Work–Life balance policies and organisational outcomes – a review of literature from the Indian context

Etiology, consequences, and solutions of working women's work-life conflict: a qualitative study

INTRODUCTION

Work-life conflict (WLC) is important in organizational behavior research and human resource management. The present research aimed to investigate the underlying causes, consequences, and solutions to WLC in Iranian working women.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The present qualitative study was conducted through a content analysis method among 19 working married women in Birjand, a city in the east of Iran, from December 2021 to February 2022. To collect the data, semi-structured interviews were held. The average interview time was 45 minutes, and all interviews were recorded upon the participants' consent. Finally, after coding, the information was analyzed with MAXQDA software.

FINDINGS

The causes of conflict included 4 main categories of individual, interpersonal, organizational, and cultural factors, with seven subcategories: the pressure of the mother's role at home, personality traits, lack of individual skills, insufficient support, work characteristics, organizational policies, and the traditional role of women in society. The consequences of conflict included 2 main categories, Decreasing quality of life and work problems with 4 subcategories: physical and mental illnesses, forgetting one's role towards others, limiting social communication, and reducing productivity. Conflict resolution methods included 3 main classes of individual-oriented, other-oriented, and organization-oriented with 8 subclasses: program-oriented, meaning-oriented, emotion-oriented, avoidance, emotional support, instrumental and work support, support work policies, and correct management views.

CONCLUSION

To solve the problem of conflict, different aspects should be considered and help to solve this challenge by influencing each dimension.

Married Asian Indians on H-1B and H-4 Visas in the US: an Exploration of Depression, Anxiety, Stress, Well-being, and Marital Satisfaction

Asian Indians comprise the largest group of skilled workers entering the United States on temporary work visas (H-1B). There are few studies that examine the constraints placed on H-1B visa holders and their families on H-4 dependent visas, and the associated stressors. In this exploratory study, we examined self-reported depression, anxiety, stress, well-being, and marital satisfaction among married Asian Indians on H-1B and H-4 visas in the United States. Participants reported moderate levels of stress and depression and mild levels of anxiety. Using multiple regression, well-being emerged as the only significant factor to explain marital satisfaction among both H-1B and H-4 visa holders. Implications for mental health, employment, and career counselors working with this group are discussed.

Multifaceted Work-to-Life Negative Spillover and Depressive Symptoms among Working Women: The Moderating Effect of Social Activities Satisfaction

This study aims to examine how work-to-life negative spillover is associated with depressive symptoms among working women and to explore moderating effect of social activities satisfaction on the relationship between work-to-life spillover and depression. This was a secondary data analysis from a sample of 2869 employed women from the 7th Korean Longitudinal Survey of Women and Families. The results showed that work-to-life negative spillover was positively associated with depressive symptoms. Additionally, there was a significant moderating effect of social activities satisfaction on the relationship between work-to-life negative spillover and depressive symptoms (β = 0.176, p < 0.05). It was found that the low social activity group showed fewer depressive symptoms induced by the negative work-to-life spillover than the high social activity group. Based on the results of our study, effective strategies and policies for work-family compatibility and interventions aimed at reducing the work induced stress and depressive symptoms are recommended.

Work-life integration, job contentment, employee engagement and its impact on organizational effectiveness: a systematic literature review

Purpose

This paper aims to study the interlink between work-life integration, job contentment and employee engagement. The notion of how far work-life balance (WLB) policies have a throwback on employee engagement has been presented with shreds of evidence of previous studies carried out in the timeline of 2005–2021 in India. The purpose is to bring forward comprehensive studies together, which are available on piecemeal form in the fragmentary form, to draw a firm conclusion about work-life integration policies and their parallelism with job engagement and organizational effectiveness. Furthermore, this study intends to develop a theoretical framework using Dubin’s methodology on organizational effectiveness in relation to work-life integration, job contentment and employee engagement.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is based on systematic literature review of papers reviewed from across databases of Scopus, Emerald, EBSCO and Google Scholar. The keywords used for the search were WLB, work-life integration, job satisfaction, job contentment and organizational effectiveness and also a combination of these words was used to pull down the relevant papers. A systematic literature review was undertaken on the topics of work-life integration, employee engagement and organizational effectiveness. These articles were then read and scanned with the overview on abstract and further these articles were selected on the basis of relevance to the current study. Those articles which showed interconnectedness between the identified variables of organizational effectiveness in relation to work-life integration, job contentment and employee engagement as antecedents were reviewed and a theoretical framework model is put forth using first part of Dubin’s methodology (1978) for theory building. The posited Model named A4 on organizational effectiveness using deductive approach is built on constructs, interaction, logic and propositions (Whetten, 1989).The theory will be functional in nature. With the given wealth of evidence, the injecting effect of work-life integration on employee engagement and pouring impact on organizational effectiveness becomes more transparent and clear. The authors have proposed a model for better organizational effectiveness through work-life integration policies.

Findings

One of the essential ingredients for better employee engagement is work-life integration policies, and organizational effectiveness becomes the by-product of the same. Innovative and friendly WLB policies assist employees to be more productive, dedicated and committed, resulting in better employee engagement which in the long run benefits the company in terms of effectiveness. WLB policies help to flatter down the burgeoning impact of complex work life on employee productivity and engagement. This paper concludes on the healing effects of WLB policies on employee engagement and organizational effectiveness and also proposes a model at the end. The posited model presents the antecedents for achieving organizational effectiveness.

Research limitations/implications

Because the study is conceptual in nature with the proposed model, more empirical-based studies by experts with relevant stakeholders will add more rationalization to the current study.

Originality/value

Organizational effectiveness is the key to survival in today’s complex and competitive world. The authors investigated how organizational effectiveness can be achieved with WLB policies, which can have a linear impact on employee engagement, and ultimately organizations can bear the flowerings of positive output. This linkage and coupling between WLB policies, job contentment, employee engagement and organizational effectiveness deserve attention which the authors have attempted to explore. The outcome and results of the study will contribute to the existing literature in a more meaningful manner and will assist human resource development and policymakers to achieve organizational goals with driving employees. Managers will gain insight into the identified theoretical framework model for its implementation in organization. Future researchers with empirical studies can test the proposed theory to determine its success at organizational level.

Relationship between Work-Life Balance and Job Performance Moderated by Knowledge Risks: Are Bank Employees Ready?

Despite the focus on knowledge risks in the literature, a limited number of studies have empirically examined technological knowledge risks in terms of digitalization, old technologies, and cybercrime as moderating variables in the relationship between work-life balance and job performance. To address this gap, this paper investigated the moderation effects of technological knowledge risks on the relationship between work-life balance and job performance during the pandemic period in employees of cooperative credit banks. A quantitative approach that involved gathering surveys was adopted. Applying PLS-SEM, the empirical findings revealed that technological knowledge risks have a significant impact on the relationship between work-life balance and job performance. Additionally, this research encourages managers to create and maintain a healthy work environment that promotes valuable employees’ job performance while also evaluating the use of new technological advances and their related risks.

Relationships between employee retention factors and attitudinal antecedents of voluntary turnover: An extended structural equation modelling approach

Orientation: Gaining a full understanding of employee retention (ER) management requires studying multiple retention factors in tandem. Many empirical studies that use conventional structural equation modelling (SEM) include only a single retention factor or a subset of factors, making it impossible to assess the relative embeddedness of these factors in ER practices.Research purpose: The purpose was to gain a better understanding of the relationships between multiple ER factors and attitudinal antecedents of voluntary turnover.Motivation for the study: This research aimed to address the need for more comprehensive latent multivariate approaches to studying ER by using extended SEM techniques.Research approach/design and method: The researchers used a cross-sectional survey design and obtained a convenience sample of 272 skilled employees from public and private organisations. The first stage of the study entailed using the exploratory structural equation model (ESEM) within the confirmatory factor analysis to test a model measuring ER factors. The second stage involved using plausible values for latent variables in an SEM analysis of the relationship between attitudinal antecedents of voluntary turnover (i.e. affective commitment, job satisfaction and turnover intention) and ER factors.Main findings: The findings indicated that affective commitment and job satisfaction differentially mediated the relationship between ER factors and turnover intention, partially supporting existing research and providing new insights into ER.Practical/managerial implications: This study suggested that in order for management to effectively manage ER, they must understand the relative embeddedness of a range of ER factors and prioritise motivational and empowerment-enhancing bundles of practice (e.g. compensation, job characteristics, work–life balance and career opportunities) to impact on attitudinal antecedents of voluntary turnover.Contribution/value-add: This study indicated that the use of extended SEM modelling techniques could provide valuable insights into the multivariate relationships between ER factors and attitudinal antecedents of voluntary turnover.