CHAPTER – I INTRODUCTION A nation may be endowed with abundant natural and physical resources and the necessary capital and technology but unless there are competent people who can mobilize, organize and harness the resources for production of goods and services, it cannot make rapid strides towards economic and social advancement 1 . The strengths and weakness of an organization are determined by the quality of its human resources, which play a vital role in using other organizational resources and the development process of modern economies. Human resource is the most strategic resource 2 as no other resource can be fully utilized to generate income and wealth of a nation without the active involvement of this resource. In fact, the differences in the levels of economic development of the countries are largely a reflection of the differences in the quality of their human resources and their involvement in national building. GinzerBerg points out that the key elements such as values, attitudes, general orientation and the quality of the people of a country determine its economic development 3 . However, he says that human resources are being wasted through unemployment, disguised unemployment, obsolescence of skills, lack of work opportunities, poor personnel practices and the hurdles of adjusting to 1 Mehta,M.M., “Human Resource Development and Planning with special references to Asia and the Far East”,MacMillian Company, New Delhi,1976,p.1 2 Jucius, M.J,“Personnel Management”, Home Wood, Illinois, Richard D. Irwin, June 1973, pp.37- 38 3 Ginzerberg,“Man and his Work”, edited by Dale S Beach, “Managing People at Work”, Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc, New York, 1980, pp,3-4.
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CHAPTER – I
INTRODUCTION
A nation may be endowed with abundant natural and physical resources
and the necessary capital and technology but unless there are competent people
who can mobilize, organize and harness the resources for production of goods
and services, it cannot make rapid strides towards economic and social
advancement1. The strengths and weakness of an organization are determined
by the quality of its human resources, which play a vital role in using other
organizational resources and the development process of modern economies.
Human resource is the most strategic resource2 as no other resource can
be fully utilized to generate income and wealth of a nation without the active
involvement of this resource. In fact, the differences in the levels of economic
development of the countries are largely a reflection of the differences in the
quality of their human resources and their involvement in national building.
GinzerBerg points out that the key elements such as values, attitudes, general
orientation and the quality of the people of a country determine its economic
development3. However, he says that human resources are being wasted
through unemployment, disguised unemployment, obsolescence of skills, lack of
work opportunities, poor personnel practices and the hurdles of adjusting to
1Mehta,M.M., “Human Resource Development and Planning with special references to Asia and the Far East”,MacMillian Company, New Delhi,1976,p.1 2Jucius, M.J,“Personnel Management”, Home Wood, Illinois, Richard D. Irwin, June 1973, pp.37- 38 3Ginzerberg,“Man and his Work”, edited by Dale S Beach, “Managing People at Work”, Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc, New York, 1980, pp,3-4.
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change. Human resource accounts for a large part of national output and there
exists a wide scope for increasing national wealth through their proper
development. Human factor provides value to physical resource and necessary
dynamism in the economy.
Megginson4defines human resource from the viewpoint of a nation as well
as an individual organization. From the national standpoint, he can be defined
HR as the total knowledge, skills, creative abilities, talents, and aptitudes
obtained in the population whereas from the view point of individual enterprise it
represents the sum total of the inherent abilities, acquired knowledge and skills
as exemplified in the talents and aptitude of its employees. Jucius5 has called
these resources as human factors which refer to a whole consisting of
interrelated, interdependent and interacting physiological, sociological and ethical
components”.
According to Werther and Davis6, human resource is the people who are
readily willing and are able to contribute to organizational goals. Money,
Material, Men, Markets and Machines are regarded as the most important
resources of organizations7 but men or human resources are treated as the only
crucial and dynamic factor of production. Though other factors of productions
are also important they are considered to be worthless without the involvement of
4Megginson, LC, “Personnel- A behavioural Approach to Administration”, Richard D. Irwin, Inc. Homewood, Illinois, 1967,pp.97-92. 5 Michael J Jucius, “Personnel management”, Home wood, III:Richard D.Irwin,1980,p.40 6Werther W.B., and Keith Davis, “Personnel Management and Human Resources”, McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, 1986, p.601. 7George R. Terry & Stephen Franklin“Principles of Management”, All India Trawler Book Seller, New Delhi, 1984,p.41.
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human factor. Koontz and O Donnel8 rightly observed that an organization is
creation of an environment in which people contribute the best of their ability to
attain the goals of the organization. At the enterprise level human resource
policy needs to ensure effective utilization of this resource to attain organizational
goals, which can be accomplished by rightly understandingthe nature,
potentialities and limitation of these resource and developing the people to
actuate their full potentials, utilizing them to the optimal ability of their enterprise,
maintaining their quality and amalgamating them with other resources9.People
are considered the most important and valuable resource and every organization
have this in the form of its employees.
Dynamic people can build dynamic organizations. Effective employees
can contribute to the effectiveness of their organization. Competent and
motivated people can make things happen and enable an organization to achieve
its goals. Hence, organizations should continuously ensure that the dynamism,
competency, motivation and effectiveness of the employees remain at high
levels10.
It has been suggested by Megginson11 that human resource should be
viewed as a form of capital and as the product of investment (return on
investment) whereby production is acquired. Thus, human resource is the most
8Koontz and O Donnel, “Management - A system and contingency Analysis of Management Functions”, McGraw-Hill, Koghakusha, Ltd.Tokyo, 1976, p.72. 9Dwiwedi, R.S, “Managing Human Resources - Personnel Management in Indian enterprises”, Galgotia Publishing Co., 1997 p.4. 10Rao,T.V., “The HRD Missionar”y,Oxford& IBH Publishing Co.,Private Ltd., New Delhi,1992,p.8. 11Megginson, L.C., Op. cit., pp. 83-99.
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important asset in an organization because all other natural resources can be
better utilized with the help of this resource only. Realizing the importance of
human resource, many of the organizations are focusing their attention on
developing this resource so that the organization could achieve higher level of
productivity and efficiency.
Human resource is even the most critical factor for determining the
efficiency and effectiveness of an organization because it is precisely the people
who will decide when and how to acquire and utilize various resources, including
human resources, in the best interest of the organization. The ultimate success
and survival of an organization will invariably be determined by the quality and
competence of its human resources. Of all the tasks of management, says Likert
"Managing the human component is the central and most important task,
because all else depends upon how well it is done”12.
Human Development is about much more than the rise or fall of national
income. It is about creating an environment in which people can develop their
full potential and lead productive, creative professional and personal lives in
accordance with their needs and interests. Hence, people are the real wealth of
a nation and the development is about expanding the choices people have, to
lead lives that they value13.
From non-economic stand point the role and contribution of Human
resource needs critical understanding. In the contemporary economic scenario,
12RenisLikert, Op.cit., p. 2. 13“Human Development Report 2001”, Oxford University Press, New York, 2001, p.9.
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service sector is gaining importance and the quality of services is inextricably
linked with the quality of human resources. The human factor requires a
particular psychological environment to fully develop and use their potentialities.
Organizations need to create the suitable environment to motivate and provide
the dynamism to human resource.
Though the HR is the most potential and versatile resource, its effective
utilization is a sine qua non of the rate of growth of any economy regardless of
the structure and system of economy and the governance. No society and no
nation can be proud of its human resources unless there is a systematic and
sustainable development of capacities of its people and convert them into human
capital14.
Human resource is responsible for productive use of national resources
and for the transformation of traditional economies into the modern and industrial
economies. The shift from manufacturing to service and the increasing pace of
technological change are making human resources the crucial ingredient to the
national well-being and growth. Human resource is therefore, the nerve system
of an organization as well as the society and the nation. As nothing is static in
this society, change and development has taken place everywhere. The concept
of values, beliefs are changing too. Productivity and prosperity go hand in hand.
Therefore, the prosperity of a nation is not only measured in terms of how much it
produces but also how efficiently it produces. In other word an efficient utilization
14Daleela,V.N,”Human Resource Management for Indian economy”,The Indian Journal of commerce vol,XXV,Feb 1971,pp.9-10
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of resources is the key to improvement in productivity. People constitute the
wealth of a nation and the multifaceted development of the people will inevitably
lead to national growth and prosperity15
Human resources are the most valuable and unique assets of an
organization. In the changing economic environment, Human Resource
Management is assuming much greater importance than ever before. It is
conceived to be different from the traditional and conventional notion of
Personnel Management16. Subsequently Human Resource Management (HRM)
has become the central concern of any organization either in public, private
sector or co-operative sector.
The successful management of an organization's human resources is an
exciting, dynamic and challenging task, especially at a time when the world has
become a global village and economies are in a state of flux. The scarcity of
talented resources and the growing expectations of the modern day worker have
further increased the complexity of the human resource function. Even though
specific human resource functions/activities are the responsibility of the human
resource department, the actual management of human resources is the
responsibility of all the managers in an organization.
It is therefore necessary for all managers to understand and give due
importance to the different human resource policies and practices in the
15JayagopalR.,”Human Resource Development conceptual Analysis and strategies”, sterling publishers,New Delhi,1992,p.25. 16Leon C.Megginson, “Personnel and Human Resources Administration”,Homewood,III:Richard DIrwin,1982,p.6.
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organization. Human Resource Management outlines the importance and
different functions in an organization. It examines the various HR processes that
are concerned with attracting, managing, motivating and developing and
retaining employees for the benefit of the organization.
The economic development cannot be accomplished in developing
countries unless they have well educated and trained, highly achievement
motivated and properly developed human resources. An enterprise cannot make
any progress unless it has a well-trained, efficient and adequately motivated
work-team. Similarly, individuals cannot derive job satisfaction and lead a high
standard of living unless they are well trained and highly developed. It may be
noted that management of human resources can assist in the attainment of these
national, enterprise and individual goals through effective utilization and proper
development of human resources.
Organizations as social system-Organizations are identified as social
system in which different individuals constantly interact to pursue the
organizational goals prescribed by the management.Thus the social role of the
organizational goals has enhanced the significance of the HRM policies and
practices in all types of organizations.
Organizational effectiveness depends upon the effective use of human
and material resources. Plant Equipment and financial assets are the material
resources required by the organizations. Nevertheless, they are left unutilized
without employees. Therefore human resources are unique and significant. This
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is so for at least two reasons17. Primarily, human resources influence the
efficiency and effectiveness of organizations. People design and produce the
goods and services, control quality, market the products, allocate financial
resources, and set overall strategies and objectives for the organization. Without
effective people, it is simply impossible for an organization to achieve its
objectives. Secondly Human Resources are also a major expense or cost of
doing business. However, the profound effect that human resources have or
productivity is often unrecognized.
Further, a sense of inequity among employees affectstheir attitudes and
behaviors, absenteeism, low motivation, lack of concern for the quality of
products or services, with holding suggestions for improvements, lack of
commitments, and even sabotage may result. These attitudes and behaviors
affect costs, productivity, profits and hence the market value of the firm stock18.
Human resources are not only vital but they also deserve fairness and
justice. Civil rights and labor laws as well as minimum wage and pension
regulations reflect Governmental attempts to ensure fair treatment of employees
Job retraining, employment security provisions, dispute resolutions, and job
posting practices all illustrate some employer’s effort to ensure fair treatment of
employees19.
17 George T.Milkonich and john W. Boudreau,“Personnel/Human Resource Management- A Diagnostic Approach”, Richard D.Irwin Inc., Home Wood,ILLnois.,1990,p.2. 18 Ibid., P3 19 Ibid.
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1.1 THE CONCERNS AND FUNCTIONS OF HRM
Managing human resource is central concern of every manager in any
organization. Organizations exist for people as they are made up of peoples and
by the people. Their effectiveness depends on the performance of the
management in achieving their objectives. Management is the process of getting
things done with and through the people to fulfill the organizing, motivating and
controlling activities to accomplish the pre-determined objectives of the
organization.
Accordingly, human resource management concerned with the dimension
of individuals in management process. Since every organization is made up of
people, it is essential to acquire their services, develop their skills, motivate to
high levels of performance and ensure their maintenance with commitment to
achieve their objectives regardless of the type of organization. Getting and
keeping good people is critical to the success of every organization. Whether
profit or non-profit, public or private organization that are able to acquire,
develop, stimulate and keep outstanding workers will be both effective and
efficient. Those organizations that are ineffective or in efficient risk the hazards
of stagnating or going out of business. Survival of an organization requires
competent managers and workers coordinating their efforts towards an ultimate
goal. While successful co-ordination cannot guarantee success, organizations
that are unsuccessful in getting such co-ordination from the managers and
workers will ultimately fail.
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Human resource management is “a process of consisting four function
acquisition development, motivation, and maintenance of Human Resources”20.
The acquisition function begins with planning relating to human resource
requirements. It includes estimating of demand and supply of people, besides
the recruitment and selection of employees. The development function is related
to employer training and development, to impart knowledge and skills to the
existing employees to meet long term individual and organizational needs.
Motivation function recognizes that individuals are unique and hence motivation
techniques reflect the needs of each individual, employee. Therefore, motivation
takes in to account factors relating to job satisfaction, performance appraisal,
behavioral and structural techniques for stimulating the performance. The
maintenance function on the other hand is concerned with providing congenial
working conditions for the employees and workers in order to maintain their
commitment to the organization.
Acquisition of human resource is one of the most crucial functions of the
management. The greatest advantage of an organization lies in the quality of its
human resources and its effectiveness with which they are utilized. The quality
of human resource in an organization significantly depends upon its recruitment
policies and selection procedures. This function is assuming greater significance
in the Indian context as the business enterprises are growing in the size and
becoming technologically more sophisticated. In fact, acquisition function
consists of recruitment, selection, induction and promotions. Training and 20 David A Decenzo and Stephen P Robbins, “Personnel/HRM”, Prentice hall of India Ltd,NewDelhi, 1995-pp.4-5
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development function aims at enhancing skills and abilities of human resource is
assuming significance in the context of rapid socio economic development, and
industrialization in India. Besides enterprise are dependent on the regular
supply of human talent. This can be achieved through the process of training and
development practices.
Though the motivation of employees helps to secure their integration with
the organization and attain optimum level of efficiency and in achieving
organizational goals, the assigned work load might pose a time-pressure on
employees by imposing excessive responsibilities. Furthermore, it causes stress
and negative feeling which also damages the individual’s private life. Even the
working hours and schedule are the most crucial points of Work-Life Balance in
the organization point of view, as they affect the mental health, physical health
and well-being of employees. Long working hours and certain kind of shift
schedules might be the cause of elevated risk for a range of mental and physical
health problems.
1.2 THE CONCEPT OF WORK LIFE BALANCE
The term work life balance (Work Life Balance) was coined in 1986 in
response to the growing concerns by individuals and organizations alike that
work can impinge upon the quality of family life and vice-versa, thus giving rise to
the concepts of “family- work conflict” (FWC) and “work-family conflict” (WFC).
The former is also referred to as work interferes with family” (WIF) while the latter
is also known as “family interferes with work”(FIW). In other words, from the
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scarcity or zero-sum perspective, time devoted to work is construed as time
taken away from one’s family life21.
Work/life programs existedin the 1930s. The policies and procedures
established by an organization with the goal to enable employees to efficiently do
their jobs and at the sametime provide flexibility to handle personal concerns or
problems at their family People entering the workforce today are morelikely to
turn down to promotions if it is new job means,the employee is having to bring
more work to home.
In most developing countries, at least until recently, only men worked
outside of the home. The old, established joint Hindu family system facilitated a
clear division of responsibilities between the old and the young in terms of
decision making, the oldest male member in a patriarchal society is the head of
household and would make all the important decisions; male and femalethe men
would work outside the household, whereas the women are responsible for
raising children and taking charge of a myriad household responsibilities,
including in some low-income families in certain parts of India, walking many
miles each day to fetch water and fire wood.
More recently, the scarcity perspective has given way to the expansion-
enhancement approach that views that work can facilitate participation at home
and vice-versa. This has given rise to the concepts of “work-family facilitation”
(WFF) and “family-work facilitation” (FWF) where experiences acquired at work
21Greenhaus,J.HandBeutell,N.J., “Sources of Conflict between work and Family Roles”, Academy of Management Journal,10(1),1985,pp.76-88.
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can facilitate participation at home and vice-versa. These two notions have
contributed to the construct of work life balance where a balanced life consists of
work and family that are mutually reinforcing-the family experiences of workers
can enrich their contribution to work and organizations, and vice-versa22..
Work is central to our lives. It provides us with a sense of achievement,
recognition and above all it is a means of income to fulfill our basic and material
needs. Globalization and rapid technological changes demand more of workers.
Because the world of work is changing in terms of development of new
technology, more and more women entering the workforce, resulting in part, in
two-earner families and above all there is a clash of work and personal life.
These are some of the challenges faced by today’s workers. Balancing work and
home life is a growing concern for both employers and workers. Long working
hours and the intensity of work have consistently emerged as two top most
concerns of workers.
Work-life conflict (or imbalance)occurs when cumulative demands of work
and non-work roles are incompatible in some respects, such as participation in
one role is made more difficult by participation in the other roles23.
1.3 DEFINITIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
The word Work-Life Balance is sometimes considered as interwoven with
Work-family conflict. However, it can be argued that the latter is more limited in 22 Aryee,S.,Srinivas,E.S. and Tan H.H., “Rythms of life- Antecedents and outcomes of work-family balance in employed parents”,Journal of Applied Psychology,90(1),2005,132-46. 23Duxbury,L.&Higgins.C, ”work-life conflict in Canada in the New Millenium- A status Report”, Ottawa: Health Canada.2003.
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scope than the former because the focus in work-family conflict is more on the
relationsbetweenwork&family.It is also referred to as family friendlywork
arrangements, (FFWA), and in international literature, as alternative work
arrangements (AWA).
Work-Life Balance is defined differently by different scholars. In order to
broaden our perspectives some definitions are prescribed.
Work-Life Balance is the absence of unacceptable level of conflict
between work and non-work demands24. It is the satisfaction and good
functioning of work and at home with a minimum of role conflict25.
Work-Life Balance is a matter of degree, a continuum anchored at one
end by extensive imbalance in favor of the other role (e.g work) as the other
anchor point26.Work-Life Balance is the relationship between time and space of
work & non-work in societies where income is predominantly generated and
distributed through labor markets27. Work-Life Balance is being aware of
different demands on time and energy saving the ability to make choices in the
allocation of time and energy knowing what values to apply28.
24Greenbaltt.E,“Work/Life Balance- wisdom or whining organizational Dynamics”,31,2002, pp.177-193. 25Clark.S.C,“work/family border theory- A new theory of work/family balance”,Human Relations 53,2000, pp.747-770. 26Greenhaus.J.H, Collins, K.M. and show,J.D., “The relation between work-family balance & quality of life”, Journal of Vocational Behaviour,2003,63,pp.220-241. 27Felstead.A,N.Jewson,AphizackleaandWalter,S., “opportunities to work at home in the context of Work-Life Balance”, HRM Jounnal 12,2002,pp.54-66. 28Cutterbuck, David, “Managing Work-Life Balance-a guide for HR in achievingorganizational and individual change”,London.CIPD,2003.
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Much confusion and ambiguity surrounds in understanding and defining
the term Work –Life Balance. As a term in its own right Work-Life Balance is
rarely defined for reasons that will become clearer as the discussion progresses.
Many authors attempt to define Work-Life Balance policy or Work-Life Balance
arrangements. Nevertheless it is possible to discern a number of distinct strands
in the literature in relation to definitional and conceptual issues. The first of these
themes concerns the contention area of family friendly versus Work-Life family in
order to reflect a broader and more inclusive way of conceptualizing the issue
and to enable men and those without children, for example to identify with them .
However the perception that Work-Life Balance policies are a family matter and
aimed solely at women with children is still held by many employees &
employers.
Despite the worldwide quest for Work-Life Balance very few have found
an acceptable definition of the concept: here are some proven definitions that will
positively impact one’s every day value & balance. Best individual Work-Life
Balance will vary overtime, often on a daily basis. The right balance today will
probably be different for tomorrow. The right balance when one is single will be
different when after marriage and having children; when one is on a start to new
career versus when one is nearing to retirement. There is no perfect, one size
fits all, as balance is different for each of us because we all have different
priorities and different lives. However, at the core of an effective Work-Life
Balance definition are two key everyday concepts that are relevant, they are daily
achievement and enjoyment, ideas, almost deceptive in their simplicity. Enlarging
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a fuller meaning of these two concepts takes us to most of the ways a positive
Work-Life Balance achievement. Achievement means finish something
successfully, especially after trying hard or receiving what one wants. Enjoyment
does not mean happiness but it means pride, satisfaction, happiness,
celebration, love a sense of wellbeing and all the joys of living. Achievement and
enjoyment are the two sides of the coin value in life. One can’t have one without
the other. Trying to live a one sided life is why so many “successful” people are
not happy or not nearly as happy as they should be.
1.4 THE SCOPE OF WORK LIFE BALANCE
The issue is complex and difficult to tackle from an organization’s
perspective because it is different for every individual. The traditional definition of
family is a husband who provides financial support, a wife who maintains the
household. Cultural differences influence family decisions, and more and more
families represent blended racial backgrounds butmaking work–life integration a
way of corporate life is much more difficult.The change in workforce composition
has been gradual, but steady. More women are working and, thus, more
mothers are in the workforce. In 1996, women comprised46 per cent of the total
workforce, compared to 1986 when 44 per cent of the workforcewas women.
Women are less likely to drop-out of the labor force for significant periods of their
lives, and more and more women are responsible, alone or with a spouse, for the
economic security of their families. The Family and Medical Leave Act, signed
by President Clinton in 1993, allowed all US workers to take unpaid leave for up
to twelve weeks to care for a seriously ill or new member of the family without
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putting their jobs at risk. This Act has made the employment picture even more
desirables for working mothers, single parents, future parents and two career
families. Those demanding balance, however, include not only parents with
children, but the rest of the employee population, as well. Older employees need
flexibility when dealing with ageing parents.
A number of researchers have spent time with recent college graduates to
understand what motivates them and drives them toward job satisfaction. They
expect not only appropriate and competitive pay for the work they perform, but
also hope to achieve a balance between work and the rest of their lives. The four
drivers deemed to impact most significantly on workforce commitment included
understandingthe direction of the organization, having opportunities for personal
growth, gaining satisfaction from everyday work, and the extent to which the
organization encourages individuals to challenge the way things are done.
1.4.1 Employee benefits from work-life balance
Easier ability to participate more fully in paid work as well as other
activities that are important, e.g. spending time with family, leisure,
personal development and community activities.
Improved self esteem, health, concentration, confidence, loyalty and
commitment.
Not bringing problems at home to work and vice versa.
Greater control of their working lives.
Happier at home as well as:
Greater responsibility and a sense of ownership.
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Better relations with management.
Ability for women in paid work to take time off rather than resign from their
jobs to stay at home, or to return to work too early after childbirth.
1.4.2 Work-life balance benefit to employers
Business will attract and retain the best people.
Increased employee retention.
Reduced absenteeism.
Employer loyalty.
Increased productivity and profit.
Maximised available labour.
Making employees feel valued.
The reputation of being an employer of choice.
1.5 DETERMINANTS OF WORK LIFE BALANCE
In every individuals life there exists the determinants of Work-Life
Balance. The subject in the present contexts that are related the most with
Work-Life Balance are as follows.
1.5.1 Individual
An individual is the most important determinant of work life balance. Two
American cardiologists Roseenman and Friedman determined two different types
of personality depending on heart disorders and individual behavior: type A & B
Type A is someone who is more active, more work oriented, more passionate
and competitive, while type B is calm, patient, balance and right minded. It can
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be argued that since type A is more oriented to work there will be Negative
reflection of it to Work-Life Balance.
Yet work-holism, considered to be an obsessive behavior is another thing
that destroys Work-Life balance. Work -holism, connotes over-addiction to work,
being at work for a very long time over working, and being busy with work at
times, out of work. As workaholic is someone who is not interested in any other
subjects than his job, works excessively and continues working without being
aware that work holism damages health, personal happiness and relations with
others. Since life is not only about work, workaholics suffer from alienation,
family problems. Like alcoholics workaholics neglects their families, friends,
relations and other social responsibilities.
The demands that one experiences in family life and that have effects on
individual, Work-Life Balance of an individual in terms of marriage child-rising,
caring for elderly, shopping, house chores have effect on Work-Life Balance
since they demand more family responsibilities. Traditionally responsibility in the
family becomes more burdens on women while balancing work and life. Those
who have to look after a child or the elderly might sometimes have to risk their
career by shortening their working hours, which becomes a source of stress for
them29 on the other hand, those without children or any elderly people to look
after at home experiences less Work-Life Imbalance.
29Lowe,G.S, “Control overtime and Work-Life Balance”, An empirical analysis, The graham Lowe Group, Canada, 2005.
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1.5.2 Work and Organization
Work environment is more effective in work life Imbalance than the family
environment. The job and the organization, one works in both have demand on
individual time, efforts and mental capacity. Among the efforts, to increase
organizational efficiency one of the subject manager’s should focus on to raise
the organizational loyalty of the staff. In this context employees working hard are
encouraged and given opportunities to advance in career. Organization tries to
get the most of their employees without considering the other aspects to their
private life. Such organizational strategies provide the opportunity of promotion
and other benefits to the employee, so that in long run the employees might
neglect their private life; therefore, the organizations become an important factor
on Work-Life Balance.
1.5.3 Social Environment
Another determinant of Work-Life Balance is social environment.
Especially in countries the cultural collective characteristics of an individual have
responsibilities towards certain social groups to himself and his family. Every
social group such as relation, friends and neighbors and family has demand on
the individual which he/she belongs to. As such of one’s social environment
becomes a factor of Work-Life Balance.
1.6 THE CONSEQUENCES AND CAUSES
Poor Work-Life Balance is often manifested in a range of physical and
psychological strains, such as irritability, depression, anxiety, diminished self-
confidence, inability to relax, lack of sleep and increased susceptibly to a number
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of illnesses, a number of psycho-somatic disorders, burnout, low productivity,
high employee turnover, safety hazards, increase in divorce cases, high blood
pressure, ulcer, migraine and many psychosomatic disorders. Researchers
proved that Work Life Balance and job satisfaction were positively related to each
other and even the work family conflict increased emotional exhaustion and
decrease job satisfaction.
Organizations also suffer owing to poor Work Life Balance of their
employees. There are direct and indirect deleterious consequences. The direct
consequences are poor productivity, high employee turnover, accidents, etc. On
the other hand, the indirect consequences are low involvement, serious
interpersonal conflicts at work, apathetic attitude towards work and so on. Lack
of Work Life Balance indirectly and negatively affects family dynamics. It results
in marital discord, divorce, child abuse and neglect of old parents. All of these
affect societal functioning and harmony. Social pathology and disorganization
also occur when of the most people in the society lead lop-sided lives.
Work-Life imbalance has 3 types of conflict: namely, time-based, stress-
based and behavior-based.
Generally work take up most of the time, thus leaving little time for family
and other social aspects of life. The time-based conflict is about what one’s
limited time is mostly allocated for, when individuals do not allocate the limited
time equally among the demanding group, a negative result occurs.
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The stress-based conflict occurs when the role of the individual is dual
at work or in the family which causes stress on the individual where in the stress
affects the other roles of the individual. An example is someone who had an
argument with colleague at work reflects on the family members back home,
these tension inferences with his roles in the family.
The behavior-base conflict occurs when the behavior of work and out of
work are issuant and conflicting. For instances when a manager who has to be
strict and discipline at work, carries the same behavior to home, might
experience problems with the family members.
Work life balance shall enable individual to fulfill his/her role effectively
and efficiently as an employee, member of any organization, family, and the
society. As an organizations need to attract and retain valued employees in a
highly competitive labor market, Work Life Balance is a strong motivating factor
for increased organization awareness and action with regard to Human
Resources Policies and Practices that address work life Balance. Work Life
Balance is an important area of human resource management which that
receives increased attention from different types of organization including
management, employee representatives and the media.
There is decline of lifetime employment or job security as more and more
people are on short-term contracts. Occupational psychology plays a key role in
assessing the structure and implementation of flexible work models and also with
the study of factors underlying Work-Life Balance. Since work-place flexibility is
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becoming increasingly popular for both employers and employees, flexible work
arrangements are taken as an opportunity for efficient recruitment, decreased
employee turnover, absenteeism and importantly, it also helps in projecting an
improved corporate image.
As work life balance is a critical issue for men and women in the modern
society, an in-depth understanding of the issue is not only desirable but also
necessary. We propose a model of causes and consequences of work life
balance. They are societal, organizational and individual in nature. Societal
drivers play an important role in creating variations in work life balance.
Organizational drivers regulate the behavior of people, thus creating structures
and choices for work life balance. Finally, individual drivers are major factors of
work life balance for people.
1.6.1Societal drivers
As the agrarian society is giving way to the industrial and knowledge
societies, there are major shifts in societal forms and structures. This shift is a
major reason behind conflict between work and life activities. In the past, it was
believed that the optimal family functioning occurs when the husband specializes
in work, while the wife is responsible for domestic chores. Gender roles are
rigidly defined. Work life balance was at family unit level rather than at individual
level. More recently, societal perceptions have changed and it deems appropriate
for both men and women to pursue paid employment outside of the home and
also share responsibilities within the home. However, the role spillover of male
into domestic and nurturing roles is limited. This problem is more acute in a
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collectivist, male dominated society like, India where the boundaries between
work and family have been well-defined. The Indian family has traditionally
granted a favored status to men as a chief bread winner. Men are responsible for
working outside family whereas women are homemakers. The centuries old
traditional gender roles are changing now. Due to the recognition of women’s
high level of education, the necessity of double income and women’s increased
wish for autonomy and social recognition, the employment rate of women has
increased worldwide. Few decades back, women were restricted to professionals
where achieving work life balance was not a problem, such as teaching. There is
a shift in the perception and choices made by women these days. With the rapid
changes in societal structures and forms, men and women experience greater
role conflict, overload and ambiguity. The situation is more complex for dual
working couple in metros. The shift has also loaded the burden of raring children
all by themselves. Work life balance is not crucial for only married individuals or
nuclear family with or without children. Single parents may have greater difficulty
in balancing work with children. Consequently, work life balance is critically
important for working women to sustain their mental health.
There is migration of large rural population to urban centres. At the same
time, urban life is becoming more taxing and stressful. People today experience
lack of time and balance between professional requirements and personal needs.
Middle class is experiencing unprecedented prosperity. Middle class people are
faced with a heighted degree of value conflict between money and lifestyle.
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Government can play very important role in determining quality of life for
its people by promulgating various labour laws. For instance, the Western
European governments have promulgated several policies to help their citizens
to strike a balance between work and life. On the other hand, government
regulations are less strict in the United States. Of late, the Government of India
has also promulgated laws to facilitate the different aspects of work life balance.
Equally important is monitoring and surveillance of such laws by the relevant
government agencies. Indian laws do not allow women workers to work in night
in mining and manufacturing organizations. However, some organizations,
especially in the service sector, employ women in night shift.
Occupation can be a major source of work life balance. Different
occupations vary in their stress level. For example, the jobs of police officer,
aeroplane pilot, construction worker, doctor, advertising executive, sales
manager, etc are highly stressful. On the other hand, the jobs of teacher,
government officer, HR manager, Clerk in government, etc are less stressful.
Thus, occupational choice by people entails work life balance for them.
1.6.2 Organizational drivers
Employee-oriented organizations that uphold the philosophy that
organizational effectiveness will be high if employees’ work life balance is well
achieved follow a host of practices to facilitate work life balance. Most of the
MNCs from Scandinavian and western countries follow practices to promote work
life balance. On the other hand, Korean and Indian organizations score lower on
the facilitation of work life balance. HR practices play vital role in promoting work
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life balance practices in an organization. Some of organizational reasons for
experiencing difficulty in work life balance the work load, working hours, and
stress at work. HR practices can formulate to ensure that employees do not
experience role stress due to overload, role ambiguity, and role conflict by
formulating clear roles and job descriptions.
Effective organizational design and systems and processes further
facilitate work life balance. Progressive organizations develop a variety of work
life balance practices, such as flexi -time, no meeting after core working hours,
forced annual leave, maternity and paternity leave, shopping at work, crèche,
gym and good food facility, no late sitting culture, and so on.
1.6.3 Individual drivers
Life philosophy is a major determiner of work life balance. All of us have
life philosophy that affects work life balance. However, it is generally implicit and
people do not articulate it succinctly. The life philosophy can focus either on
being or becoming or a balance between the two. Being is concerned with
human endeavor for self-actualization, contentedness, harmony, and enjoying
what one is. On the other hand, becoming is related to material achievement,
money, power, and social status, etc. Greater the conflict between being and
becoming within an individual, the lower work life balance.
Personality is a relatively enduring aspect that significantly affects
behavior. Certain personality traits like work centrality, work-holism and Type A
negatively affect work life balance. People who are high on these personality
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characteristics derive greater satisfaction from their work and are over-family
obligations. Such individuals derive intrinsic reward out of work. They find
balancing work and non-work activities difficult. In contrast, individual with self-
efficacy are more comfortable to integrate work and life.
1.7 HRD-WORK LIFE BALANCE
Managing a home while raising young children when both spouses are
employed outside the home is challenging and stressful .Balancing one’s work
responsibilities and desires with one’s responsibilities and interests outside work
is, at best, challenging. While balancing work commitments with life commitments
involves a myriad of trade-offs for two-income families with children, it also
provides ongoing challenges for adults who remain single or do not have
children30.
Mid-life workers often deal with balance issues from two ends of the
spectrum: young children and ageing parents. This issue, however, includes
employees beyond those who have children. Many employees are choosing to
stay unmarried, but still have critical and valuable commitments outside work.
Individuals affected by trying to balance work and their lives outside work
represent nearly the entire working population. Organizations are indeed helping
their workforce achieve balance between work and the rest of their life. Work–life
balance programs are pervasive in organizations today i.e on-site day care,