TITLE OF THE PAPER: WORK LIFE BALANCE-HR PERSPECTIVE

Abstract:
Work-life balance can be defined as the perfect integration between work and life both
not interfering with each other. In the current business world, people and organisations are
working round the clock to meet the ever-growing demands. A slight delay in meeting the
schedules or expectations is considered to be an organisational failure. To avoid delays and
failures, employees are working hard and giving their heart and soul to achieve work-life
balance which is creating an enormous pressure on them and hence they are forced to finish
their jobs irrespective of time limit. The most-often used phrase among the employees is I
dont have time or I have a hectic schedule. A day of 24 hours is no longer enough to
perform work-related and personal-related duties or responsibilities. The problem seems
simple but difficult to solve and handle. Employees who have to play another role of
daughter/son/spouse/parents are not able to manage their roles. Observing the day-to-day
lives of many employees, two main issues to be addressed to achieve work-life balance are
time and stress. Managing these two variables is the secret of a perfect work-life balance. The
HR department of the organisation should assist the employee to maintain a work-life
balance. The HR manager must carefully identify the issue and find a solution with the cooperation of the employer. Organisation must include providing work-life balance as an HR
policy. This paper mainly focuses on the outcomes of imperfect work-life balance faced in the
day-to-day life and the role of HR in achieving work-life balance.

WORK LIFE BALANCE: THE HR PERSPECTIVE

Introduction
The changing economic conditions and social demands have changed the nature of
work throughout the world. Originally, work was a matter of necessity and survival.
Throughout the years, the role of "work" has evolved and the composition of the workforce
has changed. Today, work is widely viewed as a source of personal satisfaction. A good
balance in work and life can play a phenomenal role in the attainment of personal and
professional goals. The objective of this paper is to understand the various issues that have
come to the forefront due to the dynamic nature of work.
Definition
Work life balance is about people having measure of control over when, where and
how they work. There is a view that work-life balance only in the framework of what the
company does for the individual.
However, work-life balance is a two-pronged approach. The other prong of worklife balance, which many individuals overlook, relates to what individuals do for
themselves. The core of work life balance could also be summed as achievement with
enjoyment. If an individual goes on working his or her best at work place but not really
enjoying the same then happiness and satisfaction can never be achieved. Achievement can
be viewed as motive of life while enjoyment is the fuel that drives that motive.
While we strike a work life balance, we are not merely balancing our profession and
family, we are also balancing our mental and status quo and thereby balancing our
emotional intelligence, which is the worldly ability to manage us and to handle others.
Organizations can help facilitate work-life balance for their employees through work-life
programs and training.

Achievement and enjoyment at work is a critical part of work-life balance.

Furthermore, achievement and enjoyment in the other three quadrants of one's life (e.g.
family, friends and self) is critical as well. Work cultures have often demanded a
transformation from inflexibility to flexibility. The underlying principle perhaps is the
increasing realization that certain issues pertaining to the imbalance in working life and
personal life of an individual are being overlooked.
There is a life at work and at home and also a life having space for leisure. With
globalization becoming the norm of the day, these issues seem to have taken a back seat for
quite a while. Work life 'imbalance' has over a period of time attracted concern because of
increasing problems related to employee health, monotony at work place, declining levels
of productivity and efficiency at the employee level. The imbalance also has a negative
impact in the personal life of working people-some of which have even become social
hazards- increasing number of divorces, infertility due high stress levels, advent of nuclear
families etc.
Professionals today seem to be more interested in jobs that give them increased
flexibility at work. Working people have different needs at different stages of their working
life. As a result, people strive for balance in their working hours and their personal
commitments. Work life balance has now become a sensitive issue because it offers obvious
benefits to organizations and its employees.
Successfully addressing this issue can lead to a healthy synergy in the working
environment of an organization and its employees. Organizations can look forward to a
phenomenal increase in efficiency and as an ideal place to work in - a place that endows
greater volition (flexi-timings etc.) and freedom; and a place that is fun to work in.
Employees with a working environment that is conducive.

Employee retention may also be seen as an important driver to this. Organizations

now focus on grooming their employees who are now not considered merely a work force
but regarded as the 'Human Capital' of the organization. Employees with a working
environment that is conducive. Employee retention may also be seen as an important driver
to this. Organizations now focus on grooming their employees who are now not considered
merely a work force but regarded as the 'Human Capital' of the organization.
Need and Benefits of Work Life Balance
To understand the need of work life balance, one first needs to understand about
work life imbalance, as with the understanding of the origin, causes and effects of this
imbalance, the balancing act becomes easier. The corporate world of today is exceedingly
demanding. The work culture varies from organization to organization.
Today the deadlines are getting tighter and an individual's job is not only to match
that deadline but also to give quality output. Due to this work pressure it becomes
exceedingly difficult to maintain a family life. It becomes very difficult to have the
engagement of mind with the engagement of body. In every individual's life there are four
stakeholders- own personality, job, family and society.
It is very important to give equal importance to all the stakeholders. A person who is
a workaholic and does not enjoy his family life cannot be termed a successful person. When
a life encounters such imbalance then the peace and harmony of life vanishes and there is
an adverse effect of it on the work life too. To avoid such situation one should always try to
avoid this imbalance in life. The transition from work life imbalance to work life balance
has obvious benefits to an organization andits employee.

At the organizational level, balanced nature of work enables increase in productivity

and efficiency of employees. Employees become more creative and they derive more
satisfaction from work. Better teamwork and communication offer a conducive working
environment. This leads to enjoyment at work and increased passion for it. Stress levels are
well in commitment levels from the employee increase thereby helping a commitment
levels from the employee increase thereby helping an organization to inherently develop a
strong value system.
Work life balance on an individual level can bring phenomenal changes in his life
and can also heavily impact a society. A balanced work life is of advantage to an employee's
health. Stress levels decline drastically to healthy levels. Individuals derive more value
from their work and from life that leads to greater satisfaction and is also seen as a mode of
self-actualization.
The employee can better understand the nature of his work life balance as work life
balance can vary among individuals. It is at this point of time that an employee starts
resting immense trust in the organization and his commitment levels to the organization
increase. On the social front, the individual gains when relationships improve. The
individual can now willingly devote more time and energy to his social commitments,
which is also vital for a happy life. Work life balance at the individual level enjoys its
success in addressing to societal issues. It helps in healing a society off its problems such as
increasing infertility among working people, increasing number of divorces and its adverse
affect on children.

Efforts made by Organizations & Individuals

Organizations today have realized the importance of the employee-work-life
balance and its importance in the efficiency of the employees. Organizations work-life
balance, so that neither the work nor the employee's personal life work-life balances, so that
neither the work nor the employee's personal life is affected.
The ideas like employees working from virtual offices in their homes are well
established now and have been accepted with organizations world over. Not only the
employee can have total flexibility in their work, they are always close to their family.
In offices also, efforts are being made to provide friendly work atmosphere for the
employees by providing all sorts of refreshments available for the employee. The
employees are given the freedom to have their own ways of doing the work. They are given
the assignments with deadlines and they can have their own schedule as far as they are
meeting the deadlines. Some organizations have gone to the extent of providing family
atmosphere for the employees by involving the families of the employees.
The idea is to make the family realize that they are also a part of the organization.
Besides, these organizations are introducing special leaves for attending to sick parents, to
attend to children, etc.
Maternity leaves and various holiday packages are being designed for the
employees, and also various insurance schemes are there for the employees and their
families. Organizations are trying to take care of all the overloads of the employees, so that
the employees can better concentrate on the work, so that the employee can enjoy the work
and can have a proper work life balance. The thought process of the employees has also
evolved and now they have become more decisive when it comes to job.

The company role in work/life balance

Work life and personal life are the two sides of the same coin. According to various
work /life balance surveys, more than 60% of the respondent professionals surveyed said
that are not able to find a balance between their personal and professional lives. They have
to make tough choices even when their work and personal life is nowhere close to
equilibrium. Traditionally creating and managing a balance between the work-life was
considered to be a woman's issue. But increasing work pressures, globalization and
technological advancement have made it an issue with both the sexes, all professionals
working across all levels and all industries throughout the world. Achieving "work-life
balance" is not as simple as it sounds.
Work life and personal life are inter-connected and interdependent. Spending more
time in office, dealing with clients and the pressures of job can interfere and affect the
personal life, sometimes making it impossible to even complete the household chores. On the
other hand, personal life can also be demanding if you have a kid or aging parents, financial
problems or even problems in the life of a dear relative. It can lead to absenteeism from work,
creating stress and lack of concentration at work.

Work-personal life conflict occurs when the burden, obligations and responsibilities of
work and family roles become incompatible. Obligation of one can force an individual to
neglect the other.
Many experts have given different solutions to this problem.

TIME MANAGEMENT is one of the best solutions which can help to reduce the
imbalance between the personal and the work life of the employees. Prioritizing the
tasks and planning the activities can help to take out some free time which can be
utilized for other purposes.

Taking some time out for hobbies and leisure activities, spending time with loved
ones can help to beat the stress.

Learn to say "no" if required.

Sharing the responsibilities will help and don't commit for something which is
practically impossible.

Utilizing the flexible working hours option of the organisations to get some free time.

According to a recent survey, more than 70% of CEOs thought that they could not
remain competitive if they didn't help employees balance their work life and home life.
Employees have realized that they're expendable, and consequently they're much less
committed to their employers and more likely to leave for greener pastures. Since employers
don't guarantee lifelong employment, employees want more flexibility in their jobs, and
they're no longer as willing to give up personal time for the company.
To remain competitive, and to retain their most talented employees, companies must
provide more than a good salary and a medical plan. Companies have started implementing
flexible work options like:

Childcare
Wellness programs
Financial planning
Concierge services

These work/life benefits encourage employees to be more productive and committed to the
company, and they make our company more competitive when recruiting new candidates.

Types of work/life programs

When people think of company work/life benefits, they often think of childcare. But
most work/life programs entail much more. A Towers Perrin survey identified more than 100
varieties of work/life programs that fall into the following categories:
Time - Including flexible work arrangements such as flex time, telecommuting, job sharing,
and part-time work.
Leave - Paid and unpaid leaves for childbirth, for the care of young or sick children, or for
other personal or family matters.
Benefits - Cafeteria-style plans, non taxed flexible spending accounts, or insurance to pay for
the long-term care of oneself, elderly parents, or a spouse.
Dependent care - Resource and referral services to help employees find childcare or elder
care, childcare programs that are on-site or nearby, and employee discounts or vouchers to
help pay for the cost of care.
Counselling and wellness - Employee seminars about balancing work and family life, peer
support groups, and training for supervisors to be more attuned to employee family problems
caused by overwork.
Personal convenience - Concierge services, lactation rooms, nap rooms, and food shopping
and dinner preparation services.
Employers help their employees manage workloads

The most important variable in work/life balance is the nature of the job itself. Jobs
with autonomy, flexibility, meaning, manager support, and a chance for advancement often
result in enhanced job satisfaction, commitment, and retention.

But even the best and most supportive workplace cannot prevent the negative effects
of too much work. Managers should keep the following tips in mind:
Keep workloads realistic Schedule time accurately, manage resources wisely,
prioritize tasks, and say "No" to projects that would overload the team. Review work
processes and load distribution regularly to see if you can help lighten the burden.
Remove interruptions Setting aside specific interruption-free periods during the
work week can result in increased productivity and a less stressful work environment.
Interruptions prolong the workday and are symptomatic of a crisis-centred, reactive
approach to work.
Outcomes of imperfect Work life balance
Stress
Employees must be ever performing and ever learning to adapt themselves to the
dynamic market conditions. Adding to this is constant pressure from their superiors to meet
the targets that keep the employees on their toes. Thus, employees have no other choice but to
sacrifice most of their personal space. The entire process is creating stress on the employees
which is the root cause for many other problems.
Physical Problem
The number of employees suffering from many ailments including hypertension,
diabetes, heart attacks has grown considerably in the recent past. Women employees are the

worst affected because of the long and stressful working hours and are facing severe gynec
problems like cancer, abortions, etc.

Relational Problems
As mentioned earlier, employees are spending more time at the workplace rather than
at home. Spouses, parents, children and family are no longer given the time they deserve.
Hangover
Working for long hours in the office, increases employee interaction. Like Alice in
Wonderland employees tend to stay in their professional world (mentally) though they are
physically at home. Not only this, the effect of professional anger is also carried on to their
personal life. For example, if there is a conflict in the organisation, the irritated behaviour of
the individual may reflect in the family thereby igniting many negative effects in the family.
Unethical Practices
To handle the stress in the organization and the family-related issues as well,
employees tend to adopt unethical practices like boozing, smoking, drugs, improper relations,
etc. Also, there is a high probability that employees may resort to unfair means to get their
work done ultimately by hook or crook.
Disturbed Families
The worst hit people in the entire scenario are the families of the employees. Fighting
with time to achieve the organizational targets, family is often overlooked. The number of
broken families has gone up drastically. If the reasons are carefully observed, they are simple
but affect the psychological being of the individual.

 Decreased Performance
Employees in the organisation are never at peace. When they are at workplace, the
personal issues are a concern and when they are at home, the professional issues are a
concern. They try to balance both but in vain if there is no organizational support.
Unknowingly, the employees get into a frustrated mode 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 of this 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.
The role of HR in achieving work-life balance
HR Managers therefore, need to take a strategic approach to the whole issue of work/life
balance. They need to understand and quantify how work/life issues impact the bottom line
measures of the business. They need to talk about work/life issues not as a soft option but as
an essential business tool that will deliver:

A reduction in absenteeism

An increased ability to attract and retain talented employees

Increased employee engagement, motivation and use of discretionary effort

Enhanced levels of customer service.

Some of the decisions which HR can help in are:

Planning the Work

Organizations must follow the basic functions of management- planning, organizing,

staffing, directing, leading, and controlling. So it all starts with planning. The HR department
should use modern techniques to estimate the manpower required for the amount of work to
be done by each employee and very importantly it must set realistic and feasible targets for
each employee. Managers must help their respective subordinates to plan their work properly.

Job Analysis Specifications/Descriptions

Job analysis is the process of describing and recording aspects of jobs and specifying
the skills and other requirements necessary to perform it. Job analysis is very often restricted
only to theory but not application. Having a job analysis for all the jobs creates transparency
between the management and employee regarding their contribution towards the
organization. A defined job analysis is an effective instrument for both the employee and the
organization.
Providing a Flexi Approach Towards Work
Organizations which have a rigid work schedule often have average performing
employees. This has been proved by the Hawthornes experiments. Many organisations these
days are providing the employees with a flexible approach to work. Some of these facilities
are work from home, shift systems, target bound not time bound, etc. These approaches can
help an individual to plan their professional and personal responsibilities.
Being Empathetic Towards the Employees
Being empathetic is one of the prerequisites for any manager. If the organisation can
provide an environment where the employees can voice their views without any fear and still
be understood then they can do justice to both professional and personal lives. A healthy
superior-subordinate relation will always boost up the performance of both.

 Providing Space for Personal Lives of the Employees

Any employee has two facets of life, the personal and professional. He/she must be
respected as a unique individual and their personal responsibilities must be acknowledged.
HR department must develop innovative policies which will facilitate the employees to fulfil
their personal responsibilities not disturbing their professional life.

Family Get-togethers at the Workplace

This is an innovative technique followed by many organizations acknowledging the
role of family in the employees performance. This will strengthen the familys understanding
of the employees professional life thereby intensifying the family support to balance work
and life. In a situation, where the employee has to sacrifice the personal responsibilities, the
family takes a step ahead in empathizing with the employee.
Conduct Frequent Training Programs
Many a time, employees know the solution to a problem but fail to implement it. A
trigger for such situations is a training program. Organisations should include the problem of
work-life balance in the training agenda. This is an area where frequent training at least
follow-up is required to monitor the employment process as the work conditions are rapidly
changing.
Effective Communication System
Communication is an integral part of any organization which ensures smooth
transition of information. If the common system in the organization provides an effective
platform for employees at all levels to communicate, there would be transparency in the
organizational activities that will definitely help in taking out the stress of an employee to a
substantial level.

 Organizational Culture
Culture in a nutshell can be defined as a way of life. The vision, mission and the
organizational objectives must encompass the issue of work-life balance. The employees
must not be under stress because of infeasible and realistic goals. This culture must be
reflected in the work schedules of the employees at all levels as well in their work attitude.

Workers Participation in Management

WPM is a method of strengthening the bond between employers and employees. The
employees must be encouraged to participate in the management to disclose their concerns
and a mutual dialog can be set up between both. The participatory culture reinforces the
responsibilities of both the parties in achieving work-life balance.
Conclusion
Thus, work-life balance can bring a huge transformation at the organizational and
individual levels. It helps an organization to inherently build a strong value system, which
is attributed to the work life balance enjoyed at the employee level. Consequently, the
organization does not have to impose a formulated framework of organizational values
because they now become intrinsic to it.
Juggling between the obligations towards the families and expectations of the
organisation and constant struggle to maintain a balance can work can have serious
implications on the life of an individual. Therefore, it is important for employees to
maintain a healthy balance between work and their private lives. This will help them
achieve their personal and professional goals as well the organisation they are working for.
Work-life balance is an issue of great importance that has to be addressed by the
organisations at the earliest. After all employees are the greatest asset and the organisation

performance is affected by employee performance. The HR department of the organisation

and the employees together must work out strategies to help attain work-life balance which
makes the organisation the happiest place to work in.