N600 Management Human Resources : Work-Life Balance Practices
Answer:
Introduction:
Work-life balance is defined as maintaining equilibrium and harmony in the personal and the professional life of the workers. The work life balance is important for the wellbeing of the employees, organisation’s performance and establishing a functioning society. The work life balance denotes an idea or notion which states that a person needs time for both work and other aspects of the life such as family and personal interests. This notion states that work like other aspects of life is crucial for the personal satisfaction of a person. The work-life balance is not a central issue for the employees but also for the companies and the policy makers in providing a proper quality of life to the employees (Beauregard and Henry, 2009).
It is an area of concern for the policy makers and the business managers interested in the quality of the working life and its relation with the broader quality of life. With the recent technical advancements and recession, there is an increase in the work pressure to the employees. With the recent developments in IT and the technological infrastructure, the work pressure on the working population is intensifying. The factors such as information load, requirement of providing enhanced quality of services, minimal response time requirement, fast changes in demands can be a reason of employee pressure. Although the working hours have been constant from the last decade, the work pressure on the employees has increased substantially. The work pressure also correlates to the increase in the intensity of the work. The intensity in the work pressure refers to the proportion of time spent working at high speeds meeting tight deadlines. When the demand of work increases, it propagates to other parts of the life and work-life imbalance initiates (Kim, 2014).
It is a growing concern for the society as it is influencing the community in a negative manner. There are several negative aspects which are correlated to the work-life imbalance such as the dissatisfaction in life, exhaustion, broken families and crime. Other consequences include increase in the juvenile crime, drug abuse, and lack of community participation and responsibility towards children and the young citizens of the society (Guest, 2002).
Background
The Facility Management (FM) industry is one of the fastest growing and emerging industries. The scope and the operations of the industry are still ambiguous and several definitions have emerged to describe the scope of the facility management industry. The facility management encompasses multi-disciplinary operations and covers a number of responsibilities, activities and knowledge. The facilities management refers to a number of support activities which support the organisation functions at both the strategic and the operations levels (Booty, 2009).
The executives in the facilities management require knowledge of both facilities and the management to work efficiently. The scope of faculty management can be discussed as the support role or services wherein the primary activities of the organisation are supported. The facilities manager has two primary roles, firstly to maintain the capital resources of the organisation such as property, physical plant and facilities. Secondly, the facilities management also include managing the support services of the organisation both in routine and the emergencies. Coupled with numerous responsibilities and support activities, the task of the facility manager is complex and challenging. The career development in the facilities management is also challenging as at senior positions it takes the strategic managerial responsibilities (Best, Valence and Langston, 2007).
The work-life balance is correlated with the employee performance and the career development of the workforce and the employees. In the present research study, the work life balance and the career development in the executives in the facility management has been evaluated. Over the years, due to the changes in the business operations, the role and the career development in the facilities management has also changed. The facilities management has evolved from the operational discipline addressing the immediate operational needs to the strategic role which pertains to forecasting, planning and adapting to the changing needs of the organisation (Jones and Jowett, 2010).
Statement of the Problem
In the recent years, the issue of the work-life balance has increased dramatically with the increase in the employee stress, anxiety and pressure. The work pressures in the life of the employees have also propagated in the personal life of the employees which has also increased the community life issues.
The recent economic crisis of 2008-2009 has also impacted negatively on the operations and the financial profits of the organisations. It has a significant impact on the financial returns and overall business. All these factors have decreased the revenue of the organisation and the eventual consequences of the reduced finances of the organisation are increased workload on the current employees of the organisation (Geiger, 2015). The job profile of the facility managers is complex and challenging. They are responsible for the maintenance of various technical and non-technical operations and the maintenance of the building. They are also responsible for taking care of the property and the organisation assts. With the economic recession and the expansion of the operations of the multinational organisations, the job responsibilities of the faculty manager have increased exponentially. In this regard, in this research study, the impact of the work-life balance in the career development of the facility managers will be explored.
Research Aims and Objectives
The purpose of the study is to explore the work-life balance in the career development in facilities management, the methods or the strategies used by the workers to cope with the work related stress and the provisions made by the employer which can enhance the work-life balance of the employees. In this regard, the research objectives of the study can be defined as:
- To identify the major reasons which increases the work-life demands of the employees
- To identify the situations and the strategies which can increase the work-life balance of the employees
- To identify the actions undertaken by the workers to cope up with the increased work pressure
- To identify the impact of the work-life balance on career development
- To assess the impact of facilities management on work-life balance
Literature Review
In the views of Houston (2005), the work-life balance is essential for not only the wellbeing of the employees but also for the organisation. Working longer and longer hours will increase the stress related to the adult care and the child care. Moreover, returning to work after major events of lives such as birth, illness or death will also show its effect on the work efficiency. However, work-life balance can be attained if an individual work with his or her employer. According to the literature, the work-life balance is not about the getting time for family or childcare but working smart and living satisfactorily without jeopardising one life with another. The wok-life balance is essential for every person irrespective of the career stage or phase.
According to Umamaheshwari and Krishnan (2016), the work-life balance and career development has an eventual impact on the organisation commitment. The study discusses that in the present competitive era, it has become highly significant for an organisation to attract and retain good talent in the organisation. Moreover, the high cost of recruitment and selection and correlation of the human resource talent with the organisation success has also increased the importance of the retaining talented employees within the organisation. In this regard, the literature has discussed that the business organisation should build high opportunities and work-life balance within the organisation instead of hoping for the lack of opportunities outside. There are a number of factors which motivate the employees to quit such as seeking opportunities outside for self-development as well as organisation commitment. The authors posit that the work life balance and opportunities are the most significant factors in the organisations’ commitment (Lyness and Judiesch, 2014).
According to Lunau et al. (2014), organisation commitment is correlated with the work schedule flexibility which exhibits the commitment of the organisation towards its employees. The flexible work timing also assists the staff members to strike a balance between their personal and the professional lives. The commitment of the organisation towards the fulfilment of the personal lives of the staff results in improved organisation commitment and productivity as well as reducing the absenteeism and increasing the overall productivity of the organisation.
Providing the employees’ with flexible work schedule can reduce the role conflicts, personal stress and result in motivated attitude towards the work. When the employees’ realise that the organisation is committed towards their well-being they also respond in the form of organisation commitment which increases the organisation productivity.
In the views of Hill et Al. (2001), the changes in the workforce composition and the demographics of the workforce has increased the number of dual earner families and couples who have their own individual careers. Along with it, with the increased competitiveness among the employees, the average working hours and the time spent on work has increased dramatically in the recent decade. As a result, the couples having additional family responsibilities such as child care or elder care find it difficult to balance their lives. Several scholars have cited the importance of adopting family-friendly initiatives which increases the employee motivation. It includes increasing the flexibility in the timings as well as providing choices in the location of the work. When the employees are provided flexibility in terms of location and the choice of work, they are better able to handle their personal and the professional lives. The work flexibility is also positively correlated with the performance of the individuals at work.
According to Chimote and Srivastava (2013), the work-life balance offer win-win situation to both the employees and the employers as the flexibility and the choice of flexible schedules increases the employee productivity and the increases the perceived organisation support.
Delina and Raya (2013) have stated that in the recent years, the importance of the work life balance has increased due to the increase in the number of the working women. Due to the changes in the economic and the social conditions, the working women have increased pressure to develop their career and compete with their male counterparts while being actively involved in the lives of their male counterparts. The increasing work pressure is increasing the stress in the lives of the working women as they are focusing more on the lives on their professional and the personal lives which is creating burnout and stress. Moreover, in the present information era, wherein the personal and the professional live of the working professionals are integrated with the technological devices such as mobile, notepads and the personal computers, the burnout especially for the working women has increased. The work related stress result in the several health problems and lack of exercise which eventually reflects on the employee productivity.
Gilley et al. (2015) have discussed that the term work-life balance denotes the perception of the employees regarding whether different aspects of the employee lives, personal time, family and work can be exercised with minimum conflict. The work-life balance is a current issue due to the emergence of the dual career families and the work demands wherein long working hours has become the norm. As a result, the demand of assisting employees in achieving balance between their professional and the personal lives has increased.
Perrons (2003) have cited that the advent of the information technology, deregulation and the strategic initiatives of the government to develop a twenty-four hours society has resulted in the expansion of the working hours and the work pressure. There is a constant increase in the number of the employees, especially fathers who are working more than their assigned time duration. Moreover, the author highlights that the norm of providing flexibility in the workplace is due to the intense work pressure. As a result, the organisations have no other job rather than asking the employees to take their work home and work on weekends. This practice is also facilitated by the advent of the information technology which assists in continuous connection between work and home through mobile phones and the emails. Although flexible working was provided to accommodate the working life and employer happiness, it is rather making the employees to work at questionable hours rather than taking the domestic responsibilities. The literature has discussed the challenges in providing adequate work life balance is also critical when the number of working mothers and females is on the rise. Although the job responsibilities and work relate stress remain same for men and women both, the gender inequalities in terms of hours of work and earnings still exists. It increases the work related stress among the female employees.
Jensen and Voordt (2016) have stated that the facilities management of an organisation can also contribute to the work-life balance of other employees. The personnel in the facilities management can take initiatives to create facilities by optimising the building and the office space for the people with physical impairment. The facilities management can also impact the human resource management and assist the organisation in developing strategies related to the employees with physical and mental impairment. It also supports the work-life balance of the employees by offering facilities which can boost the employee flexibility and working hours. Employing initiatives which can boost the employee productivity can make the organisation an interesting workplace for them.
Research Methodology
The research methodology is an integral part of the research as it outlines the research methods and designs which will be used in the research. There are numerous research methods which can be used to accomplish a research study. However, it is important to identify the appropriate and most-suitable research method for the research. The selection of the research methods is dependent upon the research questions and what the researcher is aiming to achieve with the research study (Gill and Johnson, 2010). In this regard, the interpretivist research paradigm is selected for the research study. This research paradigm is defined as the set of belief and viewpoint shared between the researcher on how the research problem will be explored and addressed. There are basically, two research paradigms, namely, positivism and interpretivism. The interpretivist researchers presume that the true knowledge can be attained only by interpreting the elements of the study. This research method emphasises the importance of using the appreciating the differences between the people. In this research paradigm, quantitative data is analysed using the qualitative methods to achieve the results (Lancaster, 2005).
Along with it, in the research, the inductive research approach has been applied. The inductive research approach is commonly used to establish a correlation between two independent variables used in the research study. In this approach, the researcher begins with a hypothesis and then makes several observations to arrive at a conclusion regarding the validity of the research hypothesis. In this research approach, the observation leads to the development of large universal hypothesis. It is more flexible approach and offers the researcher the opportunity to explore multiple ideas before arriving at a conclusion (Gill and Johnson, 2010).
The exploratory research design will be used in the present research as the research will explore new information related to the work-life balance of the employees. The qualitative approach will underpin the enquiry and the research will offer new insight to the work-life balance issues (Anderson, 2004). The qualitative research is defined as a systematic investigation of the experiences of the people. The strength of the qualitative method is to examine the experience of the people in detail. It includes employment of different set of research methods such aas in-depth interview, group discussion and observation.
In the present research, the qualitative method of interview is employed to conduct the research. In this method, an interview will be conducted with the employees in the facility management industry. The research respondents will include both the teaching and the non-teaching staff of the organisation (Kuanda, 2012). The survey will be conducted with 5 research participants. It is a flexible method and the researcher can explore new information and themes further with this method. A semi-structured interview will be conducted with the research participants wherein the interviewer can initiate inquiry with pre-determined set of questions and explore a few themes further.
Significance / Implications
The main purpose of the research is to examine the impact of work-life balance on the career development. The research sheds light on the main cause of the work-life imbalance and reasons of stress in the professional lives of the employees. It is an integral study that explores the impact of facilities management on the work-life balance. The research also correlates the employee productivity and the work life balance. In the recent years, work-life balance of the employees has attained significant attention as it is important that the employees are provided opportunity to focus on other aspects of lives along with their profession (Sexton et al., 2016).
The growing stress and work intensity in the lives of the working professionals is contributing to the debate regarding the significance of work-life balance in the employees lives. It is also significant for the employers as work stress can deteriorate the productivity and the efficiency of the employees. Eventually, it will have negative impact on the performance of organisation. The present study contributes to the knowledge regarding strategies that can enhance the work-life balance of the employees. It also determines the relation between facilities management and the career development of the employees. It can be used by the managers and policy makers to establish positive organisation culture and enhance the work-life balance of the employees. The research explores the strategies that can be used by the employers to increase the work-life balance of their employees.
References:
Anderson, V. 2004. Research Methods in Human Resource Management. CIPD Publishing.
Beauregard, T.A. and Henry, L.C., 2009. Making the link between work-life balance practices and organisational performance. Human resource management review, 19(1), pp.9-22.
Best, R., Valence, G.D. and Langston, C. 2007. Workplace Strategies and Facilities Management. London: Routledge.
Booty, F. 2009. Facilities Management Handbook. Routledge.
Chimote, N.K. and Srivastava, V.N., 2013. Work-life balance benefits: From the perspective of organisations and employees. IUP Journal of Management Research, 12(1), p.62.
Delina, G. and Raya, R.P. 2013. A study on Work-Life Balance in Working Women. International Journal of Commerce, Business and Management 2(5), pp. 274-282.
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Gill, J. and Johnson, P. 2010. Research Methods for Managers. SAGE.
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Jensen, P.A. and Voordt, T.V.D. 2016. Facilities Management and Corporate Real Estate Management as Value Drivers: How to Manage and Measure Adding Value. London: Routledge.
Jones, C. and Jowett, V. 2010. Managing Facilities. Taylor & Francis.
Kim, H.K. 2014. Work-Life Balance and Employees' Performance: The Mediating Role of Affective Commitment. Global Business and Management Research, 6(1), p.37.
Kuanda, J. 2012. Research Methodology: A Project Guide for University Students. Samfundslitteratur.
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Lyness, K.S. and Judiesch, M.K., 2014. Gender egalitarianism and work–life balance for managers: Multisource perspectives in 36 countries. Applied Psychology, 63(1), pp.96-129.
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Umamaheshwari, S. and Krishnan, J. 2016. Retention of Employees in Ceramic Sanitary ware Fatories in India: Role of Woork Life Balance, Career Development and Supervisor Support. TEM Journal 5(2), pp. 217-225.
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