Work-Life Balance and Organizational Performance

The purpose of this research is to better understand the impact of work-life balance on organizational success. The essay includes a background part that offers pertinent information on the topic area, including the paper's aims. The second section, the literature review, offers in-depth information about the topic under consideration. The primary focus of the preceding segment is an understanding of work-life balance in relation to organizational effectiveness. In order to obtain sufficient information, the part evaluates earlier research work done on the topic and is divided into sub-sections such as conceptual understanding of WLB, performance related investigation, and current WLB practices. A reflection is also made on some of the benefits that employees derive from WLB and the consequence that the advantages have on the firm. The discussion finds that indeed WLB has a positive effect on performance of a given enterprise. Nonetheless, the rate of uptake of WLB practices is found not to be convincing. Further, the essay identifies some of the barriers to achieving work-life balance and recommends some of the effective measures that organizations should implement towards improving performance. The paper then sums up by acknowledging the fact that it managed to find the answers to the questions raised besides confirming the hypothesis. Potential areas for future research endeavors are also emphasized including how to approach them.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction 4

1.1. Objectives 5

2. Literature Review 5

2.1. Conceptual Understanding 5

3. Performance-Related Investigation 11

4. Ongoing Work-Life Balance Practices 15

4.1.1. Flexi-Time 15

4.1.2. Telecommuting 16

4.1.3. Freelancing 17

4.1.4. Compacted Work Weeks 18

4.1.5. Part-Time Work 19

4.1.6. Job sharing 19

4.2. Work-Life Policies and Strategic Human Management Judgments 20

5. Reflection on Employee Benefits of WLB and Organizational Outcomes 22

6. Barriers to Implementation 24

7. Recommendations for Empowering Implementation 25

7.1. An Organization Culture that Involves Workers 25

7.2. Top Leadership Participation 26

7.3. More Knowledge Gap-Bridges 27

7.4. Supplement Work-Life Balance Policies with Work-Family Measures 27

8. Conclusion 27

The Effect of Work-Life Balance on Organizational Performance

Introduction

As the business world becomes more dynamic and competitive, employers try to find better ways that are effective in enhancing organizational productivity. Recently, the issue of achieving optimal productivity from individuals has emerged and has been active both in the academic and corporate world. Several programs such as work-family balance have emerged as possible solutions to employee underutilization. The most recent advancement, however, is the issue of Work-life balance, which consists of deliberate adjustments in organizational culture or programs meant to decrease work-life disagreement and promote workers’ quest to be effective in their different areas of operations. The change in the perception of work-life equilibrium measures purely as a way of taking into consideration the individual workers with caregiving duties to recognize the workers’ contributions towards employee commitment and performance, is an essential paradigm shift that is “ongoing”.

Multi-faced and competing hassles between home and job have assumed increased importance for employees recently. The probable reasons for this entails the ongoing work place and demographic changes, including the high number of women enlisting in different organizations and the increase in the number of single parents. The other factor entails a growing reluctance by employees to accept a culture of more extended working hours, technological advancements, and the rise of the 24/7 economy and society. Corporations are increasingly forced to create different types of measures meant to support workers' efforts to accomplish their personal and job-related commitments following the variations mentioned above and the subsequent conflicts witnessed in different areas of duty. The human resource management field considers achieving or enhancing work-life balance as a matter of urgency that requires immediate action. Consequently, there has been a significant devotion from workers, employees, academic researchers, the government, and the popular media as it holds the key to important breakthroughs. In particular, work-life balance practices improve organizational performance by enhancing worker productivity, lessening employee turnover, and enhancing the level of corporate cost efficiency.

Objectives

This paper seeks to find the answers to several questions to support the actualization of such practices within the context of an organization. The task entails finding the meaning of work-life practices; the effect of work-life balance on the individual; some of the work-life balance measures in play; the effectiveness of work-life programs; reasons for failure; and the next step to take by the organizations to support work-life practice adoption.

Section I

Literature Review

Conceptual Understanding

The family-friendly, family-responsiveness or work-life balance programs are organizational practices meant to support employees’ endeavors to manage better their official and non-official times. Dalton and Debra (2011) provide that “Work-life balance is the separation of a worker’s personal and work life”. It forms the borderline that one makes between career advancement, personal life, professional life, or any other aspect, which entails personal growth, family, fitness and health, friendship, and community relations. For many people, finding the equilibrium between personal life as well as career causes lots of challenges. The two researchers clarify the following regarding the issue: "A work-family conflict is a form of role conflict branded by the incongruence between responsibilities of the home and workplace that are mutually incompatible” (Dalton and Debra 2011).

Lazar, Osoian, and Ratiu (2014) expand the scope of WLB beyond the traditional career and family balance. For a long time, the issue of childcare has been a non-work responsibility that is critical and has been mostly linked to women. In the past, companies used to make considerations for job-family balance by ensuring that they provide enough time for the staff to interact with the young babies through practices such as maternal and paternal leaves or having a daycare center within company premises. Nonetheless, as the trio identifies, the focus can be expanded beyond just the welfare of children to integrate the interests of a wider portion of the society including women, men, parents, non-parents, couples, singles, and so on. They recognize that other issues need to receive adequate attention such as personal development, voluntary work, travel, sport, study, eldercare, or leisure. Beyond just the need for salary and job security, personnel also want to explore their space and pursue related opportunities within their environment without placing their job at risk. Consequently, Lazar, Osoian, and Ratiu (2014) define WLB as achieving an acceptable level of participation or “fit” in the various responsibilities or roles an individual play in his/her life. The higher the level of matching between work and life interests the more likely the worker is going to be content with his work roles.

Grzywacz and Bass (2003) use the “Overall Appraisal” and “Components Approach” to WLB concept to explain the matter. The duo explain the overall appraisal as the person’s general evaluation on the entirety of his or her life condition. In this regard, work-life balance is seen as the fulfillment of desirable working style both at home and work, with minimal or nonexistent role conflict. It is also perceived as maintaining harmony in life and possessing global evaluations that work as well as having adequate resources to meet one’s demands without difficulties (Grzywacz & Bass, 2003). The components methodology, on the other hand, looks at the balance as a straight formative construct, which means that work-life equilibrium entails the use of various facets and stability providing the relevant meaning or interpretations of the different happenings in life, especially in achieving the work-life equilibrium. Such approach helps one to understand that work-life balance entails the need to stabilize measures such as involvement, time, and satisfaction. In turn, such understanding means that work-life balance entails work-family facilitation and work-life conflict. Dalton and Debra (2011) put the advantage of this style over the appraisal method to “work-life balance” as one can employ conceptually based measures, which borrow from many varied facets of “work-life balance.” However, these concepts provide useful insights into understanding WLB

Gray and Jacqueline (2003) talk of the individual discernment of high “work-life balance” and what generates a sense of happiness amongst workers. They assert that it has become fundamental for any organization that seeks to ensure proper effectiveness, especially in the contemporary competitive business environment to understand this subject. Consequently, the matter has attracted the attention of many parties including academicians, government agencies, regional economic blocs, and business owners. Kinnunen and Mauno (1998) add on the issue of individual assessment by asserting that in today’s knowledge-led economy, workers are looking for prospects to improve their skills and learn to have an open valve to creativity, ideas, and imagination. Employees are looking to work with the employer who has a good reputation and the best interest of the worker at heart. Research has shown that those organizations, which embrace a workplace culture that supports important psychological conditions such as job enrichment, work-role fit, supportive co-worker and management, and resource availability are more likely to have engaged workers. Such personnel are a resourceful pool of talent and skills, which makes the issue of a teamwork culture tenable.

Tremblay and Genin (2001) advance the understanding of how work-life balance programs affect the individual by, for instance, increasing the level of cooperation and engagement in organizational programs. They use the self-determination concept to conceptualize their views. They assert that this theory can help one get the insight into how work-life practices enhance the commitment to engage one another and maintain an acceptable level of cooperation. Edward Deci and Richard Ryan propose the self-determination concept as the innate desire to develop autonomy, competitiveness, and relatedness at the workplace. Work-life practices help the employee to address the matter of sovereignty and relatedness by advancing substantial decision-making powers to the individual while still affording him more time to develop meaningful relations with his or her family among other people. Often the decision to be positive is internal, and no external force nor duress or coercive measures can make the individual cooperative enough. On the contrary, much expansion into workers’ space can attract contempt or organizational rules and procedures. The only way to ensure this culture is by winning over individual interests by allowing self-determination and providing the right framework for people to channel their interests. The intrinsically motivated approach is important as it aligns with the individual’s quest to enhance their autonomy and personal competence. One way of realizing this is through realigning organizational practices to fit the interests of the worker (Tremblay and Genin, 2001). The duo identifies that appropriate work-life balance organizational measures support the individual's quest to lessen conflicts in both the family and work domains, which in turn serves as an important catalyst for enhancing intrinsic motivation. Apparently, self-determination is consequential in determining the level of organizational performance, especially when done within the long-term goals and aspirations of an organization.

Poulose and Nera (2017) widen the scope of “work-life balance” by introducing “societal life” component in the model of “work-life balance” as corrective measures to prior models. The societal life aspect is an additive consideration that the employee needs to adapt to the evolving societal needs such as the need to nurture the right social skills for a harmonious co-existence with one's neighbors. In particular, those workers working in the modern organizations, which are characterized by technology, encounter external challenges to an acceptable level of performance. The difficult situation makes them devote most of their working hours at work to meet the demands of the competitive work setting. Nonetheless, enforcing this approach to doing business introduces significant conflicts, as it requires that the particular employee withdraw his or her attention from the family and society.

Fig. 1Poulose and Nera View of Work-Life Balance

(Source: Poulose and Nera, 2017)

Specifically, commitment towards family, self-development, and social life is essential towards obtaining a broader and more effective approach towards attaining the performance needs of a growing organization. Supporting the individual’s quest to balance the three facets of life will result in a higher-level productivity and less pressure on the organizations regarding the meeting of increasing performance needs.

Russell, O’Connell, and McGinnity (2009) argue that some of the challenges facing the matter of work-life culture entail the lack of supportive organizational environment. Success in implementing work-life balance practices requires a supportive organizational culture. Russell, O'Connell, and McGinnity (2009) state that the use of supportive organizational culture as a prerequisite to ensuring successful implementation of work-life balance practices is inadequate - simply legislating policies is not enough. A supportive work-life corporate culture is essential to support the process of transition from one phase to another and striking a balance between human needs or the workers and organizational effectiveness. In particular, the study champions for an organization-wide intervention, such as changing organizational culture and soft aspects, as opposed to individual specific intervention due to several reasons. Firstly, they offer a broader scope as they are not entirely bent on eliminating a challenge but enhancing the effectiveness of the work setting. Secondly, they concentrate directly on the work setting rather than implicitly blaming the affected parties for experiencing problems. Taking this approach makes it possible to handle the quality of working atmosphere as a management issue and burnout or stress as an organizational challenge. By enhancing supportive organizational culture, then there is a promotion of health and work-life balance. Tremblay and Genin (2001) provide an example of a supportive organizational culture. The researchers mention the culture that empowers workers by ensuring that they have the right tools and resources, invests in training and development, encourages and enables cross-functional collaboration, and implements procedures and policies that distribute workloads evenly as being supportive

Section II

Performance-Related Investigation

Studies have shown that individuals possessing some level of control over work aspects suffer “less stress-related disorders.” Jim Bird, the owner of Worklifebalance.com (a global “work-life balances” consulting company), says, “work-life balance is the meaningful enjoyment and achievement in everyday life” (“Hudson Resourcing” 2017). The business owner believes that, for organizations to attain better WLB, all workers must be smart and stay dedicated to their obligations to achieve high levels of efficiency in performance. A central means by which organizations can support their employee's endeavors to balance work and family roles is by integrating work-life practices: many of which are usually associated flexible working conditions and a decrease in family-friendly policies and working time. The process of transition from traditional family-work balance to the modern work-life business, nonetheless, requires more than just having the right policies. The CEO recognizes that organizational-wide reorganization of organizational culture to support managers and employees who want to employ work-life options has made it possible for several companies in the USA to make progress in assimilating work-life balance practices (“Hudson Resourcing” 2017). Many companies in the US still do not possess the right culture to support the transition even though they have extensive work-life programs, which have decreased the effectiveness of these programs in achieving their ends significantly. Tremblay and Genin (2001) identify supportive organizational culture like the one that is decentralized with less inflexible rules and guidelines. To succeed, these organizations need to allow employees more control and support over their responsibilities allowing the individual to determine different aspects of his or her work schedule such as deadlines and tactical moves.

Studies also show that those entities with working work-life policies experience lower rates of employee turnover when compared to those that do not. Worker turnover is a significant issue that deprives struggling business of the necessary intellectual and skill capacity to fend off competition, promote innovativeness and creativity, and build a knowledge base. The organization that is incapable of keeping the best of its professionals loses much due to the depletion of intellectual resource pool and transferring of confidential knowledge to competitors, which risks the firm's competitiveness. The Kenexa Research Institute, 2007 study, shows that those workers who had a more favorable perspective of their organization's endeavor to support work-life balance also showed more pride in their firms, a lower intent to leave the employer, higher overall job satisfaction, and a willingness to recommend it to friends (Voydanoff & Peters, 2005). 75% of the respondents showed contentment with the ability of their organization meeting their future career needs, which results in a congruent relationship between working congruent with personal life. Also, Isamu and Toshiyuki (2012) identify that work-life balance practices enhance organizational performance by decreasing absenteeism and worker turnover and by promoting recruiting effectiveness. In particular, Isamu and Toshiyuki (2012) run a cross-sectional meta-analysis of Japanese firms and identify that those organizations with significantly higher fixed costs of employment benefit more than the rest in enhancing productivity. In particular, the studies by Isamu and Toshiyuki (2012) advise that while it is probable that businesses benefit from “work-life balance” measures, there exists a discrepancy in cost-saving or effectiveness based on the way costs are structured. The approach, thus, should be more pronounced for those companies that have a large chunk of their fixed costs as employment-related expenses.

Garg and Rani (2015) investigate the effect WLB has on organizational competitiveness and discover various issues. Their study examines 27 startup firms selected across the major US market segments with important decision-makers being identified and their responses noted down using questionnaires. The experts seek to identify whether such measures can be taken as strategic people resource management policies that can appear as enhanced structural competitiveness. The authors’ findings show that work-life balance is a crucial driver of worker's satisfaction and makes it possible to attract and retain professionals. The consequence of this benefits is that such organizations achieve a higher-level of competitiveness. Also, the study finds that the actualization of the said practices has impacts on other organizational and individual benefits. The organizational advantages are described as follows: decreased lateness and absenteeism, enhanced corporate reputation, reduced staff turnover rates, increased retention or resourceful workers, employee commitment and loyalty, and improved productivity. Garg and Rani’s (2015) findings on organizational competitiveness are supported by what Ojo, Salau, and Falola (2014) identify in their study, although the latter look at the issue from worker’s perspective.

Ojo, Salau, and Falola (2014) investigated the effect of “work-life balance on structural productivity”. It also looked at whether these policies decreased absenteeism and employee turnover. 206 respondents were involved in the Nigerian Banking, Power, and Educational sectors of the economy. The analysis was done using Chi-square, which helped to identify a positive association organizational productivity and work-life practices and that workers are more hopeful in those organizations that lean towards work-life balance. In the rapidly changing business environment, employee benefits are essential as the organization strives to lower operational costs while maintaining high performance. The findings support the school of thought that holds that people are the organization's most significant resource that is most often underutilized or undervalued. In particular, while it is difficult to cut non-human-based operational costs through efficiency, human-based costs do not face these constraints and can be increased through empowerment. Establishing work-life balance offers the desired environment that nurtures the innate talent within employees. Garg and Rani (2015) expound on this by asserting that these practices benefit the employee through increased job satisfaction, better mental and physical health, a considerable sense of job security, heightened control over one's work and life environment and decreased stress levels. The said benefits are consequential in determining employee productivity, which in turn has significant implications for organizational performance. On this issue, the research by Lazar, Osoian, and Ratiu (2014) identifies that unhappiness amongst employees in the United States of America costs $300 billion. When people are not happy with their roles, or with where they work, they do not show up consistently, quality suffers, and they produce less. The researchers desire to derive contentment, happiness, and love from the work they do. They want fulfilling personal relationships, a healthy body and mind, a spiritual core and a reason for living. Apparently, work-life balance guarantees most of these desires.

Additionally, Konrad and Robert (2015) ran an analysis of WLB practices and how they affect employee's performance and satisfaction. Their research aimed to analyze the association between employee job contentment and work-life programs. 240 respondents filled the questionnaire during the excercise, and a Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) applied in evaluating correlations. The study highlighted that each of the program in its way was a predictor of job fulfillment, which in turn led to improved employee productivity. Also, Akhtar and Azeem evaluated the influence of the practices and job contentment on “organizational commitment” to health care workers (2014). The study explored the influence that work-life balance and job satisfaction had on the commitment of health workers in Canada. The study was conducted across Turkey and involved 275 respondents who were all Registered nurses with more than five years of experience. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was employed in assessing quantitative data. The resultant path-coefficient and correlation analysis found that workers in the health sector have a moderate level of job satisfaction, commitment, and work-life balance. Overall, Akhtar and Azeem found that “there was a positive relationship between the different measures mentioned above (2014).

Ongoing Work-Life Balance Practices

Several work-life practices have been discussed academically and implemented on the ground by leading organizations. Some of them come as initiatives meant to assist the worker balance family and life responsibilities, while others seek to enhance the employee well-being and gain organizational benefits. The family-friendly strategies entail flexible working schedules, part-time work, compressed workweeks, job-sharing, onsite childcare, telecommuting, and parental leave (Tremblay and Genin, 2001). Moreover, organizations can offer a range of advantages to enhance employee welfare, such as extended health insurance coverage for the worker and his or her dependents, access to services or programs that encourage body fitness, and access to personal days. Also, other policies may support individuals' involvement in volunteer roles, children's education or may make possible phased retirement. However, the added practices do not come under the range of items covered in this paper, although they support employee welfare.

Flexi-Time

It permits workers to determine or be involved in choosing, when their daily schedule begins and ends, as long as a certain number of hours are worked. Unlike the conventional working arrangements that call upon workers to carry out their duties between 9 am and 5 pm, flexi-time often involves a "core" period of the day in which workers are needed to be at work and "bandwidth time within which all needed hours must be worked. The core period can be between 11 am and 3 pm, while the provided bandwidth time can be between 5:30 am and 7:30 pm. The framework provided can allow employees to meet personal and family commitments or emergencies – there is enough flexibility to respond to both unpredictable and predictable commitments. In addition, such a framework allows workers to decrease their commuting time by timing their working hours to start or end before or after the rush hour, which adds to the number of free hours available to the worker. Despite the benefits of this system, adoption has not been uniform across the world with the wealthy and more developed nations leading the way while the less developed ones drag along. A study by the Global Market Research Body regarding the uptake of flexible working hours to enhance work-life balance reports the following. The United States leads the way with 40 hours a week minimum while, amongst the European nations, Denmark comes last with only 30 hours (Reale, 2017). Apparently, adoption is limited to the Western nations and some developed South East Asia Nations, with the rest of the world lagging way behind.

Telecommuting

Telecommuting allows workers to complete a portion of their assignments from home as opposed to taking such tasks to the workplace. The practice mentioned above offers an arrangement called “telework” that benefits the employee by letting them reduce work-related costs, establish work day around their family as well as personal needs, decrease shuttling time and costs, and work in a less troublesome or taxing environment. Moreover, the method can also make it possible for organizations to accommodate those employees who, due to specific disabilities, are rendered immobile. The method also benefits the company’s bottom line as it supports the employee’s initiative to employ the added flexibility to capitalize on their peak productivity times. Nonetheless, despite the many advantages posed by telecommuting, very few employee-employer collective bargain agreements with teleworking provisions have been adopted. Often employers are concerned with the initial implementation expenses, difficulties in supervising workers, potential legal liabilities, and appraising the performance of telecommuting workers. Even trade unions have been reported as disapproving of telecommuting as feel as if it leads to employee remoteness, decreased job safety and career advancement prospects, and lessened safety and health safety. However, that does not mean that the method is not being adopted progressively. Reportedly, the US workforce is embracing telecommuting. In a study conducted by the “Global Workshop Analytics, a consultancy and think-tank concentrating on workplace policies, the US population of employees who telecommute and are not self—employed rose by 103% in 12 years” (Grzywacz & Bass, 2003). The report adds that, as of 2016, “2.8% of the US workforce did its work from home at least some of the time,” (Grzywacz & Bass, 2003). This was a significant improvement from the historical times.

Freelancing

It is a more advanced form of telecommuting and entails freelance writing and freelance journalism or citizen journalism. In this models of work-life balance, an employee can spend days on end working on organizational tasks without ever reporting to the office or meeting company officials. The field has been receiving attention recently with other organizational functions such as accounting and tutoring also emerging as freelance jobs. In particular, the penetration of technology into the remote areas of the world is behind the increased uptake of freelance jobs. Workers are afforded the opportunity to take control of their work, family life, and social life. Nonetheless, since too many responsibilities are delegated to the freelance employee, it is important that the individual devises his work-life balance to avoid the possibility of trading family time with more work for financial purposes. If such were to happen, then the issue of work-life balance will not have been resolved.

Compacted Work Weeks

It is an agreement in which workers operate longer hours for a decreased number of operating days in their work schedules within a given week or month. The approach can be beneficial to individuals by adding to their schedule the number of days off work, such as by offering longer weekends, which can pave the way for "mini-vacations,” decreased commuting times, even as employers extend operation time without resorting to overtime. Kinnunen and Mauno (1998) identify compressed workweeks arrangement as a useful tool for decreasing the number of working days in a week without decreasing one's financial returns or salary. They make it possible for workers to reorganize their week in such a way as to have particular full days allotted to different tasks such as academic studies or family get together times. Most of the times, employees initiate such arrangements although it is possible for organizations to champion for such measures as part of the wider framework to enhance work-life balance or to improve the health and well-being of the employee. An example of a 40 working week will be “working an extra hour daily with one day off every two weeks; working ten hours per day, four days a week; or working another half hour daily and redeeming one day every three or four weeks off to cater for personal needs” (Fisher 2012). Such programs have been employed at major retail outlet organizations in the USA. For instance, Sony Inc. introduced the policy on some areas of responsibilities from 2005 and has since yielded positive results (Fisher 2012).

Part-Time Work

It consists of an arrangement that allows people with disabilities, health issues, or limited disposable time, such as students to get involved in the productivity, obtain work experience, and develop their skills. Also, the approach can facilitate a reentry into the labor force for those who have had job breaks, especially mothers who have had to stay at home to raise children, as well as it can provide a gradual exit plan for the workers nearing retirement. From the view of the employer, part-time work programs, where feasible, can support organization’s quest to exploit the usage of human resource as well as to enhance operative flexibility through offering extra coverage in the uttermost times. However, this program is impracticable for the group of employees who work more hours to earn an extra income, thereby ensuring a higher living standard for their families. A study conducted by the “European Working Conditions Survey showed that 86% of the respondents working less than 25 hours weekly were contented with their work-life poise” (Kinnunen and Mauno, 1998). Additionally, part-timers who worked less than 36 hours a week showed the lowermost levels of psychological and