01-10-2014, 03:22 PM
“A STUDY OF WORK LIFE BALANCE ( WLB ) AMONG WOMEN
EMPLOYEES IN SERVICE SECTOR WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE
TO PUNE CITY
A STUDY OF WORK.pdf (Size: 68.61 KB / Downloads: 152)
Findings :
The findings of this survey reinforce the perceived importance of balance between both work
and personal aspects of one’s 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.
WLB Index :
WLB Index was calculated based on 10 parameters or indicators . It was found that 79 %
(207) respondent’s WLB Index is below benchmark . Only 16 % (42) respondent’s 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.
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 work–life 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