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A STUDY OF WORK LIFE BALANCE ( WLB ) AMONG WOMEN EMPLOYEES IN SERVICE SECTOR WITH

SPECIAL REFERENCE TO PUNE CITY(2009-12)

Submitted towards fulfillment for the award of degree of Doctor Of Philosophy ( Ph.D. ) in the Faculty of Management

SUBMITTED BY

Researcher Mrs.VIJAYSHRI RAMESHKUMAR MEHTHA

DLL , BE , MBA (Systems) , MBA(HR)

Under the guidance of Dr. RAJASHREE SHINDE

M.Com , M.Ed. , M.P.M. , F.D.P.M. ( IIM-A ) , Ph.D.

From Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth,

Gultekdi , Pune:37

2012

A STUDY OF WORK LIFE BALANCE ( WLB ) AMONG WOMEN EMPLOYEES IN SERVICE SECTOR WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE

TO PUNE CITY(2009-12)

BY

Mrs.Vijayshri Rameshkumar Mehtha

Introduction :

Changes in the social, political and economic fabric of societies have influenced and continue

to influence both the nature of employment and its relationship to life outside work . Work-

life balance has emerged as a hot topic in recent years fuelled in part by changing trends in

womens social roles. Whilst labor market participation has increased for women of all ages,

women continue to shoulder the main responsibility for organizing and undertaking unpaid

caring work.

In India, it is taken for granted that economic activities are exclusively the prerogative of

males while domestic work, child bearing and child rearing are the sole occupations of

women. Historically, women in India have not enjoyed a good status in workplace settings

whether in managerial or operative roles. Since times immemorial, women have been

burdened with work of all sorts all through their lives. From reproduction to all household

chores and outside, their role as worker is significant, unique and burdensome. But they are

discriminated and exploited all over.

The Services Sector constitutes a large part of the Indian economy both in terms of

employment potential and its contribution to national income. The Sector covers a wide range

of activities from the most sophisticated in the field of Information and Communication

Technology to simple services pursued by the informal sector workers, for example,

vegetable sellers, hawkers, rickshaw pullers, etc Among fast growing developing countries,

India is distinctive for the role of the service sector.

The changing economic conditions and social demands have changed the nature of work

throughout the world . The concept of Work life balance is becoming more and more relevant

in an ever dynamic working environment.

Objectives :

1. To identify the determinants of Work Life Balance of Women Employees 2. To find out present practices followed by women employees for WLB 3. To find the current policies by the organizations to facilitate WLB .

4. To identify the perception of women employees towards benefits and challenges towards WLB

5. To explore the statutory measures towards WLB . 6. To recommend / suggest ways for improving WLB

An overview of methodology followed to achieve the objectives

Sr. No.

Objective

Methodology

1

To identify the determinants of Work Life Balance of Women Employees

Collecting the demographic information of

the respondents and identifying its linkage with the WLB Issues .

2

To find out present practices followed by women employees for WLB

Identifying agreements of the respondents

with commonly used practices by women employees

3

To find the current policies by the organizations to facilitate WLB .

Exploring the availability and utilizations of

commonly provided initiatives by organizations in service sector

4

To identify the perception of women employees towards benefits and challenges towards WLB

Analyzing the responses / agreements of the

respondents with benefits and challenges towards WLB

5

To explore the statutory measures towards WLB .

Reviewing various labour laws and other

legislations 6

To recommend / suggest ways for improving WLB

Highlight critical issues for taking process

forward & Make recommendations based on findings and review of literature.

Hypothesis of study :

Hypothesis 1 :

H1o : Use of work life balance policies is not influenced by marital status

H1a : Use of work life balance policies is influenced by marital status

Hypothesis 2 :

H2o : Use of work life balance policies is not influenced by age level

H2a : Use of work life balance policies is influenced by age level

Hypothesis 3 :

H3o: Use of work life balance policies is not affected by number of dependents

H3a: Use of work life balance policies is affected by number of dependents

Statement of the problem :

There is presence of work life imbalance among female employees working in service sector in Pune city.

Research Design & Methodology :

Research Type : Descriptive Research

Sampling Technique : Stratified Sampling

Sample Size : 263 Female employees from 6 Segments of Service Sector viz Banking and Financial Services , IT & ITES , Hospitals , Hotels , Education and Others

Data Collection Method : Data is collected through primary as well as secondary sources . Through primary source the data is collected through interviews of key persons in the organization and through personal discussions and filling of questionnaire from female employees. Secondary sources consist of books , periodicals , newspapers and online resources .

Data analysis , Interpretations and Hypothesis Testing :

Five hundred and ten questionnaire were distributed to six different types of organizations

falling under service sector viz Banking and Financial services , Hospitals , Hotels , IT &

ITES and Education and other . After eliminating the invalid questionnaires , 263 valid

questionnaires were used for further analysis.

Tabulation and the graphical presentation is carried out using MS Excel. Descriptive and

inference statistics is carried out using SPSS 17.00 .

The statistical tools like mean , standard deviation , Correlation , Factor Analysis and Tests of

Hypothesis are used for the analysis purpose .

Hypothesis Validity :

All the three hypothesis proposed by the researcher as mentioned above were proved to be

true and it was concluded that

Use of work life balance policies is influenced by marital status

Use of work life balance policies is influenced by age level

Use of work life balance policies is affected by number of dependents

Findings :

The findings of this survey reinforce the perceived importance of balance between both work

and personal aspects of ones life to enable greater success to be achieved in every area of life

including professional matters. With increasing working population and changes in

perceived company commitment and loyalty, Work and Personal Life balance is a real issue

for employers and employees alike.

The participants rated work-life balance as the most important of the propositions . It

also was rated lowest for the amount of attention being paid to it through the workplace. 100

% of the female respondent said having work life balance is very important for them .

There is presence of imbalance among the work life and personal life of female

employees . 78 % female respondents have responded that their life is heavily weighted

toward work . Only 4 % female employees said their life is in balance at present . 18 %

female respondent said at present their life is little weighted towards personal life .It was

observed that among those who reported that there is imbalance , majority said that it was

work that dominated.

Past financial experiences ,Present financial requirements ,future financial requirements ,use

of educational qualification ,overcome boredom at home ,career orientation ,taking care of

dependents, independence are the reasons being identified for taking up the job.

Practices followed by majority of female employees to manage professional and personal

life are Time Management ,Use of personal vehicle for commuting ,Proper planning well in

advance , participating in social networking .

The range of Work Life Balance initiatives by the organizations available can be grouped

into 4 main areas:

1. Leave provisions (such as parental and family leave)

2. Flexible hours provisions (including job sharing, flexible start and finish times)

3. Supportive structures and programs (such as child care provision or assistance)

4. Social policy initiatives.

Following determinants have been identified which impact the issue of work life balance

Classification of Determinants of Work Life Balance

Organizational Factors Individual Factors

1. Present annual income of employee

2. Tenure in the present organization

3. Department in which an employee is working

4. Type of organization

5. Nature of Job

6. No of years of previous experience

7. Level of hierarchy in the organization

8. Term Of Contract

9. Situational factors

10. Support from employer and management

11. Support from colleagues

12. Policies of organization

13. Technology and its use

14. Long Working Hours

1. Age of an employee / Life Stage

Of Employee

2. Marital Status

3. No Of Members of family

4. Type of Family / Family

Structure

5. No and Age of the KIDs

6. No Of Dependents

7. Educational Qualification

8. Mobility from native place

9. Attitude and values of employee

10. Psychological factors

11. Support from family members

12. Energy Levels of employee

13. Self High Expectations

Impact of Work life Imbalance : Work Life Imbalance among the employees affect

negatively to employees as well as organizations. Less productivity at workplace , more

conflicts , absenteeism , high attrition , low morale, more stress are the major impact of work

life imbalance on the female employees working in service sector .

WLB Index :

WLB Index was calculated based on 10 parameters or indicators . It was found that 79 %

(207) respondents WLB Index is below benchmark . Only 16 % (42) respondents WLB

Index is above benchmark . 5 % (14) respondent's WLB Index falls exactly on the

benchmark . Out of 207 respondents which are below benchmark 139 are married females .

This indicates that the female employees under consideration face the problem of balancing

Work and Personal life . More imbalance is observed among the married females due to more

family responsibilities.

Benefits of Work Life Balance :

Recognised benefits of work-life balance policies for employees include:

1. Improved work-life balance a reduction in the impact of work on home and

family life

2. Reduced stress levels 3. Control over time management in meeting work-life commitments

4. Autonomy to make decisions regarding work-life balance

5. Increased focus, motivation and job satisfaction knowing that family and work

commitments are being met

6. Increased job security from the knowledge that an organisation understands and

supports workers with family responsibilities

7. Decreased Health Care Costs and Stress-Related Illnesses :With increasing

company focus on the high cost of health care, work/life programs are becoming

an intelligent choice to help lower the number of health care claims.

Barriers or challenges to Work Life Balance :

1. Only paper work no implementation : Many organizations have the policies only on

paper .There is very less concern for the implementation of the policies .

2. Lack of communication : Communication about work/life programs is essential.

Although an organization may offer a rich menu of work/life benefits, the desired

effectyielding positive business resultsis unlikely to occur if employees do not

know about the programs or understand them.

3. Team Work : Introducing, operating and implementing work-life balance requires

collaborative working and is very much an holistic process .

4. Time Consuming : Implementing a WLB strategy takes time . Timescales for

implementation need to be realistic

Recommendations :

The suggestions made by the researcher pertaining to WLB issues are divided in three parts :

1. Suggestions to the women employees 2. Suggestions to the organizations

3. Suggestions to the Government

Listing of suggestions on WLB issues of female employees

Suggestions to the women employees Suggestions to the organizations

1. Time Management

2. Drop activities that sap your time or

energy

3. A little relaxation goes a long way

4. Be Honest

5. Rethink your errands

6. Set your priorities

7. Social Networking

8. Learn to say no

9. Leave work at work

10. Manage your time

11. Bolster your support system

12. Nurture yourself

13. Seek help of Counselors

14. Don't overbook

15. Use technology

16. Organize

17. Use the facilities available for WLB

in organizations

1. Integration

2. Offer Flexibility

3. Part time working during early

stage of Child Care

4. Childcare Centers at workplaces

5. Women-friendly workplace

6. Parental Leave

7. Training Programs

8. Promote awareness

9. Women participation in strategy

making

10. Availability of accommodations

11. Commitment during hiring

12. Continuous Process

13. Nominating WLB Champions

14. Benchmarking against similar

organizations

15. Communication

16. Survey questionnaire

17. Role of HR Department

18. Avoid as far possible the long

hours of work for employees

Suggestions to the Government

1. White Paper on Work-Life Balance

2. Promote a realistic work-life culture amongst employers

3. Proposals of how various strategies will be used to deliver improved work-life

balance

4. Creating and strengthening an accurate and authentic data-base on women

workers

5. Nomination of a work-life balance inspectors

6. Protecting employees from long hours of work

Limitations & Future Scope :

The undertaken research is only related to work life balance issues of female employees

employed in service sector only . It excludes the females who are employees in other sectors

viz Manufacturing or agricultural sector . It excludes the male employed population .The

survey excludes the unemployed and the self-employed, so the level of imbalance in the

population as a whole may vary . The study is with reference to female employees in Pune

City only .There is future scope for doing a research on wider basis viz for whole state of

Maharashtra or India or on international basis .

Future research must focus on a wider sample in order to get more generalized results.

Moreover, it must be directed at understanding individual differences so that employee

specific initiatives to improve work life balance could be initiated by organizations. The size

of the sample used to determine the dimensions of the scale was small. As a result, the

stability of the results is uncertain.

Conclusion :

Women constitute an important section of the workforce. However, the present situation of a

large number of well-qualified women who due to various circumstances have been left out

of their jobs needs to be addressed. The problems faced are several but, significantly, most

often the "break in their careers" arises out of motherhood and family responsibilities.

Achieving a good balance between work and family commitments is a growing concern for

contemporary employees and organizations. There is now mounting evidence-linking work

life imbalance to reduced health and wellbeing among individuals and families. It is not

surprising then that there is increasing interest among organizational stakeholders (e.g. CEOs,

HR managers ) for introducing worklife balance policies in their organizations.

Work-life balance policies are most likely to be successfully mainstreamed in organizations

which have a clear understanding of their business rationale and which respect the

importance of work-life balance for all employees. Whatever the chosen course, it is hoped

that this research project report will form a stepping stone in the process and provide a basis

for reflection and debate on work-life balance issues in service industry in Pune City.

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