Work-Life Balance in the BPO Sector Mrs.Vanishree, Asst. Professor, MBA dept., CVR College of Engineering, Ibrahimpatan ABSTRACT The success of any organization is highly dependent on its workforce. Especially the ITeS BPO industry needs to be flexible enough to develop commitment and talent in their workforce. They need to adopt a strategy to improve the employees 'Work-life balance' to satisfy both the organizational objectives and employee needs. The data pertaining to the study has been collected from professionals working in BPO companies in Hyderabad to analyze the Worklife balance. This paper aims to investigate factors affecting Work-life balance, Work-life balance arrangements availed by the employees and impact of Work- life Balance on employees work life, family life, personal life and on employees relationship with management and employees. Analysis of literature and available data reveals that many employees are facing problems in adjusting their family life and personal life with their Organisational workload. Key words: Work-life balance, family life, work life, relationships Introduction India is one of the most preferred outsourcing destinations. Indian ITeS BPO industry has been increasingly contributing to the domestic economy over the years. It is also providing valuable contribution to the services sector (NASSCOM, 2011).Though cost reduction and availability of skilled English-speaking employees have been the key growth drivers in the industry, many other factors such as access to talent, service quality, and productivity have kept the Indian ITeS BPO industry competitive in the global market. Some of the Human Resource related issues receiving considerable attention in the BPOs are work conditions, organizational environment management-labor relationships, work force empowerment and worklife balance. Work-life balance is the stability characterized by the balancing of an individual s life complexity and dynamism with environmental and personal resources such as family, community, employer, profession, geography, information, economics, personality, or values (Crooker et al, 2002).Work-life balance has become a subject of concern in view of the contemporary technological, demographic, market, and organisational changes associated with it. Increasing demand for work-life balance have forced BPO companies to take some of the initiatives such as alternative work arrangements, flexible working hours, leave policies and benefits in lieu of family care responsibilities and employee assistance programmes. Such policies are known as work-life benefits and practices (WLBPs). Studies suggest that WLBPs help to improve employee commitment, morale, satisfaction and performance as these reduce the level and intensity of stress that employees experience (Bruck, et al., 2002). The availability of technology anywhere which assists in the connectivity of people has delineated the boundaries between work and personal life. Literature Review Thompson, (2002) classified work-life initiatives into five (5) categories namely, (1) Time-based strategies like flexi-time, telecommuting and job sharing; (2) Information-based strategies like relocation assistance, elder care resources, company work/life balance intranet; (3) Money-based strategies like leave with pay, scholarships for dependents; (4) Direct services like onsite childcare, concierge services and takeout dinners; and (5) Culture-change strategies like training or focus on employees performance not office face time. Hyman et al. (2004) observed that organizational pressures, combined with lack of work centrality, result in work intruding into non-work areas of employees lives. Such intrusions often manifest themselves differently depending on the type of work, extent of autonomy and organizational support. www.borjournals.com Blue Ocean Research Journals 35
Burke, (2002) found out that both women and men prefer working in organisations that support work-life balance. Men appeared to benefit more than women. When work does not permit women to take care of their family, they feel unhappy, disappointed and frustrated. They draw tight boundaries between work and family and they do not like one crossing the other. Gibson, (2006) offered two explanations regarding the interconnectedness of work and life in the organizational setting: (1) the compensation effect implies that employees tend to compensate for low work or personal life satisfaction by seeking contentment in the other domain; and (2) the spillover view that indicates that job satisfaction spills over into one s work life and vice versa. Helen De Cieri et. al. (2005) argue that an organizations need to attract and retain valued employees in a highly competitive labour market is a strong motivating factor for increased organizational awareness and action with regard to implementation and management of WLB strategies. While some achievements have been made over the years, there remain substantial challenges for the uptake and management of WLB strategies. R. Baral and S. Bhargava (2011) have analyzed that family-friendliness of employers in India have been reflected in various welfare provisions which has been a matter of concern for employers since industrialization. With time, the scope and coverage of such initiatives have broadened and have become more individual growth and family well-being oriented. Rakesh Yadav, (2011) analyzed that factors such as absence of personal life, physical strains, unscheduled work hours were affecting the attrition from HR perspective which could be minimized by giving extra break to employees who work continuously in night shift for five days, compensating workers with wellness programs and stress busters and aligning employees holidays with the clients holidays. Objective of the study 1. To study the perception of employees towards Factors affecting Work-life balance 2. To identify the Work-life balance arrangements availed of by Respondents 3. To analyze the impact of Work-life Balance on employees work life, family life, personal life and on employees relationship with management and employees. Sample Design The present study was carried out in Hyderabad city by selecting BPO professionals. A sample of 200 employees was selected for gathering primary data. The respondents came from ten (10) BPO companies. To carry out the study in a more accurate and easier way, convenience sampling method was adopted. Data Collection Both primary and secondary data have been used to draw appropriate conclusions. The primary data was collected by using interview and questionnaire method. The secondary data was mainly drawn from available literature pertaining to the field of knowledge. Statistical tool used The collected data had been analyzed by using mean rating scores. Analysis and interpretation Table No1: General Profile of Respondents Factors Classification No. of Respondents Percentage 20 25 46 23% Age 26 30 108 54% 31 35 27 13% Above 35 years 19 10% Sex Male 114 57% Female 86 43% Single 97 48% Civic Married 100 50% Status Separated 3 2% 1-2 years 110 55% 3-5 years 29 15% Experience 5-7 years 33 17% 7-9 years 21 10% Above 9 years 7 3% Rs 10000-97 48.5% Rs 15000 Income- Level Rs 15001- Rs 20000 Rs 20001 Rs 25000 More Than Rs 25000 69 34.5% 28 14% 6 3% www.borjournals.com Blue Ocean Research Journals 36
Table No.2: Frequency of Respondents having difficulty in adjusting their family life with their Organisational workload Yes 134 67 No 50 25 Undecided 16 8 The above table shows that 67 % of the respondents experience difficulty in adjusting their family life with regards to the demands of their work. Only 25% of the respondents are not having trouble adjusting their family life with work. Table No.3: Frequency of Respondents having problems with adjusting their Personal Life with Organisational Workload Yes 102 51 No 87 43.5 Undecided 11 5.5 Table No.3 reveals that 51% of the respondents encounter problems vis-à-vis personal life and workload and 43.5% of the respondents do not have any problem in adjusting their personal life with organizational workload. Table No.4: Frequency of Respondents who encountered Work-Life Balance Problems Yes 168 84 No 22 11 Undecided 10 5 From the above table it can be inferred that most of the respondents i.e. 84% of them, have encountered difficulties in terms of work-life balance. Only 11% of them have not encountered any work-life balance problems. Table No 5: Perception towards Factors affecting Work-life balance Factors Support from top management 4.51 Support from colleagues 3.33 Organizational change 3.26 Working hours 4.08 Managerial style 4.49 Additional job responsibilities 3.74 Work overload 4.61 Work life conflict 4.22 Psychological distress 4.65 Physical Health 4.01 Family support 3.67 Having children 4.15 Personal financial problems 3.50 1 = Strongly Disagree, 2 = Disagree, 3 = Somewhat Disagree 4 = Neither Agree or Disagree, 5 = Somewhat Agree, 6 = Agree, 7 = Strongly Agree From Table No.2 it can be inferred that psychological distress is perceived as having the greatest impact on Work-Life Balance with mean score of 4.65. Work overload is considered to be the next most influencing factor on Work-Life Balance with mean score of 4.61, followed by the support from top management having a mean score of 4.51.Managerial style, work life conflict, having children, working hours, and physical health are some of the other factors that are considered to be strongly affecting work-life balance. Table No.6: Work-life balance arrangements availed of by Respondents Arrangements availed by Respondents Flexi-time 4.27 Parental Leave 3.01 Sick Leave 4.07 Earned Leave 3.66 Casual Leave 4.19 Compassionate leave 3.52 Additional Leave in exchange for 3.25 reduced pay Job Sharing Scheme 3.87 Flexible break provision 4.01 Shorter working week 3.98 Term Time Working Scheme 3.88 Half-time work 4.00 Ad-hoc arrangements to facilitate caring 2.94 needs Events for Family members of the 2.96 employees 1 = Never, 2 = Rarely, 3 = Sometimes, 4 = Often, www.borjournals.com Blue Ocean Research Journals 37
5 = Always The above table shows that flexi time arrangement has been availed by maximum number of respondents with mean score of 4.27 followed by casual leave arrangement with mean score of 4.19. Sick leave, flexible break provision, half time work, and shorter working week are some of the other arrangements that have been availed by maximum number of respondents. Table No.7: Impact of Work-life Balance Self Health I get adequate sleep 3.33 I get enough time to give myself, 2.92 exercise, hobbies and sports I do not suffer from headaches or 2.78 migraine I am mentally and physically 3.42 active Family and friends I get adequate time to spend with family and friends I am able to meet my home demands I get adequate time for personal responsibilities Relationship with Colleagues and Management I get enough time to interact with colleagues and Management I am able to build strong relationship with Colleagues and Management I am able to express myself effectively 3.12 2.86 2.96 3.26 3.38 3.01 Work Environment I am able to achieve my targets 3.71 I am enjoying my work 3.37 I am able to enhance my skills 3.12 1 = Strongly Disagree, 2 = Disagree, 3 = Somewhat Disagree 4 = Neither Agree or Disagree, 5 = Somewhat Agree, 6 = Agree, 7 = Strongly Agree Table No.7 reveals that with regard to impact of Work-life balance on self health, the highest mean score was for mentally and physically active followed by second highest mean score for getting adequate sleep. The least mean score was for not suffering from headaches or migraine. With regard to impact of Work-life balance on family and friends, the highest mean score was for getting adequate time to spend with family and friends followed by mean score for getting adequate time for personal responsibilities. The least mean score was for meeting my home demands. With Work-life balance, the employees are able to build a stronger relationship with their management and colleagues but the least mean score was for expressing effectively to management and colleagues. The impact of Work-life balance on Work environment shows highest mean score for achieving targets followed by second highest mean score for enjoying work. The least mean score was for enhancing skills. Conclusion In the BPO sector work schedule is unusual. There are excessive targets to be achieved like. Employees need to interact with different types of callers. Some of whom may be overbearing and irate. At the same time quality of the service needs to be maintained. All this may lead to burn-out and stress in the employees. BPO companies are trying to bring in work life balance of the employees by taking care of the factors like working from home, flexi time and swap in order to retain talent, enhance quality of work and to keep the employees happy. The flexibility of work alleviates stress and helps in better time management. Employees living with joint families are more comfortable when compared to those from nuclear families. Work-life balance requires cooperation and coordination at national, governmental, organizational, as well as the individual level. References [1] Bruck, C. et al. (2002). The Relation between Work Family Conflict and Job Satisfaction: A Finer-Grained Analysis. Journal of Vocational Behavior, Vol.60(3), pp.336-353 [2] Burke, R. J. (2002). Organizational values, job experiences and satisfaction among managerial and professional women and men: Advantage men? Women in Management Review, Vol.17 (5), pp.5 6. www.borjournals.com Blue Ocean Research Journals 38
[3] Crooker K., Smith, F. L., and Tabak, F. (2002). Creating work-life balance: A model of pluralism across life domains. HRD Review. Vol.1, pp. 387-419. [4] Gibson, J. et al. (2006). Organizations: Behavior, Structure, Processes. New York: McGraw-Hill. [5] Helen De Cieri et.al. (2005). Achievements and challenges for work/life balance strategies in Australian organizations, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol.16(1), pp. 90-103 [6] Hyman, J., and J. Summers. (2004). Lacking balance. Personal Review, Vol.33(4), pp. 418 429. [7] R. Baral and S. Bhargava. (2011). HR interventions for work-life balance: evidences from organisations in India. International Journal of Business, Management and Social Sciences, Vol. 2(1), pp. 33-42 [8] Rakesh Yadav, (2011). Attrition & HR Initiatives in INDIAN ITES BPO Industry. Research Journal of Social Science & Management, Vol. (1)2 [9] Thompson, et al. (2002). Formal Organizational Initiatives and Informal Workplace Practices: Links to Work-Family Conflict and Job-Related Outcomes. Journal of Management, Vol. 28(6), pp. 787-810. [10] NASSCOM, (2011). The IT-BPO Sector in India, Strategic Review, 2011 www.borjournals.com Blue Ocean Research Journals 39