Global Journal of Finance and Management.

ISSN 0975-6477 Volume 6, Number 9 (2014), pp. 827-832

© Research India Publications
http://www.ripublication.com

Work LIFE Balance

M. Muthukumar1, R. Savitha2 and Dr. P. Kannadas3

1
Administrative Staff, DDE, Madurai Kamaraj University, Tamil Nadu
2
Ph.D., Research Scholar, DOMS, Madurai Kamaraj University, Tamil Nadu
3
Asst. Professor, DOMS, Madurai Kamaraj University, Tamil Nadu.
E-mail: 1muthu1980.m@gmail.com, 2 rithuvarnaa@gmail.com,
3
kannadasp@yahoo.co.in

Abstract
The article discusses the significance of work-life balance of an
employee and tries to provide some solutions to this contemporary
globe crisis which demands for greater stability in the corporate world.
It also reflects on the factors influencing work-life balance and on the
solutions entailing wider scope for employers and employees to relate
the same and attain optimum results and satisfaction in their lives. This
could appropriately be understood as the harmony between office and
personal life.
People are usually either at work or at home. Any individual usually
spends a major part of the day’s productive time at work and this is an
important facet of his life. His productivity depends, not only on
factors related to his work, but also on various other factors related to
his personal life. Work-life balance entails attaining equilibrium
between professional work and other activities, so that it reduces
friction between official and domestic /personal life. Work-life balance
enhances efficiency and thus, the productivity of an employee
increases. It enhances satisfaction, in both the professional and
personal lives.
With the advent of globalization, the demands of workplace are ever
increasing and highly dynamic. Employees spend more time at the
work place rather than at home. Although businesses are witnessing
new height, the work-life balance of the employee is no longer in
control. Growing number of suicides, divorces, disturbed families and
relationships, outrage or conflicts in the organizations, etc. are the
reflections of disturbed work-life balance of the employees. It is high
time employers must draw out strategies or plan to cope with the
828 M. Muthukumar et al

problem and help the employees to enjoy their work and live life to the
fullest. This article discusses some aspects of balancing work and life.

Keywords: Work–life balance, attitude, performance, psychological

factors, emotions management, quality of work, contentment.

1. Introduction
In this influx of globalization, organizatioms feel the heat in the form of competition to
perform better or fulfil the promises made to the customers in time to survive the
business. This heat to large extent percolates down to the employees, putting pressure
on them to show at work places, leading to very high stressful situation. In this process
lot of demands pile up from the personal side of the life which is equally important for
the employees, which they cannot afford to ignore. Balancing professional and
personal life, better productivity and harmonious life have become challenging.
Work life balance can be defined as the perfect integration between work and life
both not interfering with each other.

2. The concept
The performance of any organization depends on its employees, which in turn depends
on numerous other factors. They can be work related or family related or personal.
How a person manages various aspects of his life helps in achieving balance at work
and in private life. A major portion of an individual is spent at the work. Any problem
either at work place or at personal life will definitely affect the balance and thus it is
very much essential that both are maintained well.

3. Importance of Work life balance

Work is one dimension of life and should not distort our personal life. The vice-versa
is also true as work is a means of livelihood. The concept is gaining prominence since
it helps in maintaining balanced life at the work place as well as at home. Maintaining
balance encourages optimum working hours that ultimately enhances overall
efficiency. It is a common fact that increase in quantity tends to deteriorate quality. If
the employee is not over loaded with work, he is motivated to shoulder responsibilities.
He does not feel exhausted and is ready to perform every day. Work load does not kill
his working spirit and he is eager to work. When someone works willingly, he attains
satisfaction and a contended person is bound to succeed not only at work but also in
life.
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4. Factors influencing Work life balance

There can be many factors that affect the balance of work and life. The first such factor
is the attitude of the employee. Attitude defines ones likes and dislikes. Attitude is the
way of thinking or feeling about something. Balance is considerably affected by
various psychological factors. How one reacts to a particular situations, handles that
situation, how he manages work and peer pressure are some aspects of psychological
behaviours. Emotions management also plays an important role in achieving and
maintaining such balance. Another important factor is the environment in which the
individual stays. The working environment should be comfortable or it can negatively
affect efficiency. Similarly , the environment at home should be calm and congenial.
The type of job can also influence balance. A job, which is monotonous and not
challenging can make the worker lethargic. The job profile should match the
employee’s profile, in order to enhance his work efficiency and give him job
satisfaction. Since balance is related to both personal and professional life, factors like,
family background, financial and social status of the family, life stage of the employee,
financial standing, family structure, daily routine, friends circle and social life would
also affect his work life. An employee who is struggling financially or who has a large
family to support or other family problems may spend more time in taking care of
those issues. To focus on his work it is necessary that he is free from any domestic
encumbrances. It is equally important to create a healthy working environment at the
work place. The comfort and ease at the working place enhances the efficiency as well
as the effectiveness of the performance.

5. Need for Work life balance

The outcomes of imperfect work-life balance faced in the day-to-day life are :
 Stress: employees must be ever performing and ever learning to adapt
themselves to the dynamic market conditions. Adding to this is the constant
pressure from the superiors to meet the targets. Thus, employees have no other
choice but to sacrifice their personal space. The entire process is creating stress
on the employees which are the root cause for many other problems.
 Physical problem: The numbers of employees suffering from physical
ailments like hypertension, diabetes, heart attacks have grown considerably in
the past. Women employees are the worst affected due to the long and stressful
working hours and are facing severe gynaecological problems like cancer and
abortions, etc.,
 Relational problems: since employees are spending more time at work rather
than at home, spouses, parents, children are no longer given the time they
deserve.
 Hangover: working for longer hours at the office, increases employee
interaction. The employees tend to stay in their professional world (mentally)
though they are at home. The effect of professional anger is carried to home.
830 M. Muthukumar et al

 Unethical practices: to handle the stress, the employees tend to adopt

Unethical practices like boozing, smoking, drugs, improper relation etc. Also
there are chances that the employee may resort to unfair means to get their
work done ultimately by hook or crook.
 Disturbed families: the worst hit is the family members of the employees.
Fighting with the target achievement may sometimes result in neglecting the
family. The number of broken family has gone up drastically.
 Decreased performance: employees in the organization are never at peace.
When they are at work place issues at home are a concern and vice-versa.
Unknowingly, the employees get into a frustration and cannot give their best to
their profession.
 Organization in jeopardy: it all starts with stress and ultimately the employee
ability and performance is at crossroads. The output to the situation may be that
the organization may not achieve its goals or the employee is no longer
satisfied with the organization. In either case, the entire organization is in
jeopardy.

6. The role of HR in achieving Work-Life Balance:

The HR department should assist the employee to maintain a Work-Life Balance. The
HR manager must carefully identify the issues and find a solution with the cooperation
of the employer. Organizations must include providing Work-Life Balance as an HR
policy. Some of the decisions which HR can help in are :
 Planning the work
 Providing a Flexi approach towards work
 Job analyais specifications/ descriptions
 Being empathetic towards the employees
 Proving space for the personal lives of the employees
 Family get–togrther’s at the work place
 Conduct frequent training programs
 Effective communication system
 Organizational culture
 Worker’s participation in management

7. The role of HR in achieving Work-Life Balance

The HR department should assist the employee to maintain a Work-Life Balance. The
HR manager must carefully identify the issues and find a solution with the cooperation
of the employer. Organizations must include providing Work-Life Balance as an HR
policy. Some of the decisions which HR can help in are :
Work LIFE Balance 831

 Planning the work

 Providing a Flexi approach towards work
 Job analyais specifications/ descriptions
 Being empathetic towards the employees
 Proving space for the personal lives of the employees
 Family get–togrther’s at the work place
 Conduct frequent training programs
 Effective communication system
 Organizational culture
 Worker’s participation in management

8. Steps to achieve Work-Life Balance

Two main issues in Work-Life Balance are Time and Stress. An individual who
maintains time and stress perfectly will have a perfect Work-Life Balance. Time and
stress are interrelated in a sense that one is the outcome of mismanagement of the
other. If the activities of an employer are not planned properly, he runs out of time and
pressure builds up leading to stress–the instrumental factor disturbing the balance
between professional and personal life.

Time management +Stress management = Work-Life Balance

Tips for Time management:
 Proper planning
 Swot analysis
 Expert advice
 Reminders
 Motivators
 Self-motivation

Tips for Stress management:

 Take it easy
 Try to get solution instead of brooding over the problem
 Accept the fact and stop the blame game
 Boost yourself
 Enjoy your work

9. Conclusion
Work-life balance is an issue of great importance that has to be addressed by the
organizations at the earliest. After all the employees are the greatest asset and the
organization performance is affected by employee performance. The HR department of
832 M. Muthukumar et al

the organization and the employees together must work out strategies to help attain
Work-life balance which makes the organization the happiest place to work in. In spite
of higher salaries and other monetary and non monetary benefits, a comfortable
working environment, less work load and organizations taking care of employees, it is
observed that sometimes employees fail to deliver expected sales. Though there can be
numerous factors that affect the performance of an employee achieving balance in
work and familial life is considered important in order to perform par excellence.
Balance between professional and personal life improves performance at work and also
helps in gaining job satisfaction. It gives a feeling of contentment and motivates the
individual to shoulder responsibilities with greater accountability. It helps in creating a
congenial environment at the work place and also strengthens family bonds of the
employees.