RESEACH PROJECT REPORT

ON

A STUDY ON WORK LIFE BALANCE OF

THE EMPLOYEES
AT
BOSCH Ltd
Submitted in the Partial Fulfillment of requirement
For the award of degree
of
MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (MBA)
SESSION (2018-2020)

SUBMITTED BY:
Name: Shrestha Tiwari
Class: MBA II Year
University Roll No.: 1803770034

Institute of Management Education (IME), Sahibabad

(Affiliated to Dr.A.P.J Abdul Kalam Technical University, Lucknow)
 DECLARATION

I SHRESTHA TIWARI, student of MBA – 4th semester of INSTITUTE OF

MANAGEMENT EDUCATION (IME), SAHIBABAD, hereby declare that this
research project report on, A STUDY ON WORK LIFE BALANCE OF THE
EMPLOYEES carried out at Bosch Ltd., is submitted to DR. A.P.J. ABDUL
KALAM TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY (UPTU), LUCKNOW in partial
fulfillment of the Degree of the Master of Business Administration (MBA) is the
original work conducted by me.
The information and data given in the report is authentic to the best of my
knowledge.

This research project report is not being submitted to any other University for
award of any other Degree, Diploma and Fellowship.

Date: 25/05/2020

Name and Signature of Guide Name of Student

Manvi Panchal Shrestha Tiwari
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The objective of research is to provide us with an opportunity to experience the

practical aspects of management in an organization. This paper and the research
behind it would not have been possible without the exceptional support of my
mentor, Manvi Panchal. Her enthusiasm, knowledge and exacting attention to
detail have been an inspiration and kept my work on track from my first encounter
to the final draft of this paper.

SHRESTHA TIWARI
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

S. No. Particulars Page No.

Chapter 1
1. 1-24
Introduction

Chapter 2
2. 25-26
Objectives of the study

Chapter 3
3. 27-28
Scope of the study

Chapter 4
4. 29-31
Literature Review

Chapter 5
5. 32-33
Importance of the study

Chapter 6
6. 34-45
Research and Methodology

Chapter 7
7. 46-65
Data Analysis and Interpretation

Chapter 8
8. 66-67
Findings

Chapter 9
9. 68-69
Suggestions

Chapter 10
10. 70-71
Conclusions
Chapter 11
11. 72-73
References

Chapter 12
12. 74-78
Appendix
Chapter 1

1
INTRODUCTION
There is a developing readiness in today's workplaces that employees don't
surrender their lives only on the grounds that they work. Work and life remain
the two most paramount areas in the life of a utilized single person. Nonetheless,
the test of adjusting work and non-work requests is one of today's focal
attentiveness toward both people and organizations. With the developing
differences of family structures spoke to in today's workforce, especially with the
developing standard of double profession families, the imperativeness of dealing
with an employee's work-life balance have expanded notably in the course of
recent years. Managements understand that the nature of an employee's close to
home and family life effects work quality and that there are solid business
motivations to advertise work and non-work coordination. In this project, we
battle that helping employees to accomplish a work-life balance ought to turn
into a basic piece of HR policy and procedure in the event that it is to genuinely
get the best from the organization's kin without abandoning them unsatisfied,
worn out and unfulfilled.
Organizations face many challenges in implementing the policies on Work life
balance as employees today are not just look out for a job but they also want the
organization to take of their wellbeing. Therefore organizations are adopting for
new policies where employees can give time to enjoy and spend time with their
family. The present research paper aims to study the work life balance of
managerial level employees of Bosch Pvt Ltd Company in Bangalore.
What is work life balance?

Work-life balance is the term used to describe those practices at workplace that
acknowledge and aim to support the needs of employees in achieving a balance
between the demands of their family (life) and work lives. The Work
Foundation, earlier known as “The Industrial Society”, believes that ‘work-life
balance is about people having a measure of control over when, where and how
they work. It is achieved when an individual’s right to a fulfilled life inside and
outside paid work is accepted and respected as the norm, to the mutual benefit of
the individual, business and society. Work-life balance is not merely work-
family balance. More specifically, it refers to the management of one’s
professional responsibilities and family responsibilities, towards children, aging
parents, any disabled family member, or a partner/spouse effectively. One can
have work-family balance, but may not have anything left for oneself, for one’s
community, for one’s own personal growth and development, rest and relaxation.
So, it is possible to have work family balance and still need to achieve work-life
balance. The concept of work-family (life) balance has emerged from the
acknowledgement that an individual’s work-life and personal/family life which
may exert conflicting demands on each other. Work-life balance is about
adjusting work patterns to achieve overall fulfillment. A good work-life balance
enables business to thrive and at the same time facilitates the employees to easily
combine work with other aspiration and responsibilities. Work-life balance
should not be understood as scheduling equal number of hours for each of one’s
work and personal activities. A positive work-life balance involves achievement
and enjoyment. A good working definition of work-life balance may be
meaningful if daily achievement and enjoyment in each of the four quadrants of
life-work, family, friends, and self are attained. The best work-life balance varies
for an individual during the life span. At different stages of career and age,
different factors demand importance at once. There is no one work-life that fits
all because all of us have different priorities and different styles of life. However,
it is not just the balance that an individual desires, but the fulfillment in the roles
enacted in life.
Work life balance is a method which helps employees of an organization to
balance their personal and professional lives. Work life balance encourages
employees to divide their time on the basis on priorities and maintain a balance
by devoting time to family, health and vacations along with making a career,
business travel etc. It is an important concept in the world of business as it helps
to motivate the employees and increases their loyalty towards the company.
Work-life balance refers to the level of prioritization between personal and
professional activities in an individual’s life and the level to which activities
related to their job are present in the home.
The ideal work-life balance is open to discussion. Work-life balance is a topical
issue due to the increased amount of technology that removes the importance of
physical location in defining the work-life balance. Previously it was difficult or
impossible to take work home and so there was a clear line between professional
and personal.
Stress is a common feature of a poor work-life balance. In the information
economy mental stress has been identified as a significant economic and health
problem, causing by a perceived need of employees to do more in less time.
A key issue in the work-life balance debate is where responsibility lies for
ensuring employees have a good work-life balance. The general feeling is that
employers have a responsibility to the health of their employees; apart from the
moral responsibility, stressed-out employees are less productive and more likely
to make errors.
Work-life balance is a self-defined, self-determined state of wellbeing that a
person can reach or can set as a goal that allows him/her to manage effectively
multiple responsibilities at work, at home, and in their community. It supports
physical, emotional family and community health, and does so without grief,
stress or negative impact. It is about “living a fulfilled life inside and outside
paid work, and having control over a person’s time so one can achieve that”.
 Need for Work life balance

When employees feel a greater sense of control and ownership over their own
lives, they tend to have better relationships with management and are able to
leave work issues at work and home issues at home. Balanced employees tend to
feel more motivated and less stressed out at work, which thereby increases
company productivity and reduces the number of conflicts among coworkers and
management.
Companies who gain a reputation for encouraging work-life balance have
become very attractive to workers and will draw a valuable pool of candidates
for new job openings. These companies also tend to enjoy higher employee
retention rates, which results in less time-consuming training, more loyalty, and a
higher degree of in-house expertise.
Studies have shown that employees who have a positive work-life balance do a
better job at work, so promoting this balance is beneficial to individuals and the
company. This is a practical guide for employers who want to promote a healthy
work-life balance for their teams.
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 and 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 gynecological 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.
 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.
Steps to a Work-Life Balance
Achieving a healthy work-life balance requires managing our professional and
personal life in sustainable ways that keep our energy flowing, our minds and
bodies healthy and our whole selves happy and content.
It means giving due attention to all of the things that enrich and fulfill us
including work and career, health and fitness, family and relationships,
spirituality, community service, hobbies and passions, intellectual stimulation,
rest and recreation. To get there:
1. Track Your Time
Analyzing your present situation is the beginning step in achieving a
balanced life. Keep a time log of everything you do for one week,
including work-related and personal activities. This data will serve as
an eye-opener, helping you understand how you are using -- and where
you are losing -- your time.
2. Determine Your Priorities
Spend some time seriously reflecting on what is most important to you,
and make a list of your top priorities at work and at home. Then
analyze your time audit by asking yourself these key questions: What
do I need to start doing? Stop doing? Continue doing? Do more of? Do
less of? Do differently?

3. Set Specific Goals

Take your list of priorities and turn them into concrete and measurable
goals. Block time into your schedule for activities just like you would
for an important meeting or a doctor's appointment.

4. Establish Boundaries
Set fair and realistic limits on what you will and will not do both at
work and at home.
Clearly communicate these boundaries to your supervisor, coworkers,
partner and family. For instance, you might commit to not working late
on certain days unless there is a crisis. Additionally, set aside a time at
home during which you will not check or respond to work-related
emails or voice mails.
5. Take Care of Your Health
Your health should always be your No. 1 priority. If you are not in
good shape physically, mentally, and emotionally, both your work life
and your personal life will suffer. Take care of yourself by eating
healthy meals (especially breakfast), exercise at least three times per
week and sleep a minimum of seven hours per night. While you may
not think you have time to add exercise and extra sleep to your jam-
packed schedule, these practices relieve stress, raise your energy level,
increase your stamina, improve your mental clarity, boost your
immune system, and make you a happier, more engaged, and more
productive person. Additionally, refrain from the excessive use of
alcohol, tobacco, or drugs to relieve stress. These substances only tend
to keep the body in a stressed state and cause even more problems.

6. Nurture Your Family/Relationships

Relationships with family, friends, and loved ones are, by far, the
greatest source of inner satisfaction. If your job or career is damaging
your personal relationships, both areas will ultimately suffer. Sure
there will be days when you will need to work overtime. The issue
becomes problematic when these days become the rule, not the
exception. By making your personal relationships a priority, your
productivity and effectiveness on the job will actually increase.

7. Make Time for You

As much as work, health, and relationships take priority in your life, it
is also important to schedule time for your own renewal. Indulge in
some small pleasure daily. Take at least 30 minutes of uninterrupted
"you time." It will do wonders for your well-being, and your
relationships and your career will benefit too. Connect with your
spiritual source. Belief in God, or a higher power, can be a deep well
from which to draw inspiration, guidance, and strength. Setting aside a
weekly day of rest can be helpful, as well.
8. Leave Work at Work
Develop a mental on-off switch between work and home. It helps to
establish a transitional activity between the two realms. This might
consist of listening to music or recorded books during your evening
commute, exercising at the fitness center, running errands, or keeping
personal appointments. Scheduling such activities immediately
following your normal work hours also prevents you from spending
that extra twenty minutes at the office which then turns into several
hours.

9. Exercise Your Options

Many forward-thinking companies today are creating policies and
programs that facilitate work-life balance. Find out what options your
business offers in terms of flex hours, telecommuting, a compressed
work week, job-sharing, or part-time employment. You may find an
arrangement that allows you to work more productively, while at the
same time cutting stress and freeing-up valuable personal/family time.
If your company does not yet have a flexible scheduling program,
consider proposing one.

10. Work Smarter Not Harder

Using time more efficiently is an important skill that everyone from
the receptionist to the CEO can learn. Adopting the right combination
of time-management practices can cut stress and save you up to an
hour a day. This can include the use of technology to become more
organized, grouping emails and voice messages, avoiding
procrastination and learning to say "no."

11. Know When to Ask for Help

If you are overwhelmed at work, and it is causing undue stress don't
suffer in silence. Shed the Superwoman/Superman image and explain
your situation to your boss or supervisor. Untenable work situations
can usually be alleviated, but it will take some assertiveness on your
part. Similarly, if a balanced life continues to elude you, or you are
experiencing chronic stress, talk with a professional -- a counselor,
 mental health worker, or clergyperson. Take advantage of the services
offered by your employee assistance program.
Try as we all may, work-life balance isn't an exact science. Each person must
find his or her own way of combining career, relationships, and personal care
into an integrated whole. What is right for you now will likely change as new
circumstances arise, so periodically review your situation and adjust
accordingly.
Don't get overwhelmed by assuming that you need to make big changes all at
once. Even if you implement only a few of the above strategies, they will have
a positive and measurable impact in your life. Start with one clear goal -- then
add another, and another.
The process of achieving a healthy work-life balance is like becoming a
professional athlete or training for a triathlon. It takes a concerted effort to get
in shape and a continued effort to stay that way. But those who commit
themselves to this quest reap enormous health and quality-of-life benefits.
It is possible to have a successful professional career and a fulfilling personal
life. Take control of your work. Be proactive with your time. Get a (balanced)
life.

Importance of work life balance

Working on a job for a company and making a career can be an extremely time
consuming duty for any employee. Employees are busy at their offices
throughout the day and sometimes even on weekends. This gives them very little
time to interact with their family. Because of high pressure of work, often family
members get neglected. Also, stressful jobs cause the health of employees to
deteriorate. This is where work life balance came into the picture. Work life
balance concept allows an employee to maintain a fine balance in the time he or
she gives to work as well as to personal matters. By having a good balance,
people can have a quality of work life. This helps to increase productivity at
workplace as the employee is relaxed about his personal commitments. It also
allows the employee to give quality time with family to spend vacations, leisure
time, work on his/her health etc. Hence work life balance is extremely important
for employees and increases their motivation to work for the company.
Benefits to the organization from Work-Life Balance culture

By understanding the importance of maintaining a healthy work-life balance,

anyone will get motivated to take the necessary steps for achieving this
balance. Work-Life balance is advantageous for the employees and
organization as well. A balance between the work and personal life helps in
improving the employee productivity, morale and health condition. In fact,
work-life balance should be a priority for all of us. An imbalance in any of the
front will make the life difficult and pose several hazards or challenges in
terms of health, happiness and emotional stability.

 Saving of Employee time

By facilitating a supportive and a conduct work culture, organizations
can achieve higher productivity from the employees and help the
employees in planning and utilizing their time more efficiently by
setting clear priorities.
 Retention of Employees
Work life balance initiatives may not only increase the percentage ratio
of employee retention but equally contributes to a saving in the extra
cost which an organization might have to incur due to an employee exit
or turnover.
 Improve employee motivation & morale as well as their
commitment towards the work
Studies reveal that motivated employees are more productive and
provide best support in the organization’s professional journey.
 Reduction in the Absenteeism rate
Studies show that work life balance programs if effectively
implemented by an organization, can reduce the absenteeism rate by
almost 50%.
 Helps in Gaining a Competitive edge or an advantage
Organization’s work life balance policies and practices in the form of
flexi work options, shift work and a lot more will make the
organization more competitive and addressing the changing demands
of the customers as well as help an organization achieve its strategic
mission or goals.
  Strengthen the Reputation of the organization
Work life balance programmers if effectively planned and
implemented, can strengthen the reputation and the image of an
organization by being recognized by the people as one of the best
places to work and help in attracting top talent.
 Build a Loyal Workforce
An organization’s employee-friendly policies or programmers which
support the overall well-being of the employees will definitely help in
building a loyal and committed workforce.
 Reduction in the Conflicts
Offering flexi-work options will help the employees in restructuring
their schedule to fit in their personal commitments or otherwise work
from home, which in turn will reduce the possibilities of any work-life
matters related conflict.
Work-life balance is very crucial for every employee and an imbalance in any
one front will result in a lot of challenges both for the employee as well as the
organization. By providing the required support and help in the form of
employee-centric policies and work life programmers, an organization will be
able to reap the benefits of improved employee productivity, reduction in the
turnover rate and achieve various cost savings.

Managers should encourage the employees to avail the benefits of company

policies and motivate them to utilize their official leaves. Some organizations
have successfully launched wellness programmers, which equally includes
workshops on dealing with stress and work life issues.
How Productivity can be increased?
Studies equally reveal that people who work by availing short breaks are
comparatively more productive, than those who work for long hours tirelessly
without any rest in between.
Productivity can be increased by following the below steps:
 Taking breaks periodically during the work hours
Meditation, relaxation or breathing techniques and stretching helps in
improving both mental and physical health.
 Spending time on Entertainment during breaks
Studies reveal that, by spending some time on entertainment such as
net surfing and leisure time activities during short breaks, the
productivity level is expected to increase by 9%.
 Taking off
Working exhaustively for long hours is not healthy or desirable as the
consequences may be fatal. One should not miss the chance of
planning and distributing their holidays for vacations, as studies also
reveal that people who spend a quality time in vacationing are
relatively more productive than the sloggers.
Components of Work life Balance

Everyone talks about work-life balance, but what does it mean? I maintain that
if you master these six elements, you're home free:

1. Self-Management
Sufficiently managing yourself can be challenging, particularly getting
proper sleep, exercise, and nutrition. Self-management is the
recognition that effectively using the spaces in our lives is vital, and
that available resources, time, and life are finite. It means becoming
captain of your own ship; no one is coming to steer for us.
2. Time Management
Effective time management involves making optimal use of your day
and the supporting resources that can be summoned – you keep pace
when your resources match your challenges. Time management is
enhanced through appropriate goals and discerning what is both
important and urgent, versus important or urgent. It entails knowing
what you do best and when, and assembling the appropriate tools to
accomplish specific tasks.
3. Stress Management
By nature, societies tend to become more complex over time. In the
face of increasing complexity, stress on the individual is inevitable.
More people, distractions, and noise require each of us to become
adept at maintaining tranquility and working ourselves out of pressure-
filled situations. Most forms of multi-tasking ultimately increase our
stress, versus focusing on one thing at a time.
4. Change Management
In our fast-paced world, change is one of the only constants.
Continually adopting new methods and re-adapting others is vital to a
successful career and a happy home life. Effective change management
involves making periodic and concerted efforts to ensure that the
volume and rate of change at work and at home does not overwhelm
you.
5. Technology Management
Effectively managing technology means ensuring that technology
serves you, rather than abuses you. Technology has always been with
us, since the first walking stick, flint, spear, and wheel. Now, the rate
of change is accelerating, brought on by vendors seeking expanding
market share. Often there is no choice but to keep up with the
technological Joneses. Nevertheless you must rule technology, not vice
versa.
6. Leisure Management
The most overlooked of the work-life balance supporting disciplines,
leisure management acknowledges the importance of rest and
relaxation- that one can’t short-change leisure, and that "time off" is a
vital component of the human experience. Curiously, too much of the
same leisure activity, however enjoyable, can lead to monotony. Thus,
effective leisure management requires varying one’s activities.
Work–life conflict
Work-life conflict can present itself in several ways:

 Life off the job may interfere with work responsibilities

 Work responsibilities may interfere with life off the job

 Conditions at work may positively or negatively “spill over” to personal

life

 Personal life may positively or negatively “spill over” to your work

life Work-life conflict also changes throughout the course of one’s career.

In early careers, people may experience difficulty paying back student loans,
finding suitable living arrangements and intimate relationships. These are real
issues for younger employees, and ones that have not received as much
recognition as other work-life issues.
In early to mid-career, relationship and parenting issues often are
paramount. In addition to these issues, early to mid-career employees often
face conflict trying to figure out how to have a “life off the job,” that is,
community participation, attention to wellness, hobbies and leisure pursuits,
and more and more, helping older parents.
In mid to late career, work-life conflict can manifest in issues relating to
aging parents and other family members, including the increasing difficulty
adult children are experiencing in launching their own independent
lives. Finding time for wellness activities and adjusting to age-related health
conditions also require attention. Mid to late career employees also need to
find new community and leisure activities as they contemplate
retirement. Retirement planning is also a work-life balance issue for
employees in this career stage.
Finally, increasingly even retired employees seek a new balance as they enter
new types of employment, sometimes called “second acts.” With labor
shortages emerging in some areas and an increasing need for older people to
stay active and engaged in social interaction, work-life balance for retired
workers is an emerging concern.
Problem statement

Lack of work flexibility, high work pressure and longer working hours are
stressing out many industry workers, reducing their job performance and
productivity as well as causing broken homes. In the community, there is
growing concern that the quality of home and work life is deteriorating. These
have resulted to poor employee input and performance at their job place, because
an employee, who finds it difficult to properly balance his or her family life,
tends to also have difficulties managing tasks at his or her workplace, therefore
resulting in poor employee performance. Moreover, there is a view, widely
promoted by some management professionals but not strongly supported by
sound empirical evidence, that workers are less willing to display unlimited
commitment to the organization.
One reason offered for this is the changing nature of the psychological contract
at work; turbulence in organizations has made it less feasible to offer secure
progressive careers and therefore to justify why workers should be committed.
Ways to Encourage Balance in the Office

Project managers have a unique role in helping companies and employees work
together to accomplish a reasonable work-life balance. These professionals are
often tasked with the responsibility of supporting team development and
challenging industry working condition standards. Ultimately, these are tasks
that are crucial to individual and organizational productivity in the workplace.
To help you begin fostering a culture of balance in the workplace, here are 10
ways to encourage work-life balance among your employees.
1. Maintain Structural Consistency
It is important to maintain a sense of consistency and organization in your
company structure because employees generally feel less anxiety if they
know what to expect day-to-day as often as possible. Don’t be afraid to
shake things up from time to time, but a steady and reliable work
environment can counteract stresses that employees feel at home.
2. Offer Community Engagement Opportunities
Another great way to connect the dots between work time and out-of-
work time is to offer community engagement activities that are
meaningful and beneficial. For example, you could consider offering
eight hours per year of paid volunteer time to your employees as an
incentive to get involved in important community causes.
3. Create a Designated “Quiet Space”
Every employee has a bad day from time to time, so it’s nice to have a
space for employees to go to when they just need to step away for a
moment. Create a designed quiet space in your office where employees
can take a mental break when they need to.
This space should be uncluttered and free of all company materials.
Instead, fill it with luscious plants and flowers, comfortable seating, some
light reading material, and perhaps some soft music. Establish a
precedent that this space is not an employee lounge that welcomes
chatter, laughter, venting, or meetings. This should be a calming space
for silent reflection that respects solitude and peace.
4. Allow Schedule Flexibility
Not every business is well-suited for a virtual workforce, so don’t
compromise the productivity of your company if you need your
employees to arrive at work in-person. However, it is another thing
entirely to give your employees the option to work remotely when they
really need to because of an emergency that requires them to make up
time later.
For example, if your employee’s child is sick, consider offering her the
opportunity to work from home that day or come into the office over time
weekend to make up for lost time. This way your employee doesn’t have
to worry about missing work and wages from taking the time off and
your company’s deadlines can still be met.
5. Engage in Team-Building Exercises
Team building exercises may sound too cheesy for your company
environment, but some of them really do foster a much-needed sense of
team work around the office. If your employees feel like they can depend
on each other for support, they will feel like they have someone to go to
when feeling stressed out or overwhelmed.
6. Encourage Vacations
Many companies stick to the old standard of two weeks of vacation per
year, but studies and surveys have shown that 14 days off per 365 days in
the year simply isn’t enough to achieve a work-life balance. Employees
who work at small companies and growing start-ups often feel the most
pressure to work every day without regard to personal time and self-
rejuvenation.
One way to encourage your employees to take vacations for their own
benefit it to implement a “use it or lose it” vacation policy, whereby
employees’ allotted vacation time expires at the end of the year if left
unused.
 7. Encourage Short Breaks throughout the Day
On a smaller scale, it’s important to workers’ mental and physical health
to take frequent breaks throughout the day. The human body was not
designed to sit still and stare at a screen for eight hours, and doing so can
lead to a wide variety of health issues. Taking breaks at work also makes
employees better at their jobs because they are more focused, less burned
out and more productive in the long-term.
8. Allow Unpaid Time Off for Life Events
Some life events merit paid time off, but other life cycle needs are a bit
more complicated. Be considerate about your employees’ emergency
family needs and their desires to better themselves.
For example, you could offer unpaid leave for events that don’t qualify
under the Family and Medical Leave Act such as helping care for a
parent with a serious illness or extending maternity leave for a couple
more months after the birth of a child. You may also wish to offer unpaid
leave to valuable employees who want to attend graduate school or are
exploring the option of moving to a new place for a spouse’s job.
9. Ask Employees for Guidance
Who better to consult about what employees in your office truly need
than the employees themselves! If you get a sense that your employees
are struggling with work-life balance, ask them what changes around the
workplace might help. You might be surprised what you hear and
collaborate on some mutually beneficial strategies together as a result.
To facilitate these discussions, which can often be difficult ones to bring up,
consider having regularly scheduled meetings either as a group or as one-on-one
discussions to talk about balance issues. These types of meetings can be held
quarterly, semi-annually, or annually depending upon the size and individual
needs of your workforce.
Employers Can Support Employees in Their Efforts to Balance
Work and Life

Employees want to balance work with the rest of the activities they wish to
pursue in life. Work balance is especially important to your millennial
employees who are used to cramming their days with diverse activities and
hours of electronic communication.
Employers are not responsible for providing work balance for their employees,
but they can assist the employees in seeking and maintaining their work
balance. Optimistically, the decisions, policies, values, and expectations in
your workplace support employees in their work-life balance choices. In the
best-case scenario, these employer choices help you to recruit and retain the
superior employees you seek.
Here are some things that you can control that encourage or discourage
employee work-life balance.
1. Offer a Flexible Work Schedule
A flexible schedule does not mean that employees can come and go at
will, which is a possibility that concerns employers. A flexible
schedule policy spells out what the employer means by flexible hours.
In many workplaces, flexible starting and ending times are easy to
implement. More sophisticated flexible schedules such as a four-day
workweek or telecommuting require more planning, but flexible work
schedules are a cornerstone of work balance.
A favorite example involves a New York City online publishing
company that allows employees to telecommute two days a
week. With employees living in Brooklyn, New Jersey, and all over the
other boroughs, this company policy saves employees hundreds of
hours of commuting time and expense. It also enables them to have
additional time for all of life's needs.
2. Offer Paid Time off (PTO)
Offer PTO instead of traditional paid sick leave, paid personal days,
and paid vacation. A paid time off (PTO) approach treats employees
like adults who are capable of making decisions about how, when, and
why to use the paid time off supplied by the employer. In a PTO
 system, neither employers nor employees need to worry about
accounting for how the time off was spent. It eliminates confusion and
the need for additional policies, such as defining what constitutes a
sick day. Yes, there are downsides to PTO, but not in terms of work
balance.
3. Allow Only Limited Carryover of PTO into another Calendar
Year
If the goal of paid time off is to encourage employees to do just that—
take time off—paying employees for the time is counterproductive.
Even if employees want to donate the value of their paid time off to a
charity or a coworker who has used his or her time up for valid
reasons, these actions do not encourage the work balance and
rejuvenation that your employees need.
4. Model the Work-Life Balance Yourself
Managers and senior managers need to model the work balance they’d
like to encourage their employees to exhibit. When a manager uses
PTO to take a vacation yet responds to email as if she is in the office,
this sends a powerful message to employees about whether they need
to do email while on vacation. The actions of senior leaders are heard
and observed by employees. When a senior manager calls in for
unimportant meetings while out-of-the-office, employees get the
message. It affects their personal choices for work and life balance.
5. Set Expectations That Time Off Is Indeed Time Off
With employees electronically connected to the workplace 24 hours a
day, seven days a week, in the office or out, work and life balance is a
challenge. Set up the expectation, in your workplace, that when an
employee leaves for vacation, it is okay to send an email that says he is
on vacation with limited access to email. Honor the employee’s PTO
by not contacting him unless it is truly an emergency.
6. Allow Employees to Take Unpaid Leave as Needed for Life Cycle
Needs
Employees have serious, life-changing events, emergency family
needs, and desires to explore life and career opportunities. While the
12 weeks required by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and
employer leave policies that existed prior to FMLA cover many events,
they’re not always sufficient. Many employers allow employees to take
an unpaid leave of absence for activities and events such as:
 The premature birth of a baby who is hospitalized for an
extended time period,
 Nursing a parent with a serious illness in another state,
 Settling a relative’s estate in another state,
 Extending maternity leave for an additional 4-8 weeks,
 Exploring moving to a new location with a spouse without
burning the bridges to their current employment,
 Attending grad school full time to complete classes that were
only available during the day, and
 Attending online grad school in another state for the four
required two-week onsite sessions a year.
7. Sponsor Monthly Activities
Sponsor employee and family events and activities monthly to
encourage team building, friendships among employees, and the
inclusion of families in work events. At the same time, schedule some
of the events for adults only. Provide babysitting at the event or
elsewhere, if it will encourage employee attendance.
Bowling, picnics, outdoor movies and bonfires, game centers, ice
skating, sports events like a baseball or football game, a hayride, and
interaction with a company favorite charity’s event are all appropriate
for families. (On a side note, the relationships, and friendships that
employees build, encourage them to stay with your company and in
your region. Most happy employees have a best friend at work.)
 8. Don't Expect Employees to Work Hard With Long Hours, and
Weekends All the Time
It’s okay to expect employees to work long, hard hours during the push
for a timely product release, for example, or at a trade show for three
or four days. But, employees can’t sustain an extraordinary level of
energy and long overtime hours as a constant work expectation.
Employees will check out, burn out, and/or leave if long hours and
extraordinary effort are the norms. Don’t confuse commitment,
engagement, and dedication with 60-70 hour weeks.
9. Allow Some Cross-Over of Life Needs Into the Workplace and
Vice Versa
Shopping online at a sale while at work is often mitigated by the
employee responding to emails at 10 p.m. You don’t want to
encourage your employees to talk with their children while at work.
Nor do you want to encourage employees to use online time during the
workday for personal reasons.
But you need to recognize that for many, especially professional
employees, the line between work time and lifetime is no longer
distinct. Would you prefer that the employee take a half-day off to do
his holiday shopping or spend twenty minutes making a quick purchase
online? Or, do you want a mom has to leave early most days to make
sure her children got home from school?
10. Offer the Opportunity for Employees to Job Share or Work Part-
Time
Employers tend to believe that every job is a full-time job, but not all
jobs need a full-time employee. Consider the talent that would be
available to your organization if you hired employees for part-time
hours. With the appropriate two people, job sharing can also work
effectively for employees who you want to retain while they start
families or homeschool, for example.
Creative employers and employees will think of more ways that employers
can support employees in their quest for work-life balance. Start with these ten
ideas to take a giant stride to support your employees in their efforts to
participate in all aspects of their work and life fully.
Work life balance in today’s world

A lot of people face the problem of balancing work and family life. Many
multinational companies remain open for 24hrs. Employees need to work in
shifts. Day shift and night shift. Night shift employees feel hard to come up with
family life and health. This in turn leads to divorces and bad health. Many
mothers feel difficult to continue work after delivery because her home becomes
her first priority. She may be a very good worker but she quits to look after her
new born and family. Many corporates have come up with the option of Flexi
time and work from home opportunity to tap these employees. Personal demands
such as visiting school for report card or hospital or any emergency requires
attention. In that case the employees need to take leave and remains absent from
work. Companies have introduced flexi timings for working so that an individual
employee can complete his scheduled work by coming to office any time. This
lessens the burden of reaching office on time when personal life needs more
attention. Yahoo India allows employees to work Flexi time. Working from
home is also adopted to balance work and personal life. Companies don't want to
get away with hard working and result oriented employees so many companies
have introduced work from home opportunities where an employee can work
from home. There is no stress of visiting office on time. Here an employee can
adjust time to devote for work and family. Giving an employee an option to work
from home will help the employer in adjusting with work from a small office and
managing the big workforce. Companies give training sessions to employees so
that they are more productive. Various seminars are organized. They call the
family members of employee so that they too cooperate with the employee in
balancing work and home. When a company gives an employee an option of
balancing his work and personal life it increases retention and lowers the
turnover rate.
There are few negative side effects of allowing an employee to work from home
or practice flexi timings –
1. A productive employee turns unproductive.
2. Takes work for granted.
3. Does not completes work on time.
4. Gives more stress to personal life and personal demands.
A company needs to keep an eye on each and every employee so that the
productivity is not reduced. An Employer takes measures to retain his employees
and increase performance. Work life balance is a good measure taken by
companies. An employee should fit in it and try to get maximum benefits.

Let's take a look at a few tips that you may find useful

1. Visualize your ideal life - dare to dream and write down the top ten things
you want to accomplish on your "life list."
2. Write down your personal vision statement and mission statement - it will
help you see where you are going in life.
3. Limit Internet time - set better boundaries so that technology does not rule
your life.
4. Pursue your passion persistently - own it and be disciplined in achieving
what you truly desire out of life.
5. Keep a journal - it will help you on a regular basis to stay focused on what is
important to you.
6. Every weekend set a goal of doing one fun activity.
7. Define your daily exercise time - what works best for you, 30 minutes in the
morning, afternoon or evening?
8. When confronted with a choice, ask yourself: What's the cost? Will this add
to my life or create more stress?
9. Let go of people and things that are holding you back (i.e. clutter, negativity,
clothing, luxury items, toys, etc.)
10. Say three gratitude’s' each night - when you do this, you will realize that you
are too blessed to stress.
11. Reprioritize: What are your top 10 priorities for this year? Rank them in
terms of highest, high and low.
12. Every weekend makes it a goal to call two friends - you won't have any
regrets about building up these relationships.
13. Turn every occasion in your life into a positive - even negative experiences
are seen as "What can I learn from this?"
14. Live simply, expect less and give more.
Despite progress, women still bear heavier load than men in
balancing work and family
Women of the early centuries were mostly confined to their kitchens and those
who were employed worked in factories, farms or shop works. Very few
women had the access to higher education and they were forced to be at the
mercy of their fathers’ or husbands’ attitudes towards women and work.
The fast developing knowledge economy has given place for more number of
women to be enlightened by higher education.
Education has not only empowered them but also has given them robust
careers. With brain power being the requisite skill in this knowledge era,
rather than endurance or physical strength, the women workers seem to flood
into every industry on par with men. But this has indeed become a tough
challenge for women as they have to perform a lot of duties in home and
office as well. As working women get married, they have additional
responsibilities and when they become mothers, they have to manage the
primary care of children and extended family and are thus, under greater
pressure to continue on a career path. Working mothers of today fulfill family
responsibilities and also try to remain fully involved in their careers coping up
with the competing demands of their multiple roles. The caring responsibilities
that working mothers have lays a heavy stress on them when it is combined
with their professional duties. The attempt of working women to integrate,
organize and balance the various problems and activities in their different
roles simultaneously puts them under tremendous pressure. As a result, the
family becomes an organizational stakeholder and this powerful social trend is
the beginning of the work/life balance paradigm shift.
Women continue to bear a heavier burden when it comes to balancing work
and family, despite progress in recent decades to bring about gender equality
in the workplace. A 2013 Pew Research Center survey found that, among
parents with at least some work experience, mothers with children under age
18 were about three times as likely as fathers to say that being a working
parent made it harder for them to advance in their job or career (51% vs.
16%).
Analysis of government economic data suggests that most young female
workers start their careers at near parity with men in wages. However, the
analysis found, women struggle to keep pace with men on this measure as they
begin to juggle work and family life.

Younger working mothers are among the most likely to say that being a
working parent makes it harder for them to get ahead in their career, according
to our 2013 survey. Among working Millennial mothers (ages 18 to 32 in
2013), 58% say that being a working mother makes it harder for them to get
ahead at work. Among Millennial fathers who are working, only 19% say that
being a working father makes it harder for them to advance at work.

One reason mothers are more likely than fathers to say it’s harder to get ahead
in the workplace may be that women are much more likely than men to
experience a variety of family-related career interruptions. About four-in-ten
working mothers (42%) say that at some point in their working life, they had
reduced their hours in order to care for a child or other family member, while
just 28% of working fathers say they had done the same; almost as many
working mothers (39%) say they had taken a significant amount of time off
from work for one of these reasons, compared with about a quarter (24%) of
working fathers. And mothers are more likely than fathers to say they quit
their job at some point for family reasons, by 27% to 10%.

Among men and women who say that they reduced their work hours to care
for a child or family member, women are twice as likely as men to say this
hurt their career overall, by 35% to 17%. Similarly, about one-third of women
(32%) who took a significant amount of time off from work for family-related
reasons say doing this hurt their career, compared with 18% of men.

Mothers don’t regret taking these steps, however. More than 90% of working
moms who have either reduced their hours or taken a significant amount of
time off from work say they are glad they did so.

Given the pace of technological developments, workplaces are undergoing a

rapid transformation worldwide. With increasing awareness and better
spending power, employees want to spend quality time doing things they love
apart from work thus placing more emphasis on work-life balance than ever
before.

Monster in India conducted a survey to understand the pulse of the Indian

workforce around work-life balance and found that more than half of the
working professionals surveyed rated their current work-life balance average
to terrible. Men seemed to be more content and less stressed compared to
women when it came to work-life balance between the two genders.

The survey revealed that men and women have similar concerns and thoughts
around work-life balance albeit in different proportions.

Contrary to the popular perception that women prefer to spend more time with
family, the survey found that men also crave for the same. This is interesting
because men are perceived as workaholics. In fact, the percentage of men
wanting more family time was marginally higher than that of women.

Ironically, despite ‘spending time with family’ being a preference for both
women and men, only 12% women responded that their spouse help them take
care of the kids, whereas a significant 65% men said that their spouse took
care of the children. When women with children were asked as to who helped
take care of children while they worked, 44% replied in-laws/parents, while
17% said domestic help like a nanny.

Commute to work was another time-guzzler according to the survey. Most

men and women spent considerable time traveling to work. That is why almost
44% men and 37% women, wanted to opt to work from home to avoid the
commute and save time. However, compared to men a smaller number of
women prefer to work from home.

If you are a working professional with nuclear family and are concerned about
the long commute to work, it’s prudent to discuss your concerns with the HR
and get clarity on company policies. Many companies these days offer work
from home and/or flexibility in timings.

Moreover, you may consider having a heart-to-heart chat with your supervisor
to see what can be done to bring in more flexibility.
Not only is there clarity among the Indian workforce regarding the policies in
favor of a good work life balance but even the supervisors also understand the
importance of it. Among the respondents, as many as 41% females and little
more than 50% males attested to the fact that their manager helped them
maintain a balance between their work and other spheres of their life.

This is an important insight as we often hesitate in approaching our seniors to

discuss our personal issues.

As opposed to a mere 36% of males and 38% of females who complained that
their manager believed work life balance to be nothing more than a fad. Is this
shift in attitude among management indicative of a change in the corporate
mindset?

Both men and women divulged what work life balance meant to them and
what factors could contribute to achieving it. On being asked how stressed
they felt about work, and whether it haunted them in their free time as well,
46% women admitted ‘stretched and stressed out’ compared to 34% men
when asked if they are able to balance their work and life. The feeling is
similar, when it comes to worrying about work outside working hours - 58%
women either often or sometimes worry about work compared to 49% men.

The inability to switch off from work can be detrimental to one’s health. It
indicates high levels of stress and could be a precursor to fatigue and early
burnout.

Both genders voted technology as the biggest hindrance to balancing work and
personal commitments – 27% women and 35% men.

It is usually believed that men are more tech-savvy and in love with their
gadgets, but it was surprising to see that more men viewed technology a
hindrance compared to women.

As opposed to work-life integration, the survey revealed irrespective of

gender, both men and women want a clear demarcation between work and
personal life. When asked, if given a choice which work-life arrangement
would they prefer, 76% men and 82% women wanted to be ‘segments - people
who create clearly defined boundaries between their personal and work lives.’
In view of this, both genders rated having flexible working hours as a huge
contributor towards work life balance. Both felt that leaving work on time
contributed the maximum to their well-being- 43% women and 45% men.

Another factor that both genders saw as crucial to work-life balance was
having time to pursue their hobbies and other interests- 17% women and 18%
men. Other than these, leading influencers for achieving happiness and
fulfilment were having the option of completing work from home, keeping
work and personal life separate, and having non-working weekends among
others.

Both men and women agreed that having a good work life balance can
enhance productivity and positively impacts business.

It’s clear that when your worries are taken care of, and your life is spent
proportionately doing things that matter to you, it is obvious work will become
your prime focus, thus helping organizations grow.
Is Work-Life Balance realistic for Both Women and Men?

The balance between personal and professional life vary from person to person
and the organization where he or she is working. When an individual does not
maintain a balance and works too much in the organizational setting, this may
cause him some medical, psychological and behavioral consequences; as a
result his or her productivity will also be low. Studies have shown that work
life stress is harmful to the employees. Late sitting and working too much can
cause imbalance in an individual's personal and professional life; however
there are some techniques to manage the work life stress e.g. time
management, task management, relaxation, flexible working hours, working
from home and exercise etc. Work life balance improves individual's health,
job satisfaction, commitment, involvement and reduces absenteeism and
presentism (state of physical presence but not productive).

Despite of the progress in the betterment of maintaining work life balance,

there is still more to be done. There have been many headlines lately
in Forbes, The New York Times and USA Today to name a few, on whether
or not it’s possible for both women and men to attain work-life balance. While
many companies in major metropolitan cities and regions are providing more
work-life balance related perks, such as generous maternity and paternity
leaves, onsite childcare, corporate fitness centers and more, there still seems to
be a gap, especially for women who have children.

While we’ve come a long way in providing more opportunities for work-life
balance, more awareness and steps can be taken to continue to close the gap,
not only between employee needs and company policies, but between women
and men as well. The more men can also take advantage of work-life balance
perks, the more it frees up women to take advantage of them on a level playing
field and it allows spouses to alternate and better collaborate to manage their
work and family lives. Therefore, below are four ideas for organizations to
consider creating even more opportunities for work-life balance for both
female and male employees:

1. Allow employees to work remotely for at least one or more days

per week:
 With continued advancements in technology, widespread Wi-Fi access,
video conferencing and teams working and collaborating from across
the globe, employees can truly work from anywhere. While in-person
team meetings, brainstorming sessions, bonding and collaboration are
no doubt extremely important, these activities don’t necessarily need to
happen in person every single day. Giving employees the gift of
working remotely on a regular basis can allow them to reduce their
commute times, get some chores done around the house in between
conference calls and prioritize the needs and schedules of their children
and spouses in addition to their work.
2. Provide employees, especially parents, with the ability to work
part-time, job share or carve out a flexible schedule:
Gone are the days when jobs have to be done Monday through Friday,
from 9-5 p.m. and by one person. Even if some companies are holding
firm on these types of work schedules, they’re extremely outdated and
have been for a while. Again, technology gives us so much more
flexibility and freedom to shake up how we live and work. Therefore,
being creative and allowing employees the ability to customize their
work schedules according to the needs of their companies, teams, jobs
and families, could create happy and balanced employees who are
productive, successful and loyal to their employers.
3. Provide or continue to provide perks both inside and outside the
office that promote a healthy work environment: Some ideas for
creating a healthy work environment include nutritious foods and
snacks, corporate fitness centers or discounted gym or studio
memberships, space for practicing mindfulness and access to wellness
education through workshops and online tools, such as apps, online
videos, webinars or courses, wearable devices and tracking platforms.
Healthy environments can help create healthy behaviors and habits,
which will positively impact companies overall and their individual
employees as well.
4. Create a culture that encourages open communication, empathy,
equality and collaboration: When employees feel like they’re understood
and respected and their personal and professional needs are met, they’ll
 likely to understand and be respectful right back. This creates a ripple
effect across the organization where leaders, teams and employees can
practice healthy communication and lifestyles at work and at home, which
can lead to quality work and successful outcomes. Taking a more
progressive approach to work-life balance and equality in the workplace
between women and men can lead to a stronger bottom line and healthier
and happier employees and families.

Is work-life balance only a myth?

Many individuals, companies and even countries are espousing lesser work
hours in favor of more productivity and better work-life balance.

Many individuals, companies and even countries are espousing lesser work
hours in favor of more productivity and better work-life balance. This
becomes all the more important for women, who shoulder both domestic and
professional burdens.

But whatever anyone might advocate, we need to understand that humans

cannot be like machines, switching on and off. If there are pressing
professional issues, we attend to them on our off days, just like we attend to
personal and domestic issues while at work. Whether its office work or
personal chores and responsibilities, we need to get them all done. Having
strict hours designated for both becomes impossible, calling for terms like
‘work-life balance’, which essentially means balancing both aspects of our life
to ensure maximum productivity and maximum personal time.

And, achieving it works differently for everyone at a personal level. However,

favorable rules can certainly go a long way. For instance, the European
Union’s top court recently ruled that EU countries must make employers set
up a system to measure the time each worker puts into work every day. This
move not only ensures discipline and productivity at work, but also checks
forced and unpaid overtime.

For many, the term work-life balance may just be a figure of speech, but
Jaideep Ghosh, partner at KPMG India, is of the opinion that this balance has
famously been described as “at best an elusive deal and at worst a complete
myth”. “I have reservations about the term, the way it is usually understood,
i.e. work is dull and life is all fun. Work is part of our lives. If we look at the
balance from this perspective, it appears to be a question of integrating various
parts of our lives. Work is an important constituent of our lives; so are home
(family), community and self,” he says, adding, “The point is to integrate these
elements in a harmonious way rather than striving for an ‘equal-balance’ on a
daily basis. At some point in time, depending on the needs, we have to focus
more on work aspects and at other times on home, community or me-time. It is
not a zero-sum game.”

Contrary to the belief of Jack Ma, Indian entrepreneur and philanthropist

Ronnie Screwvala, in one of his tweets, mentions, “I feel the spirit of
innovation should be creativity and not #996 culture. The age of undercutting
through low wages, long working hours is over. Industrial revolution 4.0 is
here and it’s about beating arbitrage through creativity.”

So is this kind of work culture really evolving? Is it meaningful to clock in

eight hours a day, or ensure quality time at work that results in more
productivity than just clocking in the requisite hours? Even so, there is an
evolution and greater understanding in managements irrespective of work
culture. With his 41 years of hospitality experience, Ajay Bakaya, managing
director of Sarovar Hotels, feels: “We had limited opportunities in the sector
when I started, compared to the growth in the industry in the past decade. As
assistant manager in Mumbai, I have worked for unsociable hours, six days a
week for six months. And suddenly after six months, my boss would say
‘tomorrow is a slightly lighter day; take a half-day off’. But as boss at Sarovar,
I ensure we adopt a smart work culture of working eight-10 hours a day,
unlike the industry norm. We even tell employees to take forced vacations.
This helps maintain a balance in life.”

The global perspective

Work-life balance has emerged as a critical initiative to create improved

employee commitment, offer satisfaction, and ensure quality performance,
organizational behavior, health and well-being. However, there are some
differences in understanding the construes of work-life balance in different
societies. Debolina Dutta, vice-president (HR & CSR) of Luminous Power
Technologies, explains how in developed western countries, demographics,
labor markets and socio-economic contexts have resulted in implementation of
numerous initiatives to support work-life balance. In developing Asian
economies, which are experiencing rapid growth, long hours and overtime did
become a norm. However, with time, organizations have embraced flexible
working hours and other initiatives to support the cause of a healthier life.
Multiple factors are working behind it — the changing demographics of the
workforce, with dual-income families gradually becoming the new norm and
increasing demand for talent. The latter is forcing organizations to adopt
healthy initiatives to retain and attract talent.

According to the International Workplace Group global survey, flexible work

hours are a key element. When people can choose to work closer to home or to
wherever they want to be, they struggle less with aligning their personal and
professional lives. Reducing the stress of commuting, particularly when this
involves endless waits in clogged traffic or travelling by over-crowded public
transport, is a benefit both to businesses and staff. Now, businesses are
acknowledging that in a work environment one size really doesn’t fit all.
Rather, providing specific types of environments to different work functions is
keys to achieving greater productivity.

Mark Dixon, IWG founder and CEO, maintains, “In 11 years since we first
published our annual Global Workspace Survey, the world of work has
changed dramatically. The idea of commuting for hours to work 9-5 in a
dreary office is fast becoming as relevant as a fax machine in a working day.
It’s no surprise then that 62% of businesses worldwide currently have a
flexible workspace policy. There has been a power shift. In many sectors,
bosses no longer dictate what a regular working day should look like. The
employees, the so-called ‘Generation Flex’ are calling the shots.”

However, productivity is more important than absolute number of hours spent

at work. KPMG’s Ghosh gives a country-wide comparison of how average
work hours vary on the basis of country, industry, type of organization and
culture. Mexico, Costa Rica and Greece are known to have longer work hours
while Nordic countries and Germany, among others, have, on an average,
lesser work hours. So is there any direct relation between extended working
hours leading to higher economic output per capita? Ghosh wonders.

Many multinationals stress on the need to empower employees to enjoy a

satisfying personal life by helping them strike a balance. Canon offers five-
day, virtual working options, flexi-timings and comprehensive leave benefits
to employees. For female employees, beyond the maternity leave of 26 weeks,
there are flexible working options and even day-care benefits with crèche
facility. Interestingly, the US is among the top 10 countries with the worst
work balance — extended work hours and strenuous routines. In Japan,
working long hours is a given, and, in 2013, a woman actually dropped dead
on her desk due to 159 hours of overtime and massive workload with no extra
pay.

India perspective

Historically, for Indians and Indian society, ‘work is worship’ and that has
reflected in the way Indians have worked. Asians, particularly Indians, are
considered to be very hardworking and willing to work for long hours. But
that is changing. Saswati Sinha, HR head of marketing firm Cheil WW India,
sees the workforce now majorly comprising millennials. “I believe that work-
life balance is not something they aspire for or work for. It is a ‘given’.
Without that balance, professionals now don’t want to work in a particular
organization. If, as predicted, millennials are going to be 50% of the
workforce by 2050, ‘work-life balance’ would surely be one of the deciding
factors for retention of talent!”

Even Shine.com has come across several resumes that mention flexible
working options as one of their top priorities. A survey conducted by the job
portal aimed at understanding why Indian professionals want flexible working,
and how organizations could improve their employee satisfaction and talent
retention by adopting more non-conventional HR policies, aligned with the
requirements of their workforce. “Flexible working is being embraced across
industries, as well as in traditional functional areas such as accounting and
finance. The insights delivered by our latest survey allow more organizations
to adopt new-age HR practices and provide unhindered access to the necessary
concessions that the millennial workforce needs to work optimally,” says
Zairus Master, CEO, and Shine.com. According to the Shine.com survey, 60%
of respondents wanted flexible working options. Avoiding traffic was
highlighted by 13.88% as a key reason for a flexible working policy, while
6.37% wanted to save on the cost of their commute by working from home.

Interestingly, such demands are actually being met. Gozoop, an integrated

marketing agency based in India, which also introduced menstrual leave, is
now offering mental and wellness leave. It also organizes discussions on the
importance of sleep for its staff. Co-founded by investment banker-turned-
entrepreneur Rohan Bhansali, the firm stresses on the transformative powers
of millennials at the workplace. “In addition to the highly competitive and
long working hours, the travel time to and fro adds to the toll. And managing
work, family and personal responsibilities have become harder in the past five
years. Mental health, too, is severely affected. Indian companies addressing
these issues are few and far in between,” he says.

Darveys, a multi-designer luxury business founded by Nakul Bajaj, has seen

an increase in awareness of the work-life balance among its employees as well
as employers across the globe. “Numerous studies show a clear link between
long working hours and productivity of employees. Long hours means getting
more work done, but sitting on the desk for stretched hours also leads to lower
productivity as employees tend to lose focus. The attention span of an
individual is limited. Over-time schedules result in dissatisfaction, with
chances of shallow focus. This leads to lower productivity. Over the years,
companies have realized that the old concept of 9-6 is not suitable anymore.
However, discipline is extremely important at work,” says Bajaj.

On the other hand, Mansi Gupta, co-founder of e-commerce brand Tjori, feels
that achieving work-life-balance is a fable. “There is no bright line between
work and life. If you like what you do, the two tend to merge. Every individual
is different and needs to choose what gives you more joy, and then be proud of
your decision. You could be happy working six days a week and sad working
four days a week. Hence, look for that right combination that helps you
achieve everything. As long as you find your work fun and sustainable, your
life will be balanced.” At Tjori, Gupta believes in insanity and flexibility. The
work environment followed is extremely friendly and people have work
buddies they enjoy working with, without compromising on giving their
100%. The employees also understand that they are changing the way fashion
and lifestyle brands work, and disruption is demanding. “Smart work as the
only mantra is passé. Winners work smart and work hard. I personally feel
motivation is not governed by hours at work, but the quality of work,” she
adds.

The HR speak

Flexi-working and work-from-home are some benefits being offered to most

employees. Dutta of Luminous Power Technologies feels, “We embrace the
‘empower’ paradigm vis-à-vis the conventional ‘control’ paradigm when it
comes to work and employee efficiency. Our focus is on the outcome rather
than the number of hours spent. We believe that this approach builds the
required work-enabling ethos that simultaneously liberates our employees,
while continuing to support efficiency and productivity,” she says.

At Gozoop, the happiness officers are mandated to ensure that employees are
looked at holistically as humans and not as resources. Work-life balance is
obviously a big part of it. Management and HR keep track of monthly reports
in terms of average working hours of each and every individual. However,
proactive and corrective measures are taken wherever there is seen a trend of
long work hours.

As part of the service industry, wherein client pressure is usually high, Cheil
has many initiatives for the benefit of their employees. Sinha adds, “We
encourage employees to de-stress through indoor and outdoor sports like
cricket, table tennis or board games; take team lunches as this helps in
breaking the monotony, as well as break the ice within teams. They get to
know the team-mates and engage in productive yet informal discussions.
Besides, we have women-friendly policies for working mothers. We have a
specially designed ‘snooze room’ for them where they can take time off, rest
and relax. All these are with an intent to bring a work-life balance for our
employees and we continuously take suggestions to address their
requirements.”

Is working less well?

Corporate policies often are based on history; they suffer from an anchoring
bias. “For example, a bias that eight hours a day will produce quality outcome
and enhance employee discipline could backfire; both motivation and quality
could suffer due to such industrial-era policies. Another area that needs a
complete overhaul is around leave for both parents around childbirth,” feels
Ghosh of KPMG.

With respect to behavioral changes observed in working less and working

more, it depends on the personality and the nature of job. Some creative
people get their best ideas late into the night after 10-12 hours of
brainstorming. Shahnaz Husain, founder and CMD of Shahnaz Husain Group,
says, “We have become so used to the stipulated eight-hour working day that
one wonders how successful, flexible work hours would be, especially in
terms of productivity. Of course, flexible timings would give an employee
more freedom to adjust working time according to convenience. For instance,
it would certainly suit working mothers. As an employer, I should not be too
concerned as long as the work is completed on time and the quality of work
does not suffer. Employers with flexible timings say that their employees are
happier, more motivated, efficient and productive.”

From a corporate point of view, the work-style reform isn’t about employee
welfare for the socio-economically vulnerable. It’s a plan to help companies
stay competitive and survive in a society with a declining population. “If we
improve working environments, then employees’ quality of life will improve,
creating a virtuous cycle for employers. Given the fact that it’s a VUCA
(volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) world, agility and productivity
are keys for the success of every business. And one of the easiest ways to
enhance productivity is to ensure that our employees are motivated and
engaged. So yes, a positive culture and conducive work environment is
critical,” adds Sinha.
Also, the workforce today has more opportunities to explore based on their
needs versus companies’ goals. “According to a recent LinkedIn talent survey,
job-seeking behavior trends globally indicate that while only 25% are actively
looking for a job change, a whopping 85% of the workforce might be willing
to make a job change if the right offer hits them. So companies that provide a
better quality of life for employees are more likely to have better retention and
spend lesser time hiring the right talent,” says Dutta.

Nevertheless, by adjusting labor time, companies aim to create an improved

working environment where fewer hours are used more efficiently. Ghosh
feels organization culture is important. “If number of hours at a workplace is
an important determinant of performance rather than quality of outcome, it is
likely that there is a need for change. Technology, and more so, improved
connectivity, has significantly changed work dynamics. It is not limited to
work-from-home approach only, it has boosted productivity multi-fold. It does
have other impacts, though, for example FOMO (fear of missing out),” thinks
Ghosh.

As an HR policy, Canon engages with employees using various programmers

with the objective of keeping them motivated. “We have devised a few simple
initiatives to spread joy among employees -— good morning walk, where a
particular team goes around in the office, wishing each employee ‘good
morning’ as they pass their desks. ‘Appreciation’ does wonders and Canon has
a portal called ‘Digital Shop’ where people can choose a card template,
customize it and share it with a designated peer, thanking them for their
support. ‘Passion Red’ is another initiative where everyone wears red to work
on Mondays. The color represents energy, passion and unity towards the
brand. The collective air of enthusiasm is reflected in the organization
throughout the week, converting Monday blues into passionate reds,” says
Kazutada Kobayashi, president and CEO, Canon India.

So how does one achieve the desired success without paying extra effort and
time? “It is not a simple equation of success= extra time = more pay. It is more
like success = productive hours = pay for performance. We have been
equating work- life balance to less working hours since the past over 15 years.
It’s time to talk about work-life balance through productive working hours
leading to enhanced performance at individual and organization levels,” says
Sinha.

Future workplaces

Experts see a fundamental shift in the way work is organized. The changing
context of work will create a changed response. Shalini Lal, an organizational
consultant for future-ready organizations, feels people are moving to a time of
exponential change where the pace of change is going to get bigger and faster.
She says, “Future organizations will need to be bilingual and will move to a
model where a small inner core is focused on ‘breakthrough innovation and
quick action’, along with a far larger layer focused on ‘scale and efficiency’.
This intense core will be characterized by passion, creativity and enormous
amounts of action. The rules of the game will be different for the other parts of
the organization that are focused on managing scale and efficiency. Scale and
efficiency are deeply influenced by the economics of work.” According to her,
an organizational layer — of its gig/ part-time/ contract workers — will
emerge in the coming years as this layer will have the most flexibility of time
to work. In this case, the future might already be here. For instance, Airbnb
and Uber show us how part-time workers are a crucial part of critical
organizational operations.
Ways to Promote a Healthy Work-Life Balance
Work-life balance” is a hot buzzword amongst corporations these days—but
actually putting it into practice is a different story.

Try these tips for promoting a healthy work-life balance for your employees:
1. Ask Your Workers What They Need
You can’t fix a problem if you don’t know it exists. Sure, you know that
a good work-life balance is important to your employees, but that doesn’t
help you figure out how to accomplish this. So, who better to tell you
what’s necessary to improve this balance than your employees
themselves? Have your workers fill out a survey about various balance-
related factors of your company – hours worked, flexible scheduling,
support for working parents, etc. This will help you identify the specific
areas in which your company needs to improve, allowing you to focus on
implementing achievable solutions for problems that actually affect your
employees.
2. Educate Employees
One of the best ways to promote healthy work-life balance is to actually
teach your employees about it. Offer seminars on what work-life balance
is, why it’s important, and different things they can do to achieve it. You
can host the seminar yourself, have them take a webinar, or even hire a
professional to give the presentation for you. Educating your employees
will give them the tools they need to help themselves– and that’s a
crucial step.
3. Keep an Eye Out for Burnout
As an employer, part of your responsibility is to look after your
employees’ well-being, in addition to just their job performance. A key
part of this is learning to spot burnout. Chances are, your employees
aren’t going to admit to you directly that they’re feeling overworked or
stressed (they don’t want you thinking they can’t handle their job, after
all). This means that most of the time, it will probably be up to you to
recognize when your employees need more balance. Signs can include
excessive absenteeism, increased error rates, and clear physical
exhaustion. If you spot an employee who might be burning out, suggest
 they leave early one day or try to avoid giving them extra projects for a
bit.
4. Embrace “Flextime”
Allowing your employees to have flexible work hours or days, often
referred to as “flextime,” is a great way to encourage a healthy work-life
balance at your office. There are several different options for flextime:
you can give a weekly hour requirement, but allow them to space the
time out however they choose (10 hours on Tuesday but 6 on
Wednesday, etc.) as long as they reach the required total, you can offer
an hour range (35-40 hours per week, for example), or even have no
requirement so long as the necessary work gets done. Flexible work
arrangements like this will allow your employees to have a life outside of
work as well – they can get their work done and still attend their child’s
soccer game or go to that housewarming party. This shows your
employees that you value them as people, not just as workers.
5. Support Telecommuting
In addition to letting employees set their own schedules, consider
allowing them to work from home at least a day or two. While there
might be concern that employees won’t be as productive from home,
which is completely understandable, the truth is actually quite the
opposite. Companies as large as Apple and as small as Urban Bound (a
Chicago-based, 52-employee company that provides web-based
relocation software) are allowing their employees to telecommute, and
are reaping the rewards. In fact, studies show that workers are up to 13%
more productive working from home than working at the office. Plus,
this gives employees the chance to get things done that might have
required them to take a full day off of work. For example, working
parents might need to stay home with a sick child, or someone could
have a doctor appointment that was only available in the middle of the
week. Supporting telecommuting will allow them to take care of their
personal needs, while still getting work done.
6. Encourage Efficient Work – Not More Work
Working more and being productive are not necessarily one and the
same. For example, Britain has longer working hours than their European
neighbors, yet still has lower productivity. In addition to performance
concerns, working long hours has proven to be damaging to employee
morale – The Mental Health Foundation reports that when working long
hours, 27% of employees feel depressed, 34% feel anxious and 58% feel
irritable. So instead of encouraging your employees to work longer
hours, instead encourage them to work more efficiently. This will not
only solicit better work quality from your employees but will keep
morale high as well.
7. Bring the Home to Work
Trying to maintain a balance between home life and work life is no
simple task. So why not make it easier on your employees and bring their
home to work? Sponsor office events, like LinkedIn’s Bring in Your
Parents Day, where employees are encouraged to invite their families (or
a friend – working parents aren’t the only ones who need balance!).
Events like these will give employees the chance to spend time with their
loved ones, but also give you a chance to get to know your workers a
little better. Plus, involving their families will make your employees feel
you value them as human beings (rather than just workers), which creates
a better working atmosphere for everyone.
8. Promote Health Initiatives
An integral part of work-life balance is prioritizing health. Long work
hours (and frequently, long commutes) often force employees to
sacrifice health and fitness. However, as an employer, there are a few
things you can do to help your workers maintain healthy lifestyles. For
example, you can offer discount gym memberships for a fitness center
near the office (this way, it will be more affordable and convenient for
employees). You could also hold optional classes at work (think office-
wide yoga at 3 pm on Tuesdays), or sponsor company club sports teams
– this promotes work-life balance and your company’s image at the same
time!
 9. Foster Creativity
In addition to physical fitness, encouraging your employees’ to maintain
healthy mental fitness is just as important. Allowing them time and space
to pursue creative projects (or even think more creatively about current
projects) will not only give them a better sense of balance but foster the
kind of out-of-the-box thinking that will benefit your business in the long
run. Google, for example, offers a 20% program, which allows
developers to spend 20% of their time on creative side projects. Your
workers will appreciate a break from the norm and a chance to show you
what else they have to offer beyond their day-to-day duties.
10. Lead by Example
Even if you let employees know that you support their healthy work-life
balance, that doesn’t necessarily mean they will take responsibility for it
themselves. We’ve all seen it – the boss says employees don’t have set
hours, but the workers stay until 8 pm anyways; employees are given
unlimited PTO, but they never actually take a vacation… balance is a lot
easier said than done. Example - Head out of the office by 5 on certain
days. Say you won’t be answering emails after work hours. If your
employees see that you value personal time, they won’t feel guilty for
prioritizing theirs.
Most conversations surrounding work-life balance are focused on the employees:
what can they do to set their boundaries and priorities. However, as an employer,
encouraging a healthy balance shows your employees that you don’t just value
their job performance, but that you respect and value them as people.
About Company

Bosch is a German multinational engineering and technology company

headquartered in Germany. The company was founded by Robert Bosch in
1886. Bosch is 92% owned by Robert Bosch Stiftung, a charitable institution.

Dr. Volkmar Denner is a German business executive who is the current CEO
of Robert Bosch GmbH. He has been at the post since July 2012

Soumitra Bhattacharya is the President & Managing Director of Bosch India.

Bosch's core operating areas are spread across four business sectors: mobility
(hardware and software), consumer goods (including household
appliances and power tools), industrial technology (including drive and
control) and energy and building technology.

The Robert Bosch GmbH with its Automotive Technology division is one of
the leading suppliers for the automotive industry. The company emphasizes a
long-term oriented differentiation strategy with high quality products. By
possessing many internal innovation-related capabilities, a wide network of
strategic alliances for technological advances and open innovation as
technology sources, Bosch Automotive Technology is already well prepared
for future structural changes in the automotive supplier industry. Besides
possible acquisitions the company should also focus its research and
development activities on important technologies in the future. We create a
technology portfolio matrix in order to assess the existing technological
capabilities and resources. We observe that lithium-ion batteries as well as
gasoline efficiency are essential technological developments which will shape
the upcoming business environment. Hence, it is important for Bosch
Automotive Technology to enhance its efforts in becoming an early entrant
into this promising sales market. Overall, we can state that the differentiation
business strategy and the high quality products innovation strategy in the
organization match very well and no major strategy shift needs to be
undertaken.

Bosch is also represented by five other group companies in India: Robert

Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions Pvt. Ltd., a 100 percent subsidiary
of Robert Bosch GmbH, Bosch Rexroth India Ltd. (by acquiring majority
stake in Rexroth established in 1974), Bosch Chassis Systems India Ltd. (by
acquiring majority stake in Kalyani Brakes Ltd. established in 1982), Bosch
Automotive Electronics India Private Ltd., a 100 percent subsidiary of Bosch
Group and Bosch Electrical Drives India Private Ltd., a subsidiary of Bosch
group based at Oragadam, Chennai.

Bosch Ltd has informed BSE that the Register of Members & Share Transfer
Books of the Company will remain closed from August 05, 2020 to August
27, 2020 (both days inclusive) for the purpose of Payment of Dividend & 68th
Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Company to be held on August 27,
2020.

In the year 2005, the company established Bosch Chassis Systems India, and
took the leading position in automotive brake system in India. In the year
2006, the company started manufacture of Common Rail System. The
company changed their name from Motor Industries Company Ltd
to Bosch Ltd.

Bosch first established its presence in India in 1922 – and since then, the
company has garnered a reputation for offering technology solutions and best-
in-class services to meet the growing demands of this young and vibrant
country. However, in a world that is rapidly changing – and where the markets
in which we operate have been going through radical transformations and
tectonic shifts – it is necessary to have an outlook that anticipates the future.
For an organization such as ours, in order to drive change, rather than be
driven by it, multiple factors come into play: the formulation of a clear-sighted
and comprehensive strategy, a strong and unifying culture, and exposure to
global markets and the latest technological trends.

Solutions for Automotive Facilities

Explore Bosch’s wide range of products & solutions for effective facility
management, Production processes & global automotive dealer network

Detect dangerous situations before people are hurt, In emergencies save

human lives, Always keep track of everything that happens in Manufacturing
facility, improve facility’s energy costs, customer want solutions for their
problems as quickly as possible.

Solutions for Entertainment Facilities

All entertainment facilities have to meet especially demanding security, safety,

communication, climate, Energy & Building automation criteria. Ex. Sports
stadium

Explore Bosch’s wide range of products & Solutions to effectively manage a

stadium during both normal commercial operation, large events such as
concerts & games.

Solutions for Commercial Buildings

Explore Bosch’s wide range of products & solutions for commercial buildings.

Solutions designed keeping customers in mind: All Building complexes have

to meet especially demanding security, safety, communication, HVAC &
Energy criteria.

Solutions for Airport Facilities

Explore Bosch’s wide range of products & solutions to effectively manage

airport operations.

Solutions designed keeping customers in mind: Airports are multifaceted

facilities, integrating everything from parking structures and terminal
concourses, to shopping malls, waiting areas, to aprons & runways. Bosch
Solutions are ideal for meeting the challenges presented by airport facilities.

Solutions for Hotel Facilities

Explore Bosch’s wide range of products & solutions to effectively manage

hotel operations.

Solutions designed keeping our customers in mind, all hotel facilities have to
meet especially demanding security, safety, communication, HVAC & Energy
Criteria.

Solutions for Railways & Train Station facilities

Explore Bosch’s wide range of products & solutions to effectively manage
railroad and train station operations.

All railway & train station facilities have to meet especially demanding
Security, safety, communication, HVAC & Energy Criteria.

Solutions for Mining Facilities

Explore Bosch’s wide range of products & solutions to effectively manage

mining operations.

All Mining facilities have to meet especially demanding security, safety,

communication, HVAC, energy & automation criteria.

Solutions for Theatre Facilities

Explore Bosch’s wide range of products & solutions for theatres.

Explore Bosch’s wide range of products & solutions to effectively manage a

stadium during both normal commercial operation & large events such as
concerts & games.

Solutions for Ports & Waterways

Modern ports & waterways do not only need to be efficient, reliable & cost
effective, they also need to be safe & environment friendly. To achieve this,
state of the art technologies are needed and data is essential. For data
collection by the latest sensor technology, storage in cloud based solutions,
data processing and analytics by sophisticated software to intelligent
predictive reports of the assets. Bosch, a cutting-edge technological partner
with global presence, guarantees innovative solutions that translate into best-
selling products dedicated to this vertical.
Chapter 2
 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The objectives of the project report are as follows:

1. To study the prevalence of work life balance problems among the
employees.
2. To find out is there any relation between the work life balance and the
performance of the employees.
3. To find out effectiveness of work life balance of employees.
4. To find out how to improve work life balance of employees.
Chapter 3
 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The study covers the various aspects in employee work life balance and
measured increase in productivity accountability, commitment better team work
and communication improved morale, less negative organizational stress.

The study aims to analyze the HR problems related with quality of work life of
the employees. The study is expected to identify the bottlenecks in
implementing the quality of work life balance programs and the perception level
of the employees about the implementation of the quality of work life balance
programmers. Work life balance may help to minimize social evils, such as
alcoholism, gambling and drug addiction and help to create harmonious
industrial relationships.

So by conducting the research at the end we gather more information

regarding how the work life balance will give benefit to both the employees
and the organization. And help us to find ‘Are there any pitfalls behind that’.
Through this we can give necessary suggestion wherever necessary and also to
suggest innovative ideas so that it will prevent the company from future
challenges to a greater extent.

The study is conducted based on the response of the questionnaire and doing
percentage analysis of the response.
Chapter 4
 LITERATURE REVIEW

Work-life balance is about finding the right balance between one’s work and
one’s life (i.e. life outside work) and about feeling comfortable with both work
and non-work commitments. Many people find it difficult to manage their time
in a way that is healthy for their work as well as for their personal life. This may
not be because they are poor at time management, but largely because a good
part of the ―time is not theirs. It belongs to the organization. But do employees
have to crowd out other activities that are important in their lives just to satisfy
the boss? Achieving the right balance is something very personal, because we all
have different priorities in life. However, it is not what can be personally
achieved without the support of the organization. So what are the options that
organizations can deploy to assist their employees achieve work-life balance?
Work-life balance options Employers are realizing that the quality of an
employee’s personal and family life impacts work quality and that there are
concrete business reasons to promote work and non-work integration
(Lockwood, 2003). As Vlems (2005) notes, when organizations decide to
facilitate their employees‟ work-life balance, they choose from a wide array of
options that include:
a. Flexi-time: Flexi-time is a scheduling policy that allows full-time employees
to choose starting and ending times within guidelines specified by the
organization. It works well for full-time office staff, but not in shift patterns
or in a production line. Flexi-time allows an employee to attend to non-work
demands without having to take time off work.
b. Compressed working hours; this is a system of a four day working week. An
employee can work his total number of agreed hours over a shorter period.
For example, an employee can work his or her hours over four days in a
week instead of five, and thus, gains a day for himself.
c. Job-sharing; Job-sharing is a system where two people sharing a job. They
both have the same job, but split the hours, so that each employee has a part-
time position. Apart from splitting the hours, they also split the payments,
holidays and benefits. The idea is to afford employees ample time to attend to
non-work activities so as to be able to achieve a good measure of work-life
balance.
d. Breaks from work by taking breaks from work once in a while, the right
balance between work and life can be achieved. These breaks should not only
be about maternity, paternity and parental leave, but also time off for career
breaks and sabbaticals.
The consequences of employee work-life imbalance There is compelling
evidence that work-life imbalance portends grave consequences for employees,
their organizations, and society (Allen, Herst, Bruck and Sutton, 2000;
Lockwood, 2003; Vlems, 2004; Mordi and Ojo, 2011). Conflicts, particularly
between work and family, significantly affect quality of family life and career
attainment for both men and women. Personal and societal consequences of
work-life imbalance, according to Hobson, Delunas and Kesic (2001) include:
a. Increased level of stress and stress-related illness
b. Lower-life satisfaction
c. Higher rates of family strife, violence, and divorce
d. Rising incidence of substance abuse
e. Growing problems with parenting and supervision of children and
adolescents.
f. Escalating rates of juvenile delinquency and violence.
The continuous inability of employees to balance work and life responsibilities
according to Hobson, Delunas and Kesic (2001) can have the following
organizational consequences:
 Higher rates of absenteeism and turnover
 Reduced productivity
 Decreased job satisfaction
The effective management of employees ‘work-life balance requires
organizations to recognize and account for the array of non-work roles that
impact their working-lives (Estes, 2004; Higgins & Duxbury, 2005; Howard,
D‘Onofrio & Boles, 2004). Despite the literary attention given to the ‗work-life
balance ‘in recent years, however, contemporary authors still note the concept‘s
inadequacy both in terms of its definition and administration (Hyman &
Summers, 2004; Smithson & Stokoe, 2005). In order to explore the definitional
boundaries of contemporary ‗work-life balance‘, this project adopts an
Organizational Role Theory (ORT) perspective. In particular, this paper will
undertake an examination of ORT‘s role-taking, role-consensus, and role-
conflict assumptions, and present some strategies for preventing or remedying
work-life imbalance issues in the workplace.
1. Goyal K.A, Agrawel A (2015) in the paper titled " Issues and
challenges of Work life balance in banking industry of India" explained
that Work life balance policies and programs are an investment in an
organization for improving productivity, reducing absenteeism,
achieving improved customer services, better health, flexible working as
well as satisfied and motivated workforce especially in banking industry.
2. Singh S. (2013) mentioned Role stress theory in his paper Titled "Work-
Life Balance: A Literature Review" wherein the negative side of the
work- family interaction has been put under the spotlight. Recently, the
emphasis has shifted towards the investigation of the positive interaction
between work and family role as well as roles outside work and family
lives, and scholars have started to deliberate on the essence of work- life
balance.
3. Phyllis and Yun (2002) mentioned strategies in paper titled "Effective
work life strategies, working couples, work conditions, gender and life
quality" focuses on dual earner families. It was concluded and discussed
in the study that the work life strategies and work conditions are
different among genders. For example, some families prefer husbands
working for a long hour and women to work part time or fewer hours.
Women report more stress and overload and lower levels of coping
when compared to men. Job insecurity is similar in both men and
women.
4. Kaur (2013) found that there exists a strong positive correlation
between life satisfaction and work – life balance. Life satisfaction
denotes the judgmental process using which an individual analyses his
emotional, physical and overall wellbeing with respect to certain criteria
which is appealing to the individual. Therefore work – life balance of an
individual improves when he is able to make considerable improvement
in areas which increases his life satisfaction. Work – life balance also
has a strong positive correlation with extroversion type of personality.
Extrovert individuals are more social, open minded and outgoing by
 nature. Employees who are extroverted in nature are able to buiwell-
developed network of social support and it helped them to achieve a
balance in their work and life segments and achieve life satisfaction.
Extroversion personality therefore enables employees to gain balance in
their life more easily which results in experiencing life satisfaction. It
was also found out that there was no difference between men and
women employees with respect to the relationship between work life
balance and extroversion. In the study both male and female employees
showed that their extroversion led to balance between their work and
personal domains which ultimately leads to satisfaction with life.
5. Mani (2013) stated that in order to maintain their work –life balance
Indian married working women were opting out to have only one child
and they required the help of elderly relatives at home to take care of
their children during office hours as there is lack of proper child care
facilities in India. Further such women felt that due to their family
obligations they were unable to do professional networking and attend
official social events post office hours which deprives them to get timely
promotions. Often married women employees declined to take transfer
accompanied with promotions as they do not want to relocate to a
different city leaving behind their children and domestic responsibilities.
In such situations women preferred to stay in smaller job positions
instead of relocating. On the other hand when the husband is transferred
to another city the women professional would often leave her job or take
long leaves without pay. Unmarried women on the other hand do not
have family related responsibilities. ` Therefore they are able to focus on
their career and could travel for work purposes enabling them to be
entitled to growth and promotion in their career. However even though
as single women they were capable of living alone for professional
reason but post marriage and children 18 many of these women quit
their jobs and concentrated on the family life as the prestige associated
with social standing of the husband is far more in the Indian context.
6. Lakshmi and Gopinath (2013) stated that there was a significant
relationship between marital statuses of women workers and overtime
work. Married women workers with children and dependents primarily
 work for financial reasons and accept overtime work which severely
damages their work – life balance. The degree of work – life balance
experienced by married women workers is associated with the number
of dependents and small children at home. In situations where the
dependents are unemployed and able – bodied then the work – life
balance of the married women worker remains within tolerable limits.
However the work – life balance situation gets worse depending on the
number of small children who need care and support of their mother. On
the other hand if the married woman employee is able to discuss with the
functional head at workplace about her work – life balance problems
then she is able to a great extent to reduce the work – life imbalance she
is experiencing. Therefore the organizations should ensure that women
employees with low work – life balance index are given adequate
counseling so that they can manage their work – life balance problems
and deal with the psychological and physiological problems related to
work – life imbalance. This will result in improvement in their
productivity and enhance their performance.
7. Kumaraswamy M., Ashwini S. (2015) in paper titled "Challenges in
WORK LIFE BALANCE of Married working Women" studied that it is
important for employees to maintain a healthy balance between work
and their private lives. Generally those employees who have better
work- life balance contribute more towards the success of the
organization. The organization can render better service to the customers
by having productive and efficient employees.
8. Shalini and Bhawna (2012) reported in their study, "Quality of work
life balance" is being used by the organizations as a strategic tool to
attract and retain the employees and more importantly to help them to
maintain work life balance with equal attention on performance and
commitment at work.
9. Holly S. and Mohnen A. (2012) in the paper titled "Impact of working
hours on work-life balance" connected working hours and satisfaction
with desirable work-life balance. This balance is specific to each person
and relates to satisfaction with a job and all other parts in life, especially
family life and free time. Therefore, a good work- life balance results in
 high satisfaction. Their results show diverse perceptions and influences
of job conditions on employees.
10. Rebbecca (2009) quotes in “Work life balance- Men and Women” that
women and men have a different perception generally on balance the
work and life. She tells that women devote more time on her family and
the men spend more time pursuing his personal interests. She also quotes
that balance is not only about dividing the time spent on work and
personal life, but also establishing harmony that reflects on the
individuals priorities.
11. Albertsen et al (2008) reported that female employees who worked for
higher number of work hours and engaged in overtime work experienced
low work – life balance in their life. This observation was also found to
exist among gender mixed groups. Long working hours often resulted in
creation of negative impact on marital satisfaction between couples and
also on the wellbeing of children. On the other hand female employees
engaged in doing part time work experienced a better work – life
balance. Few men were engaged in part time work and in case they do it
the reason for opting for part time jobs is completely different than from
female employees. Part time work was also suitable for people with
special needs like elderly people, disabled people or female employees
with small children and it leads to a positive work – life balance for
them. Therefore the study revealed that the when employees have a
greater control over work hours then it is related to experiencing an
improved work – life balance. This impacted the family life in a great
way and when working wives had no control over their work hours then
their husbands reported to have experienced feelings of role strain. In
addition when parents did shift work and worked at odd hours then it
often resulted in children suffering from behavioral and emotional
difficulties
Chapter 5
 IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY

Maintaining a healthy work-life balance is not only important for health and
relationships, but it can also improve your employee’s productivity, and
ultimately performance. A satisfied employee will also not go looking for other
job opportunities and hence an employer will get to keep the best talents and
record lower employee turnover. Maintaining a healthy work-life balance is not
only important for health and relationships, but it can also improve your
employee's productivity, and ultimately performance. Focusing on work-life
balance will help you draw a valuable talent-pool for new recruits and boost
retention rates.
In the present scenario, due to many changes happening in the work place and
family systems, a vast majority of employees are finding it difficult to achieve a
desired Work-Life Balance. Modern day worker works a day at a time
symbolizing the unpredictability of modern working system and its hostility to
the forming of lifelong working habits. This study looked at the effect of certain
organizational policies on the balance of work and personal lives of workers.
Working on a job for a company and making a career can be an extremely time
consuming duty for any employee. Employees are busy at their offices
throughout the day and sometimes even on weekends. This gives them very little
time to interact with their family. Because of high pressure of work, often family
members get neglected. Also, stressful jobs cause the health of employees to
deteriorate. This is where work life balance came into the picture. Work life
balance concept allows an employee to maintain a fine balance in the time he or
she gives to work as well as to personal matters. By having a good balance,
people can have a quality of work life. This helps to increase productivity at
workplace as the employee is relaxed about his personal commitments. It also
allows the employee to give quality time with family to spend vacations, leisure
time, work on his/her health etc. Hence work life balance is extremely important
for employees and increases their motivation to work for the company.
Chapter 6

64
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

DATA TYPE
1. PRIMARY DATA-
Questionnaire methods are used to elicit information from employees
of various hierarchy departments. Primary data are those which are
gathered specially for the project through questionnaire and personal
interactions. Primary data is collected by administering the
questionnaire & personal interaction.
2. SECONDARY DATA-
Secondary data is the data that have been already collected by and
readily available from other sources. Such data are cheaper and more
quickly obtainable than the primary data and also may be available
when primary data cannot be obtained at all. I also collect secondary
data, mainly from journals, newspaper and internet will also be taken
into account for this research.
Research design
Research is an art of scientific investigation. Research comprises defining and
redefining problems, formulating hypothesis or suggested solutions, collecting,
organizing and evaluating data, making deduction and reaching conclusions and
at last carefully testing the conclusion to determine whether they formulating
hypothesis.
Sampling Method
Simple random sampling method is used for the present study to ensure that
different strata i.e. different sectors are adequately represented in the sample.

Sampling Tools

The tools that are used for analyzing data are ANOVA, mean score and
percentages.

Sampling Design

Sample will be HR executives, HR professionals and trainers in the company

having knowledge in all HR roles and responsibilities.

65
Sampling Technique

Random sampling can be used to select the individual units for better
productivity of the questionnaire.

Sampling Size

The total samples taken for the study are 100.

Data Analysis Method

The method used for Data Analysis is MS. Excel.

Chapter 7
 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

1. How many days in a week do you normally work?

No. of days in a week

0% 0%

10%

less than 5 days

Days
Days
90%
Days

Interpretation
90% of the employees are working 6 day in a week. 10% of employees are
working 7 days in a week. From the above analysis we can know that most of
the employees are working 6 days in a week and 10% of employees are 7 days a
week. And they need some rest, at least 2 Saturdays in a month to spend with
their families.
2. How many hours in a day do you normally work?

No. of hours in a day

15% 15%

7-8 hours
25%
8-9 hours

45% 9-10 hours

10-12 hours

Interpretation
15% of employees are working 7-8 hours per day. 45% of employees are
working 8-9 hours per day. 25% of employees are 9-10 hours. 15% of
employees are 10-12 hours. From the above analysis we can know that the
maximum no of employees are working more than 8 hours to reach their targets
in time by setting goals and also working more effectively and efficiently to
increase the company standards in quality.
3. Do you have flexible work schedule?

Flexible work schedule

4%

Yes No
96%

Interpretations
96% of employees are not aware the flexible work schedule. 4% of employees have
said no. From the above analysis we can know that almost all of the employees are
aware of flexible work schedule provided by the company, only 4 percent have said no.
4. Do you telework?

Aware of Telework facility

11%

Yes No
89%

Interpretations
89% of employees are saying yes. 11% of employees are saying no.
From the above analysis we can know that maximum no of employees do know
about the telework facility but telework facility is limited in a month.
 5. Where do you telework from?

Telework
from
1%
5% Home
15%
Another office within
agency/institution
79% Modern office destination

Another office outside

agency/institution

Interpretations
79% of the employee tele work from home. 15% of the employee tele work
from another office within agency/institution. 5% of the employee tele work
from modern office destination. 1% of the employee tele work from another
office outside agency/institution. From the above analysis, we can know that
most of the employee’s tele work from home but the work from home policy by
the company is limited for a month.
6. Do you generally feel you are able to balance your work-life?

No. of respondents

26%

Yes
74% No

Interpretation

26% of employees are saying yes. 74% of employees are saying no.
From the above analysis we can know that maximum no of employees are
having the good work life balance, and 26 percent of employees are saying no.
7. How do you feel about the amount of the time you spend at work?

NO.OF RESPONDENTS

5% 5%
10%
VERY UNHAPPY
UNHAPPY
25%
INDIFFERENT
HAPPY
55% VERY HAPPY

Interpretation
5% of employees feel very unhappy. 5% of employees feel unhappy. 25% of
employees feel indifferent. 55% of employees feel happy. 10% of employees
feel very happy. From the above analysis, we know that half of the employees
are happy with the time they are spending in office and 25% of employees are
indifferent and rest of them is unhappy.
8. How do you manage, if stress arising from your work?

Activities to manage stress

10%
10%

Yoga
Reading Books
80% Entertainment

Interpretation
80% of employees are in to entertainment. 10% are doing Yoga. 10% are
Reading books. From the above analysis, we can know that 80 Percent of
employees are in to different entertainment programs to take out there stress and
rest of them are doing Yoga and reading books.
9. Does your company have a separate policy for work-life balance?

No. of Respondents aware of policy for

work life balance

10%

35% Yes
55%
No
Not Aware

Interpretation
55% of employees are not aware the separate policy for work life balance. 35% of
employees have said no. 10% of employees have said yes. From the above analysis we
can know that half of the employees are not aware of work life balance policy in
company, 35 percent have said NO and 10% have said YES.
10. Does your organization provide you counseling service for employees?

Counselling facility by organization

19%

Yes No
81%

Interpretation
From the sample size 20, 16 members have given response for this question.
19% of employees have the counseling service. 31% are saying NO they don‘t
have counseling service. From the above analysis we can know that maximum
no of employees are not taking part in counseling, very less percent of
employees are going for counseling.
11. Does your organization provide the Health programs?

Health programs

18%

Yes No
82%

Interpretation
From the sample size of 20, 17 members have giving the response. 82% are
saying YES they have the regular health checkup in office. 18% are saying NO.
From the above analysis we can know that there is a regular health checkup is
going on in office and some of the employees are not taking part in.
12. Does your organization provide you parenting or family support
programs?

Parenting and Family support programs

5%

Yes No
95%

Interpretation
95% of employees have agreed there are family support programs. 5% of
employees have disagreed for this. From the above analysis we can know that
large numbers of the employee are taking part in family day and other
programs.
13. Does your organization provide you Relocation facilities and choices?

Relocation facilities and choices

14%

Yes No
86%

Interpretation
From the sample size 50, 45 have responded for this question. 86% of
employees have said yes there is relocation facility. 14% of employees have
said no. From the above analysis we can know that maximum no of employees
have said there is availability of relocation facility and choices in company.
14. The quality time with your family is missed because of work pressure?

No. of Respondents

12% 7%
20%
Never

Rarely
Sometimes
61%
Often

Interpretations
From the above table we can observe that 7% of respondents never feel that the
quality time with family is missed because of work pressure, 20% of
respondents rarely feel that the quality time with family is missed because of
work pressure, 60% of respondents feel that they sometimes miss the quality
time with family because of work pressure, 12% of respondents often feel that
the quality time with family is missed because of work pressure and 1% of
respondent always feel that the quality time with family is missed because of
work pressure.
15. The organization will be more effective and successful if employees
have a good work life balance?

0% 0%

5%
32% Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Neither Agree nor Disagree
63%
Agree
Strongly Agree

Interpretations
From the above table, we can observe that 5% of respondent neither agree nor
disagree, 63% of respondents agree and 32% of respondents strongly agree that
the organization will be more effective and successful if the employees have a
good work life balance.
16. Do you prioritize your to-do list each day and especially focus on your
highest priority items?

Priortize to-do list

2% 0%

8%
Always
30%
Almost always
60%
Sometimes
Seldom
Never

Interpretations
From the above table, we can observe that 60% of respondent always prioritize
their to-do list, 30% of respondents almost always prioritize their to-do list and
8% of respondents sometimes prioritize their to-do list and 2% of respondents
seldom prioritize their to-do list. The respondents themselves understand the
responsibilities and prioritize their to-do list as they know this will help them
only to focus on highest priority items.
Chapter 8
 FINDINGS

1. From the table 1 and 2, it is inferred that weekly most of the employees
are working more than regular timings.
2. It shows that employee work life balance in is good, with the policies
and procedures.
3. The working environment is very good and the employees are not
feeling stress in office with that they are not feeling it’s again Monday.
4. Most of the employees are going for entertainment programs
5. Company is providing Health programs, family support programs,
exercise facilities, relocation facilities & choices but no transportation.
6. The policies for work life balance should be customized to individual
needs.
7. The response goes from HR department is very quick.
Chapter 9
 SUGGESTIONS

As a result of the data analysis and interpretation, here are some suggestions to
improve the Employee work life balance
1. The effective employee work-life balance has better organizational
commitment which leads to better production output and minimum
employee turnover.
2. There must be proper communication made to the employees regarding
the company’s policies and must be encouraged.
3. Continue with the environment and sanitation hygiene facilities as the
employees are very much satisfied with them.
4. This is super important for employees that have children or other
responsibilities that could be hard to juggle with a full workload. If
they're given the freedom to work from home a couple times a week, it
could lift a huge amount of stress - which could mean healthier and
happier staff.
5. A poor relationship with the boss is one of the three top reasons for
people quitting their jobs. If you provide ongoing leadership
development for your managers, they'll be far more skilled at helping
individual employees balance outside stresses with job demands.
6. Fostering a work-life balance for your employees requires a little
creativity and discipline, but the results are more often than not positive.
Making this a priority can increase employee satisfaction, productivity
and company image.
7. Team-building exercises have the specific purpose to bring colleagues
closer together and demonstrate how well they can work together as a
team - think escape rooms, trust exercises, or problem-solving puzzles.
8. It's also valuable to offer counselling services - whether in person or
over the phone - in order to help employees better balance their life
stresses. It's all about making sure your staffs are bringing their best
possible selves to work each day.
Chapter 10

88
 CONCLUSION

From the study it is clear that employee work life balance in is good, But there
is a small gap from employee satisfaction to company.
Work-life balance programmers offer a win-win situation for employers and
employees. While the employee may perceive work-life balance as the dilemma
of managing work obligations and non-work responsibilities, work-life balance
from the employer‘s point of view encompasses the challenge of creating a
supportive company culture where employees can focus on their jobs while at
work. In whichever way it is viewed, the existence of effective work-life
balance programmers in an organization will do both the employee and
employer good. For the employer, work-life initiatives create positive employer
branding, promote being an employer of choice, foster organizational
citizenship, and support diversity initiatives.
For the employee, there is lesser stress, increased happiness, motivation, and
productivity, and a better chance of reaching both personal and career goals
satisfactorily. The key role of HR therefore, is to understand the critical issues
of work-life balance, integrate it into the organization‘s HR policy, and
champion work-life balance programmers.

89
Chapter 11
 REFERENCES

1. Blair-Loy, M., & Wharton, A.S. (2002). ―Employees‟ use of work-

family policies and the workplace social context‖. Social Forces, 80,
813-845.
2. Blood, R.O., & Wolfe, D.M. (1960). Husbands and wives. New York:
Macmillan.
3. Champoux, J.E. (1978). ―Perceptions of work and non-work: A
reexamination of the compensatory and spillover models‖. Sociology of
Work and Occupations, 5, 402-422.
4. Clark, S.C. (2000). ―Work/family border theory: A new theory of
work/family balance‖. Human Relations, 53, 747-770.
5. Elloy, D.F. & Smith, C.R. (2003). ―Patterns of stress, work-family
conflict, role conflict, role ambiguity and overload among dual career
couples: An Australian study‖. Cross Cultural Management. 10(1): 55-
66.
6. Epie, C. (2006). ―Family-responsive policies in the Nigerian
environment‖. Paper presented at the ACREW Conference 2006 on
socially responsive approaches to employment and work. London.
7. Lockwood, N.R. (2003). ―Work-life balance: Challenges and
solutions‖. Society for Human Resource Management Research
Quarterly, Alexandria, VA.
Chapter 12
 APPENDIX

QUESTIONNAIRE

WORK LIFE BALANCE

NAME

AGE

GENDER

Contact No.

EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION
1. How many days in a week do you normally work?
a. LESS THEN 5 DAYS
b. 5 DAYS
c. 6 DAYS
d. 7 DAYS
2. How many hours in a day do you normally work.
a. 7-8 HOURS
b. 8-9 HOURS
c. 9-10 HOURS
d. 10-12 HOURS
e. MORE THEN 12 HOURS
3. Do you have flexible work schedule?
a. YES
b. NO
4. Do you telework?
a. YES
b. NO
5. Where do you telework from?
a. Home
b. Another office within agency/institution
c. Modern office destination
d. Another office outside agency/institution
6. Do you generally feel you are able to balance your work-life?
a. YES
b. NO
7. How do you feel about the amount of the time you spend at work?
a. VERY UNHAPPY
b. UNHAPPY
a. INDIFFERENT
b. HAPPY
c. VERY HAPPY
8. How do manage if stress arising from your work.
a. YOGA
b. READING BOOKS
c. ENTERTAINMENT
9. Does your company have a separate policy for work-life balance?
a. YES
b. NO
c. NOT AWARE
10. Does your organization provide you counseling service for employees?
a. YES
b. NO
11. Does your organization provide the Health programs?
a. YES
b. NO
12. Does your organization provide you parenting or family support
programs?
a. YES
b. NO
13. Does your organization provide you Relocation facilities and choices?
a. YES
b. NO
14. The quality time with your family is missed because of work pressure?
a. NEVER
b. RARELY
c. SOMETIMES
d. OFTEN
e. ALWAYS
15. The organization will be more effective and successful if employees
have a good work life balance?
a. STRONGLY DISAGREE
b. DISAGREE
c. NEITHER AGREE NOR DISAGREE
d. AGREE
e. STRONGLY AGREE
16. Do you prioritize your to-do list each day and especially focus on your
highest priority items?
a. Always
b. Almost always
c. Sometimes
d. Seldom
e. Never