Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Enabling A Positive Working Life
Enabling A Positive Working Life
GROUP 4
COURSE WORK
COURSE NAME: ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
TOOL: ENABLING A POSITIVE WORKING LIFE
GROUP MEMBERS
No. NAME REG. NO SIGNATURE
1 PIUS AKANKWASA 2016/HD10/2888U
2 REBECCA AINEMBABAZI 2016/HD10/2885U
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE ..................................................................................................................................................... 2
1.0 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 2
1.1 BACKGROUND ......................................................................................................................................... 2
1.2 STATEMENT OF OPPORTUNITY ............................................................................................................... 4
1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY ........................................................................................................................ 4
1.4 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK. ................................................................................................................... 4
CHAPTER TWO..................................................................................................................................................... 7
2.0 EXPLANATION OF THE VARIABLES............................................................................................................... 7
2.1 COACHING .................................................................................................................................................... 7
2.2 MINDFULNESS ............................................................................................................................................. 9
2.3 STRENGTH DEVELOPMENT IN THE WORK PLACE ..................................................................................... 10
2.4 CHARACTER STRENGTH AND WORK ........................................................................................................... 11
2.5 WORK LIFE BALANCE. .................................................................................................................................. 12
2.6 A POSITIVE WORKING LIFE. ......................................................................................................................... 12
CHAPTER THREE ............................................................................................................................................... 13
3.1 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COACHING AND WORK LIFE BALANCE ............................................................ 13
3.2 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MINDFULNESS AND WORK-LIFE BALANCE. .............................................. 15
3.3 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STRENGTH DEVELOPMENT IN THE WORK PLACE AND WORK- LIFE
BALANCE ................................................................................................................................................... 18
3.4 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHARACTER STRENGTH AND WORK- LIFE BALANCE ..................................... 21
3.5 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WORK-LIFE BALANCE AND A POSITVE WORKING LIFE. ........................... 24
CASE STUDY. ..................................................................................................................................................... 25
CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................................................... 28
REFERENCES .................................................................................................................................................... 29
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CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
This write up focuses on a tool titled “Enabling a Positive Working Life”. It consists of three chapters; chapter
one will encompass the introduction, background and purpose of the study, statement of opportunity and
conceptual framework. Chapter two will explain the variables, and lastly chapter three will look at the relationship
1.1 BACKGROUND
Working towards and maintaining a balance between personal and professional undertakings enables an
organization to keep a productive workforce. Employees working in this kind of environment will be happy, and
maintain the health of the business ensuring that the company or organization registers more efficiency and
productivity.
This can been seen in one of the media houses in Uganda where Joan, an Advertising Manager was considered
the cream of the sales team since she was aggressive, creative, shrewd and tact with the ability to tell where a
sales opportunity was instantly, started losing focus at work which affected her performance with her sales
revenues dropping, presentations made were full of mistakes and errors on the sales figures and projections
Joan’s supervisor following the unexpected poor performance quickly called in for a meeting because even at her
worst performance, Joan always at least met her target but never performed below the expected targets. From
the meeting, Joan was given compassionate leave to go rest and handle her father’s situation without the work
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pressures and just as she had returned from the approved leave, a number of money lenders came threatening
to have Joan arrested for failing to pay back big amounts of money that she had earlier borrowed.
A financial advisor from one of the company’s bank where Joan also banked was called in to support her in terms
of making wise decisions when it came to money and how she would invest long term, and later on an external
counselor was called in to support Joan following the death of her father.
The Company’s Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) took it upon himself to have one-on-one sessions with Joan as
he believed she would do better once given the adequate support and guidance regardless of the current
challenges and setbacks she faced. After three weeks of meeting Joan, her self-esteem had improved greatly,
she believed more in herself and plans were then made to ensure that she start delivering on her targets.
Coaching sessions were then scheduled with clear objectives set and weekly assessments made and where
Joan was challenged, the CCO came in to support her and redirect her focus to what need to be done to achieve
the results.
Six months later, the sales revenues had increased with special and creative projects initiated by Joan who was
even recognized as the Sales Manager for the month, four times in a row, and even commended for her
performance by the Managing Director. Joan was eventually promoted to handle a bigger portfolio and a bigger
team which she confidently took on even after she had just given birth to twin boys. She was not afraid of the
challenge ahead because she was still getting support from the CCO who on certain occasions allowed her to
work from home when the need arose so that she did not feel conflicted.
It should be noted that for employees to be highly productive, engaged, committed and flourishing at the work
place, organizations need to make use of positive interventions that enable work life balance.
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1.2 STATEMENT OF OPPORTUNITY
Organizations can balance their employees work life and family life to ensure consistent productivity and improved
performance through enabling a positive working life which can be achieved through the use of coaching,
The study seeks to examine the relationship between coaching, mindfulness, strengths development at the
workplace, character strengths, work life balance and a positive working life.
Coaching
Mindfulness
Character
Strengths
Coaching leads to work-life balance, which leads to a positive working life. Mindfulness leads to work life balance,
which then leads to a positive working life. Strength development at the work place leads to work-life balance,
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which then leads to positive working life. Character strength leads to work-life balance, which then leads to a
positive working life. Finally, Work-life balance leads to a positive working life.
In order to enable a positive working life, positive interventions should be fully utilised and implemented by
organizations through supervisors and managers to support employees so that they can flourish when faced with
Coaching. In our case study it can be seen that Joan was having problems coping with challenges in work and
life. She had decided to battle her financial challenges on her own in the way she saw fit. By using positive
intervention of coaching which was seen through counselling, she managed to deal with her family challenges,
which allowed her to better manage her work and life obligations and led to a positive working life. The Chief
Commercial Officer didn’t focus on the sudden poor performance, but focused on building her confidence and
refocusing her skills and competences to ensure that she improved her performance. His timely intervention
Mindfulness. Joan was only concerned with what the future held, and began to think only of the future challenges
and what was going on around her. She for example was more worried about the in-laws blaming her of failing
to give birth. Her productivity and quality of work was affected and her performance kept going below the
company’s set expectations. Joan was given immediate attention and the company understood and appreciated
all the circumstance she was going through and she was given all the necessary support and guidance. This
made her feel valued at the company and highly motivated; she then was better equipped to have a work life
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Strength development. Joan was a natural when it came to corporate sales. She was an achiever who always
exceeded the company’s targets and ensured that her performance never went below average. The Chief
Commercial Officer focused more on getting Joan back to where she was an outstanding performer by engaging
her and supporting her to handle her family issues as well as focus her to achieve her targets. She received
coaching and mentorship to build on her skills and talents. Joan’s improved performance meant she could opt for
a flexible work schedule when the need arose to handle her family obligations which gave her a positive work
life.
Character Strength. Joan faced a lot of challenges ranging from finances, to her father getting very ill and her
in-laws pressuring her to have children. With such a load to carry, her mental strength weakened. The
organisation noticed the stress and challenges she faced and stepped in with a helping hand. She was helped
and guided to handle her personal finances and also counselled, and once this was done, work life balance was
achieved and she went on to have a positive work life. In the end, we see her taking on an even bigger challenge
Work-life Balance. With the positive interventions used, Joan was given tools like compassionate leave,
coaching, counselling, mentorship and flexi time that enabled her to balance work and family. This allowed her
to become a good performer, whilst she still spared time to spend with her family.
A positive working life: Joan gained a positive working life which gave her a passion for her work and her family.
This could be seen by the positive changes in her life and her ambitiousness as she took on a bigger challenge
ahead and she knew she had the support of the organisation. She became a flourishing individual due to a
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CHAPTER TWO
2.1 COACHING
Coaching ensures that managers break the walls between them and employees to look past the employees’ work
related activities and initiate an open and honest conversation that creates an environment that motivates
consistent and improved performance at professional and personal levels, ensures timely and regular feedback
on performance, attitude and behavior. It is also believed that participation in a coaching program would improve
positive psychological constructs such as goal attainment, self-concordance, insight, resilience, and self-efficacy
Coaching is defined as a collaborative relationship formed between the coach and the coachee, for the purpose
of attaining professional or personal development outcomes valued by the coachee (Spence &Grant, 2007). It is
important to clearly define the goals and expected results during the coaching conversation as it sends the
employee a clear message on the in regards to the need of the coaching session, how they will benefit
professionally and even personally, the gaps or issues to be addressed, commitment required, to perform better
Coaching will only be effective and have a great impact when; desired outcomes are identified, specific goals
attributed to the individual are defined, individual strengths are identified as the key driver to achieving set goals,
action plans and resources required are identified and planned for, regular assessment and feedback on set
goals is carried out and lastly actions plans are modified as there could be a number of factors (environmental,
political, social and economic) that could affect achieving the desired outcomes.
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Organizations, specifically managers or supervisors should work towards ensuring that their employees/
subordinates have autonomy, environmental mastery, have a clear purpose in life, are self-aware and accepting
of who they are; focusing and improving on their strengths, have excellent relationships with their colleagues and
family, and are fully engaged at work. These types of employees are considered to be flourishing and are of great
Coaching in the organization and at the place of work can be internal and external. Internal coaching takes place
when coaching is carried out with the organization by the line manager, Human Resource personnel, supervisors
or even senior employees with the aim of addressing inadequate performance, ensuring job clarity, passing on a
desired skill and even correcting behavior, and is mainly for the non-executive employees within the organization.
External coaching is provided by professionals in the business of coaching who are not part of the organization
and offer a combination of training consultancy and coaching services (Binstead& Grant, 2008; Clegg, Rhodes,
Kornberger &Stilin, 2005), for management and executive members of the organization. External coaching
focuses mainly on workplace safety behaviors, (Geller, Perdue& French, 2004), life coaching for work-life balance
Most coaches have increasingly gone ahead to adopt to new strategies of coaching that call for solution-focused
to strength –based techniques which can be used by the coachee to identify their strength and resources in order
to reach to the positive outcome. (Berg &Szabo,2005) as in the case of Joan who went through coaching both
internal and external, thus enabling her gain work life balance which led to a positive working life. External
coaching aims at enabling a workplace safety behavior to life coaching for work-life balance and leadership
development.
Coaching interventions are categorized in three ways in an organization which are developing a specific skill set
essential to the job and work that needs to be done well, improving performance for a given time frame to achieve
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set goals and objectives and lastly to ensure professional and personal development and growth among
employees.
2.2 MINDFULNESS
Mindfulness is the purposeful, nonjudgmental focus on the present that fosters a more inclusive and authentic
vision of reality which when practiced and adopted in an organization, promotes the effective use of individual
Job satisfaction, improved memory, motivation, creativity, self-compassion, emotional awareness, interpersonal
sensitivity and learning are some of aspects in an organization that can be improved through mindfulness which
will in turn contribute to improving health and wellbeing at work, fostering more effective skills in managing
Mindfulness provides the opportunity for an organization or an individual to slow down and observe the full range
of experiences as they truly are which would seem counter-intuitive in a world where everyone is aiming at
working faster towards achieving their goals instantly. It is however argued that only by slowing down can one be
at once more effective and satisfied because by engaging in moments of inner stillness or mediation, opportunities
to step out of the overwhelming flow, regain composure, strength and clarity of thought enable one to rejoin the
flow and follow it harmoniously. Reflecting on the example of the ‘cabinet maker’ in our tool. “A cabinet-maker is
intent on putting the finishing touches on a commissioned piece of furniture. They are feeling under great strain
and pressure, the deadline is looming and they are late. The 8 hours’ work remaining must be completed in the
4 hours available. They are so overwhelmed and so hurried that they fail to realize their chisel has become blunt”.
Most managers and employees are so engrossed in their work and are pressed for time. They end up making
mistakes and producing poor quality work especially when trying to beat or meet deadlines. The ideal thing to do
is stop, gather energy and thoughts return to work and as a result, produce faster, cleaner and quality work.
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2.3 STRENGTH DEVELOPMENT IN THE WORK PLACE
Strengths are the abilities to consistently produce to near perfect performance on a specific task and they are
composed of;
Skills which are the basic abilities to perform fundamental tasks such as operating a particular machine.
Knowledge which involves acquaintance with and understanding of facts and principles accumulated
Talents which are natural ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving for example an inner drive to compete,
being sensitive to the needs of others, or the tendency to be outgoing at social gatherings.
The strength philosophy asserts that individuals are able to gain far more when they expend effort to build on
their greatest talents than when they spend comparable amount of effort to remediate or work on their
weaknesses. Organizations have now dedicated time to focus on what is right with people. They have therefore
used the strength based approach in the management of organizations. For instance an IT Systems Manager
who is good at programming, coding and creating software that makes business more efficient and competitive
but is being tasked to handle the IT administration and supervise personnel issues which he consistently fails to
do and shuns because all he wants is to be left to deliver ideas and software that would be vital to the business
operations. It would be best to focus on the IT Manager’s strengths to the advantage of the company.
The process of strength development begins with identification, moves into integration and ultimately to changed
behavior and outcomes (Clifton et al, 2003). Strength based development process encourages individuals to build
strengths by acquiring skills and knowledge that complement their greatest talents in application. When a person
uses their unique and natural gifts, he is able to create increasing opportunities for excellence. (Clifton et al,
1952).
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2.4 CHARACTER STRENGTH AND WORK
This is identifying one’s signature strengths of character and using them as much as possible on a regular basis
(Linley et al, 2010). When one uses a character strength for instance at work, this will have a spill over happiness
into other spheres of one’s life. A randomized-controlled study showed the relationship between strengths use
(the previous day) and positive mood the following day (viacharacter.org). Character strength also looks to
determine the characteristic that generally predict joy or satisfaction at work. Some of these character strengths
Character strength looks to find the universally accepted character strengths (kindness, fairness, honesty,
gratitude which we all possess to a varying degree. Character strengths at work would state that people with
these character strengths more evident in the work life will be happier and enjoy a more positive career. As
stated above, each person possess an element of a character strength at stronger levels. It has been found that
in certain jobs people will exhibit certain characters more. For example, managers will possess wisdom,
knowledge and perseverance more than operational workers. A person who exhibits these characters and is
placed in a managerial or administrative role will get to utilise their character strength more often and will lead to
positivity in their career while a person whose strength is aggressive and pushing for closure on a given task
would be suited to work as a stock broker, where these attributes which may not necessarily be seen as positive
Character strength also looks at setting up groups or teams and how it would best work. There are two streams
of thought here, one stream argues that a supplementary fit would work where members of a team each possess
the same ability which allows for easier team creation, acceptance and bonding. The other stream of thought
argues that a complementary fit works better when people of different character come together, and one’s
strength will offset the weakness of the group and thus make the group stronger.
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There are basically two character strength tests. Character Strengths which studies ones character, and
Increased working hours are having an effect on the lifestyle and wellbeing of a number of people. Work Life
balance is the process of establishing an equilibrium between work and every other aspect of life.If there is a
state of inequity between work life and personal life, this may create stress / work family conflict, which will impact
on an employee’s performance.
Work life balance is the need to balance between an individual’s work and family life. Having a sense of balance
between work and professional life will improve job satisfaction amongst employees because employees will feel
Organizational initiatives like flexi time, compressed workweek, telecommuting, part time schedules, job sharing,
on-site child care and a family-friendly climate can be implemented to help employees cope with the demands of
balancing family and work. Aryee et al (1999) believe that these initiatives have led to outcomes such as reduced
A positive working life will result in happier employees but also a more productive organisation. A positive working
life will result in people flourishing at their work and also in their personal lives since there is support and guidance
at work and in their personal lives. Most times it is often difficult to separate work and life since a positive working
life leads to a positive personal life. A positive work life will enable individuals to gain meaning in their work and
maintain a good family relationship. A positive work environment makes employees feel good about coming to
work which provides motivation to sustain them and this also influences how they handle their personal life,
managing it well.
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CHAPTER THREE
Coaching aims at improving the work-life balance of an individual through establishing a flourishing environment
In relation to our case, we see that Joan was going through rough times both at work and her life outside work,
but after the coaching intervention (internal coaching) by the immediate supervisor and counselling process
(external coaching) as the organizational policy, she was able to improve from languishing to flourishing both at
work and family life. This means that when coaching intervention was administered to Joan through her
supervisor, the concept of character strength was realized which enabled Joan to be promoted to the job that
matcher her interests and abilities thus enabling her to perform better.
When explaining the relation between Coaching dimensions and work-life balance dimensions, other areas of
focus will be mental health, Goal Striving, Self-Concordance, flourishing and how they relate with / to boundary
management strategies, organizational initiatives and individual coping strategies of work-life balance.
The Mental health element is explained as the degree of psychological well-being, including how much autonomy,
self- acceptance, positive relations with others, purpose in life and personal growth that is reflected by a person
(Keyes 2003), whereas boundary management strategies are simply practices or principles that people use to
separate and organize role demands and expectations into specific realm of home and work. (Nippert-Eng, 1996).
Coaching intervention allows individuals to learn coping mechanisms that will allow them to be able to perform
highly as well as being able to practice boundary management by separating work and family roles
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(segmentation) or one being able to manage both work and family at the same time in terms of resources
Goal striving is where an individual intentionally and purposefully pursues goals and are fully engaged in
achieving them though it should be also be noted, according to ( Ryan, Sheldon, Kasser and Deci, 1996) that
some goals are better at mobilizing energy and effort than other types of goals. Learning/ mastery goals are
believed to better facilitate task performance (Seijts& Latham, 2001) compared to the others.
Self-concordance is used to support goal striving in achieving individual wellbeing, as it refers to the propensity
of individuals to set and strive for goals that are consistent with one’s developing interests and core values
(Sheldon & Elliot, 1999). When individuals set goals that are self-concordant they experience a sense of
ownership over the goals which activates greater levels of energy and effort and allows these individuals to gain
greater wellbeing benefits for the attainment of the set goals as seen in our local case where Joan is driven to
An individual who sets and strives for goals that are in line with his/her interests is able to cope with the
Organizational initiatives put in place to help him/her to perform better and flourish both at work and family
Flourishing is the state where individuals experience high levels of mental health and low levels of mental illness.
The individual feels positive emotions towards life and they are functioning well psychologically and socially.
(Keyes, 2003)
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Individual coping strategies are individual initiatives or practices that an employee uses in order to be able to
balance work and family. These are explained in a model named SOC (selection, optimization and
compensation). Selection looks at setting goals and categorizing them into short term goals or long term goals
as it was in the case of Joan with her supervisor. Optimization is the change in the allocation or redesigning of
resources in order to achieve your desired goals and compensation is the use of alternative means to maintain
This means that when an individual is in the state of wellbeing, their mental health is high and is able to function
in line with the individual coping strategies that ensures one is able to select the short and long term goals,
optimize the resources available and lastly compensate with what is available.
In explaining the relationship between mindfulness and work-life balance, we shall focus on how flow, learned
optimism, time perspective and stress reduction, relate with boundary management strategies, organizational
Many people are their happiest when in flow (Cskszentmihalyl & LeFevre, 1989; DelleFave & Massimini, 2003 &
2004) and they may experience flow within their working activities yet without knowing how to label such
experiences. Flow occurs when a combination of specific features are present which include: clear goals,
concentration on a specific limited filed, direct feedback, loss of conscious awareness of the self and time, a
balance between the level of ability and the challenge, a sense of control and a sense of absorption with the
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Because individuals are their happiest when in flow, the individual coping strategies that they choose amidst
work-family conflict will depend on what makes them happy or what fits in the current situation. Individuals can
choose to use life management strategies (selection, optimization and compensation) or time management
strategies (to-do-lists among others) in order to manage their limited resources of time and energy if they are to
Positive psychology is influenced by mindfulness because it does not give room to negative feelings. Pessimists
react negatively to the numerous challenges they face and thus are likely to have problems in achieving a balance
between conflicting roles of work and family. As such, they have to learn to be optimistic in every situation so as
Learned optimism is also important when designing organizational initiatives designed to achieve work-life
balance. Optimists will openly welcome strategies (flextime, compressed work weeks, on-site child care centers)
It can also be a driving force when it comes to individual coping strategies in the face of work-family conflict. An
optimistic mind will easily think outside the box, be open to the different life management strategies (selection,
optimization and compensation) and time management models for purposes of creating balance.
Mindfulness focuses on the present; however, most people would naturally have a preference to focus either on
the past, present or future with a specific attitude, positive or negative. In trying to manage the boundaries
between work and family, the aspect of time is important. In selecting boundary management strategies,
organizations will need visionaries (who see things that do not exist as yet), realists (who recognize the present
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and exercise caution where necessary) and use of the past in order to inform the present. A balance between
Time perspective is also important when choosing individual coping strategies in trying to achieve work-life
balance. The aspect of time will be important in implementing life management strategies in the face of limited
resources of time and energy. This is especially true when individuals have to set clear goals (selection), optimize
(when there is a change in allocation of resources) and compensation (which occurs when alternate means are
used to maintain the desired level of functioning in the face of the actual) which is the present (mindfulness in our
tool). This is also true when applied in a 3-dimensional sense of the time management model (goal setting and
Mindfulness reduces stress at the work place. Take an example in our case study of Joan who was so
preoccupied with the future such that she lost sense of what was present around her, she became too stressed,
started borrowing, affecting her performance at work. The organization had to intervene with its strategies like
coaching and financial counselling in order to help her get back on her feet. This boosted Joan’s confidence who
was finally able to see things the way they were (present), her stress was reduced and was able to achieve
Stress reduction as an outcome of mindfulness is also related to the organizational strategies and individual
coping strategies. Strategies such as flexi time, compressed work weeks, telecommuting and family friendly
climate are all meant to facilitate individuals achieve balance in their lives. The individual coping strategies like
selection, optimization and compensation are also meant to reduce stress in employees.
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3.3 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STRENGTH DEVELOPMENT IN THE WORK PLACE AND WORK-
LIFE BALANCE
The relationship between strength development in a work place and work-life balance shall focus on; how strength
boundary management strategies, organizational initiatives and individual coping strategies of work-life balance.
Strength assessment involves identifying areas where an individual’s greatest potential for building strengths
exist. By identifying one’s top themes of talent, Clifton finder helps in the identification of specific personal talent.
An individual’s talents should be identified, and built upon to develop into strengths within their roles.
In relation to boundary management strategies, when an individual identifies their strengths, they are able to
draw clear boundaries between work roles and family roles. For example if an individual is a leader and has
overload at work which may spill into time for family to cause work family conflict, they may use their strength of
speed to be able to complete work in time so as create time for the family.
In relation to individual coping strategies like selection, optimization and compensation, when individual/personal
strengths or talents are identified, one is able to use the most strength to overcome work family conflict. The
individual uses their strengths like skills, knowledge and talent to select either to optimize work roles or family
In relation to our case, Joan’s strength of getting the best deal from a client was identified and she was placed in
the sales department with stretching targets. This motivated Joan who was happy and fully engaged at work,
improving her relationships at home enabling balance between work and family roles.
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Application of strength based development and work-life balance
Strength based development is where individual potentials are identified and integrated into self-view to cause
behavior change. Studies of self-perceived psychological growth and change have found that positive events can
trigger many enduring turning points in individual lives. (Avolio and Luthans, 2006).
Identifying and understanding talents can become positive turning points, triggering changes in how people view
themselves in the context of the world around them. In other words the person’s most powerful talents represent
the best of his or her natural self. Accordingly, these talents are the foundations on which a person finds the best
Strength based development emphasizes the development of talent into strengths. This is through trainings to
acquire knowledge and skills. Managers that have adopted strength based development have achieved work-life
In relation to boundary management strategies, when individual positive attributes are concentrated on and
developed, the individual is able to integrate work roles into family roles hence facilitating work-life balance.
In relation to organization initiatives of flextime, compressed work week and on-site child care, when strength
based developments are applied in a work place, organization initiatives are employed to boost the individual’s
potential. This has increased employee engagement, productivity and profitability of the organizations and more
time has been created for the family, thus work-life balance.
In relation to individual coping strategies, when individual strengths are developed, the individual is able to cope
with changes in a work place like downsizing, restructuring by using the most of unique talents developed into
strengths. This is possible when individuals use coping strategies like selection of the most of their unique talent
corporate sales. She was also given a financial work plan and a promotion that came with a bigger portfolio. Joan
was also allowed to work from home every once in a while which led to a work life balance.
Managers who have created environments in which employees are able to use the most of their talents have
productive work units with less employee turnover (Clifton and Harter, 2003). When various strengths of
individuals or employees are tapped, individuals can use the management coping strategies like selection,
optimization and compensation to know when and where to apply their strengths like knowledge, skills and talent.
The strengths approach also helps to overcome challenges both at work and home/ family hence work-life
balance. At the work place, organizations utilize the uniqueness of each employee to maximize team’s output.
Teams that align team functions like measurement, vision casting and celebration with the strengths of each
member are effective. Organization initiatives facilitate work life balance, and individual coping strategies of work
life balance together with individual strengths, increased employee engagement is attained, reduced turnover;
increased productivity and profitability of organizations are achieved. When all this happens then a positive
In relation to boundary management strategies, when each individual on the team uses his or her uniqueness,
they are able to draw a boundary between the work roles and family roles or may use their strengths to integrate
In relation to individual coping strategies, the individual uses the unique strengths to cope with challenges of
family and changes at work like downsizing, restructuring. They use their unique strengths to build new
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relationships by selecting the appropriate strength, optimizing and compensating work roles and family roles
Character Strength involves the identifying one’s signature strengths of character and using them as much as
possible on a regular basis (Linley et al, 2010). By identifying a person’s strengths and allowing the person to
use these more often, it will allow the individual to flourish. Character strength proposes that when an individual
utilizes their strengths on a regular basis, they will have the ability to perform their duties in an efficient and
happier way. In order to look at character strength, one needs to focus on core character, what characters will
usually lead to satisfaction at work, and character fit as they apply to work life balance.
It has been proven that there are a number of universally accepted traits or characteristics that are visible in
everyone. These include and are not limited to; kindness, fairness, honesty, gratitude and open mindedness.
However, there are certain characteristics which manifest more in certain careers. For example, managers and
administrators exhibit wisdom, knowledge and perseverance, while blue collar workers will have core characters
Strength of character at work, or character strength will be demonstrated in work life by the way it affects boundary
management. In boundary management there are two theories, boundary theory and border theory. Boundary
theory states that a person will either segment or integrate the two dominant roles in their lives, work and personal
life. If one is a proponent of integration as achieving work life balance, a person can state that by a person using
a core strength, for example a manager using perseverance at work, and also using it at home, it will be integration
of work life balance. By using the core strength combined with work and life, it leads to less energy needed to
transition from work to home. Hence by one utilizing their core strength (strength of character and work) in both
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arenas will achieve a work life balance. This boundary integration part of work life balance will have the advantage
of less expenditure of energy for the transition from one role to another, lower tension and greater flexibility which
For organizations, it is important that they use strength of character at work to enable a positive work life balance.
Organization can utilize flexi time, compressed work week, telecommuting among others to allow employees to
better juggle the demands of home and still be productive at work. However, to utilize these initiatives, an
organization must base on good character. When an organization and management utilize good character like
open mindedness (core universal strengths) they will be able to see the benefits of these initiatives like more
Good character will lead to positive work life balance because the universally accepted traits of honesty and
fairness will translate into better working time. By being honest with employees, an employer will endeavor to
use them for the time for which they are required. An individual will also be honest and fair to their employer by
giving diligent performance during the required time so as to achieve necessary production and thus lead to a
better time management enabling them manage their personal life efficiently well.
Strength of character and work will help facilitate work life balance by promoting positive attitude which will be
integrated into the life and work roles an individual has to deal with. The idea here is that when an individual
applies the characters most associated with job satisfaction, which include; zest, hope, curiosity, gratitude and
love, these can be easily integrated in both the role of life and work.
In our case study, Joan also had lost hope at conceiving and zest in the work she was doing, which also ended
up affecting her life and led to negative behaviors of borrowing and unnecessary mistakes errors at work.
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However, by the organization using positive interventions, Joan’s zest, love and hope returned and allowed for
her to be more positive at life as well. This supports the theory that positive psychology and positive interventions
(strength of character and work) are key in an organization achieving increased productivity.
Individuals using zest and love will work hard during their office hours meaning that they will better manage and
utilize their time at work. The amount of time lost on people misusing company property on Facebook or late
arrival at work will mean lower production. This will lead to the need for extra hours or over time to be put in place
to achieve results. However when individuals apply zest they will work harder and diligently and manage their
time efficiently and productively, improving work life balance and reduce overtime hours.
Character strength at work looks at determining what characteristics are better suited to certain jobs. This is
known as character fit. It is argued that either a supplementary fit, where ones characteristics fit in with the
expected will lead to a happy individual or complementary fit where one with a characteristic not common is able
to add value to the group. When a character fit occurs, there is work family fit, because one is productive and
Organizations will use strength of character in their organizations to facilitate work life balance. By using
character fit in placing people, those with either supplementary or complementary will help work life balance
because supplementary means that people will be more productive and have high job satisfaction. Greater
productivity will mean better usage of their time, and limit the amount of overtime required to catch up on
production.
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By working with people where an individual is able to complement their work matters, one will be able to have
their weakness concealed and at the same time support the group in its weak areas. This will mean a more
3.5 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WORK-LIFE BALANCE AND A POSITVE WORKING LIFE.
Work life balance is about attaining a balance between the demands of work and those of a personal nature.
Work life balance looks at using boundary management theories, organization facilitated work life balance and
Boundary management theories look at the way individuals will attempt to control the line that divides ones’
personal life and work life. Whether one believes that integration, where the line between the two is blurred or
almost nonexistent or if one believes in segmentation where the lines will be clearly defined is a matter of the role
one plays and one’s personal decision. Certain roles will allow more segmentation while others will call for more
integration. Depending on the boundary theories one uses, if one uses one appropriately in attaining work life, it
will lead to a positive working life. In integration one spends less energy transitioning from one role to the other
as at home and work one plays the same role. For example manager who comes home and is still able to take
control and lead and delegate. It leads to lower tension, as the conflict between the two roles can often times
increase the tension when in one role the person is used to giving orders and in another role one is subservient
to another.
When an individual ensures work life balance, either by segmentation or integration, the individual will manage
the dividing line to their abilities and are able to enjoy a positive working life. Many individuals often time
compromise one to save the other, people have resigned from their jobs to get more time to spend with loved
ones, or vice versa where one sacrifices time with loved ones to build a career. However this often leads to
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conflict and the argument is that when one experience happiness in one arena, the other will be well taken of,
hence work life balance will lead to a more positive work life.
Work life balance looks at the initiatives that an organization will put in place to facilitate this positive intervention.
Some of these include flexi time, compressed work weeks, telecommuting or on-site child care. The argument
is that in today’s world, segmentation is becoming more and more difficult to attain. So the best way to avoid
family work conflict is to avail more time for family but also allowing individuals to work. Flexi time allows
individuals to come into office later than usual or leave earlier to fetch kids, or spend more time in the morning
with loved ones. By using these initiatives, an individual gains more happiness in life which will spill into their
work, leading to a happier individual balancing the demands of work and family.
Individual strategies to manage work life balance will lead to a positive working life, as by being able to devote
enough time to work but still being in position to manage family demands, an individual will have a positive work
life. With the balance, the individual will be able to segment, optimize and compensate. Selection, in being able
set goals and maintain functioning even in the face of challenges. By using Segmentation, Optimization and
Compensation where there is work life balance, an individual will be better placed to mitigate the loss in resources
whether tangible like money or intangible like love of family. They will be able to optimize and use the resources
(energy and time) better to meet the demands from both domains.
CASE STUDY.
Based in one of the media houses in Uganda, Joan was an Advertising Manager who was considered the cream
of the sales team as she handled a portfolio that brought in a monthly revenue of shs.900,000,000/- (Nine hundred
million shillings only). She was aggressive, knew how to get more money from the advertisers with her creativity,
strong negotiation and bargaining skills, her shrewdness, tact and the ability to tell where a sales opportunity was
instantly. Joan had worked with the organization for six years and was always punctual to work, consistently
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achieved her targets over and above, willingly worked longer and extra hours when it required her to ensure that
the team achieved its sales targets. Like her peers always said, “Joan was an aggressive sales person that never
Before she could mark her sixth year at work, Joan started losing focus, coming in late, her sales revenues
dropped drastically and she always had a good excuse on how the market was not doing well, her dress sense
changed to one of someone that was just dragged to come to work, no effort was made in her presentations; they
were always full of mistakes and errors on the sales figures and projections which had never happened. Joan’s
direct reports started gossiping about her in the corridors, how she shouted at them, threatened to fire them and
how she no longer gave any support in terms of the daily sales activities.
Joan’s supervisor quickly called in for a meeting because sales revenue had dropped for the entire quarter which
was appalling because even at her worst performance, Joan always at least met target but never performed
From the meeting that was held with the presence of a Human Resource representative, it was discovered that
Joan had so far had four miscarriages in total, faced a lot of pressures from her in-laws and her husband who
had been supportive all through this ordeal, but he was also getting affected by the pressures and became
impatient. It did not also help that Joan’s father was also ill in hospital and the medical bills kept shooting up each
day with little or no hope of him making it through. Joan was then given compassionate leave to go rest and
handle her father’s situation away from the work pressures since her performance and delivery was being
affected.
Just when she returned from the approved leave, a number of money lenders came in threatening to have Joan
arrested for failing to pay back big amounts of money that she had borrowed. Two weeks after the first encounter
with the money lenders, a number of individuals also walked in requesting that Joan’s supervisors ensure that
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she paid back their money. The HR Manager then requested to have Joan explain why she was borrowing huge
sums of money and from random people yet there was a system in place at the company which advanced staff
money when emergencies came up. Joan responded that she was using the money to go for fertility treatments
which were not cheap and also to pay for her father’s medical expenses which were getting costly by the day.
A financial plan was drawn for Joan with the support of management that advanced her money to clear the money
lenders and the random individuals that were demanding payment. A meeting was also held with the money
lenders requesting that they deduct the interest so far earned to reduce the pressures on, to which they agreed
to. A financial advisor from one of the company’s bank where Joan also banked was called in to support her in
terms of making wise decisions when it came to money and how she would invest long term. Following her
father’s death, there was an external counselor that was called in to support Joan during that trying moment as it
Joan with the support of the Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) who believed in her key strengths as a strong sales
force decided to focus and build on what she could do at the moment. He arranged for a one-on-one session,
which started out as informal on a weekly basis. After three weeks of meeting Joan, her self-esteem had improved
greatly, she believed more in herself and plans were then made to ensure that she start delivering on her targets.
Coaching sessions were then scheduled with clear objectives set and weekly assessments made and where
Joan was challenged, the CCO came in to support her and redirect her focus to what need to be done to achieve
the results. The CCO encouraged her to do better and also allowed her the flexibility to take time off to handle
Six months later, Joan’s team gave positive reviews about how much of a difference their work was now, the
sales revenues had increased with special and creative projects initiated by Joan who was even recognized as
the Sales Manager for the month, four times in a row, she was given a commendation letter from the Managing
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Director for a special project she had single handedly done which had immensely increased the company’s profit
Joan was promoted to handle a bigger portfolio and a bigger team which she gladly and confidently took on even
after she had just given birth to twin boys. She was not afraid of the challenge ahead because she was still getting
the coaching support from the CCO who on certain occasions allowed her to work from home when the need
CONCLUSION
When organizations use positive interventions to assist employees to achieve work life balance, individuals are
Organizations need to aim at coaching employees, using strength based approaches, mindfulness and also
helping employees to have a work life balance so as to achieve a positive work life balance.
Organizations need to ensure that supervisors are supportive of the company policies and interventions offered
to make certain that their employees feel comfortable utilizing them otherwise they will just remain on paper and
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