, November-December 2017 International Journal of Engineering and Management Research Page Number: Work - Life Balance in Indian Print Media Industry - A Descriptive Research Dr. P.Aranganathan 1, R. Vignesh 2, I. Soniya 3 1 Associate Professor & HOD, M.I.E.T. Engineering College, Trichy, Tamilnadu, INDIA 2 Assistant Professor, M.I.E.T. Engineering College, Trichy, Tamilnadu, INDIA 3 Final MBA, M.I.E.T. Engineering College, Trichy, Tamilnadu, INDIA ABSTRACT Currently, the organizations need to ensure worklife balance among their employees, since an imbalanced life leads to stress, fatigue, loss of control and even strained relationships among the employees. Many sectors have started realizing the importance of balancing the wok and personal life of employees and adapted many strategies to overcome this issue in their respective sectors. Print media industry is one among the significant industries in India and they face an acute problem in overcoming the work life imbalance among their employees since it happens due to its nature. The employees have to work intensively, particularly during emergencies with critical schedules and hence many lose their balance in their lives. Therefore the researchers have decided to analyze the issue of work life balance among the employees working in press and newspaper organizations located in the state of Tamilnadu, India. The primary data were collected through the structured questionnaire with the sample size of 270 and the analysis was done with SPSS software using statistical tools such as descriptive analysis, Chi square test and two- way ANOVA. Keywords-- Work overload, career advancement, work stress, employee involvement, employee well-being, etc I. INTRODUCTION Work-life balance supports the employees to allocate their time and energy between work and the other vital aspects of their lives such as family, friends, community participation, pleasure, spirituality, personal growth, self-care, and other personal activities, in addition to the Job demands. The term work-life balance ensures that one commits an equal share of time to both work and life.work-life balance is defined as a satisfactory level of involvement or fit between the multiple roles in a person s life (Hudson, 2005).It helps the employees to feel that they are contributing to all the vital aspects of their lives.work-life balance is generally associated with equilibrium between theamount of time and effort somebody devotes to work and personal activities, inorder to maintain an overall sense of harmony in life (Clarke, et al 2004, 121). Several researches on work-life balance investigates the work-life balance issues such as (1) spending high quality time with family members; (2) being able to relax in free time; (3) emotional well-being and health of family members; (4) high quality communication and support; (5) high quality child care and education; (6) satisfaction with work and work load at home (Karakas and Lee 2004). In the current scenario, the organizations need to ensure work-life balance among their employees, since an imbalanced life results in stress and fatigue, loss of control and even strained relationships.work life balance helps the employees to effectively manage multiple responsibilities at work, home and in the society without any stress (Thomas & Ganster, 1995). Work life balance further results in increased focus, motivation and job satisfaction (Kossek & Ozeki, 1998) knowing that family and work commitments are being met. But there exists always some conflict between one s work and personal life. Many sectors have realized the importance of balancing the wok and personal life of employees working with them and adapted many practices to overcome this issue in their respective sectors.organizations have started implementing various work-life balance initiatives that mayassist employees to better balance their work and family responsibilities, gainimprovements in well-being and provide organizational benefits. There are a largevariety of family friendly policies which include but are not limited to the following:flexible working hours, job sharing, part-time work, compressed work weeks,parental leave, telecommuting, on-site child care facility, (Hartel et al 2007). 43 Copyright Vandana Publications. All Rights Reserved.

2 II. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Work-life balance mainly deals with an employee s ability to properly correlate the work and his/her lifestyle, social life, health, family etc, and is normally linked with job productivity. Currently, maintaining a good work life balance in the organizations is an essential part of human resource management. Many industries have started realizing the significance of worklife balance and have started adapting and following the various strategies for improving the same. Print media industry is one among the significant industries in India and they face an acute problem in overcoming the work life imbalance among their employees since it happens due to its nature. The employees have to work intensively particularly during emergencies with critical schedules and due to this many lose the balance in their lives. Hence the researchers have decided to study and analyze the issue of work life balance among the employees working in press and newspaper organizations located in the state of Tamilnadu, India. III. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY To study the work-life balance among the employees working in the different organization belonging to Press and Newspaper organizationslocated in the state of Tamilnadu, India. IV. RATIONALE AND SCOPE OF THE STUDY This research study has been conducted for analyzing the work life balance prevailing among the employees belonging to the press and newspaper industry. Employees working in press and newspaper industry face many problems especially working for long hours in tough working environment.hence this study is performed to analyze the work life balance among the employees belonging to the Print Media industry. This research would help the organizations to think about the various measures that are to be followed in order to improve the employees work-life and provide a motivational environment in which the employees are highly satisfied to improve the productivity. V. THEORETICAL CONCEPTS Work Life Balance: Work-life balance refers to the flexible working arrangements that ensure both parents and non-parents to enjoy the working arrangements that provide a balance between work and personal responsibilities. Organizations can focus on workers' work-life balanceto ensure the responsibilities among their employees. Hence, the organizations could set up a work- life balance strategy and projects that would help their workers in satisfying their authority work at the working environment and their individual obligations outside the work environment also (Kim, 2014).However, insimpler terms, work-life balance means maintaining a suitable balance between two equally significant domains,work and Life. Change in work practices: The aim of work life balance is to improve workers conditions through altering work practices (Atkinson and Hall, 2009).The main thrust and perception of work life balance include the negative attitude towards work, the problem of work long hours and separation of work from life. The changing nature of work, according to Waller and Ragsdell (2012) has been affecting work life balance negatively especially making staff accountable to their work and promotion. The increase in long hours of work may include organizational downsizing, job insecurity of those working harder for fear of losing their jobs and economic recession (Burke and McAteer, 2007). Work Overload: Work overload was the strongest predictor of fulltime employees' work-life conflict. Work hours, their fit with preferences, and control over work scheduling also demonstrated small to moderate associations with worklife conflict (Natalie Skinner, Barbara Pococ, 2008). This occurs when the total demands on time and energy associated with the prescribed activities of multiple roles are too great to perform the roles adequately or comfortably. Career Advancement: Career Advancement in common terms means promotion, movement to higher levels, higher jobresponsibilities etc. Numerous studies have acknowledged the relationship between work life conflict and jobperformance,job satisfaction, motivation, productivity (Lyness and Judiesch, 2008). The career advancement opportunities however lead to work life balance among the employees in the organizations. Quality Family Time: People who work irregular hours or an excessive amount of overtimealso spend less time with their children and spouses and, once at home, they spend part of their time doing household chores to the detriment of family interactions (Barrette, 2009). The work-life imbalance occurs when an employee fails to spend proper time with their family members. Employee well-being: Employee well-being is ensured in the organizations when the employees have their basic needs met.employee wellbeing is ensured in the companies when they strive to make sure their employees remain happy and motivated in their work. This can include things affecting physical wellbeing, such as natural daylight and temperature control. Mental wellbeing is ensured through employee assistance programmes or informal areas for 44 Copyright Vandana Publications. All Rights Reserved.

3 taking a break or catching up with colleagues.the three measures of wellbeing include sickness absences, both short- and long-term, Subjective and Physical discomfort at work. Work Stress: Work life imbalance can increase the incidence of stress which can lead to high turnover rate and absenteeism which have impact on organizational productivity and staff performance.a key aspect of well-being is connectivity with family, community, and co-workers. The common source of stress is the work life conflicts which are caused by the multiple roles of individual with limited time (Carlson et.al 2009). This conflict affects the general wellbeing of the employee. VI. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Hence very limited number of research have been conducted in work life balance related to the Print Media industry, the literature from other related researches have been provided in this study.employees with work-life balance feel their lives are fulfilled both inside and outside of work and they experience minimal conflict between work and non-work roles. Work-life balance is generally associated with equilibrium between the amount of time and effort somebody devotes to work and personal activities, in order to maintain an overall sense of harmony in life. (Clarke, et al 2004, 121).Any competing demands of work and family life will cause conflict and negatively affect the wellbeing of workers (Clark, 2000; Frone, 2000). Clarke et al. (2004) and Clark (2000) agree that measurable aspects of WLB are satisfaction, lack of role conflict and an overall sense of harmony. Higher demands on employees duties and longer working hours reduce the time workers have Byrne. (2005) to spend with their families (Hill, 2005).Malik, McKie, Beattie & Hogg. (2010) Heavier work demands faced by employees also result in higher levels of stress, which negatively impacts workers physical and psychological wellbeing. Grady et al.(2008)and Burke(2000) argue that organizations and managers need to understand the importance of WLB, its impact on employees wellbeing, and the effects it has on organization s productivity and performance. One of the most common consequences of work - life imbalance is depression, resulting in decreased productivity and higher absenteeism (Layous, Chancellor, Lyubomirsky, Wang & Doraiswamy, 2011; Seligman, 2011). Low work-life balance can also lead to employees experiencing low morale and higher absenteeism (Brought, O Driscoll & Kalliath, 2005), and organizations experiencing higher staff turnover, lower productivity and poorer work quality (Seligman, 2011; Hill, 2005). VII. METHODOLOGY The researchers attempted to describe the various characteristics related to work life balance and also identified the association between the selected socio demographic variables and the variables related to work life balance. Hence descriptive research design has been adopted for conducting the study. The population for the study included the employees working in various Press and Newspapers organizations located in the state of Tamilnadu, India. A structured questionnaire with 5 scale rating was used to collect the primary data from the respondents.totally 295 questionnaires were distributed out of which 270 responses were collected and considered for analysis.the collected data was coded analyzed using the software SPSS version 19. Various tools like percentage analysis, chi square and two way anova were used to analyze the data andderive the findings. VIII. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS Reliability Analysis was done and the Cronbach s Alpha value was estimated to be which ensures an acceptable level of internal consistency with the responses received from the sample for the study 8.1 Profile of the Respondents: Among 270 number of respondents, maximum number of respondents are males(93.3 %) and 53.3% of the respondents belong to the age group of 31 to 40 years. 54.5% of the respondents have done only schooling(hsc and Below) among which 12.2 % of the resp0ndents have their work experience of more than 10 Years and 35.6 % of the respondents are machinists. Table- 8.1 Socio-Demographic Characteristics S. No. Socio-Demographic characteristics Frequency Percentage Gender of the Respondents 1 Male Female Age of the Respondents 2 Below 25 years to 30 years Copyright Vandana Publications. All Rights Reserved.

4 to 40 years Above 40 years Educational Qualification of the respondents Below HSC HSC Diploma Degree PG Designation of the respondents Machinist Foremen Dispatcher Agent Photographer Editor Reporter Experience of the Respondents Below 2 years to 5 years to 10 years Above 10 years Percentage Analysis: Majority (67.8%) of the respondents strongly agree that the nature of work provided is good in their respective organizations. Only 15.6 % of the respondents disagree that their organizations provide healthy working conditions. 30.0% of the respondents do not agree that their organization provides good infrastructure facilities. 28.9% of the respondents do not agree that they arecomfortable with working hours in the organization. 30% of the respondents disagree that they plan and work according to the working schedule in the organization and 24.4% of the respondents do not agree that they are clear with their duties and responsibilities provided in the organization Majority (72.2%) of the respondents disagree that they can meet the target and requirements without working long hours in the organization 31.1 % of the respondents disagree that they think about their work even during travel timeand 80 % of the respondents agree that they work even during holidays. 30% of the respondents are not satisfied with the leave policy in their organizations. Majority (61.1%) of the respondents agree that they have good career prospects in the organization. Majority(71.1%) of the respondents agree that they able to balance home and work life without hindering their career progression. 34.4% of the respondents disagree that they can spend enough time with their family members. 54.5% of the respondent agrees that their family does not suffer with the working hours in the organization Majority (68.9%) of the respondents agree that they are able to fulfill their family responsibilities and obligations. Only 38.9 % of the respondents agree that they manage to attend their family functions Majority (71.1%) of the respondents agree that their organizations provide leave for personal occasions. Majority (75.6 %) of the respondentsagree that their organizations care about their well being 28.9% of the respondents disagree that theprofessional counseling is being provided by their respective organizations Majority (82.2%) of the respondents disagree that the personal telephone facilities are being provided by their respective organizations % of the respondents agree that the work stress causes irritation at home and 68.9 % of the respondents agree that the work pressure is more in their respective organizations 68.8 % of the respondents agree that the job produces strain in their organizations 8.3 Chi Square Test: Respondents designation Vs Nature of work: H1: There is no significant difference between the designation of the employee and the nature of work done. 46 Copyright Vandana Publications. All Rights Reserved.

5 Table Respondents designation vsnature of work Chi-Square Tests Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) Pearson Chi-Square a Likelihood Ratio Linear-by-Linear Association N of Valid Cases 270 a. 8 cells (57.1%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is.64. Chi Square Value= , Dof = 6, p = Since p>0.05, we accept the Null Hypothesis and we conclude that there is no significant association between the designation of the employee and the nature of work done Respondents designation vs Good infrastructure H2: There is no significant difference between the designation of the respondents and their perception regarding the good infrastructure facilities. Table Respondents designation vs Good infrastructure Chi-Square Tests Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) Pearson Chi-Square a Likelihood Ratio Linear-by-Linear Association N of Valid Cases 270 a. 22 cells (78.6%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is.07. Chi Square Value= , Dof = 18, p = Since p<0.05, we reject the H0 and we conclude that, there is a significant association between the designation of the respondents and their perception regarding the good infrastructure facilities Respondents designation vs Healthy working condition: H3: There is no significant difference between the designation of the respondents and their perception regarding the healthy working conditions. Table designation vs Healthy working condition Chi-Square Tests Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) Pearson Chi-Square a Likelihood Ratio Linear-by-Linear Association N of Valid Cases 270 a. 22 cells (78.6%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is.02. Chi Square Value= , Dof = 18, p = Since p<0.05, we reject the H0 and we conclude that, there is a significant association between the designation of the respondents and their perception regarding the healthy working conditions Respondents designation Vs Equal access to promoting and T&D: H4: There is no significant difference between the designation of the respondents and their perception regarding the equal access to promotion and T & D. 47 Copyright Vandana Publications. All Rights Reserved.

6 Table Respondents designation Vs Equal access to promoting and T&D Chi-Square Tests Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) Pearson Chi-Square a Likelihood Ratio Linear-by-Linear Association N of Valid Cases 270 a. 28 cells (80.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is.02. Chi Square Value= , Dof = 24, p = Since p<0.05, we reject the H0 and we conclude that there is no significant association between the designation of the respondents and their perception regarding the equal access to promotion and T & D. 8.4 Univariate Analysis of Variance (Two wayanova): H4: There is no significant difference between the experience and education and the expectation of the respondents regarding their remuneration as per their knowledge and skills. Table Between-Subjects Factors Value Label Experience 1 Below 25 years t0 5 years to 10 years Above 40 years 33 Education 1 HSC 72 2 Diploma 48 3 Degree 42 4 PG 6 5 OTHER 102 Table Descriptive Statistics Dependent Variable: Getting remuneration as per skills and knowledge Experience Education Mean Std. Deviation N below 25 years 2 to 5 years 6 to 10 years HSC Diploma Degree PG Total HSC Diploma OTHER Total HSC Diploma Degree PG OTHER Total Copyright Vandana Publications. All Rights Reserved. N

7 above 40 years Total HSC Degree OTHER Total HSC Diploma Degree PG OTHER Total Table Levene's Test of Equality of Error Variances a Dependent Variable: Getting remuneration as per skills and knowledge F df1 df2 Sig Tests the null hypothesis that the error variance of the dependent variable is equal across groups. a. Design: Intercept + A2 + A3 + A2 * A3 Table Tests of Between-Subjects Effects Dependent Variable: Getting remuneration as per skills and knowledge Source Type III Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig. Corrected Model a Intercept A A A2 * A Error Total Corrected Total a. R Squared =.234 (Adjusted R Squared =.091) From Levne s Test for Equality of Error variances, we can see that we have homogeneity of variances of the dependent variable (The expectation of the respondents regarding their remuneration as per their knowledge and skills) across group since the significance value is more than Since F = 3.790, p =.014 and p< 0.05, there is an significance between the experience of the respondents and their expectations regarding their remuneration as per their knowledge and skills. Since F = 2.345, p =.062 and p>0.05, there no significance between the income level of the respondents and their expectations regarding their remuneration as per their knowledge and skills. Since F = 1.175, p =.327 and p>0.05, there no significance n between the experience & income level of the respondents and their expectations regarding their remuneration as per their knowledge and skills. 49 Copyright Vandana Publications. All Rights Reserved. IX. CONCLUSION Work-life balance initiatives by the organizations would significantly reduce absenteeism rates, improve employee morale and retain knowledgeable staff. In today's global environment, as the organizations concentrate on cost reduction, they need to understand and deal the critical issues of work-life balance with unique work-life programs. Work-life balance practices are deliberate organizational changes in programs or organizational culture that are designed to reduce work-life conflict and enable employees to be more effective at work

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