AN ANALYTICAL STUDY ON IMPACT OF CORPORATE POLICIES AND STRATEGIES ON WORK LIFE BALANCE WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO MIDDLE AND TOP LEVEL MANAGERS OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE COMPANIES Kunj Bihari Sharma, Research Scholar, Bhagwant University, Ajmer Prof. (Dr.) Sudhinder Singh Chowhan, Research Supervisor, Bhagwant University, Ajmer Abstract The contemporary business environment has manifested the work roles that have resulted in working hours that transcend the traditional 9 to 5 model. The new working environment seeks performance-based employment relationships and customizing customer needs. In the pursuit of increasing productivity, ameliorating performance, subsiding stress, and enhancing profitability, the companies are toying up with new ways to strike a balance between the work and life of the workforce through the different paradigms of Work Life Balance (WLB). This research paper is centered on the themes of Work Life Balance in the private and public sector enterprises to answer to the need of understanding intrapersonal, interpersonal and family dimensions with respect to the work life balance. Key Words: Corporate Polices, Work life Balance, Work Life Imbalance etc. In the current times because of economic swings, industry is facing serious challenges, such as employee retentions, increasing productivity and employee morbidities. Work life balance recommendations will be presented for contemplation with respect to the need of putting into place employee friendly and family friendly policies that will create impact on reducing work stress, increasing productivity, employee wellness, among others, with a view to making the corporations an attractive employer to for the achievement of business success. The research study shall try to unfold perceptions of balance between the work and life. Work Life Balance Work Life Balance principally is a matter of making a balance between personal and professional life. Work Life Balance is about people having a control over when, where and how they work. It is manifested when an 70
individual has a fulfilled life inside and outside paid work and it is accepted and respected as the norm, to the mutual benefit of the individual, business and society. Work Life Balance Work family conflict Family-friendly benefits Work Life programs Work Family culture Work Life initiatives Figure 1 Impacts of Work Life Balance Work Life Imbalance Most of the employees feel the imbalance in their work roles and life roles. They are constantly drained out and de-motivated. They feel their choices are limited, have minimal control and are not able to effectively manage their lives. Their life is always in reactive than proactive mode. Majority of working age population is in this realm, and thus Work Life Balance has become indeed difficult for them. Review of Literature 71
The important factor relates to the Work Life Balance literature s mostly emphasize on the unitary perspective of human resource management, i.e. the assumption that Work Life Balance policy regimes exist with the primary aim to maximize employees availability and time spent at work (Shorthose, 2004; Wise and Bond, 2003). Research by Dex and Smith (2002) and Kiger (2005) provide perhaps the most serious evidence against current Work Life Balance policy implementation when they revealed that less than two per cent of employees actually participate in available WLB programs. The first relates to perceptions of equity, with many employees reporting that they did not wish to appear a special case or to require special treatment to their colleagues. The Blueprint for Life-Work Designs (Hache, Redekopp, & Jarvis, 2000) describes a complex inter-relationship of life roles. An assortment of balance wheels are widely available, typically including such aspects of life as social (e.g., family, friends, and romantic relationships), physical (e.g., physical fitness, environmental conditions and general health), intellectual (e.g., education, mental challenge), emotional, spiritual, and work (including career, money, homemaking and community service). Recognition of the fundamental issues within the Work Life Balance concept, along with a desire to redress them through a more strategic theory and policy perspective, has emerged from agreement that there is a clear connection between the way people are managed and firm performance (Purcell, 2002:1). Work Life Balance as a concept is given various meanings since its popularization in 1959 (Ransome, 2007). It is normally agreed in academic discourse that Work Life Balance is concerned with enabling individuals to achieve fulfilled lives through the attainment of greater personal control (Ghazi, 2003; Harris, et al., 2005; Pocock, 2005; Walker, et al., 2008; Walker & Webster, 2007) or management of a their lives and work (Ang, 2008; Department of Labour, 2003; Harris & Pringle, 2007; McGregor, 2007). Research Objectives To ascertain the demand for work-life balance by the employees. Hypotheses H o 1: There is no significance difference between Work Life Balance and spouse working status H o 2: There is no significance difference between Work Life Balance and number of hours an employee spend with your child/children in a day. Methodology and Sampling Design 72
The research is based on both the primary data and secondary data. The source of secondary data is various books, websites, research journals, magazines related to the field of the study. Primary data was collected by administering a structured questionnaire to the middle and senior level managers of the sample companies. The questionnaire consisted of close ended questions. A 1-5 point Likert scale from strongly disagree to strongly agree has been used to measure the statements in the questionnaire. For the purpose of the present study, a sample of 15 executives was selected. Statistical Tools of Data Analysis The statistical test used to test the hypotheses was the non-parametric Pearson s Chi-square test of independence. All data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 17. Individual reliability analyses were run on each of the scales. All analyses were tested using two-tail significance and an alpha level of 0.05. Work Life Balance in Public and Private Organizations in India H o 1: There is no significance difference between Work Life Balance and spouse working status Chi-Square Tests Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) Pearson Chi-Square 6.614 a 3.085 Likelihood Ratio 6.478 3.091 Linear-by-Linear Association 3.133 1.077 N of Valid Cases 542 a. 2 cells (25.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 1.44. Table 1 Hypothesis testing Ho1 (There is no significance difference between Work Life Balance and spouse working status) 73
As the p value is 0.085 we cannot reject the null hypothesis. Interpretation: The spouse working status has no affect on the Work Life Balance issues. Economic and family demands decide the factor of dual couple working. Job work and household work represents a complex set of interpersonal exchanges that enable family to achieve solidarity and cohesiveness. Dual career or single working couple collaborate considering "one partner as expert," in a particular domain and carry out their share of the labor in separate locations. Work life balance or imbalance is not a determinant of dual career couples. H o 2: There is no significance difference between Work Life Balances and number of hour s employee spends with child/children in a day. Chi-Square Tests Value Df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) Pearson Chi-Square 12.849 a 4.012 Likelihood Ratio 13.963 4.007 Linear-by-Linear Association.042 1.838 N of Valid Cases 542 a. 2 cells (20.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 1.44. Table 2 Hypothesis testing H o 2 (There is no significance difference between Work Life Balances and number of hours employee spends with child/children in a day) As the p value is 0.012 we reject the null hypothesis Interpretation: The more time spent with children, the more attuned parents become to their emerging abilities which increases the satisfaction level contributing to Work Life Balance. Parents who spend little time with their children either underestimate or overestimate the developmental progress of their children. This results in undue stress in long period of time which affects work and life. There is nothing more valuable than healthy 74
self-esteem of children which make parents satisfied. Parents may be keen to make work changes so as to spend maximum quality time with children. Organizations thus must have a separate policy for working parents with flexible work options so that they are able to spend more time with them. Giving child undivided attention and time make parents feels better. Spending time with children and enjoying with them contributes to work life balance. Summary and Conclusions Organizations must appropriately look into the business context and try to develop innovative ways to maximize Work Life Balance within the constraints of the business environment. Following are some of the suggestions that organizations may try to adapt according to their work designs. Quantify the use of the different Work Life Balance policies and reward those departments that demonstrate best practices in these areas. Examine those departments where the use is low. Develop a culture around the use of technologies for communication, try to make office paperless. Execute cafeteria bouquet packages that allow employees to select those benefits which are most appropriate for them. Bibliography Aldana SG. Financial Impact of Health Promotion Programs: A Comprehensive Review of the Literature. American Journal of Health Promotion, 15(5):296-320, 2001. Amato, P. R., D. R. Johnson, A. Booth, and S. J. Rogers. 2003. Continuity and change in marital quality between 1980 and 2000. Journal of Family 62 (4): 981 989. Arlie Russell Hochschild, The Time Bind: When Work Becomes Home and Home Becomes Work, Owl Books, 2001 Association attachment styles balance work and family? A personality perspective balance and quality of life, Journal of Vocational Behaviour, vol. 63, no. 3, pp. 54 Callanan, G. A., & Greenhaus, J. H. (1999). Personal and career development: The best and worst of times. In A. I. Kraut & A. K. Korman (Eds.), Evolving practices in human resource management: Responses to a changing world of work (pp. 146-171). 75
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