IMPACT OF ACADEMICIANS COMMITMENT FORMS ON WORK-LIFE BALANCE IN ENGINEERING INSTITUTIONS

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1 IMPACT OF ACADEMICIANS COMMITMENT FORMS ON WORK-LIFE BALANCE IN ENGINEERING INSTITUTIONS A.Anandh kumar, Assistant Professor, Sree Sastha Institute of Engineering & Technology, Chennai Abstract The study examined the relationship between three commitment forms - Institutional commitment, Job-involvement and group commitment to have work-life balance. Respondents were 40 academicians working in a private Engineering college, affiliated to Anna University, Chennai. The results showed that the Institutional commitment was positively associated with all the dimensions of work-life balance i.e. towards the team, the students, and the institution. Further job involvement was positively associated with institutional work-life balance. The results enhanced the multidimensional approach to institutional work-life Balance and emphasized the importance of matching the focus of the independent variable with the focus of the outcome variable. The findings of this study provide valuable insight for educators and policy makers who are interested in factors that contribute to work life and overall job satisfaction among academic disciplines at a Private Engineering college. Limitations, conclusions, and recommendations are discussed. Key words: Group Commitment, Institutional commitment, Job-involvement Introduction Academicians who are committed to their employing institution are most likely to be Good Citizens in comparison to the academicians who are not attached to their employing institution. The academicians who are committed to their institutions are likely to put an extra effort to attain aims and objectives of the institution by maintaining stable behavior. These academicians will be able to strike a balance between work and life as they have the commitment towards the work. Obviously commitment to the institution implies psychological attachment to the institutions objectives and aims. Thus, an academician committed to an institution expects to return the favour not only to the institution but also 74

2 indirectly to the other objects of the institution such as the students and the team. Based on above findings, the following has been formulated. H 1 : Institutional Commitment will be able positively related to Work-Life Balance towards the team, the student and the institution. One of the objects of commitment for an academician in the work place is her/his job, which can be termed as job involvement. Job involvement is strongly affected by the reflection of work experiences, the more the positive experiences; the higher will be the academicians job involvement. Work-Life Balance can be achieved only when there is job involvement. Academicians involved in their job are expected to perform better than the academicians who are not involved in their jobs. The mostly likely behavior to be affected by job involvement is task-oriented behavior such as institutional citizenship behavior. H 2 : Job involvement will be positively related to Work- Life Balance Academicians who are committed to their work group are expected to engage in behaviors that benefit the colleagues, which help academicians to deliver their duties effectively. Moreover, academics who were highly committed to their work group are also expected to engage in citizenship behavior towards the institution because socially involved individuals are reluctant to break the social ties. Thus, academicians committed to group would likely to exhibit behaviours that are beneficial to the institution as a whole.(i.e.)organizing social activities for the college/institute, organizing joint activities with parents, etc), which are not prescribed routines of the job description. Only when they indulge in all these activities, anxiety, depression.perplexity, discomfort, frustration, and frustration will be reduced. Sometimes family pressure may not enable the academicians to do the work in a peaceful manner. When they keep themselves engaged in the above said activities, they will be able to have Work-Life Balance. 75

3 Review of Literature Dinah J Kipkebut (2010) in his study on older employees found that female administrators had higher attachment to their Universities than males and younger employees. For both groups of employees, age, job security, training opportunities, distributive justice, and participation in decision making and career development were the common antecedents of affective commitment. Saleem, Mahmood and Mahmood, (2010) examined the effect of work motivation on job satisfaction in a telecommunication sector in Pakistan and revealed a positive relationship between them. The authors suggested that provision of financial rewards can be a source of motivating employees. Research Methodology Objectives To analyze the satisfaction level of the respondents with regard to job involvement. To analyze the perception of the respondents on institutional commitment. To identify the nature and extent of the relation between group commitment and work-life balance. Hypotheses Null hypotheses were framed and tested for significance to prove the objectives in a systematic manner. The null hypotheses were as follows: Ho1 (Null): There is no significant relation between Job involvement and Work Life Balance. Ho2 (Null): There is no significant relation between institutional commitment and Work Life Balance. Research Design This research has been categorized to be Descriptive because the major purpose of this research is the description of the relation between the two factors and Work Life Balance as it exists. Sample Design 76

4 Universe Type: Finite, Sampling Method: Convenience, Sampling Unit: Raja college of Engineering and Technology, Madurai. Secondary data was collected from Internet, books, newspapers, journals, business magazines etc. For primary data collection, a five-point scale questionnaire containing 13 statements was used. The scale was Likert's five-point scale where the respondents had to fill one choice ranging from Highly Satisfied to Highly Dissatisfied. The questionnaires were filled by 40 respondents. After collecting the data, it was tabulated using Weighted Average and correlation analysis. Sample The questionnaire was distributed to 60 academicians working in a Self Financing College affiliated to Anna University, Chennai, out of which 50 came back and finally 40 were taken for the analysis. Formula Applied Case Processing Summary Cases Valid Missing Total N Percent N Percent N Percent jobinvolement * % 0 0.0% % worklifealance Chi-Square Tests Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) Pearson Chi-Square a Likelihood Ratio Linear-by-Linear Association N of Valid Cases 40 a. 24 cells (96.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is.23. Findings and analysis 77

5 A survey was conducted with a sample of 40 Academicians in a Self Financing Engineering institution in Madurai. The responses were tabulated and used to test the two The first hypothesis of the research was as follows Ho1 (Null): There is no significant relation between job involvement and WLB. Alternate: There is a significant relation between job involvement and WLB. The Value of Chi squared static is The chi square has 16 degrees of freedom. The last column gives the two-tailed p value associated with the chi-squared value. In this case, the p value equals.021. This hypothesis was tested on the basis of the responses of 40 academicians using the Chi Square method. In the calculations made, there is insufficient evidence to conclude that job involvement influences work life balance. Conclusion On the basis of the above results, it can be concluded that few variables can enhance the work-life balance and few variables can decrease the work-life balance. Variables which can increase the work-life balance should be taken into consideration because those are very vital. Academicians should have group cohesiveness and apart from being a mentor they must be user friendly also. Loyalty towards the institution is yet another important factor to be borne in mind. All these things will enable the academician to go up the ladder of success. Reference 1. Asih Budiati, (2011). Women In The Workplace: Work Life Balance And Equal Opportunity To Enhance Women Empowerment, Swiss German University. 2. Saleem, R., Mahmood, A., & Mahmood, A. (2010). Effect of Work Motivation on Job Satisfaction in Mobile Telecommunication Service Organizations of Pakistan. International Journal of Business and Management, 5 (11):