Changes And Improvements Of Work Life Balance

ABSTRACT

Work Life balance has become an area of concern not only for the employee but also for the organisation as it impacts both in a big way. With the changing business environment change in work place is inevitable causing stress and insecurities in the lives of employees. It had led to reduction in employee productivity and increase in cost for employers resulting in losses for the organisation. Studies have been taken up by various organisations and some governments too to help understand the issues and frame policies and actions which may be beneficial to create a healthy work life balance that can benefit all. This paper attempts to understand the changing situation of work life and the attempts made by organisations and governments to improve work life balance.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The present research paper is based on secondary data which has been collected from books, newspapers, websites and research journals.

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INTRODUCTION

Work Life balance is a major component of leading a fulfilling and happy life. It is the ability to enjoy all aspects of life that is work, family, friends and self. A person plays multiple roles in personal & professional life and has varied goals. Work life Balance -A comfortable state of equilibrium achieved between an employee’s primary priorities of their employment position and their private life style. (Business Dictionary.com). Work life balance is a term used to describe the balance that an individual needs between time allocated for work and other aspects of life.

• A Healthy Work-Life balance exists when there is Satisfaction with functioning at work and home with minimum role conflict Absence of Work-Life Conflict or spillovers.
• It is reflected in the employee’s personal and professional life. Being free from conflicts and increase in productivity.
• The employee is able to balance his career aspirations, fulfil his family responsibilities and achieved self-contentment. There are four important aspects of an employees life namely work, family, friends and his own self.
• The employee allocate his time and energy to fulfil his responsibilities towards all these aspects which are important for him.

When the employee is able to balance his work and life it leads to contentment, stability and congenial work home atmosphere. For the organisation it means a productive, healthy employee good work environment and increase in efficiency.

FACTORS THAT LEAD TO WORK LIFE IMBALANCE

There are many factors that affect the work and life of an employee which have become a cause of concern for the employee, his organization and society in general. Some are the major factors are mentioned below:

• Globalisation of economies has led to changing Landscape, Demographic and Social changes.
• Increasing use of technology at work place has its own advantages at the same time limitations. Removal of restriction of place and time leading to 24X7 accessibility to employers and clients.
• Increasing family responsibilities and work demands. Extreme ambition, unrealistic expectations, desperate for perfection has increased pressure in the employees.
• Dynamic economy creating capacity crunch of people with right skills. This increases the work responsibilities on the middle and higher level managers in the organisation.

Work Life Imbalance has affected the employees in a negative way by increase in stress, frustration, Health issues, physical and mental burnout and conflicts.

Similarly for the employers it has resulted in Low productivity, absenteeism, high cost and loss in terms of finance and talent in the organisation.

Benefits of Work Life To Employees:

• Improve on the-job and off-the-job relationship.
• Reduces stress and provide self-satisfaction.
• Improvements in ones’ health and well-being.
• More value and balance in daily life

Benefits of Work Life To Organization:

• Reduces absenteeism and Increased productivity.
• A reduction in staff turnover and recruitment costs.
• Improved morale and brand image of the organization.
• Better team work and communication.

Many countries have policies and norms for protecting the rights of employees and preventing exploitation by the employers.

Some developed countries have realized importance of work life balance and passed legislation that promotes it for their citizens.

• Many developed countries have laws that protect the employees right to healthy work life balance.
• France has passed a law that allows employees to disregard work email when they’re not in the office.
• France has 25 federally mandated vacation days.
• The European Union has passed a Working Time Directive that enforces a maximum 48-hour workweek, including overtime.

The European countries are much more aggressive than the United States on this front. One result of this is the fact that in Germany and France, employees take almost all of their time off. In the United States, however, employees use only 73 percent of their available time off.

According to the OECD data which is gathered from United Nations Statistics and National Statics office of different countries. Netherlands enjoys the best work life balance. Only 0.5 % employees work 50 hours or more as compared to the average of 13% among all OECD nations. The people of Germany on an average work for 26 hours a week. In France since 2002 the average has been 35 to 39 hours a week. About 50% of employee of England, 63% of Norway and 58% in Denmark work between 35 to 39 hours. USA stood at 30th position among 38 countries. Turkey scored the lowest with 56.7% employees working 40 to 49 hours a week followed by Mexico where on average employees work for 45 hours a week. Besides hours spent by employees at work, time for leisure, personal time, employment rate of mothers was also considered while calculating the index score.

Another data by UBS mentions India as the country where employees put in maximum working hours that is above 52 hours a week followed by Mexico and China.

The world Happiness report lists the same countries ranking high on work life balance as the happiest country in the world Denmark, Switzerland, Norway and Finland have enjoyed top places in the ranking.

Many reasons can be concluded from the above data:

1. Developed countries have better work life balance and also rank high on the happiness index.
2. These countries are techno savvy and also more aware about the importance of the issue.
3. The future work force and consumer market is dependent upon the work environment and family and work model.
4. Spending more time at work does not lead to increase in productivity but balancing work and life can. There is lack of formalisation of policies and practices among different sectors and organisations.

WHAT WORK-LIFE BALANCE MEANS ACCORDING TO MILLENNIALS

The millennials are those born between 1980s to 2000. The millennial generation according to the survey conducted across all continents desires more leisure time for themselves as compared to all the other perks as their major criteria of work life balance. This is food for thought for the corporate sector which can plan accordingly. They are keen on career paths that will support their lifestyles. Thus there are companies that try to make workspace millennial friendly and overcompensate by having gaming rooms, bean bags, coffee breaks etc.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

• “Don’t work for your Company work for yourself and your family.”
• “Employees in India have a tendency to overcomeit.” (Vikram Net Apps India).
• “Climbing career Ladder faster and bagging fatter pay cheques leads to neglecting personal life.” (Margarita Rodrigues Directi).
• “Indian Education System don’t lend cultivation of hobbies. Our extra office activities are limited to movies and dining. Only place where time investment creates value its work place. Once that perception changes people will focus on balance. (Diwakar Kaza President, Lupins Ltd)

CONTRIBUTION OF CORPORATE SECTORS TO WORK LIFE BALANCE

The corporate employees are dealing with lot of problems and challenges for managing work and life.

They have to deal with tough competitive and dynamic business environment. They are working against different time zones and continuous technological up gradations.

They face uncertainties at work place and long working hours that creeps into their family time. They are left with less time, energy and enthusiasm for other aspects of their life.

Recognition the challenging circumstances of the employees and its impact on the company initiatives have been taken up by corporate sector in India to improve the work life balance of employees. Flexible timings, work from home, Wellness centre for physical and mental health, counselling personal and career, employee assistance programme, reading library, gymnasium, free classes and courses, sabbatical, extended leaves, day care centres, telecommuting, doctor on call, paid holidays. Companies had been coming up with unique programmes to attract and retain talented employees within the organisation. They are designing tailor made policies for staff who are in different life stages and have variant needs. Some organisations provide core benefit common to all employees and optional benefits to choose from. They even design unique names for the schemes.

CHALLENGES FOR WORK LIFE BALANCE

1. Work life balance is not static but will vary over a period of time and even on day to day basis.
2. It may be different for different industry and individuals in different phases of life.
3. Individuals may have different priorities in life so there is no perfect size that fits all in work life balance.
4. Employees and employers must together sincerely understand and cooperate in framing policies and implementing them.
5. Maintaining flexibility in work environment, improving overall work place experience for employees and a healthy work culture in the organisation.
6. Employees should take efforts to delink when needed, avoid spillover effect and manage work life conflicts with all the available resources at his disposal.
7. The government should recognise the importance of work life balance on Human Resource development and frame policies for wellbeing of employees is public and private sector.

CONCLUSIONS

Work life balance is crucial for the well-being of the individual employee, the organisation, the business environment and for the nation. Some developed countries have taken conscious efforts to improve the work life balance of their citizens by enforcing legislation whereas others have yet to take cognition of the same.

Many business organisations have realised the impact of healthy work environment for their employees and taken up initiatives to improve the work place experience for their employees. Since it is estimated that the millennials will take up 75% of the jobs by 2025 organisations will have to redefine their WLB policies to suit their requirements.

Flexible tailor made policies to cater to the employees life stages and lifestyles helps in creating better employer, improves employee engagement and loyalty , provides distinct value proposition, provides competitive edge in recruiting and retaining talent in the organisation. It is important to create awareness at all levels regarding the importance of work life balance for a happy and productive work force and citizens of the country.

REFERENCES

1. Managing Work Life balance (2006): Work Life Initiatives- The Way Ahead Report on the year 2006 Survey. Managing work / Life balance International.
2. Mohammed Niaz, Jouranl of Vocational Behaviours (2003): “Relation between work, family balance and quality of life.