Work life Balance

Work-life balance was created to balance the imbalance of emotion created by life and
the work. It influences individuals in family and organization relevant outcomes such as
employee’s health, commitment, job satisfaction and family welfare. In the case of Indian
workforces. Work-life balance needs to be looked at in terms of geographical constraints.
Cultural ethos religions and languages. Despite the continuous and growing impact of
urbanization, secularization, and Westernization, the traditional joint household, both in ideal
and in practice, remains the primary social force in the lives of most of the individuals.
 
Work-life balance is an issue of paramount importance to individuals, families, organizations,
government and society. Techno-economic changes have increased the pressures on
organizations and employees alike. Moreover, the increasing number of women in the
workforce, nuclear families and dual earner couples has made work-life balance a crucial
concern for employees as well as organizations across industries and occupations. The need for a
balance between work and personal life has become an integral element of employee
expectations from employers. Career success today is defined not only in terms of promotions
and lucrative assignments but also the ability to balance between work and non-work life. In this
regard helping employees to have a healthy work-life balance has become a challenge for
employers and human resource professionals.
 
Over the past three decades, there has been a substantial increase in work which is felt to be due,
in part, by information technology and by an intense, competitive work environment. Long-term
loyalty has been twisted by a performance culture that expects more and more from their
employees yet offers little security in return. This is also encouraged by prevailing consumerist
culture and expanding horizons of the social changes in Indian influenced by western culture
gives more importance to earnings and lifestyle and the low value to parenting. Over the past
decade, rises in levels of absenteeism, poor health, cardiovascular disease, sexual health
problems, a weaker immune system and frequent headaches, stiff muscles, or backache, poor
coping skills, irritability, jumpiness, insecurity, exhaustion, and difficulty concentrating. There
are also increases in the level to binge eating, smoking, and alcohol consumption. They are all
evidence of an unhealthy work life balance.
Religion plays vital role in Work life balance:

All Religion provides individuals with guidance about where to go and how to get there during
stressful periods in life. Religious involvement also offers a formal mechanism that can provide
an individual with a positive social network and opportunities for enhancing transferable skills
and opportunities. The religious world helps people to understand their personal limitations and
encourages them to go beyond themselves for solutions. Going beyond oneself for solutions will
allow an individual to utilize the resource of social support. Most of a religion’s power lies in its
ability to assess negative situations from an alternative vantage point, and in turn crises become
an opportunity for closeness with God. “Religion places negative events in a positive sacred
context without denying or distorting the fact that a fundamental change has taken place”. This
aspect of religion will allow for an individual’s quality of involvement to be positive.

One’s involvement in many roles, such as work, family, and religion, can lead to either a gain or
decline in one’s personal and social resources. In relation to work and family-based resources,
most research suggests that more of these resources are associated with decreased work-family
conflict and enhanced facilitation. The importance of religion in life and perception of
religiousness relate to decrease work-family conflict and increase work-family enrichment. Thus,
organization should incorporate religious elements in the programs and activities to encourage
work-life balance among employees.

Work/life balance begins with a biblical view of work. Contrary to what many think, work is not
primarily a place to please our boss, help our customers, make money, or build a career. So what
is a biblical view of work? Notice these six insights from Ephesians 6:5–8:

 God has called us to work.

 God has called us to serve him in our work.
 God has called us to serve him from and with the heart.
 God has called us to do our work with excellence.
 God has called us to love our neighbor in our work.
 God sees, appreciates, and will reward our work.
Putting that all together, we arrive at a biblical view of work: work is the place God has called
us to serve him from the heart, with excellence, for the benefit of others, and to please him.  I
hope you can see that such a view of work will change your view of work. It will transform your
attitude to it, your actions in it, and your assessment of it. Work is essentially good and godly.

Religion may influence intrinsic processes of emotion regulation. We propose that it does so by
promoting basic self-regulation skills, by influencing adherents’ beliefs about the malleability of
emotions, and by teaching adherents strategies for emotion regulation. We describe each of these
processes below

Self-regulation skills

McCullough and Willoughby (2009) observed that many religious settings require exercise of
self-regulation. For example, religious communal affairs require exercise of selfregulation in
order to be in line with behavioral norms for socially approved or censured behaviors. Likewise,
many religious rituals require the exercise of self-control. For example, fasting, a central ritual of
the Muslim month of Ramadan and a ritual that occurs six times a year in the Jewish tradition,
requires exercising self-control. According to the strength model of self-control, resources for
self-control are limited (Muraven & Baumeister, 2000). By regularly exercising self-control,
these resources decrease in the short term, but increase and replenish in the long term (Denson,
Capper, Oaten, Friese, & Schofield, 2011; Muraven, 2010; Muraven, Baumeister, & Tice; 1999;
Oaten & Cheng, 2006). By setting strict rules of conduct, culture requires the constant exercise
of self-control. By doing so, over time religion may help increase adherents’ general self-
regulatory resources. Such resources enable all forms of self-regulation (Baumeister, Vohs, &
Tice, 2007), including the regulation of emotion. Therefore, by instructing adherents to exercise
self-control, religion increases self-regulatory resources that enable the successful regulation of
emotion. There is now empirical evidence for the link between religion and general self-
regulation skills, and some have argued that religion facilitates self-regulation (e.g., McCullough
& Willoughby, 2009). There is evidence that religious individuals are more likely than
nonreligious individuals to engage in self-control and self-regulation (McCullough &
Willoughby, 2009). Another study has found that parents’ religiousness was positively
associated with their children’s self-control (Bartkowski, Xu, & Levin, 2008). There is even
some evidence for the causal role of religion. In particular, Rounding, Lee, Jacobson, and Ji
(2012) found that priming religious concepts increased performance in self-control tasks,
including enduring discomforts and delaying gratification. We propose that such developed self-
regulation skills are likely to facilitate all forms of self-regulation, including emotion regulation.

Religion creates social communities (Durkheim, 1915/1965; Graham & Haidt, 2010), which
provide a network of social support (Diener, Tay & Myers, 2011). Most religions involve regular
communal meetings that afford people the opportunity to engage in social interactions on a
regular basis. Christians go to church on Sundays, Muslims meet in the mosque on Fridays, and
Jews meet in the synagogue on Saturdays. These regular meetings provide a basis of social
support for members of the religious community. Diener, Tay and Myers (2011) found, in a large
worldwide survey, that people who were more religious reported receiving greater social support.
One of the important benefits of social support involves emotion regulation. Receiving social
support helps individuals decrease unpleasant emotions when dealing with negative life

Festivals:

Festivals are an expressive way to celebrate glorious heritage, culture and traditions. They are
meant to rejoice special moments and emotions in our lives with our loved ones. They play
an important role in work life balance to add structure to our social lives, and connect us with our
families and backgrounds. A festival is an occasion of enjoyment and celebration which
promotes social interaction and harmony it is also reduce ease stress.

A traditional festival gives distraction from our day to day, exhausting routine of life, and gives
us some inspiration to remember the important things and moments in life.  Festivals were
started to pass the legends, knowledge and traditions onto the next generation.

All festivals are cultural in one way or another.  There are many types of cultural festivals such
as National, Religious and Seasonal.  They all serve the purpose of bringing happiness to our
lives, and strengthen our sense of community.

National Festivals:  They connect us as a people of a nation.  National festivals connect citizens
to important moments of a nation’s history such as: the founding day of a nation, our
independence day is celebrated throughout the continent, with many nations having a public
holiday.  They solidify patriotic spirits in the society.
Religious Festivals: religious festivals are important for families.  To keep this simple we can all
agree that religious festivals help us to teach principles and ethics to our next generations.  All
different religious festivals bring the same message of love, tolerance and understanding.  On
these occasions we express our gratitude to God, for the special thing or event that originated on
this particular festival.

Seasonal Festivals: Seasonal festivals reflect attitude of people towards nature.  These festivals
are important because they are related to food supply.  Human beings should adore the nature
and acknowledge its beneficence before partaking any of its gifts. Overall in simple terms,
universally all festivals are related to harmony, peace and happiness.

Organizations have consciously embraced the fact that festivities encourage a strong sense of
belonging when you treat the employees as a part of the organization’s extended family.
Effective people management ensures that celebrations foster team-building in the most obvious
manner, bringing individuals closer; giving them the opportunity to interact across cultures and
traditions. A classic indicator of living up to diversity at workplace is when professionals are
given a platform to interact across departments, participate in cultural activities with vigour and
indulge in the festive spirit with joy.

The informal atmosphere during festivities helps break the ice. And when HR takes the initiative
to slip in a few fun games, that is the ultimate moment that one feels happiness at work! In fact,
festive celebrations are the best times to welcome new members into the organization and get
them familiarized with the work culture. It proves to be a great way to explain the importance of
nurturing the passion to work for a brand that cares for its puts people first.

Be it a puja during Diwali, rangoli and floral decorations during Onam, a family get-together

during Holi or the ultimate, ‘Your Secret Santa’! Festivities help establish the fact that even the
senior management is fun to be with. Implement employee recognition ideas and add the element
of a talent show and the responses received are simply priceless!

But, shouldn’t ‘community specific festivities’ be given equal importance and weightage too?
Who decides what gets celebrated and what doesn’t? Christmas, Diwali, Ramzan (Id-ul-Fitr),
Rakshabandhan, even Valentine’s Day – Check. Merely because it caters to a majority of the
crowd? What about Baisakhi, Easter, Ugadi, Muharram, Paryushana, Navroz; or even Bihu?

The cultural demographics within a workplace constitute the coming together of individuals from
different parts across the country. Some celebrations are state specific, while some are
community specific. Diverse religions, different languages, varied customs and traditions. Is
each one being given the rightful amount of importance?

“Is it possible to accommodate all” you ask? India technically worships a battalion of deities; and
festivities ultimately relate back to ‘the higher power’ in some way. Not to forget the inclusion of
the popular ones that have become a norm from the west. In a democratic country like ours when
we claim secularism of thought, defining boundaries, while ensuring diversity at workplace
becomes a task.

The biggest challenge? Maintaining the perfect balance. The department responsible to find
better ways to strike that ‘perfect balance’ – The HR. What role does the HR play in
encouraging ‘inclusivity’?

Organizations today are strategically shifting their focus to its driving force – the people.
Indulging in internal communications and engaging in employee centric activities to reinforce
happiness at work has been the norm. The latest trend in practice within the industry is the
provision for a ‘Floating Holiday’ – a paid leave benefit for the employee to help achieve a work
life balance. The policy can be customized with the crux of providing each and every employee a
day or two off, over and above the specified list of official holidays. It has so far proven to be the
ultimate morale booster and most of the times, may even go unutilized. But the thought behind
this people management counts and it does leave a lasting impression.
What do certain requests lack that they get belittled? What is the breaking point for a situation
before it leads to an escalation? Sometimes, the biggest obstacle standing on the bridge between
the organization and a people first approach is the demon called ‘lack of communication’. A
demon that can possesses the power to turn the tables on something as heartening as Celebrating
Festivals Consciously at Work.
Religion plays vital role in Work life balance:
In holy Bible Jesus said many of the areas about to take rest when we take rest in similar
occasion we will get reforms. Jesus said Mark 6, 30-34.“Come away to a deserted place all by
yourselves and rest a while." For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to
eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. Now many saw them
going and recognized them and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead
of them. As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because
they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.
God made the Sabbath rest for a reason. Now we are saved by grace and Jesus is our Sabbath,
but having a day when we just relax and rest is beneficial.
1. Mark 2:27-28Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people,
and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord, even over
the Sabbath!”
2. Exodus 34:21 “Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the
plowing season and harvest you must rest.”
3. Exodus 23:12 “Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox
and your donkey may rest, and so that the slave born in your household and the foreigner living
among you may be refreshed”.
4. Matthew 8:24 Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the
boat. But Jesus was sleeping.
5. Genesis 2:1-3 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the
seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from
all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all
the work of creating that he had done.
6. Exodus 20:11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that
is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and
made it holy.
7. Hebrews 4:9-10 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who
enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his.
8. Psalm 127:2 It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night,
anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.
9. James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the
heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

All Religion provides individuals with guidance about where to go and how to get there during
stressful periods in life. Religious involvement also offers a formal mechanism that can provide
an individual with a positive social network and opportunities for enhancing transferable skills
and opportunities. The religious world helps people to understand their personal limitations and
encourages them to go beyond themselves for solutions. Going beyond oneself for solutions will
allow an individual to utilize the resource of social support. Most of a religion’s power lies in its
ability to assess negative situations from an alternative vantage point, and in turn crises become
an opportunity for closeness with God. “Religion places negative events in a positive sacred
context without denying or distorting the fact that a fundamental change has taken place”. This
aspect of religion will allow for an individual’s quality of involvement to be positive.

A specifically Christian work-life balance is approached through cultivating 1. Contentment

Bring your desires and circumstances into alignment. Find your identity, security and purpose in
God alone 2. Consecration. The whole of your life is to be lived to the glory of God “You are
serving the Lord Christ”

Krishna, through his teachings in the Gita as well as his addresses to the chief fighters in the
Mahabharata war, such as Arjuna, Bhima, and Duryodhana, proved to be a great counsel on
solving present age day-to-day’s problems. Krishna’s Karmayoga tending to be an optimistic
way to life proves a concrete living methodology of life to the present day man. As it provides
full instructions on his daily routine such as food, duties, thoughts, relationships, responsibilities
whether personal or social. Accordingly, the title of Karma Shastra is also applied to the Gita as
a practical guide for a man of action and a mandate for action. It is professed that through the
practices of the Karma Yoga alone can one aspire all through perfection in one’s life. Besides,
Krishna’s saga from the Mahabharata, Puranas, and Gita teachings provide several hints to
present day mankind towards better management of work life and other things.

The five essential factors of work life management — efficiency, consistency, landing,
controlling, and social bonding — which Krishna discusses in the Gita are also well-delineated
in the narratives of the epic Mahabharata, describing its 18-day warfare in Kurukshetra, which
illustrates the unitive programme of theory and action, since life is held similar to the battlefield
Kurukshetra. The Gita is the summary of all those factors which serve as essentials for
maintaining good work-life balance, and the Mahabharata shows how those principles are
applied in practice.

Krishna’s other teaching which is applicable in this regard is that a person should have full faith
and confidence in oneself, which will add to personal strength and power and make him win over
all obstacles in life with inner balance and calmness.

The Gita also suggests that a person’s life is divided on two fronts. One is limited to home where
one has to perform one’s intrinsic individual activities, while one’s workplace is the second
home where one has to spend most of the day time for performing vocational duties, which may
also be close to his intrinsic nature. Accordingly, a person should bracket both these activities
(relating to home and workplace) as a single unit and treat both the premises as one’s operational
field or karma kshetra, which is named Kurukshetra in the Gita, and treat both these with great
value and importance, and not neglect either of the two and manage house and office, ie life and
work, in proper balance on equal levels. Further, the Gita’s suggestion that a person has to be
well-versed in his professional sphere and should be well-disciplined also sounds helpful for
present-day people to manage work life in a better manner.

Besides, the opening chapter of the Gita also provides many perspectives on the work-life
balance separately in the speeches of both Arjun and Duryodhana. Firstly, on the management of
things like administration, organising events, Duryodhana’s words provide helpful guidelines.
These focus on the one major perspective of human life — affairs.  Duryodhana is stated to have
first made the survey of the army on both sides and given his assessment about the same to his
teacher Drona. He was apprehensive of the strength of the opposite party, yet he impressed upon
his preceptor Drona that he is more skillful and better than the fighters in the opposition.
Similarly, a person set on his life affairs should not be led away by his weaknesses, rather he
should be confident about his abilities to face the situation. Here, Duryodhana’s speech
illustrates a person’s faith in personal strength and also his belief that he is loved and respected
everywhere by everyone in society. His state of mind is also positive as he looks upon his own
army as unconquerable by enemy.  While according to him, the army of the enemies is
conquerable.

The other prospective on life-work balancing technique can be traced in the words of Arjuna,
which he addressed to Krishna after surveying from a distance the well-managed army of his
opponent. Thus, it is evident that both Arjuna and Duryodhana treat the same situation of life
affairs in a completely different way. One treats the job in hand or the current karma to be
executed in association with his friends and relatives in opposition, while the other sees his
action to be performed along with his friends and relatives only and not as the enemies in
opposition.

Here, Arjuna’s review of his work-life or karma led him to believe that it was in confrontation
with his friends and relatives with whom he was bound. Krishna’s advice to Arjuna at this
juncture helps such type of man who is perplexed with regard to the right and wrong action
under certain circumstances. According to the Gita lessons, he has to properly understand the
complexities and the dynamics of karma or action. Just like Arjuna, in one’s life also, sometimes
personal karma becomes easily involved with the action of friends, relatives, as well as enemies.
As a result, one’s work is easily tarnished with the prejudices, both conventional and personal. 

According to Krishna, another guideline for managing work-life balance is that “while involved
in life affairs of individual life, either vocational or social, one must be cautious that behind
every action there is a will and behind every will there is a valued judgment”. It is also further
stated that the desire which supports one’s action arises out of mind, which is a store-house of
thoughts and ideas, memories, and pairs of opposite feelings like love-hate, pleasure and pain,
and that everything one feels and desires is conceived in the mind only. Krishna, in the Gita,
summed up his guidance to present-day man on work-life balance that one may manage it by
combining personal and social life and work together and discharge all these activities with
excellence, keeping in mind that such activities bring in a sense of togetherness and not that of
exclusiveness.

Humans are occupational beings. Every worker is responsible for their work. Allah has expressly
warned,

You will surely be held responsible for every work you have done.
Humans as workers Work in Islam is a way to earn livelihood by developing the earth for the
benefit of human beings. Due to the difference of cultures, places and situations, work is not
limited to specific job career, except on the basis of being good work or bad work. A good work
is a productive job career which is in line with the teachings of The Holy Qur’an. On the other
hand, a bad work is the job career which not only contradicts the Qur’anic teachings but also has
no benefits to human beings nor it is in line with human ethics.
Occupational Values and Work-Life Balance
Values are concepts which are appreciated in a particular society, such as good, right, fair, and
just. The kinds of values that one holds influence whatever decision she/he make in life. A
person’s individual values are the most important elements in her/his belief system. This is
because values act as a scanner that sieves and receives life elements. Values therefore reflect
one’s conviction, beliefs and deeds derived from the social guides and norms accepted and
expected from her/his social and cultural environment. Concisely, values are subconscious
ingredients of what a person is.
Eminent sociologists such as Robert K. Merton7 and Talcott Parsons8
3Ismail, 1980; 11
4 Ibid; 12
5The Holy Qur’an, 1994, 41:33 6The Holy Qur’an, 1994, 5:1; 17:35-36