DORANDA COLLEGE, RANCHI

(A CONSTITUENT UNIT OF RANCHI UNIVERSITY , RANCHI)

A PROJECT REPORT
ON
“ WORK LIFE MANAGEMENT”
IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF MASTER OF COMMERCE PROGRAM,
UNDER RANCHI UNIVERSITY, RANCHI.
UNDER THE GUIDENCE OF:-
MRS. SHRUTI TIWARI (DEPT. OF COMMERCE)

SUBMITTED BY:
NAME:- Kumari Shailza
EXAM ROLL NO.: -19MC8106140
CLASS ROLL NO.: -10
M.Com Sem. IV: - HR Specialization
Session: 2019-2021
 DECLARATION

I Kumari Shailza hereby declare that the project title “work life
management” has been prepared by me and submitted under
M.Com curriculum. All the information, facts and figures are
collected by me and first hand in nature.

Any resemblance from existing work is purely coincidental in

nature.

Name of candidate:- Kumari Shailza

Class roll no. :- 10
Exam roll no.:- 19MC8106140
Session:- 2019-21

Signature of candidate.
 CERTIFICATE

This is certify that the project has been submitted by Kumari

shailza a student of M.Com (HR) semester IV, session 2019-2021
bearing exam roll no. – 19MC8106140 of Doranda College,
RANCHI on a given topic “WORK LIFE MANAGEMENT”.
This is for partial fulfillment or requirement for the award of
MASTER OF COMMERCE (HR) under Ranchi University, Ranchi. The
work done by her is appreciable of an outstanding level.
I wish her every success in her life.

Shruti Tiwari Dr. S. Chaturvedi

Internal guide HOD External guide
Dept. of Commerce. Dept. of Commerce.
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I take this opportunity with much pleasure to thanks all the people
who have helped me through the course of my journey toward
producing this project. I sincerely thank my project guide
Shruti Tiwari Dept. of commerce, for this guidance, help and
motivation. Apart from the subject of my research, I learnt a lot from
him, I am sure will be useful in different stage of my life. I would like
to express my gratitude to Dr. S. Chaturvedi , HOD of commerce, for
his review and many helpful comments.
I especially grateful to my colleagues for their assistance, criticism,
and useful insights. I would like to acknowledge the support and
encouragement of my friends. My sincere gratitude also goes to all
those who instructed and taught me through the years.

Finally, this project would not have been possible without the
confidence endurance and support of my family. My family has
always been a source of inspiration and encouragement. I wish to
thanks my parents , whose love , teaching and support have bought
me this far.
Kumari Shailza
Name of the student.
 ABSTRACT OR EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The economy of India is the tenth-largest in the world by

nominal GDP and the third-largest by purchasing power
parity (PPP). In the post liberalization era the country has
capitalized on its vast pool of educated, English speaking
manpower to become a major power in outsourcing,
Information Technology, financial and biomedical
technology research, banking & insurance, and real estate
development.
Being a second fastest growing economic power in the
world, India has already marked its presence among the
emerging superpowers; with its 60% young population has
many opportunities to capture both nationally and globally.
These opportunities will expose them with the problems of
stress and health related issues. Demanding careers will
pose the question of Work-Life Balance which has to be
addressed and resolved.
The research follows the Descriptive Study Design. The
present study of Work-Life balance begins with the formal
hypothesis of discovering whether the employees are able to
balance work/life, do different types of the employees differ
in the balancing work/life. What are different causes and
support mechanism do they adapt to?
 And is there any relation between work/life balance and job
satisfaction among these employees. I have used the
structured questionnaire to solicit the responses from the
employees from public, private, foreign and co-operative
workers. The variables under study like gender, hierarchy,
career stage, daily chores, stress at organization, workload,
impact of work to home, impact of home to work,
supervisory support, work-holism, family and spousal
support, job satisfaction etc.. The research will provide a
summation of data, and recasts data to achieve a deeper
understanding or to generate statistics for comparison and
attempt to predict an effect on one variable by another
variable while holding all other variables constant and
present the current status of the phenomena.
The data collected reveals that, most of the employees are
able to balance their work-life, with the moderate level of
difficulty. The various factors were found influencing Work-
Life Balance such as- personal factors: Gender, Marital
status, work-holism, Health related issues. Family factors –
Nuclear family, availability of support means, Dependent
care issues, Responsibilities at home, Home to work
interference, Work to Home interference, spousal and family
support and organizational factors such as Number of
working days, time, supportive seniors, social life within and
outside the organization.
Work-Life Balance is found to positively related with Job-
satisfaction. On the basis of data collected, suggestions are
made in the following categories:
1. Suggestions for Work-Life Balance
2. Suggestions for improvement of working environment
3. Suggestions to individual employees for coping the Work-
Life imbalance.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
S.NO DISCRIPTION PAGE
NO.

O1 Chapter 1: Introduction of work life 09-19

management
 its brief history
 case study topic introduction
 problems related work life,
 its prevention.
02 Chapter 2: Research methodology 20-52
 Definitation
 Objectives
 Sample ,sample size
 Formulas and calculations
 Margin of error
 Population size
 Hypothesis
 Tabular data,scopes
 Data , data collections
 A case study of IAS Samita
Sabarwal
 Primary data ,secondary data
 Tools,types of tools
  Delimation of study

03 Chapter 3: literature review 53-80

 Introduction
 Work life management/Balance
study
 Details
 conclusions

04 Chapter 4: data presentation and 81-93

analysis
 data presentation meaning
 types
 tabular data forms
 diagrammatically representation
 pie chart

05 Chapter 5: conclusion and 94-102

suggestions
 conclusion
 suggestion points
Chapter:1
INTRODUCTION TO WORK LIFE
MANAGEMENT/BALANCE
Importance of work can‘t be neglected because work gives us a
status and a stature in the society. Most of the time, people are
recognized by the occupation and designation that they enjoy.
Work, often termed as a job or a career provides us money,
which gives us a power to buy anything, we wish for. We can
buy things that we need, live in a good place, educate ourselves
and our family, and take care of our health. This means, to live
our life one must work and earn money. Without a job or a
work we cannot lead a life. Moreover, having a job or career
makes us feel good. When we work, we Introduction 3
contribute to the community. We help to make the economy
and our community stronger, being productive citizens and by
being valued community members. When we work, we develop
new skills and learn new things. Additionally, job gives us self-
respect, dignity and self-worth.
On the other hand, family is very important part of our
everyday life. It helps us in improving our personality. It also
helps us in shaping our life. It teaches us the value of love,
affection, care, truthfulness, self-confidence and provides us
strength, which is necessary to get success in life. This is where
you are completely tension free and everyone is there to love
and respect you, help you and take care of you. Family
encourages you to survive through tough times and bring joy
and happiness into your life. It gives more meaning to our
identity. Family life is important in the sense that it gives basic
strength to a person.
So, an individual must give importance to both these aspects.
They both are the two sides of a coin called ‘life‘. But, in today‘s
competitive world, this balance is missing. The priorities of the
life have changed. Most often career is given importance and
other part of life - family and health gets a setback. In the
words of Gary Keller, the writer of The ONE Thing: The
Surprisingly Simple Truth behind Extraordinary Results‘.
―Work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. The
other four balls - family, health, friends, and integrity are
made of glass. If you drop one of these, it will be irrevocably
scuffed, nicked, and perhaps even shattered.
 Family

LIFE
Health Career
SATISFACTION

Friends

FIG. 1.1 Aspects of life satisfaction

Man is a social animal, needs time for self, family and society
to satisfy their various needs. An individual spends more
than eight hours a day in office, remaining is spent in travel
to and from office, and with family and friends. Very little
time is available for attending to his/her personal needs or
grooming. In today’s highly competitive environment people
are giving more importance to their work, by working hard,
spending more time at the office, learning and adapting to
the changing business environment to stay relevant. The
quality of the time spent by people with their family, friends
or for themselves would help the individuals to relax,
refocus and perform better in their jobs. This would
automatically benefit the organizations in enhancing the
overall organizations performance. Work-life balance is a
concept including proper prioritizing between “work”
(career and ambition) and “lifestyle” (Health, pleasure,
leisure, family and spiritual development/meditation).

Work-life balance is a concept including proper prioritizing

between “work” (career and ambition) and “lifestyle”
(Health, pleasure, leisure, family and spiritual
development/meditation) Work life balance is a choice an
individual has to make. However, it is the organization that
needs to take an initiative to help the employees. Today, an
employee is not looking at their employer just for a job, also
to care for their work life balance and their well being. If a
company addresses these needs, in addition to providing
better career opportunities, they can be very successful in
providing job satisfaction to the employees. Companies are
adopting new means to ensure that their employees get
enough time to enjoy their personal life and spend time with
family. It is very essential for the organizations to have good
work-life balance practices and policies; this would ensure
various factors like:

 Decreased employee turnover rates.

 Helps the organization in becoming Preferred
Employer.
 Improved ROI on employees, as there is reduced
turnover.
 Enhanced employee morale and satisfaction.
 Less absenteeism due to employee satisfaction.
 Enhanced employee loyalty and commitment towards
the organization.
 Enhanced organizational performance.

A BREIF HISTORY OF WORK LIFE

MANAGEMENT/BALANCE
It’s the late stages of the Industrial Revolution and
people are overworked. In the United Kingdom, it’s
common for the average worker to work 14-16 hours a
day, 6 days a week. These long hours had social and
health costs, especially for young children who were
also working. Labor reformers drew attention to this
until the United Kingdom agreed to fewer hours for
women and children.
Around the same time, the US begins tracking the hours
worked by its workers and discovers that, on average,
its workers performed more than 100 hours a week.
These hours worked posed serious health and safety
risks for the entire country. On October 24, 1940, after
decades of worker movements, the US officially amends
the Fair Labor Standards Act and adopts the 40-hour
work week. This was the first move in giving workers
back more time.
The actual term “work-life balance” first appears in
the U.K. in the 80’s as a plank in the Women’s Liberation
Movement. The movement advocated for flexible
schedules and maternity leave for women. But while
men were socially unencumbered to pursue their career
goals without worrying about housekeeping and family-
raising, working women were expected to work and
maintain responsibility for housekeeping and family
rearing. In the 80s a frequent refrain pointed out this
obvious work-life imbalance asking could women in the
workplace really “have it all”. Despite voicing these
needs, women experienced little relief or movement
towards work-life balance.
CASE STUDY TOPIC
I have studied and also analyise the conditions of
working people with the help of surveys and chart . we
collected different datas of different people having
different kinds of work and we discusses in our
research methodology and as well as I have do my
research on the case study of female IAS officer Samita
Sabarwal . her life is as a working lady , her career
stages , her difficulties and her achievements .
WORK LIFE MANAGEMENT/BALANCE
REVEALS SOME MAJOR PROBLEMS.

The first step towards helping the employees to create

healthy work boundaries was when the U.S. officially
amended the Fair Labor Standards Act and adopted the 40-
hour workweek on October 24, 1940. After that came The
Women's Liberation Movement of the 1980s, which
accommodated women with flexible schedules and
maternity leave? Now parental leave and flexible work
patterns are benefits that most top companies offer because
we recognize that it's vital to focus on what we want when
the need arises.

A lot has happened in the professional and the personal

world.
Every challenge we encounter adds to pressure, pressure
leads to stress, stress leads to emotional and physical
unbalance and unhappiness. So, it is important to
overcome challenges, in order to maintain a healthy work-
life balance.
Some of the major problems in worklife management are
as follows:-
1. Unrealistic demands:
The demands that work and life throw at employees can
easily mount up to incredible levels. Unreasonable demands
at work, arrangements that are eating into personal time,
such as weekend meetings, and technology overload are
mentioned as adding a lot of pressure. Demands of personal
life are adding pressure to work, as time is required to
accommodate family or friends, and are eating into work-
time.

Think of family members with intensive schedules,

impacting on yours, or when expectations are set by others
(like a monthly visit to parents).
2. L ACK OF CONTROL :-
Lack of control is creating pressure, as it leaves you ‘hanging
in there, with a dark cloud above your head’. It is difficult to
deal with the uncontrollable workload or the insecurity of
the situation of the company you work in. In personal
circumstances aspects as illness, exams, kid issues can feel as
if all control is gone and is very stressful.

3. U NSUPPORTIVE RELATIONSHIPS :-
Unsupportive relationships at work, aversive behavior or
not getting credits, are creating a difficult and
unproductive work environment whilst making people feel
isolated. Unsupportive relationships at home, where no
one helps each other or considers other people’s pressures
creates frustration and unhappiness.

4. L ACK OF RESOURCES
Not enough resources or not the right ones are really
affecting how life can be organised. The absence of a PA or a
good babysitter are both examples of important lacks.

5. Unhelpful attitude

Resilience in challenging circumstances determines how

well someone is coping and finding a way forward. If the
energy levels are low and undermined, due to all the
different challenges, it can be really hard to find that
resilience.

HOW CAN WE PREVENT FORM WORK LIFE

MANAGEMENT/BALANCE?

1. Track the Time:-

Analyzing the present situation of the employee is the

beginning step in achieving a balanced life. Keep a time log of
everything they do for one week, including work-related and
personal activities. This data will serve as an eye-opener,
helping to understand how they are using -- and where they
are losing -- their time.

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.

5. Establish Boundaries

Set fair and realistic limits on what works will and will not
do both at work and at home.
Clearly communicate these boundaries to the 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 documents.

6. 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. 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.
9. 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.
CHAPTER:2

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

RESEARCH: Research is the process in which the

researchers wish to find out the end result for a given
problem and thus the solution helps in future course of
action. The research has been defined as “ A careful
investigation or enquiry especially through search for new
facts in any branch of knowledge.”

WHAT IS RESEARCH METHODOLOGY?

Research methodology simply refers to the practical “how”

of any given piece of research. More specifically, it’s
about how a researcher systematically designs a study to
ensure valid and reliable results that address the research
aims and objectives.
For example, how did the researcher go about deciding:
 What data to collect (and what data to ignore)

 Who to collect it from ( “sampling design”)

 How to collect it ( “data collection methods”)

 How to analyse it ( “data analysis methods”)

OBJECTIVES:

1. To understand the concept of Work-Life Balance and

background of working sectors.

2. To study whether employees can balance their work/life.

3. To study public, private, foreign and co-operative

enterprises employees differ over work-life balance.

4. To study the factors influencing work-life balance.

5. To study the relationship between work-life balance and

job satisfaction.

6. To present the model to study and predict the factors

influencing work life balance and outcomes.

SAMPLE:-

A sample is defined as a smaller set of data that a

researcher chooses or selects from a larger population
by using a pre-defined selection method. These
elements are known as sample points, sampling units,
or observations. Creating a sample is an efficient
method of conducting research. In most cases, it is
impossible or costly and time-consuming to research
the whole population. Hence, examining the sample
provides insights that the researcher can apply to the
entire population.

Types of sample:-

 Simple random sampling

 Cluster sampling
 Systematic sampling
 Stratified random sampling

SAMPLE SIZE

The sample size is a term used in market research

for defining the number of subjects included in a
sample size. By sample size, we understand a
group of subjects that are selected from the
general population and is considered a
representative of the real population for that
specific study.
For example, if we want to predict how the
population in a specific age group will react to a
new product, we can first test it on a sample size
that is representative of the targeted population.
The sample size, in this case, will be given by the
 number of people in that age group that will be
surveyed.
CALCULATION OF SAMPLE SIZE

The use of statistical formulas for determining the

sample size implies, first of all, the choice of a
significant benchmark for the measures to be made
based on the results provided by the qualitative
research to be performed, usually, the researcher has,
in this sense, two alternatives:
It can monitor the measurement of variables and
determine specific indicators that express their
evolution. Thus, the researcher can follow the
determination of the frequency of visit of a
commercial unit and the appropriate indicator
describing this variable to be the weekly average
frequency of visiting the group in question, in the
specialized literature, the choice of this alternative is
designated under the concept of sampling in relation
to the variables investigated.
It may be aimed at evaluating specific attributes of the
investigated marketing phenomenon. For example, the
researcher may pursue the identification of
consumers’ preferences for the interior arrangement
of a commercial unit, this evaluating a set of
representative attributes for the interior design, in the
specialized literature, the choice of this alternative is
designated under the sampling concept with the
investigated characteristics.
SAMPLE SIZE FORMULA IS:
N = population size • e = Margin of error (percentage
in decimal form) • z = z-score
Another sample size formula is:
n = N*X / (X + N – 1),
where,
X = Zα/22 *p*(1-p) / MOE2,
and Zα/2 is the critical value of the Normal
distribution at α/2 (for a confidence level of 95%, α is
0.05 and the critical value is 1.96), MOE is the margin
of error, p is the sample proportion, and N is the
population size. Note that a Finite Population
Correction has been applied to the sample size
formula.
SAMPLE SIZE PROCESS:-
The sampling size process involves several specific
activities, namely:
* defining the population that is the object of the
research;
* choosing the sampling size frame;
* choosing the sampling size meth
* establishing the modalities of the selection of the
sample size units;
* determining the mother of the sample size;
* choosing the actual units of the sample size;
* conducting field activity.
Margin of error:-
The margin of error is the amount of accuracy you
need. That is the plus or minus number that is often
reported with an estimated percentage and can also be
referred to as the confidence interval. It’s the range
where the true population ratio is estimated to be and
is frequently expressed in percentage points (e.g., ±2
percent ). Be aware after you collect your information
will probably be more or less than this goal sum
because it’ll be dependent upon the proportion rather
than your sample percentage that the precision
achieved.
Confidence Level:-
The confidence level is the probability that the
proportion that is true is contained by the margin of
error. In case the study was repeated and each time
was calculated by the range, you’d expect the true
value to lie inside these ranges on 95 percent of
events. The higher the confidence level, the more
certain you can be that the interval includes the true
ratio.
Population size:-
This is the entire number of individuals on your
population. In this formula, we use a finite population
correction to account for sampling from populations
that are small. But you do not know how large you are
able to use 100,000 if your population is big. The
sample size does not change considerably for people
larger.
Sample ratio definition:-
The sample proportion is what you expect the
outcomes to be. This can often be set using the results
in a survey, or by running small pilot research. Use
50%, which gives the most significant sample size and
is conservative, if you are uncertain. Notice that this
sample size calculation uses the Normal
approximation to the Binomial distribution. In the
event, the sample ratio is close to 1 or 0, then this
approximation is not valid, and you want to take into
account an alternative sample size calculation method.
Sample size:-
Here is the minimum sample size you need to gauge
the true population ratio. Note that if some people
choose not to respond if non-response is a chance and
that they cannot be contained in your sample, your
sample size is going to need to be increased. Generally,
the higher the response speed, the better the quote
will lead to biases in your quote.

HYPOTHESIS:

It is a supposition or explanation (theory) that is

provisionally accepted in order to interpret certain
events or phenomena, and to provide guidance for
further investigation. A hypothesis may be proven
correct or wrong, and must be capable of refutation. If
it remains un-refuted by facts, it is said to be verified
or corroborated.

Further from the statistical perspective it is an

assumption about certain characteristics of a
population. If it specifies values for every parameter of
a population, it is called a simple hypothesis; if not, a
composite hypothesis. If it attempts to nullify the
difference between two sample means (by suggesting
that the difference is of no statistical significance), it is
called a null hypothesis.

Based on the objectives of the study the researcher

hypothesizes the following:

1. Employees are unable to balance their work/life

2. Public, private, foreign and co-operative sector

employees do not differ over work-life balance.

3. Personal, family and organization factors do not

influence work-life balance.

4. Work-Life balance influences job satisfaction

positively.

People and their works including in sample which

is collected through online surveys:

Si.no Name People of different work

01 Suraj Teacher
kumar
02 Nandani Health advisor
Sharma

03 Satish Teacher
poul

04 J.S Prasad Banker

05 Deepesh Cooperate worker

kumar

06 Jyoti Ca intern
singh

07 Dr. Ravi Physiotheraphyist

Shankar
Prasad

08 Himanshu Owner of fabric shop

kumar

09 Simran Associate hr
Prasad

10 Deepak Forest service

 kumar

11 Sonu N.G.O worker

kumar

SCOPE OF THE STUDY:

India is fastest growing economy, having many

opportunities in working sector. These opportunities will
expose them with the problems of stress and health related
issues. Demanding careers will pose the question of Work-
Life Balance which has to be addressed and resolved. The
findings present study of work life balance in job sector will
reveal the scenario of the employees from Public, private,
foreign and co-operative enterprises which can be further
used for policy decisions also as the case studies for the
student of management

SELECTION OF PROBLEMS :-

The Researcher had conducted a pilot survey to know

whether a study is viable in terms need for the on Work-Life
Balance on the sample of certain working people with a
structured questionnaire, and found the following:
  Almost 45.5% of the people feel their job makes them
feel too tired to do the things that need attention at
home.

 They feel having a good day on the job makes them a

better companion at home.

 27.3% of the people feel that their personal and family

worries a.nd problems distract them when they are at
work.

This pilot study provided the basis for understanding the

need of work-life balance practices/polices in the
employees.

DATA

“Facts and statistics collected together for reference or

analysis is called data.”

The quantities, characters, or symbols on which

operations are performed by a computer, which may
be stored and transmitted in the form of electrical
signals and recorded on magnetic, optical, or
mechanical recording media.

Types of data:-
 1. Primary data:- primary data will be collected
through questionnaires, depth interview, and
observation;

2. Secondary data:- secondary data collected

through internal source of organization as well as
external source of organization.

DATA COLLECTION:-

Data collection is defined as the procedure of

collecting, measuring and analyzing accurate insights
for research using standard validated techniques. A
researcher can evaluate their hypothesis on the basis
of collected data. In most cases, data collection is the
primary and most important step for research,
irrespective of the field of research. The approach of
data collection is different for different fields of study,
depending on the required information.

The most critical objective of data collection is

ensuring that information-rich and reliable data is
collected for statistical analysis so that data-driven
decisions can be made for research.
As I mentioned I’ve surveyed some working people
which is showing the data above and also take an
example of a working female IAS Officer here is a case
study which will be showing below :-

A CASE STUDY OF AN FEMALE IAS OFFICER:

“it is wrong to think that one can get through the Civil
Services only by studying very hard. In the final round,
your interests and hobbies are also taken into account
for selections” – Samita Sabharwal IAS

SAMITA SABHARWAL (born 19 June 1977) is a

Indian Administrative Service officer of 2001 batch
belonging to TELANGANA cadre.]She is popularly
known as The People’s Officer for addressing citizen
issues by involving people. She is the first lady IAS
Officer to be appointed to the Chief Minister's
Office.She is presently working as, Secretary to CM,
Government of Telangana and holds additional charge
as Secretary, Rural Water Supply Department and
Mission Bhagirath.
E ARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION
Sabharwal was born in a Bangali family in Darjeeling, West
Bangal to an Army officer, Colonel Pranab Das, and Purabi
Das. She did her schooling at St. Ann's High School,
Secunderabad. She was the all India topper in ICSE exam.
She graduated in Commerce from St Francis College for
Women, Hyderabad.
She was 22, when she cleared the Union Public Service
Commission exam in 2000, securing All India fourth rank.
For her preparation she said “I used to study only for
six hours a day and play for at least an hour. It is wrong
to think that one can get through the civils only by
studying very hard. In the final round, your interests and
hobbies are also taken into account for selections.”

C AREER
After completing the administrative training in Lal Bahadur
Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie in
2001, Sabharwal was trained in Adilabad district during
her probation.
Her first independent charge was as Sub
Collector, Madanapally in Chittoor which let her gain hands-
on experience in Land Revenue Management & District
Administration. Thereafter she worked in Rural
Development sector as Project Director, DRDA, Kadapa.
She worked as a Municipal Commissioner, Warangal, where
she introduced "Fund your City" scheme where a large
number of public utilities such as Traffic Junctions, Foot-
overbridges, Bus-stops, Parks were created with Public-
Private partnership (PPP). Later, she served as Deputy
Commissioner, Commercial Taxes, and Visakhapatnam.

A S D ISTRICT C OLLECTOR

Smita Sabharwal worked as Joint Collector of Kurnool and

Joint collector of Hyderabad.
In April 2011, she took charge as District
Collector, Karimnagar district where she made significant
contribution in the Health and Education sector. The health
initiative to improve institutional deliveries in the public
sector popularly known as Ammalalana, was started and
successfully implemented in the district. It became a role
model for many health initiatives of ‘high risk pregnancy
management targeting, IMR and MMR’ in NRHM of
Government of India. This initiative was also nominated as
one of the best initiatives for Prime Minister's award for
excellence in public administration.
With the help of public representatives, Karimnagar town
underwent a facelift in the form of wider roads, scientifically
planned traffic junctions, bus-stops, Toilets and other public
utilities. Karimnagar district was awarded the best district in
PM's 20 Point Programme for 2012–2013. She successfully
started a programme, Voter Panduga to increase polling
percentage.
She also served as District Collector of Medak during the
General Elections 2014 and successfully conducted free and
fair polls registering a high polling turn out.
Sabharwal is known popularly as people's officer] and is
known to use latest developments in technology to her
advantage, especially in implementing Government
Programmes on field. Monitoring of Government doctors
through skype has completely changed the scenario in the
public health sector. Performance monitoring of Government
schools through specially designed software has made
Karimnagar & Medak Districts stand top in the state during
her tenure.
in Karimnagar, a poor and backward region of
Telangana where she was posted as District Collector
in 2011. Sabharwal realised that healthcare and
education was in the doldrums in the district. Only 9
percent of deliveries were happening at government
hospitals. Sabharwal came up with what is called the
'Amma Lalana' (mother’s nurture) scheme whereby
government hospitals were cleaned up, staffed and
monitored and deliveries and maternal check ups
made available free of cost to poor women. Awareness
campaigns were conducted to bring more women into
hospitals for institutional deliveries. At the same time,
Sabharwal installed computers and internet facilities
in all hospitals and primary health care centres and
monitored them via Skype. “Amma Lalana was a health
initiative for poor women. Child birth is an
unimaginable expenditure — they have to spend Rs
30,000-50,000 if they go to a private hospital. If we
give good, clean facilities, people will want to come to
government hospitals. That’s the motto of Amma
Lalana. Childbirth should be a happy event, not a
burden for extremely poor families. We improved
sanitation, got good equipment and trained doctors.
People responded to that positively. I am happy to say
that now the entire state is adopting this model.”

CONTROVERSY:
In 2015, she was sued of one of the countries leading
news magazine outlook,after it described her as “eye
candy” . the magazine also published a caricature of
her showing her walking a ramp of a fashion show ,
while her political bosses leering at her. Samita wants
a defamation case worth 10 cores against the
magazine. Telangana government announced to assist
samita on her lawsuits against her outlook magazine
by proving her 15lac rupees.

LESS INTRACTION WITH HER FAMILY:-

Probably the only regret Sabharwal has, is that she

missed out on spending time with her children while
they were growing up. “We generally hear this — if
you want to be a good professional then you can’t be a
good home-maker. We have to choose how we want
our lives to be, we can’t have both,” she argues in an
interview. Her words stem from what she views as
sacrifices made by women before her generation to
make available some basic rights denied to them in
their era.
She said on an interview of the times of India on the
occasion of international women’s day 2017 - “I feel
that our mothers, grandmothers struggled for many
basic things like right to education, work and when to
marry. Now they have put us on a very strong
platform. Today it is up to us, where we have to take it
forward rather than demanding basic rights and
protesting, saying that the world is biased. I feel that
the world is ready for us only when we think we are
ready for the world. I tell my colleagues and peers —
'Competence and leadership have no gender'. If you
are competent and focused, then no one looks at
whether you are a man or a woman.”

TRUE INSPIRATION:-
Smitha Sabharwal is a true inspiration to many women
and is a much-loved youth icon. She is the leading IAS
officer of all times and has left all the others far
behind. With 14 years of experience, she hates
corruption, irresponsible staff and illegal activities.
Smitha has always given Public Health and basic
Education high priority, not to forget her hard work in
upgrading the Government Hospitals. She has also
been monitoring the Government Doctors over Skype
calls and this has changed the face of Pubic Health
drastically.
Smitha Sabharwal and Technology:-
It is extremely surprising to know that this IAS officer
does not own any personal accounts on the social
channels but has a huge fan following her, especially
the youth with 20 fan pages on her name and over 5
lakh followers on Facebook. She carries with her, a
tablet and uses an Ipad to save her files and
documents when on the run.

CONCLUSION:-
As a woman civil servant who has walked the tight
rope between responsibility and pressure of sorts, I
would like to forewarn these achievers of challenges
that lie ahead of them. A very promising career faces
the danger of getting derailed due to several reasons.
Firstly, it’s the image that counts and one should not
be deterred by colleagues and seniors even in the State
Secretariat who might get on your wrong side because
of their pesky nature. Nuggets about the new female
entrants are received with delight by one and all. And
the test is more difficult for those in the limelight.
An IAS officer’s mettle is tested by his or her ability to
anticipate problems and deal with them efficiently
without rocking the boat. Administrative rules and
regulations are important but the wisdom to
anticipate public reaction and political fallout of
decisions is also crucial.

SECONDARY DATA:-

While primary data will be collected through

questionnaires, depth interview, and observation; The
secondary data will be obtained through:
 Internal Sources - These are within the
organization
 External Sources - These are outside the
organization

Internal Sources of Data:

If available, internal secondary data may be obtained with

less time, effort and money than the external secondary data.
In addition, they may also be more pertinent to the situation
at hand since they are from within the organization.
The internal sources include:-

1. Publications and Reports- It gives information about the

bank and their policies etc.

2. Internal Experts- These are people who are heading the

various departments. They can give an idea of how a
particular thing is working.

In addition to this, sample data will also be available outside

the workplace .

External Sources of Data:

External Sources are sources which are outside the

workplace in a larger environment. Collection of external
data is more difficult because the data have much greater
variety and the sources are much more numerous.

PRIMARY DATA:

Data collected from first-hand-experience is known as

primary data. It is more reliable, authentic and objective.
Therefore its validity is greater than secondary data. A
research can be conducted without secondary data but a
research based on only secondary data is least reliable and
may have biases because secondary data has already been
manipulated by human beings. In statistical surveys it is
necessary to get information from primary sources and work
on primary data: for example, the statistical records of
female population in a country cannot be based on
newspaper, magazine and other printed sources. One such
sources are old and secondly they contain limited
information as well as they can be misleading and biased.

In this study primary data will be collected through

structured questionnaire and depth-interview of employees
working in different types of banks at different hierarchy.

TOOLS USED

Nine scales were used to elicit the requisite information /

data related to work life balance and individual, family and
work related variables. Further, a checklist was used to get
information regarding various work life programmes
operational in the organizations. The various tools used are
described below.

(a) Work Life Balance Scale (Hayman, 2005)

Hayman (2005) adapted work life balance scale
originally developed by Fisher (2001). The more
inclusive wording of personal life compared to family
provides the opportunity to measure the interface
between work and non work regardless of employee
marital or family status. This broader approach is
useful for organizations to assess the non work
domain of employees, as family may not be relevant
to all employees. Moreover this scale also measures
positive spill over or enhancement (Hayman, 2005).
The scale consisted of 15 items, designed to assess
three dimensions of work life balance, i.e., work
interference with personal life (WIPL-7 items),
personal life interference with work (PLIW-4 items),
and work/personal life enhancement (WPLE-4
items).
The first dimension, work interference with personal
life (WIPL) included the items e.g. “Personal life
suffers because of work” and “Put personal life on
hold for work”. The content of these items reflect the
extent to which work interferes with personal life.

The second dimension is work interference with

personal life (WIPL). The items included in this
component indicate the opposite direction of work
personal life interference. Examples of the items
include “Personal life drains me of energy for
work” and “Hard to work because of personal
matters”. They depict the extent to which ones’
personal life interferes with work.
The items of the third dimension work/personal life
enhancement (WPLE) involved positive effects of
ones’ work on personal life or vice versa, the extent to
which ones’ personal life enhances work. Examples of
the items included were, “Personal life gives me
energy for my job” and “Better mood because of my
job”.
The respondents were asked to indicate the
frequency with which they felt in a particular way
during the past three months, using a seven point
time related scale (e.g. 1=Not at all, 4=Sometimes and
7=All the time). Results of higher order factor
analysis provided empirical evidence that the three
dimensions were indicators of a single latent
construct (Fisher-McAuley, et al., 2003). Reliability
for the scale, estimated using Cronbach alpha
coefficient was .93 for WIPL, .85 for PLIW and .69 for
WPLE. The scale was tested for reliability under the
Indian conditions and Cronbach alpha was found to
be .89. Though the respondents were asked to
indicate the frequency with which they felt in a
particular way during the past three months, using a
seven point time related scale (e.g. 1=Not at all,
4=Sometimes and 7=All the time), the scoring was
done as 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 (7 for Not at all, 4 for
Sometimes, and 1 for All the time) for the dimensions
of WIPL (except item 7, which was reverse scored)
and PLIW, since the items were negatively worded.
High score indicated lower interference and, lower
levels of interference were interpreted as higher
levels of work life balance. For the dimension of
WPLE, scoring was 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 (i.e. 1 for Not at all, 4
for Sometimes and 7 for All the time) as the items
 were positively worded. High score indicated high
work/ personal life enhancement. Higher levels of
work/ personal life enhancement are considered to
be associated with higher levels of work life balance.
The overall work life balance score was thus
computed by adding the scores on the three
dimensions

(b) Work Centrality Scale (Paullay et al., 1994

Work Centrality was measured using a 12 item scale

given by Paullay et al., (1994). A person's degree of
identification with the work role, embodied in the
work centrality construct, has seemingly emerged as
the prevalent conceptualization of what constitutes a
general commitment to work (Paullay et al., 1994).
Work centrality is defined as individuals' beliefs
regarding the degree of importance that work plays
in their lives (Paullay et al., 1994). Originally a six
point scale was modified to a 5 point scale with
response ranging from 1 (Strongly disagree) to 5
(Strongly agree). Item 1, 6, 9 and 10 were reverse
scored. Paullay et al. regarded individuals' degree of
work centrality as a relatively stable attitude toward
the work domain that is not extremely responsive to
conditions in a particular work setting. This is
reflected in the fact that the items composing Paullay
et al.'s measure refer to work in general, and not to
one's present job. The work centrality items assess
the extent to which people believe that work is (for
 them) or should be (in general) a central part of life.
The reported coefficient alpha was 0.76 and when
pre-tested under Indian conditions, it was found to be
.84

(c) House Hold Responsibility Index (Hyman et al.,

2003)
House hold responsibility index (Hyman et al., 2003)
consisting of six items assessing degree of
responsibility for cooking; shopping; cleaning;
washing/ironing, looking after small children/sick
relative; and small house hold repairs was used.
House hold responsibility index was calculated from
the sum of responses to six items. It was a five point
response scale ranging from 1 (always some else’s
responsibility) to 5 (always my responsibility). The
Cronbach alpha coefficient under Indian conditions
was found to be 0.70.

(d) Spouse Support Scale (Suchet and Barling, 1986)

This four item scale was used to measure Spouse

support. These items were rated on seven point scale 1
(Very little) to 7 (Very much). These four items assess
attitudinal, emotional and physical spouse support.
Example of the items include: “How much does your
spouse help with the housework?”, “How much
 emotional help does your spouse give you in regard to
your work?” The Cronbach alpha reliability of the scale
was .78 and when tested in Indian conditions, it was
found to be .81.

(e) Parental Demand Scale

The scale consisting of six items was self constructed

for the study and was used to measure parental
demands. The items were scored on 5 point scale.
Example of the items include: Who at home is
responsible to: “take care of child during sickness”, “to
drop and pick the child from school”. The Cronbach
alpha coefficient under Indian conditions was found to
be 0.84.

(f) Variety in Your Work Scale:

Dutch Questionnaire on the Experience and Assessment

of Work (VBBA; Van Valdhoven and Meijman, 1994)
The scale was used to measure task variety, which
means the extent to which job requires different skills
and talents of the employee. The scale consisted of six
items, asking respondents to indicate the extent to
which their work requires the use of different skills and
talent, for example, ‘Is your work varied?’’ Original four
point scale was modified and five-point response scale,
ranging from 0: ‘never’ to 4: ‘always’ was used. Item one
was reverse scored. The Cronbach alpha coefficient for
 the scale was .77 and when tested under the Indian
conditions, this coefficient was found to be .78.

(g) Independence in Your Work Scale

Dutch Questionnaire on the Experience and

Assessment of Work (VBBA; Van Valdhoven and
Meijman, 1994) The scale was used to measure task
autonomy, i.e., the extent to which an employee can
control work processes. This scale is a self-administered
survey instrument developed to evaluate the work
situation of individual employees. The scale included
eleven items, asking respondents to indicate the extent
to which they could control their work situation, for
example ‘Can you influence your work pace?’ Original
four point scale was modified and items were answered
on a five-point response scale, ranging from 0: ‘never’ to
4: ‘always’. The Cronbach alpha coefficient for the scale
was and when tested under the Indian conditions, this
coefficient was found

It is a two item scale measuring work schedule

flexibility. Originally a four point scale, it was modified
and responses were taken on a five-point scale ranging
from “not at all difficult” to “very difficult”. Scoring was
5 (not at all difficult) to 1 (very difficult). The items used
were “How hard/ difficult do you think it would be to
get the days you worked changed permanently if you
wanted them changed?”, “How hard/difficult do you
think it would be to get the hours you begin and end
work changed permanently if you wanted them
changed?” The Cronbach alpha reliability for the scale
was 0.82 and when tested in Indian context, it was .70.
In addition, personal information about age, gender and
marital status and number of children was solicited.

C HECKLIST :-

A checklist comprising of total 32 items was prepared

to gather information regarding various work life
programmes in operation in the IT and ITES industry.
The items were classified under, namely, flexible leave
arrangements (marriage leave, 99 maternity leave,
examination/study leave, parental leave, career leave,
compassionate leave, paternity leave, adoption leave,
career break and bereavement leave, any other),
flexible work arrangements (flexi time, part time
working, annual hour system, compressed working
week and job sharing, banking of hours, 48/52 option,
any other), childcare arrangements (telephone access,
vacation childcare program, work based child care,
family room, childcare network and child care referral
services), flexible location (e-working ), and other work
life balance arrangements (supervisory training in work
family sensitivity, employee assistance programmes,
employee wellness programmes). The respondents
were asked to put a tick mark on the programmes
available in their respective organizations.
STATISTICAL TECHNIQUES
Descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation,
skewness and kurtosis were computed to study the
nature of distribution of scores on individual related
variables (emotional intelligence, work centrality),
family related variables (spouse support, parental
demands, household work responsibility), work related
variables (task 100 variety, task autonomy, work
schedule flexibility) and on work life balance and its
dimensions. Pearson product moment correlations
between work life balance, its dimensions and
individual related variables (emotional intelligence,
work centrality), family related variables (spouse
support, parental demands, household work
responsibility), and work related variables (task variety,
task autonomy, work schedule flexibility) were
calculated to ascertain the extent of relationship
between these variables. For the variables of age,
gender, marital status and parental demands (number
of children), point biserial correlations were calculated.
One way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to
study the main effect of individual related variables
(emotional intelligence, work centrality), family related
variables (spouse support, parental demands,
household work responsibility), work related variables
(task variety, task autonomy, work schedule flexibility)
on work life balance and its dimensions. Further,
wherever F-values were found to be significant, tratios
were calculated to study the significance of differences
between means. t-test was also used to study the
differences in work life balance of work professionals
with respect to age, gender and marital status.

DELIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The delimitations of the study were:

• The study has been restricted to work life
balance/management.
• Sample of the study has been restricted to only
working people of different work specialty.
• Only selected individual variables, family related
variables, work related variables have been included in
the study.
Chapter:-3

LITERATURE REVIEW
INTRODUCTION
Review of related literature is an important step
in undertaking research. It helps in clarifying and
defining the problem, stating objectives,
formulating hypotheses, selecting appropriate
design and methodology of research as well as
interpreting the results in the light of the research
work already undertaken. In this chapter, an
endeavour has been made to provide an overview
of various aspects of this study through the review
of existing literature. The sources referred include
various journals, books, doctoral theses, working
papers, reports, magazines related to human
resource, internet sites, newspapers etc. Bardoel
et al. (2008) identified the major themes and
research methods that have dominated work life
research in Australia and New Zealand between
the period 2004-07. The identified themes were
grouped in eight categories, i.e., organization
approaches to work life and work family issues,
work characteristics, occupations/industries,
government policy and legislation, health outcome
issues related to work life, family structure and
children, gender and other additional themes.
With regard to the research methods, out of the
total 86 papers examined, 73% of the papers were
empirical while 27% were conceptual. Majority of
the empirical papers used quantitative
methodology. As many as 51% used survey
method for data collection while the remaining
49% were fairly split among case studies, focus
group and interviews. Out of 63 empirical papers,
20 were classified priori with variables 34
identified and relationships proposed before any
theory was apparent. The remaining 43 articles
were classified as post hoc as there were no
specific relationships proposed before data
collection and analysis.

In order to have a justified and in-depth review of

the literature, the studies have been classified
under the following headings:

• Work life balance studies.

• Individual related variables and Work life
balance.
• Family related variables and Work life balance.
• Work related variables and Work life balance.
• Family and Work related variables and Work life
balance.
• Outcomes of work family conflict.
 • Individuals’ strategies for work life balance.
• Organizations’ strategies for work life balance.
• Organizations’ initiatives and programmes for
work life balance.

W ORK LIFE BALANCE STUDY :-

Some researchers have focused on assessing work
family conflict/ work life balance among
employees in various settings and also identified
the direction of spillovers. Gutek et al. (1991)
conducted a study using two separate samples of
employed people with families, a systematically
selected sample of psychologists and a volunteer
sample of managers. The findings indicated that
the two types of perceived work family conflict
(work interference with family and family
interference with work) were clearly separable
and relatively independent of each other. The
people perceived less family interference with
work than work interference with family.
However Wesley and Muthuswamy (2005) in a
study of 230 teachers in an engineering college in
Coimbatore, India, found that work to family
conflict was more prevalent than family to work
conflict, thus indicating that permeability of work
into family was more than permeability of family
into work. Kinnunen and Mauno (2007) collected
data from a sample of 501 employees working in
four organizations, i.e., municipal and social
healthcare, manufacturing for exports, a bank and
a supermarket. The results indicated that
interference from work to family was more
prevalent than interference from family to work
among both sexes. However, there were no gender
differences in experiencing either work to family
or family to work conflict. The findings of the
studies reported above suggest that wok to family
conflict is more frequent than family to work
conflict. However, Baral (2010) in a study of 485
37 employees working in varied organizations in
India found that working men and women in India
experience more work family enrichment than the
work family conflict. It was also found that there
were no gender differences in the employee
perception of work family enrichment.

INDIVIDUAL RELATED VARIABLES AND WORK

LIFE BALANCE/WORK FAMILY CONFLICT:

A number of individual variables, viz. gender, age,

marital status, emotional intelligence, etc.
affecting/ related to work life balance/work
family conflict have been studied. Studies by Gutek
et al. (1991), Williams and Alliger
(1994)Rajadhyaksha and Velgach (2009) reported
gender differences with respect to work family
conflict. Gutek et al. (1991) indicated that women
reported more work interference in family than
men, despite spending about same number of
hours in paid work as men. Although women
spent more hours in family work than men, they
reported the same level of family interference in
work. Williams and Alliger (1994) found that
spillover of unpleasant moods occur both from
work to family settings and from family to work
though evidence for the spillover of pleasant
moods was weak. Both family to work and work to
family spillovers were stronger for women than
men. Further, it was found that extent to which
work interfered with family for a given day was
found to be positively related to self reported job
involvement for that day. Extent to which family
interfered with work on a given day was found to
be positively related to distress in 38 family roles
during the day, family intrusion into work during
the day and self reported family involvement for
that day. Rajadhyaksha and Velgach (2009) also
found that women experienced significantly
higher family interference with work as compared
to men. However there were no significant
differences between men and women in the
experience of work interference with family. The
purpose of the study undertaken by Grzywacz et
al. (2007) was to expand the understanding of
how culture contributes to the occurrence and
consequences of 39 work to family conflict. The
study evaluated predictions drawn from emerging
models emphasizing the influence of cultural
characteristics, such as collectivism and gender
ideology on work family conflict. It was found that
immigrant Latinos reported infrequent work and
family conflict. The findings were consistent with
earlier research that individuals from more
collectivist cultures experience fewer conflict
between work and family, as in these cultures,
work and family are viewed as more integrated.
Results also indicated that the level of work to
family conflict differed with gender. Frone et al.
(1992a), Eagle et al. (1997), Wesley and
Muthuswamy (2005) however, did not find any
gender differences. Frone et al. (1992a) found no
evidence of gender differences in the pattern of
asymmetry, indicating that the dynamics of work
and family boundaries may operate similarly
among men and women. Gender main effect was
also not found to be significant by Eagle et al.
(1997). Wesley and Muthuswamy (2005) also did
not find any gender differences in the experience
of work to family or family to work conflict and
argued 40 that it was because the financial
resources were now being used to pay for the
household activities which earlier women had to
do and moreover, men had also started to share
some work at home. Hsieh et al. (2005) and Fuß et
al. (2008) studied the variables of marital status
and age. Hsieh et al. (2005) investigated the
perspective of Taiwan hotel managers regarding
work-personal life balance and its relationship to
various demographic variables, such as gender
and marital status, and did not find any significant
differences between male and female managers,
nor there any significant differences between
married and unmarried male/female managers.
Fuß et al. (2008) found that sociodemographic
factor of age group was a significant predictor of
work interference in family. The younger was the
participant, the higher was the perceived work
interference in family. Relationship between work
life balance and emotional intelligence has also
been studied and significant correlation has been
found between the two variables. Carmeli (2003)
examined the extent of which senior managers
with high emotional intelligence, employed in
public sector organizations, develop positive work
attitudes, behaviour and outcomes. Data was
collected by sending questionnaires to 262 senior
managers. The results showed that senior
managers who had high emotional intelligence
were more likely to effectively control work-
family conflict than those who have low emotional
intelligence. Sjöberg (2008) in a study of 153
respondents (94 men and 59 women)
hypothesized emotional intelligence to be a factor
in successful life adjustment, including the
successful achievement of a well balanced life. It
was found that both the dimensions of balance,
i.e., family/leisure interference with work and 41
work interference with family/leisure were
strongly negatively correlated to emotional
intelligence. Results, thus, showed that high
emotional intelligence was associated with a
better balance of life and work. A number of
studies reported relationship between work
centrality/ work salience / job involvement and
work life balance/work family conflict. Greenhaus
et al. (1989) found work salience to be a strong
predictor of work family conflict for the women,
but found it to be unrelated in the case of men.
Williams and Alliger (1994) in a study of 41 full
time working parents (13 men and 28 women)
also found that extent to which work interfered
with family for a given day was found to be
positively related to self reported job involvement
for that day. Aryee and Luk (1996) in a study of
207 dual earner couples in Hong Kong found that
men significantly identified more with the work
role, had more experience in the workforce, and
perceived more spouse support. In contrast,
women significantly, identified more with the
family role, had main responsibility for childcare,
spent more time per week with the children and
perceived more need for family responsive
policies. In addition, the results revealed that
women balance their work and family identity by
trading off one for the other. In contrast, men are
able to simultaneously identify with work and
family roles. Hammer et al. (1997) found that
higher levels of work involvement were related to
higher levels of work family conflict (WFC).
Carlson and Kacmar (2000) found that work
centrality did make a difference to the way work-
family conflict was experienced. It was found that
when work was highly central to the individual,
antecedents from the family domain had a
significant impact on family interference with
work and when family was valued more, the work
domain 42 antecedents had a greater impact on
work interference with family. Hyman et al.
(2003) examined the evidence for extensions of
work into household and family life in two
growing employment sectors: call centres and
software development. Sample consisted of 1131
respondents. Extensions were identified as
tangible, such as unpaid overtime, or intangible,
such as exhaustion and stress. The study found
that organizational pressures combined with lack
of work centrality result in work intruding into
non-work areas of employee lives, though
intrusions manifest themselves in different ways
according to the type of work, levels of the worker
autonomy and organizational support. Work
family conflict has also been studied in relation to
personality type and situational factors. Carlson
(1999) determined how dispositional and
situational factors differentially affect the three
forms (time, strain and behaviour based) of work
family conflict, and also considered the impact of
dispositional variables on work family conflict
beyond situational factors. The sample consisted
of 225 individuals who were employed full time
and worked for a variety of organizations. 142
(63%) were females and 83 (37%) were males.
The results showed that dispositional variables do
play a role above and beyond situational variables
in determining the level of experienced work
family conflict. Negative affectivity was found to
be the most highly related variable with time
based conflict. It was also significantly related to
strain based conflict. From the work domain, the
variable of role conflict was found to be related to
strain based conflict. Further, work and family
role conflict, Type A, and negative affectivity were
found to be significantly related to behaviour
based conflict.

FAMILY RELATED VARIABLES AND WORK LIFE

BALANCE/ WORK FAMILY CONFLICT:-

Family related variables such as spouse support,

spouse work hours, couple’s employment status,
number of children, parental responsibilities,
home responsibilities have been studied in
relation to work life balance/conflict. Suchet and
Barling (1986) in a study of interrole conflict,
spouse support and marital functioning found that
support from one’s husband may assist employed
mothers cope with their own interrole conflict, as
husbands’ supportive behaviour and attitude
might help in reducing the opposing role demands
on, and unrealistic role expectations of employed
mothers. Loerch et al. (1989) examined the
relationships among family domain variables and
three sources of work family conflict (time, strain
and behaviour based) for both men and women.
Family domain variables examined included time
based (number of children, spouse work hours per
week, couple’s employment status) strain based
(conflict within family, spouse support, quality of
experience in spouse or parent role) and
behaviour based antecedents, family intrusions
(parental, marital, home responsibilities) and role
involvement. The results indicated that the time
based antecedents (number of children, spouse
work hours, couple’s employment status) were
not significantly related to any form of work
family conflict for men or women. Strain based
antecedent, conflict within family, was found to
have a positive relationship with work family
conflict. However, the negative relationship of
other strain based antecedents (spouse support,
quality of spouse and parental experiences) and
work family conflict was not supported. The
behaviour based antecedent, role congruity, was
44 not significantly related to any form of work
family conflict. The variable of role involvement
significantly predicted only the time based conflict
for men. Adams et al. (1996) developed and tested
a model of the relationship between work and
family. The results suggested that higher levels of
family emotional and instrumental support were
associated with lower levels of family interfering
with work. Aryee et al. (1999b) examined the
relationship between role stressors, interrole
conflict, and well-being and the moderating
influences of spousal support and coping
behaviours among a sample of Hong Kong Chinese
employed parents in dual-earner families (N=243)
and found that role stressors (work overload and
parental overload) and spousal support set
significantly explained the variance in both work
family conflict (WFC) and family work conflict
(FWC). Spousal support was found to be a
negative predictor of WFC while parental overload
was a positive predictor. Spousal support was
found to moderate the effect of parental overload
on FWC. FWC was negatively related to job and
life satisfaction, but neither WFC nor FWC was
related to family satisfaction.. Higgins et al. (1994)
along with the finding that women experience
greater work to family interference than men, also
found that interference was highest when the
children were young, and lowest in families with
older children. Further, women reported
significantly higher levels of family 45
interference with work than men in early years,
but interference levels were comparable to men’s
in the third life cycle stage (i.e. children 10 to 18
years). Frye and Breaugh (2004) found that
having child care responsibility was predictive of
family- work conflict and showed a positive
relation to such conflict. From the studies
reported above, it can be concluded that higher
the parental demands higher is the work family
conflict and higher the spouse support, lower is
the work family conflict.

WORK RELATED VARIABLES AND WORK LIFE

BALANCE /WORK FAMILY CONFLICT:-

Relationship between work related variables, viz.

task variety, task autonomy, task complexity, role
conflict, work schedule flexibility, number of
hours worked and work life balance/work family
conflict have been studied. The studies by
Greenhaus et al. (1989), Voydanoff (2004), Butler
et al. (2005) found task autonomy to be associated
with work family conflict. Greenhaus et al. (1989)
examined different types of work domain
pressures as sources of work family conflict
among two career couples. The results showed
that work role stressors (role conflict and role
ambiguity) accounted for a significant portion of
the variance in time based and strain based
conflict for both men and women. The task
characteristics (autonomy and complexity) were
found to be associated with work family conflict
and were somewhat stronger for women than for
men. Work schedule characteristics were found to
be generally unrelated to work family conflict.
Among women, it did not 46 explain significant
portion of variance in either time based or strain
based conflict and among men, it was related to
only strain based conflict. Butler et al. (2005)
surveyed 91 parents employed in non-
professional occupations for 14 days about their
job characteristics and work family conflict.
Results showed that there was significant daily
variation in work to family conflict (WFC) and
work to family facilitation (WFF) that was
predictable from daily job characteristics. Greater
daily demands were associated with increase in
daily levels of WFC and higher 47 levels of daily
control at work were associated with decrease in
daily levels of WFC. Daily skill levels used at work
were not related to daily WFC. It was further seen
that greater demands at work were associated
with decrease in daily levels of WFF and greater
daily control and skill level at work were
associated with increase in daily levels of WFF.
Work schedule flexibility has been found to be
negatively associated/related with work life
balance / work family conflict. Higher the
flexibility lower is the work family conflict. In
other words, higher the work schedule flexibility,
higher is the work life balance. Hammer et al.
(1997) reported that higher levels of perceived
work schedule flexibility were related to lower
levels of work family conflict. Hill et al. (2001)
examined the perceived influence of job flexibility
in the timing (flex time) and location of work
(flexplace) on work family balance. Data was
taken from a 1996 International Business
Machines (IBM) work and life issues survey in
United States (n= 6,451). The results indicated
that paid work hours was strongly and negatively
correlated and perceived flexibility was strongly
and positively correlated with work family
balance. It was also found that employees with
perceived 48 flexibility in timing and location of
work could work longer hours before work family
balance became difficult. Drew and Murtagh
(2005) examined the experience and attitude of
female and male senior managers towards work
life balance. The study was undertaken in a major
Irish organization, for which work life balance was
a strategic corporate objective. The finding of the
study was that greatest obstacle to achieving work
life balance was the “long hours” culture, in which
availing oneself of flexible options is incompatible
with holding a senior management post. Many of
senior men could delegate family/caring activities
to their wives, which was not possible for majority
of women in senior positions. Hence men sought
work life balance to resolve, commuting/work
time issues. Both men and women in senior
management recognized that their own careers
would be seriously jeopardized by taking up work
life balance arrangements. Mayo et al. (2008)
focused on the effects of three forms of managerial
work demands – time spent at work, travel and
number of subordinates, on the involvement of
both partners in household labour activities. They
also tested the interactive effects of two
organizational practices, time flexibility and task
autonomy, with three forms of managerial
workloads, to predict the division of household
labour between spouses. It was found that as time
demands increased, managers with low time
flexibility contributed less than their spouses in
household work than managers with high time
flexibility. Further it was also found that as travel
demands increased, managers with low task
autonomy were less engaged than their spouses in
household work than managers with high task
autonomy. Thus, it appeared that high control
over time and tasks can help achieve a good work
family balance among managers. A number of
studies reported negative correlation between the
work hours and work family conflict. White et al.
(2003) analyzed the effect of selected high-
performance practices (appraisal systems, group-
working practices, performance related pay) and
working hours on work-life balance. The data was
collected from two representative surveys of the
employed and self employed in Great Britain, aged
between 20-60 years. High performance practices
were also found to be a source of negative
spillover. It was further found that taking part in a
flexible hour system significantly reduced
negative spillover for women but not for men.
Working from financial necessity was found to be
significantly linked to negative spillover for
women. Dual earners reported less negative
spillover than those in single earner situations.
Macky and Boxall (2008) reported that employees
working longer hours are slightly more likely to
report a greater imbalance in the work life
relationship. The five high involvement variables
(i.e. power to make decision and act
autonomously, information provision, rewards,
knowledge of the job and team working) were
found to be negatively correlated to work life
imbalance. It was also found that increasing the
availability of work life balance policies for
employees did not improve the relationships
when pressure to work longer hours was higher,
and employees felt greater work life imbalance.

FAMILY AND WORK RELATED VARIABLES AND

WORK LIFE BALANCE / WORK FAMILY
CONFLICT:-

A few studies undertaken by Pleck et al. (1980),

Aryee (1992),Frye and Breaugh (2004), Luk and
Shaffer (2005), Kinnunen and Mauno (2007)
examined the relationship among different family
and work related variables and work life balance /
work family conflict. 53 Pleck et al. (1980) in a
survey study of workers found that substantial
minority of workers living in families experienced
conflict between work and family life. Parents
reported more conflict than other couples. Specific
working conditions, such as excessive hours at
work, scheduling and physically or psychologically
demanding were associated with experiencing
work family conflict, which in turn was related to
diminished job satisfaction and contentment with
life in general. Aryee (1992) examined the impact
of five antecedent sets of work and family domain
variables on three types of work-family conflict
(job-spouse, job-parent and job-homemaker) and
the impact of these types of work family conflict
on well being and work outcome measures.
Antecedents studied included life role salience,
family stressors (parental demands, responsibility
for household chores, lack of spouse support),
work stressors (task variety, task complexity, task
autonomy, role conflict, role overload, role
ambiguity) and work schedule stressors (hours
worked per week, work schedule inflexibility).
Results indicated that married professional
women in the study experienced moderate
amounts of each type of work-family conflict. It
was found that number of hours worked per week
rather than work schedule flexibility affects work
family conflict. Role stressors explained the most
variance in job spouse and jobhomemaker
conflicts while task characteristics explained the
most variance in jobparent conflict. Task
autonomy emerged as a negative and significant
predictor of all three types of conflict. Task variety
was positively and significantly related to
jobparent and job-homemaker conflicts. Spouse
support showed a significant negative relation
with job-spouse conflict and parental demands
were significantly positively related to job parent
conflict. However, household responsibility was
not found to be 54 related to any type of conflict.
The three types of work-family conflict explained
only modest amount of the variance in the well-
being and work outcome measures. Frye and
Breaugh (2004) tested a model of antecedents
(use of family friendly policies, supervisors
support, number of hours worked, having child
care responsibility) and consequences (job and
family satisfaction) of work-family conflict and
familywork conflict. It was found that the number
of work hours, the use of family-friendly policies
and reporting to a supportive supervisor were
predictive of work-family conflict. Family friendly
policies and reporting to a supportive supervisor
were found to 56 have negative correlation with
work-family conflict whereas hours worked was
positively related .With regard to family-work
conflict, having child care responsibility and
reporting to a supportive supervisor were
predictive of such conflict. Child care
responsibility showed a positive relation, while
reporting to a supportive supervisor was
negatively related to such conflict. The study also
found that work family conflict was predictive of
job satisfaction and family satisfaction. However,
family work conflict predicted neither job
satisfaction nor family satisfaction. Luk and
Shaffer (2005) developed and tested an expanded
model of the work family interface that considered
both within and across domain influences on
conflict emanating from the work and family
domains. The results of the study on 248 couples
with children showed that work domain stressors,
i.e., time commitment to work and work role
expectations were significant positive predictors
of work interference with family (WIF). Work role
expectations were found to be a significant
negative predictor of family interference with
work (FIW) whereas no significant effects were
found for work time commitment. Family domain
stressor, i.e., family role expectation, was found to
be a negative predictor of WIF whereas parental
demand was found to be a positive predictor of
both WIF and FIW. No significant effects were
found for family time commitment on WIF or FIW
and for family role expectation on FIW. The direct
effects of work domain support, such as family-
friendly policies and supervisor support, and
family domain support, such as domestic helper
support, on WIF and FIW were not substantiated.
Rather family friendly policies were found to be
positive predictor of FIW.
OUTCOMES OF WORK FAMILY CONFLICT/
WORK LIFE BALANCE:-

A number of researchers like Adams et al. (1996),

Sandhu and Mehta (2006), Pal and Saksvik (2007),
and Haar and Bardoel (2008) found that work life
balance /work family conflict affects job
satisfaction, family satisfaction, life satisfaction,
career satisfaction and job stress. 60 Adams et al.
(1996) found that relationships between work
and family can have an important effect on job and
life satisfaction and the level of involvement the
worker assigns to work and family roles is
associated with this relationship. Sandhu and
Mehta (2006) in a study of 271 women working in
service sector in Punjab found that gender role
attitude and spillover between work and family
roles was the most important factor that affected
the career of these women. It was also found that
nature of organization and education had a
significant impact on work family conflict. Pal and
Saksvik (2008) in a cross cultural study of 27
doctors and 328 nurses from Norway and 111
doctors and 136 nurses from India, found that
predictors of job stress were different for doctors
and nurses in India and Norway. In the case of
Norwegian nurses, work family conflict was one of
the predictors of job stress while in the case of
Indian nurses high family work conflict was one of
the predictors of job stress. Haar and Bardoel
(2008) used structural equation modelling to test
positive spillover on 420 Australian public and
private sector employees. They found work family
positive spillover was negatively associated with
psychological distress and turnover intentions,
while family work positive spillover was
negatively associated with psychological distress,
and positively associated with family satisfaction.
The domain specific positive spillover was found
to have the strongest effects on outcomes 63
associated with the same domain (e.g. work family
spillover to turnover intentions and family work
spillover to family satisfaction). Bagger et al.
(2008) examined the interactive effects of family
identity salience, family interference with work
and gender on two outcome variables- job
satisfaction and job distress. Data was obtained
from 160 employees at a small national
architectural firm. The results suggested that
family identity salience acts as a buffer between
family interference with work and job satisfaction
and job distress. It was found that increase in
family interference with work was related to more
job distress and less job satisfaction, but only for
those who were low on family identity salience. It
was further seen that the buffering effect of family
identity salience on the negative aspect of family
interference with work on job satisfaction was
stronger for women than for men. The mediating
role of negative work home interference (NWI)
was examined by Janssen et al. (2004) in a study
of 115 US and 260 Dutch nurses and nurse
assistants to test a theoretically derived model of
specific relationships between work
characteristics and two outcomes (i.e. emotional
exhaustion and job satisfaction). The results in the
Dutch sample showed that emotional exhaustion
was only related to psychological job demands
and workplace social support. Job satisfaction was
found to be associated with job control and with
workplace social support. In the US sample,
similar associations were found. The results also
revealed that the association between
psychological job demands and emotional
exhaustion was partially mediated by NWI. NWI
was more clearly associated with the ‘negative’
outcome emotional exhaustion. Bhargava and
Baral (2009) examined the antecedents and
outcomes of work family enrichment. The sample
comprised of 245 employees from manufacturing
and 64 information technology sector in India. It
was found that core self evaluations, family
support and supervisor support were positively
related to family-to-work enrichment whereas job
characteristics (autonomy, skill variety, task
identity, task significance) were positively related
to work- to- family enrichment. Further, both
family-to-work enrichment and work-to-family
enrichment were found to be positively related to
job satisfaction, affective commitment and
organizational citizenship behaviour. However,
only family-to-work enrichment was found to be
related to family satisfaction.

INDIVIDUALS’ STRATEGIES FOR WORK LIFE

BALANCE:-
Individuals adopt strategies such as
accommodation, negotiation to enhance their
work life balance or reduce work family conflict.
Singh (2001) in his qualitative study used
‘work/life border theory’ to explore how British
and Swedish managers dealt with competing
commitments. A sample of 35 managers (18
Swedish, 17 British ; 18 males and 17 females)
ranging from directors to project managers, aged
between 28 to 59 years, was taken and semi-
structured interviews were held on site in UK and
Sweden. The study showed a tension between
managers’ own needs for more balanced work
lives and corporate attitudes to balance - seekers
and career choices. Findings suggested that four
kinds of strategies were used by the managers for
maintaining work life balance. These included
accommodating family terms, negotiating with the
family, accommodating the organization and
staggering commitments. The study showed that
managers enact their work life balance strategies
with both their employer and their family,
particularly their partner, who also enacts
boundaries between home and employer, so there
are four parties to the negotiation or
accommodation of needs. Some 65 managers use
their own views as reference points for dealing
with subordinates’ need for work life balance.
Powell and Greenhaus (2006) examined how
individuals manage incidents of work-family
conflict that pose difficult choices for them. The
study examines two interrelated processes: a) the
actions that individuals take to avoid conflict in
such incidents; and b) the choices they make when
the conflict cannot be avoided. First, they may try
to mobilize tangible support from a role sender in
either the work or family domain to reschedule
one of the activities. If successful, this strategy
avoids work– family conflict by enabling
individuals to participate fully in both activities. If
support mobilization is unsuccessful or not
attempted, individuals decide whether to
participate partially in some combination of both
activities or to participate solely in either the
work or family activity. It was found that
individuals use multiple cues in deciding how to
respond to situations of potential work family
conflict.

CONCLUSION:-

On the basis of literature reviewed above, the

following major conclusions can be drawn:
• Work to family conflict is more prevalent as
compared to family to work conflict.
• No definite conclusions can be drawn with
respect to the gender differences in work life
balance. However, on the basis of the studies
which reported gender 75 differences, it can be
concluded that women experience more work
family conflict.
• Emotional intelligence has been found to be
positively related to work life balance.
• The higher the importance accorded to work in
life, the higher is the work family conflict.
• Spouse support has been found to be negatively
related to family to work conflict.
• Higher the parental demands, higher is the work
family conflict.
• Job related variables (task autonomy and work
schedule flexibility) have been found to be
positively related to work life balance.
Since the approach of work life balance
was initially conceived in terms of work family
conflict / work family balance, and work life
balance concept has come to the fore recently,
hence much research is focused on work family
conflict rather than work life balance which is a
broader term and includes work and rest of the
life (including family). Secondly, much emphasis
has been laid on studying the outcomes of work
family conflict or work life balance as compared to
the antecedents especially in the context of work
life balance. Again, the researchers who studied
the antecedents, focused mainly on the work or
family related variables; and have not taken
individual related variables into account. There
are hardly any studies to be found in the Indian 76
context, and hence the issue of work life balance is
wide open for research in India. Moreover, IT and
ITES industry has not been studied specifically;
and this industry has peculiar work demands
which make it imperative to study the issue of
work life balance in the context of this industry.
Hence, the present research is an effort to fill
some of these gaps.
Chapter 4

DATA PRESENTATION AND DATA

ANALYSIS

DATA PRESENTATION:-
Data presentation is a defined as the process of
using various graphical format to visually
represent the relationship between two or more
data sets so that informed decision can be made
base on them.
Types of data presentation:-
 Textual
 Tabular
 Diagrammatic
Textual ways to presenting data :-

Out of the different method of data

presentation, this is the most simple one. You
just write your findings in a coherent manner
and your job is done.

Tabular ways of data presentation and

analysis:
 To avoid the complexities in the textual ways
of data presentation , people use tables and
present data . in this method , data is
presented in rows and column-just like you
see in a cricket match showing who made how
many runs.

A tabular Data presentation of different types of

people doing different types of professions.

Si.no Name People of different work

01 Suraj Teacher
kumar

02 Nandani Health advisor

Sharma

03 Satish Teacher
poul

04 J.S Prasad Banker

05 Deepesh Cooperate worker

 kumar

06 Jyoti Ca intern
singh

07 Dr. Ravi Physiotheraphyist

Shankar
Prasad

08 Himanshu Owner of fabric shop

kumar

09 Simran Associate hr
Prasad

10 Deepak Forest service

kumar

11 Sonu N.G.O worker

kumar
Diagrammatic presentation :

The kind of data presentation and analysis method

says a lot with dramatically short amount of time .

It is divided into 4 categories:

(1) Bar graph
(2) Multiple bar graph
(3) Pie chart
(4) Component bar diagram

Here are some primary data that I collected through

questionnaires and dept interview surveys with different
types of people working on different sectors regarding
their work life balance , their job satisfactions ,their family
conditions etc.
 male
female

Fig1. Representation of working male and female

Figure 1 is a pie chart representation of %age of male and

female which works on different sectors like- teaching,
health, corporate, banking, Ngos and business enterprises.

We see that the no. of working male are more often of

these sectors but as well as females are also participating
on working sectors as for their interests. They all have
different types and levels of stress and job satisfactions,
some of them are suffers from several issues and stress
but the tries to manage their life stress both home and
work stress at a time.
 no. of hours spent in work?

5-6= 6-7=

7-8= 8-10=

Fig2. representation of no. of hours spent in work.

Fig.2 is a pie representation of the people whom I

surveyed, showing no. of time they consume on
workplace. The no. of hours they spend on their
profession showing on different slides.
The surveys show that the working women are
managing both their work life and home life. As they
have to manage all the work at home as well as they
have to work on offices .They have to suffer from both
the office and home stress and also manages their
children. Whereas male also have work stress at office
and they have to manage their working life and family
life.

types of stress they have.

eye sight

obesity

diadetes

frequent headaches

body pain

not

Fig3.- representation of types of stress people have.

This chart is showing the stress level of working people

on their life. They more often suffer from eyesight
problems , obesity, frequent headaches, body pain and
diabetes due to their work load.
Managing both home and office , occurs to having
different types of stress with different levels either
major or minor.
To prevent from stress we have to manage our daily
routines, never carry our work load at homes and tries
to motivates ourselves.

yes
no

Fig4. representation of balancing work life

The chart is showing the balanceness of worklife of

different people . some of them are succeed to manage
while some of then fails. Nowadays stress management
is very important thing in our daily life.

Fig.5. do people need to attention for their stress?

 do things need to attention?

sometimes
never
rarely
often
always

Figure 5 showing the representation of level of

attention people need to manage their work life .

sometimes at home especially. We need to do less of our

office work at job and give quality time to our loving
ones.
 irritable at work?

yes
no
sometimes

Fig6. Showing the pie representation of level of

irritations
of people at work place. Workload gives stress to
people, overtime work occurs irritations. Due to which
they also irritated at home.
 social life

friendly
cooperative
good relation

Fig.7. representation of their social life

Fig. 7 showing the pie chart representation of people

who socialize their life at work place. Some of them are
friendly with their workplace; some are cooperative
and some of them having good relations with their
subordinates.
People’s engagement with their subordinates and
having healthy relationship with them tends to have
more job satisfactions on their workplace. They kinda
motivates them for doing work more efficiently
 job satisfaction

dissatisfied
nutral
satisfied

Fig.8. representation of job satisfaction.

Fig.8 showing the pie representation of people having

satisfaction level of their jobs. Some of them are
dissatisfied some are neutral to their satisfaction level
and some are highly satisfied.
 Chapter 5

Conclusion and suggestions

Work life balance is the process of minimizing the role

conflict of a person by maintaining his perceptions
about work and his personal time and family welfare
(Clark S. C. 2000) .Work life balance can be defined as
the perception of an employee to maintain and
integrate multiple domains of personal, time, family
care and work with minimum role conflict . Work life
balance can be different to different people depending
upon the different stages of life. It basically includes the
problems of exhaustion and lack of time. Research
shows that failure to achieve a satisfactory balance of
effort is directly connected to lack of energy to fulfill
personal commitments and lack of control over the
workload. The imbalance here leads to consequences
such as fatigue, poor quality of life and most
importantly poor performance. Work life balance is the
relationship between personal commitments and work
and its impact on one another. The present study
examines the innovative and current work-life balance
policies and practices implemented and practiced by
various Indian Companies. With the change in the
workforce and the increase in the number of working
women, dual earner and nuclear families the need for
the employees to balance their work and personal life
has also increased. Moreover, women still take the
major responsibility of childcare and domestic chores,
long hours work culture and lack of flexible work
provision creates a disadvantageous situation for
women than men.

Work/life balance initiatives have the potential to

significantly reduce absenteeism, improve employee
morale and retain organisational knowledge and staff,
particularly during testing economic times. In today’s
global marketplace, as companies aim to reduce costs,
it falls to the human resource professional to
understand the critical issues of work/life balance and
champion work/life programs. Be it employees whose
family members and/or friends are called to serve
their country, single mothers who are trying to raise
their children and take a living, Generation X and Y
employees who value their personal time, couples
struggling to manage dual-career marriages, or
companies losing critical knowledge when employees
leave for other opportunities, work/life programs
offer a win-win situation for employers and
employees.
However developing a work life balance policies is not
enough. These need to be practiced and supported
especially by the top level managers.

Employee expectations are very high in regards to

flexible work conditions at today’s society. So it is
imperative for businesses to have highly functional
work life balance options to stay competitive and
attract the highest skilled staff. Hence many
organisations view work/life balance as a human
recourse directive with strategic importance.

Organisational culture plays a key role when it comes

to work life balance provisions. So an organisation
with co-worker and managerial support will excel
with carefully created flexible work options. It is
apparent that the HR policies in terms of work-life
balance mostly concentrate on individuals who have
families with small children. Due to the diversity of the
concept of family now, work/life balance
improvement policies should address every aspect of
family such as single parents, shared parents, elderly
care and singles.

Finally, we need to adapt a “give and take” philosophy.

This means that both employer and employee need to
be willing to bend a little. Small compromise will go a
 long way in achieving perfect harmony between
personal and work lives.

SUGGESTIONS

Maintaining a work/life balance is easy when You

typically work from home and you have no one else to
answer to, so it should be easy to switch off.
Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. In fact, many
home-based sole traders struggle to strike a healthy
work/life balance because the lines are more blurred.

P LAY TO YOUR STRENGTHS

Don’t try and be all things to all people. Focus on your
strengths and outsource the others. If you’re not a
whiz at accounts or graphic design, outsource them
instead of wasting time.

P RIORITISE YOUR TIME

You may have a to-do list with 50 tasks on it, so you
need to prioritize those tasks into four categories.
They are:
 Urgent and important
 Important but not urgent
 Urgent but not important
 Neither urgent nor important.

P LOT SOME PERSONAL TIME

When personal issues arise, it can be tempting to bury
yourself in your work. Don’t do it If you don’t make
time for your personal life – your “me” time, including
your family and your health – you won’t have a
business to go back to.

H AVE SET WORK HOURS – AND STICK TO THEM

Set work hours for yourself and do everything in your
power to stick to them. Otherwise, before you know it,
you’ll be working until midnight every night.

F IND TIME FOR YOUR FINANCES

Whether you work for yourself or not, it’s important to
feel confident about your finances. In order to do this,
you need to get some accounting software in place and
use it from day one.
Cash flow is one of the biggest challenges facing small
businesses. You should start using accounting tools
early on so you know what’s going on, financially, from
day dot.

M AKE YOUR WORKSPACE WORK FOR YOU

W ORKING FOR YOURSELF DOES TEND TO REQUIRE LONG
HOURS AND NOT MUCH DOWNTIME , SO INVEST IN
EQUIPMENT THAT WILL SUPPORT YOU .
That includes getting a comfortable chair, an
ergonomic keyboard, a support stand for your laptop,
etc.
An ergonomic assessment of your workspace is worth
every cent.

M AKE EXERCISE A MUST - DO , NOT A SHOULD - DO

It’s easy to cancel the gym, the evening run or the yoga
class because a client wants something done
yesterday.
Instead, ensure exercise is given as much priority as
your clients and making money. A healthy body means
a fresh mind, which means you will function better
and complete tasks in less time.

T AKE TIME TO MAKE TIME

Invest in time-tracking tools. There are plenty of tools
you can use to track everything from the frequency
and duration of meetings, to chasing and converting
leads.
Time-tracking software allows you to quickly build an
understanding of how long a particular task takes.
That way, you can effectively estimate how long your
next work task will take.

K NOW AND NURTURE YOUR NETWORK

Prioritise growing your network and have a structured
lead/conversion system in place so you can track the
time/cost involved to grow your network.
Set the benchmarks early on and learn the lessons
early.

D O WHAT YOU LOVE

Make time for something you love – other than work –
and give it the time it deserves. It will energise and
refresh you, and enable you to nurture the creative
thought that is essential to every business owner.

B E REALISTIC
At the end of each working day, perform a little self-
analysis. Ask yourself what worked today, what didn’t,
what went wrong and how the issue can be fixed.
Remember there are thousands of businesses just like
yours learning the same lessons every day. Don’t
forget to tap into the valuable resources around you –
your peers – for help.
S TEP OUT
Working for yourself can get lonely, so schedule some
phone calls or coffee time with like-minded business
owners to discuss ideas and offer each other support.

G ET A BUSINESS COACH
Find the cash for a business coach. That way, you can
find out sooner rather than later how to get rid of bad
habits and implement good ones.

M EET CLIENTS HALFWAY – LITERALLY

Don’t always agree to meet a client at their office.
Instead, meet halfway, perhaps at a café or restaurant.
This will save you time and energy, not to mention
money spent on travel.

M ANAGE YOUR MIND

When fear or self-doubt or anxiety creeps in, do some
work on your mental health such as meditation or
reading a business book.
Alternatively, spend time with someone who will lift
you up and support you.

T AKE A BREAK
Remember to take time out throughout your day.
Some tasks are easier than others, so if you find
yourself with an hour up your sleeve, be realistic
about whether you can “afford” to rest or not.
You might not have time every day to simply sit and
“be”, but do your best to give yourself a lunch break.
Also, make a point of getting up and stretching every
15 minutes. It will help you become clearer, more
focused and more productive.

H AVE THAT HOLIDAY

Make time for a holiday and book in breaks, at least
quarterly. Even a long weekend every quarter is better
than nothing.
But remember to advise your clients and customers as
far in advance as possible.