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1 Student First Name: Stella Student Second Name:Ojo Copyright subsists in all papers and content posted on this site. Further copying or distribution by any means without prior permission is prohibited, except for the purposes of non-commercial private study or research, as defined in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or as otherwise authorised by statute. To obtain permission, please contact the author of the relevant paper in the first instance or with details of your request. 1

2 Work Life Balance Practices and Policies: Managers and Employees Experience in the Nigerian Banking Sector Abstract The complexities associated with combining paid employment and personal responsibilities have been an issue for over two decades and spans across many sectors. The importance of this theme signals its implication as an essential business topic, a public policy issue, and a concern to employers, individuals and families. The purpose of this research is to examine the extent to which work life balance policies/practices are a reality for employees of the Nigerian banking Sector. The research is based on a mixed method approach utilizing both qualitative and quantitative methods. Semi structured interviews were utilised for the qualitative and questionnaire used for the quantitative. From the preliminary findings there was a general sense of lack of awareness of the policies. Also there was no meaningful difference in the levels of awareness work life balance policies as regards the respondent s age, gender and position in the organization. The results highlight the importance of workplace culture in enabling an environment that is supportive of work life balance and consequently use of initiatives that are offered by the organisation. 1.1 Introduction The role of work has evolved over time because of the ever changing economic and social conditions of various countries. Work initially started out as a means for survival. Overtime, the function of work has advanced beyond a means for survival and now seen as both a means for survival and a source of personal satisfaction (Lero et.al, 2009). Work life balance policies and programs is one of means that aids achieve of personal and professional goals in the work place. The research aims at investigate the extent to which work life balance practices are a reality for employees of organisations in the Nigerian banking sector. It also examines if there are any barriers and reasons for the muted adoption of work life balance policies in the Nigerian banking sector. CIPD (2005) carried out a survey and found out that 2

3 organisation s loss and average of 3,500 for every one employee that leave the organisation in the first year of employment hence the need for banks to place greater interest with issues surrounding work life balance. Over the past three decades, there has been a widespread scholarly interest in the concept of work life balance (Freeman 2009; Lee et al., 2011). While extant work life balance (WLB) studies have significantly furthered our understanding of the phenomena, there remains great unevenness within WLB studies in a non-western context. In essence, while WLB in the West has received enormous research exposure, far less attention has been devoted to exploring the concept of WLB of individuals in Nigeria. Therefore, this is an attempt to contribute to the literature by exploring current understanding of and attitude towards the issue of work life balance among employees in the Nigerian Banking sectors. This research is important in two ways. First, the author believes that this study would be of great interest to academics and in particular banks and other international firms such as multinational corporations that are seeking to have joint ventures in Nigeria. Second, this research fills the research gap by using the spill over model to explore work-life trends in Nigeria. 1.2 Gaps in our Current Knowledge a) There is limited research on the use and availability of work-life balance practices and the implementation of these programmes in developing countries. There remains much to learn about Africa and how best to support their capacities to support employees work-life balance, especially during a time of increased economic pressure. 1.3 Aim and objectives Explore the extent to which work life balance policies/practices are a reality for employees of organisations in the Nigerian private sector. Explore the mode of adoption and use of work life balance policies/practices in organisations in Nigerian. 3

4 Explore if there are any barriers and reasons for the muted adoption and utilisation of work life balance policies. 1.4 Research Question: This research hopes to achieve the research aim by answering the following questions 1) How do managers and employees define work-life balance in Nigeria? 2) What is the range and scope of work life balance mechanisms in the banking sector? 3) What are the ways in which these work life balance mechanisms are been used in the Banks? 4) What are the changes in the use of work life balance mechanism over time, in particular in relation to legal and public policy interventions? 5) What forces constrain or help to shape the choices of work life balance practices and policies which exist in the banking sector? 6) What is the perceived impact of work life balance on attitude and performance employees and mangers? 1.5 Framework There are five main descriptive models attempting to conceptualize work-life balance (Guest, 2001). The segmentation model states that work and life outside of work are mutually exclusive such that one sphere does not impact the other. The spillover model is the reciprocal of the segmentation model, where work and life are interdependent and therefore influence each other. The next three models are more specific versions of the spillover model. The compensation model states that one sphere makes up for something lacking in the other sphere. The instrumental model states that one sphere accentuates the other sphere, and the conflict model states that each sphere has multiple demands, thus requiring individuals to prioritize and make choices that can lead to conflict. 4

5 1.6 Justification of Research Theoretical contribution: adding implementation of work life balance to the spill over model. Spill over model: been used in exploring WLB issues in the west, hence the need to test its suitability in the African context of Nigeria being the case study. Therefore, this is an attempt to contribute to the literature on work life balance by exploring current understanding of and attitude towards the issue of work life balance among bank employees. Theoretical Contribution: Expanding the Spill over Model Work life Age Gender Work hours Culture EAP Work life balance polices and practices Implementation of work life balance Personal life Work life Benefits to organisation and individuals Adapted from Guest (2001) 5

6 2.0 Literature Review on Work Life Balance The Genesis of work-life balance practices spans from work-life conflict (WLC) experienced by employee. WLC is the inter-role conflict that results when one s roles as an employee is incompatible with one other areas such as being a spouse, parent or with other religious and leisure activities. The concept of WLC recognises that most individuals have multiple roles. Work-life balance practices help minimise the amount of WLC and also target the antecedents (Lero et al., 2009). some of the antecedents of work-life conflicts include heavy job demands and job overloads. There is no single universally acceptable definition of work life balance; a lot will depend on the frame of reference scholars are using. The meaning or interpretation of the term varies with the age, interest, value, personal circumstance and personality of each individual (Torrington et al., 2011). This resonates with Russell et al. (2009), who argues that an employee s age, life style and environment plays an important part in the individual s discernment of work life balance. From the foregoing, the definitions can assume social, economic and legislative forms. However, the concept of WLB has been criticised on several fronts. For instance, Lewis et.al, (2007b) argues that WLB as a concept is problematic. This is because people do not fragment work from life, actually for people work is part of life. It is based on personal choice which varies from one person to another and may be difficult to quantify. However, social construct of WLB is very important both for employers and employees alike because of the numerous advantages such as reduction in absentiseem rate and increase in job performance (Lee et al., 2009; Freeman 2009) 3.0 Research Methods approach This research employed a mixed method approach because WLB is viewed as predominantly subjective and highly individualized phenomenon. To that extent, quantitative research methods are unlikely to provide a sufficiently rich understanding. For Neuman (2007), interview on the other hand is one of the best 6

7 ways of exploring these complexities hence; this research would utilize a mixed method approach to gain an in-depth understanding of WLB. The survey instrument was a combination of two questionnaires which had been already validated and used in other published studies (Schoenfeld, 2005 and BERR, 2008). Due to the nature of this study, an inductive approach was undertaken for the qualitative research. A total number of 600 questionnaires would be administered. The sample technique was stratified with 100 questionnaire distributed to the six main departments of the bank. Also, managers and non-managerial employees participated. Banks were selected because of their culture of working for long hours during the week and weekend. It is important to note that banks long hours working culture are becoming rife among private sector firms. Given the long wok hour culture it would be interesting to know if WLB is taken seriously as an HR policy and how it adopted or barriers to it operations. A total of 20 out of the existing 25 banks were sent the questionnaires and 80 employees would be interviewed. Reference Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (2005) Flexible working: Impact and implementation. An employer survey. London: CIPD available at on Department For Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reforms (BERR) (2008). Flexible working: The Right to Request and The Duty to Consider, available at html assessed on Department of Trade and Industry, (2001). The Business Case: Your Business can t afford to miss it. DTI Publications from assessed on Freeman, L.M. (2009). Comparison of Attitudes between Generation X and Baby Boomer Veterinary Faculty and Residents, Journal of Veterinary Medical Education, 36 (1),

8 Guest, D. E. (2001). Human Resource Management: When Research Confronts Theory. International Journal Of Human Resource Management, 12, Lee, C.M., Elke D.and Dobson, R. D. (2009) Work-Life Balance for Early Career Canadian Psychologists in Professional Programs Canadian Psychology, Canadian Psychological Association, 50 (2), pp Lero, D. S. and Bardoel, A. (2009). Including The Social-Cultural And Policy Contexts In Our Multi-Level, Multi-Nationalstudy Of Work-Family Conflict. Report To The International Wfworkshop. Guelph, ON. Lewis, S., Rapoport, R. and Gambles, R. (2007b). The Constraints Of A Work Life Balance Approach: An International Perspective. The International Journal Of Human Resource, 18(3), Neuman, W.L (2007) Basics of Social Research. Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches 2 nd edn. Boston: Pearson Education Inc. Russell, H., O'Connell, P.J., McGinnity, F. (2009). "The Impact of Flexible Working Arrangements on Work-life Conflict and Work Pressure in Ireland", Gender, Work and Organization, 16, Schoenfeld, G. (2005). Work-Life Balance: An MBA Alumni Report Graduate Management Admissions Council, 1-13 Torrington, D., Taylor, S., Hall, L & Atkinson, C. (2011). Human Resource Management 8 th Ed. London: Prentice Hall. London: Prentice Hall 8