Introduction
This blog’s objective is to examine the idea of work-life balance and its significance in today’s workplace. We’ll also examine the elements of work-life balance and its applicability in the modern world. Additionally, enquire about the number of companies offering this benefit to their staff members and whether it is a primary draw for talented individuals to join the company in the first place. Workers in the organisations are frequently expected to put in more time than is necessary in order to perform exceptionally well and match their personal objectives with those of the company. In these kinds of situations, workers frequently complain about the strain of their jobs and the issues in their personal or domestic lives. Additionally, it discusses the conflicts as well as the theoriesof work-life balance.
Although the term “work-life balance” is not widely understood, numerous scholars have attempted to define it. In plain English, it refers to a working person’s ability to balance work and life, regardless of their gender, employment status, organisation, or sector.
More specifically, it can also mean the harmony between an employer’s personal and work lives. Friends and family make up one’s personal life, while office work constitutes one’s professional life. In order to promote health and personal fulfilment without adversely affecting productivity, personal or professional success, another definition might be “how an individual manages his/her time by focusing on both on-the-job and private time.” Because so many people these days work nonstop, this is a crucial idea and thus anticipate some indulgence from the business.
It’s been defined by some as the capacity to maintain a happy, healthy home life with ample leisure time, while simultaneously feeling in control and being productive and competitive at work. It involves developing awareness and focus in the face of distractions and activities vying for your time and attention. In addition, maintaining a healthy work-life balance means not becoming overwhelmed by work, feeling a sense of accomplishment every day, and leading a fulfilling home life free from demanding professional commitments. It is also based on what fulfilment means to an individual over the course of a week or a 24-hour day.
There isn’t a single, ideal balance that one should aim for. Because everyone has different priorities and lives, there are differences in the best work-life balance. It does not imply a balanced approach. But it might change in the future. Numerous studies have demonstrated that the two most crucial components of work-life balance are enjoyment and achievement. It denotes a feeling of well-being, joy, celebration, love, and pride, among other things. Therefore, “Meaningful daily Achievement and Enjoyment in Work, Family, Friends, and Self” is another excellent definition of work-life balance that many would agree with.
Elements of Work-Life Balance
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- “Self-management is the ability to adequately manage oneself, which can be difficult, especially when it comes to getting enough rest, exercise, and food. It is this realisation that alerts us to the fact that life, time, and resources are all finite and that making the most of the spaces in our lives is essential.
- Effective time management, or time management in general, refers to making the most out of each day and the available resources. When resources are sufficient for the tasks at hand, one can maintain pace. Setting realistic goals and differentiating between urgent and important tasks will improve your time management skills. It means figuring out what you do best and when to do it, as well as putting together the right equipment to complete particular tasks.
- Managing stressful situations is referred to as stress management. These days, stress on an individual is inevitable because societies have a tendency to grow more complex over time. We all need to learn how to remain calm and get ourselves out of stressful situations because there are more people, distractions, and noise around. Instead of concentrating on one thing at a time, most types of multitasking ultimately make us more stressed.
- A prosperous profession and a contented family life depend on the constant adaptation of new techniques and the re-adaptation of others, which is known as change management. Making regular, coordinated efforts to prevent yourself from being overwhelmed or defeated by the volume and pace of change at work and in your personal life is a necessary component of effective change management. Change is practically inevitable in our fast-paced world.
- Technology management is the process of efficiently using technology to make sure it works for you rather than against you. From the first walking stick, flint, spear, and wheel, technology has always been a part of our lives. Due to vendors looking to increase their market share, change is now happening more quickly. Many times, keeping up with technology is the only option available; however, technology must rule one, not the other way around.
- The aspect of work-life balance that is most often ignored is leisure management. Encouraging disciplines, it recognises the value of leisure and rest, the fact that leisure cannot be undervalued, and the fact that “time off” is an essential part of life. Strangely, no matter how much fun a leisure activity is, too much of it can get boring. Therefore, efficient management of leisure time needschanging up one’s routine.
Theories to Encourage Management to Adopt WLB Policies
Four main theories primarily explain the rationale behind work-life policies that are adopted by organisational management. By being accepted by other scholars, each of these theories has been validated and identifies a unique set of predictive conditions. The organisational theories of institutional theory, resource dependence theory, and strategic choice theory provide the basis for these theories’ explanatory abilities.
These theories are as follows:
Institutional theory: This method connects the normative pressures in the society (industry, ownership, organisation size, unionisation rates, and other influencing factors) to management’s decision to adopt WLB practices in order to comply.
Theory of Organisational Adaptation: This theory links the degree of responsiveness of organisations to internal environmental factors (specifically, the percentage of female employees, skill levels, work procedures, and values of senior management).
Elevated Theory of Commitment: According to this theory, WLB practices are strategic HRM initiatives implemented to foster a greater sense of employee commitment to the company.
Situational theory: Utilising pressures to boost productivity and profitability while addressing employee issues, this method explains adoption.
Practices for Work-Life Balance
Workplaces that implement work-life balance policies and initiatives often provide childcare and eldercare facilities, information or financial support about non-work-related matters, and a range of onsite services. Other flexible working options include telework, flexible hours, part-time, term-time, and job-sharing.
According to Osterman (1995) and Scheibl and Dex (1998), these interventions are commonly referred to as work-life benefits and policies (WLBPs) or family-friendly policies (FFPs). A few examples of flexible work arrangements are: direct financial assistance for child care; information services like helping a new employee locate a childcare facility; flexibility in selecting the place of employment; leave in lieu of family emergencies like parental leave; and flexibility in scheduling the time of arrival and departure to and/or from work.
Recruitment gives you the opportunity to stand out as an employer of choice while combating unfavourable work practices like longer workdays; retention makes you more adaptable to the changing needs of your workforce; a supportive work environment boosts morale and improves organisational culture; and staff motivation and equality make you more accessible through inclusivity.
Konrad and Mangel (2000) listed the following work-life balance programmes: on-site day care, near-site day care, sick care, emergency care, sick days of childcare, on-site conveniences, extended maternity leave, gradual return to work, paternity leave, adoption leave, parental leave, spouse placement, supervisory training in the workplace, family sensitivity, flex-time, job sharing, part-year work, part-time workforce, voluntary condensed time, and part-time work for professionals. This measure was comparable to Osterman’s (1995) measure, but it was more comprehensive because Osterman’s measure only contained nine unique work-life initiatives.
Compressed work week: This type of arrangement involves an employee working the required number of hours in one or two weeks, but breaking those hours up into fewer workdays so that they can put in more time at the office.
Flexitime: There are several different types of flexible work schedules. According to Papalexandris and Kramar (1997), these include flexibility in the number of hours worked, the working environment, and the arrangement of working hours. Organisations today implement a variety of flexible scheduling programmes, job sharing, part-time work, teleworking, and other workplace flexitime policies. Previous studies on flexible work schedules found that implementing such programmes could lower absenteeism and turnover while increasing employee job satisfaction (Narayanan and Nath, 1982; Pierce and Newstrom, 1983). Flexible work arrangements enable employees to better balance their personal and professional obligations, improve their quality of life, and more. Additionally, Grover and Crooker (1995) noted a bad correlation betweenthis approach and the goal of turnover. As a result, it is thought that when a flexible work schedule is offered to employees, their chances of staying with the company increase. According to research done in 2003 by Olorunsola and Ibegbulam among librarians in Jamaica, 78% of participants felt that having flexible work hours encouraged or appealed to one’s autonomy. Building up competence in balancing working and non-work is one of the new ways that Ball (1998) contends must be found in order to attract and retain, motivate, and develop library workers in the profession.
Family Leave: According to Bond and Wise (2003), policies pertaining to family leave permit workers to take varied amounts of time off from work to attend to personal matters.
The purpose of employee assistance programmes, or EAPs, is to provide staff with confidential counselling to address personal or other issues, including work-related stress that may be impairing their performance. They also aim to acknowledge the interaction between people’s home and work lives (Clemmet, 1998). Organisation to organisation today differs in the nature of their EAP. Helping with personal problems, relationship problems, eldercare, childcare, parenting issues, harassment, substance abuse, job stress, juggling work and family, financial or legal difficulties, and family violence were among the typical areas in which EAPs provided support. Furthermore, a few EAP providers cansome may provide guidance on long-term illnesses, disability issues, and crisis counselling; others may offer other services like retirement or layoff assistance, wellness and health promotion, and fitness. Thus, life skills and fitness programmes are not the only services offered by EAPs; they also extend beyond counselling. Employees who use it can also benefit from stress management and personal problem solving. According to Carolyn and Cooper (1994), employee assistance programmes (EAPs) play a crucial role in enhancing the mental and physical well-being of employees. This, in turn, leads to improved job satisfaction, increased performance, and decreased intention to leave the company.
Job sharing: Is a very common type of employment with many positive aspects and a reputation for being family-friendly. It is an employee-driven movement that is applied in different contexts, such as in reaction to the idea that more family-friendly laws are necessary or as a way to address the unemployment issue in some countries. Job sharers may exhibit greater ―vigor and excitement‖, as well as greater motivation and focus. According to Brocklebank and Whitehouse (2003), over 90% of job sharers are women (per Literature Review 43%), which is probably due to the traditional role that women have in child and home care. In the public sector, job sharing is far more widespread. One full-time job with all duties and benefits is typically involved in hybrids of job-sharing split, split days, or week-on, week-off scenarios are some examples of shared schedules.
Work sharing is a very common type of employment that is seen as family-friendly and has many positive aspects. It is a trend driven by employees and is applied in different ways, such as to address the unemployment crisis in certain economies or in response to the perceived need for more family-friendly policies (Gunnigle et al., 1998). Job sharers may exhibit greater motivation, focus, and ―energy and enthusiasm‖, according to Stennett (1994). According to Brocklebank and Whitehouse’s 2003 conclusion, more than 90 per Literature Review Women make up 43% of job sharers, which is probably due to the customary role that women play in caring for children and the home. In the public sector, job sharing is far more prevalent. Job-sharing hybrids may typically entailone full-time position that includes all duties and
For example, some sizable public sector companies have begun discussing WLB recently, including National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), Power grid, Indian Oil, and the Oil and Natural Gas Commission.
Conclusion
In the context of IT and contemporary, new economy industries, welfare and employee assistance services have a different meaning and content than in traditional fields. In the IT industry, for instance, the majority of people prefer cash over retirement benefits. Additionally, they need help with a few household tasks like making reservations for tickets, paying the bills for gas and water, and filling gas tanks.
Lalita Sharma
Teaching Associate
School of Hospitality and Hotel Management
Geeta University, Panipat
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