FINAL RESEARCH PROJECT

“Work-from-home and its effect on the work life balance of women”

A PROJECT STUDY SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT

FOR THE REQUIREMENT OF THE
TWO YEARS (FULL‐TIME)
POST‐GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN MANAGEMENT
(2020 – 22)

Submitted by
Ritwick Kalita
021/2020

Under the guidance of

Dr. Sheela Bhargava

LAL BAHADUR SHASTRI INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT

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 Certificate

LAL BAHADUR SHASTRI INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT

Date………………

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the present study is based on my original research work and my
indebtedness to others’ works, publications, etc. wherever cited in this study has been
duly acknowledged at appropriate places.

This work has not been submitted either in part or in full for the award of any diploma
or degree in any university/institute and now is being submitted for partial fulfilment
for the requirement of post-Graduation Diploma in Management (General)/(Financial
Management)/(Research & Business Analytics).

_____________________
Signature of Student
Ritwick Kalita, 021/2020

The student consulted/ did not consult (strike off whichever is not applicable) me
while doing this Final Research Project.

Extent of Plagiarism ………… %

Prof. ____________
Faculty Guide

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to everyone who has helped me in any possible
way to prepare this report.

I would also like to express my heartfelt thanks and deep sense of gratitude to my FRP mentor
and guide Dr. Sheela Bhargava for providing me the insights and guidelines in the
understanding my topic better and the framework of the research paper along with continuous
support on report preparations, without which this report would have been very difficult to
prepare.

Now, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Sheela Bhargava for extending her
support in the initial phase of this report and helping me set the background work.

At last, I would like to end this note by thanking everyone who has helped me in any
capacity to smoothly complete this research report.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE NUMBER

Introduction 3

Conceptual Framework 4

Literature Review 6

Objectives 9

Methodology 10

Data collection 11

Data Analysis 12

Inference 17

Conclusion & Suggestions 18

Limitations 19

References 20

Appendix: Questionnaire 21

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Introduction:

Work-life balance refers to the degree to which personal and professional activities are
prioritized in an individual's life, as well as the extent to which work-related activities are
prevalent at home.

The optimal work-life balance is a topic of debate. Anthropologists frequently describe

happiness as having little or no distinction between an individual's work and personal life,
according to freethinker Paul Krassner.

The problem of work/life balance is coming to the front of many companies' and workers'
minds in the workplace and at home. Human resource professionals explore ways to favorably
affect their organizations’ bottom lines, increase employee morale, retain workers with
important corporate expertise, and stay up with workplace changes in today's fast-paced
world. This article provides human resource professionals with historical context, statistics,
and potential work/life balance solutions for both businesses and workers. Work/life balance is
exacerbated by three factors: global competitiveness, personal lives/family values, and an
ageing workforce.

This project is an attempt in understanding whether the shift towards the new normal has any
impact on the work-life balance of employed women and if this impact is positive or negative.

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 Conceptual Framework

1. What is work-life balance?

Work-life balance refers to the concept of making time for both work and other elements of
one's life, whether they be family-related or personal hobbies.

The concept of work-life balance gained popularity during the industrial revolution in the
1800s, when capitalists and labor organizations alike agreed that employees deserved a day
off. This was eventually expanded to a two-day 'weekend.' However, 'work' was primarily
manual back then, and when workers left the site, they also left their work behind. They were
actually able to rest, away from work, without having to think about it or be concerned about
what may happen while they were gone.

The phrase "work-life balance", however is much more modern. It was most likely first used
in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s, then in the United States in the mid-1980s. It has,
however, taken on a new meaning as a result of recent technology advancements that have
enabled workers to keep in touch 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Smart phones, remote
working technologies, and the like have made it difficult for individuals to 'switch off' and
truly rest, even on vacation, and the criticism is frequently that people are expected to be 'on-
call' at all times, often without being permitted to have a life outside of work.

2. The importance of work-life balance

Work-life balance promotes mental wellness. Employees will be happier when they arrive at
work if they have a great work-life balance. This, in turn, helps to minimize stress and the
likelihood of burnout, two major occupational health disorders.
• Employees that are constantly stressed suffer from chronic stress. It can cause mental
health problems like depression, anxiety, and sleeplessness, as well as physical health
problems including persistent aches and pains, heart problems, and hypertension.

• Burnout occurs when an employee is subjected to excessive stress over an extended

length of time. Burnout can result in a variety of symptoms, including mood changes
and irritation, as well as exhaustion and decreased productivity. Employees may seek
medical attention or take sick leave as a result, which can be costly for a firm.

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It also benefits physical health. Employees who are overworked are far more prone to suffer
from physical illnesses. This is especially true if they do not take adequate breaks during the
day. Here are several examples:
• Chronic pain/carpal tunnel syndrome: overworking can cause discomfort or worse,
especially if the office setting isn't ergonomic.

• Sedentism contributes significantly to the risk of heart disease and excessive blood
pressure.

Work-life balance also impacts productivity. An organization relies on its staff to be

productive. This is where work-life balance comes into play — if an employee's work-life
balance is consistent, they will be considerably happy at work. This results in increased
production. Staying late every night and working extra may appear to increase production, but
the work will most likely be of worse quality.

3. The new normal of work-life balance

Working from home has become the new normal. Even in 2019, before COVID-19, around
8% of workers globally – 260 million individuals – worked remotely. Some people in most
firms are likely to be online in the early morning, while others are likely to be online late into
the evening and over the weekend. This may lead to the belief that one must be online at all
times in order to accommodate all of these schedules and be ready for contact at all times.

The epidemic, on the other hand, has converted a slow tendency into an overnight
phenomenon. What was once a considered lifestyle option is now a must for many of us. It's
got us scurrying to set up temporary 'offices' in bedroom corners, coordinating childcare with
emails, and pondering what to wear during a work group conference call.

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Review of Literature

Definitions of work-life balance in childfree dual-career couples: an inductive typology

Galina Boiarintseva, Souha R. Ezzedeen and Christa Wilkin

The paper focuses on the work-life balance experiences of dual-career professional couples
with children have gotten a lot of attention, but there isn't much study on work-life balance
definitions among dual-career professional couples without children. The data is collected
from interviews of 21 working professionals, and upon analysis, it has been established that
while free of child rearing responsibilities, the group still has a host of non-work-related
responsibilities. These relationships, too, transcend categorization. Based on the individual
members' job and care orientations, the inductive inquiry identified four couple groups.
Careerist, conventional, non-conventional, and egalitarian couples were among them. Work-life
balance definitions differed by relationship type based on the importance they put on flexibility,
autonomy, and control, as well as their degree of happiness with their work and non-work
domains.

Work–life balance in Europe: institutional contexts and individual factors

Rumiana Stoilova, Petya Ilieva-Trichkova and Franziska Bieri

The goal of this study is to investigate how individual and macro-level variables influence the
work–life balance of young men and women in different European nations The study used
multilevel modelling to investigate the factors that influence the work–life balance of men and
women aged 15–34 in 24 European nations. The data reveal both variations and similarities in
how education influences work–life balance in young men and women. Higher education
increases the chance of males seeing work–life balance as crucial in job selection, but lesser
education reduces the likelihood of women considering this balance. For both men and women,
higher education is connected with reduced acceptance of the conventional norm and less time
spent on housework. It is found that work–life balance is more crucial for males who live in
conservative, Mediterranean, and post-socialist welfare regimes than for those who live in
social-democratic regimes. The policy implications are that education should be more closely
considered in the transformation of gender-sensitive norms during the early stages of child
socialization, and that more holistic policy measures should be designed to address the various
barriers that individuals from poor families and ethnic/migrant backgrounds face.

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Well‐balanced families?: A gendered analysis of work‐life balance policies and work
family practices
S.B. Burnett, C.J. Gatrell, C.L. Cooper and P. Sparrow

The research assesses the extent to which "well-balanced families" have been fostered as a
result of work-life balance rules on the work and family practices of professional, dual-earner
parents with dependent children. The first question answered is about how work-life balance
rules have helped working parents manage their responsibilities to their employers and
children, and the second is about how gender affects parental and employer reactions to work-
life balance regulations. Work-life balance rules, it is asserted, have not resulted in well-
balanced, or "gender-neutral," work and family practices. This is due to two factors, both of
which are related to gender. First, there is a gender divide in the adoption of work-life balance
rules, with more moms working flexibly than dads. Part of the reason for this is because
organizational expectations fail to recognize societal change in the father parenting role.
Second, work-life balance regulations primarily address concerns of paid employment and
childcare, neglecting to address domestic labor, which continues to be borne mostly by
mothers.

Work-life balance under challenging financial and economic conditions

Susana Pasamar and Ramón Valle Cabrera

The goal of this research is to look at how employers perceive institutional demands on them to
enhance work-life balance in tough circumstances with severe financial and economic
conditions, and to categorize organizations based on these beliefs. The cluster analysis was
carried out using survey data from 146 Spanish private enterprises in various industries. The
results clearly illustrate the presence of three distinct groups of firms based on their perceptions
of coercive, mimetic, and normative pressures, as well as the differences between the groups'
features. The company's attitude toward work-life balance is determined by how institutional
pressures are perceived.

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Work‐life balance as source of job dissatisfaction and withdrawal attitudes: An
exploratory study on the views of male workers
Joanna Hughes and Nikos Bozionelos

The goal of this study is to look at the perspectives of male workers in a male-dominated
industry on work-life balance concerns. The research was of a qualitative character. Semi
structured interviews were conducted with 20 bus drivers employed by a single company to
determine their perspectives on the following topics: whether work-life balance issues were
sources of concern and dissatisfaction; how concern over work-life balance issues was
compared to other sources of concern and dissatisfaction; and whether work-life balance issues
were linked with withdrawal attitudes and behaviors. Work-life balance turned shown to be not
just a cause of anxiety, but also a substantial source of discontent for participants. Furthermore,
participants saw a significant link between work-life balance issues and withdrawal behaviors
such as turnover and non-genuine sick leave.

Work-life balance and its relationship with organizational pride and job satisfaction
Marta Mas-Machuca, Jasmina Berbegal-Mirabent and Ines Alegre

The goal of this study is to look at how work-life balance, organizational pride, and job
satisfaction are linked. The current article considers two important antecedents for assessing
employee work-life balance: supervisor support and job autonomy and investigates their
relationship with corporate pride and job satisfaction. A questionnaire survey was utilized to
collect data in a Spanish pharmaceutical company to verify the hypothesis, and 374 replies
were received. The data was analyzed using structural equation modelling.
The association between the investigated constructs is confirmed by the data. The findings back
up the hypothesis that supervisor work-life balance support and autonomy are linked to
employee work-life balance. Furthermore, employee work-life balance is linked to company
pride and job satisfaction in a favorable way. It suggests that, in order to improve
organizational pride and job satisfaction, firms should pay attention to employee work-life
balance. The study aims to assist businesses in making better use of their human capital
resources.

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Objectives of the Study:

• To study the relationship between work-from-home and work-life balance.

• To determine if there is a relationship between organizational culture and work-

life balance.

• To determine if employed women have different levels of work-life balance

compared to employed men.

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 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

The study requires a systematic procedure from selection of the topic to final report
preparation.
1. Research design- Descriptive research design was adopted in order to conduct the study
2. Data Collection sources-
• Secondary Data- Secondary data was collected from the existing research papers
and articles relevant to the objectives undertaken for the study
• Primary Data- Primary data was collected through a questionnaire floated to
the respondents through a google form which comprised of close-ended questions
3. Sampling Unit- The targeted respondents were the employees working in various
organizations and having at least one year of work experience
4. Sampling Technique- Convenience sampling technique was used in order to get the
questionnaire filled from employees of various organizations
5. Sample Size- 54 responses were received out of which 7 responses were scrapped who
were students.
6. Statistical Techniques- The statistical techniques to be used for data analysis are:
• Factor Analysis
• Correlation
• Regression
7. Finally, conclusions were taken from the data that had been evaluated.

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Data Collection:

The primary data was collected through convenience sampling, targeted at employees and
business owners or entrepreneurs through a questionnaire which comprised of open and close-
ended questions. A total of 54 responses were received, out of which 7 were scrapped as they
were responses of students, and hence invalid to the study.

The demographics of the respondents are given below:

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 Data Analysis

1. Reliability Test

Reliability Statistics
Cronbach's Alpha Cronbach's Alpha Based on N of Items
Standardized Items

.879 .884 22

Fig-1.

Fig-1 indicates that Cronbach's Alpha is more than 0.6, i.e., 0.7. Hence, the data is trustworthy.

2. Factor analysis

Fig-2.

Fig-2 represents the scree-plot of the variables after undergoing factor analysis. There
exist 6 components with eigen value more than 1, which forms the 6 components based
on which the respondents filled the questionnaire.

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 They can be considered roughly as:
1. Work culture
2. Job satisfaction
3. Ease of Working due to Work From Home
4. Workload Distribution
5. Employer Branding
6. Compensation Structure, and its Benefits

3. Statistics of Work Culture

Sl. No. On a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being the lowest and 5 Mean Standard N

being the highest), rate your level of Deviation
agreement with the following statements
1 My job is the most significant factor to my 3 0.979796 47
happiness
2 My salary is the most significant factor to my 3.607843 0.896179 47
happiness
3 My family is the most significant factor to my 4.372549 0.823669 47
happiness
4 I feel that I am satisfied with my job 3.411765 0.983391 47
5 I enjoy my job 3.529412 0.966498 47
6 My job positively contributes to my overall 3.647059 1.05496 47
happiness
7 Co-workers positively contribute to my work 3.960784 0.773583 47
environment
8 My superiors/managers positively contribute to 3.529412 0.945578 47
my work environment
Fig-3.

Fig-3 statistically analyses the set of questions from the questionnaire based on work culture,
related to scaling. The mean of these factors indicate that the employees feel that their
workplaces/ organizations have a healthy work-culture.

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 4. Statistics of Work-life Balance

Sl. No. On a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being the lowest and 5 being the Mean Standard N
highest), rate your level of agreement with the following deviation
statements
1 I prioritize my job over my family and personal life 2.784314 1.101158 47
2 I prioritize my family over my work life 3.862745 0.84899 47
3 I sacrifice my sleep to make up time for family 3.45098 1.188507 47
4 I feel overwhelmed by the amount of things I need to do for 3.588235 0.983391 47
my work
5 There are not enough hours in a week 3.764706 0.991731 47
6 I sacrifice my sleep for work 3.72549 1.078488 47
7 I plan to stay at my job for the foreseeable future 3.54902 0.965686 47
8 I would recommend my job to someone else 3.54902 0.923336 47
9 I feel that my job has adequate work-life balance 3.235294 0.929263 47

Fig-4.

Fig-4 statistically analyses the set of questions from the questionnaire based on work-life
balance, related to scaling. The mean of these factors indicate that the employees feel that they
enjoy some aspects of work-life balance while performing their jobs, such as regular leaves. It
also signifies that the sample aspires to achieve a higher level of work-life balance, through
aspects such as quality time management, sharing of workload, etc.

5. Statistics of Work-from-Home

Sl. No. On a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being the lowest and 5 being the Mean Standard N
highest), rate your level of agreement with the following deviation
statements
1 Work-from-home saves me an ample amount of time 3.960784 1.057559 47
2 I am less fatigued since I started working from home 3.803922 1.249314 47
3 Work-from-home has reduced daily expenses like 4.27451 0.695081 47
commute
4 Work-from-home has resulted in an increased level of 4.176471 0.887826 47
convenience
5 Work-from-home has resulted in working in a more 4.294118 0.756151 47
familiar and comfortable environment
Fig-5

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Fig-5 statistically analyses the set of questions from the questionnaire based on work-from-
home, related to scaling. The mean of these factors indicate that the employees feel that they
work-from-home has increase the level of ease and convenience of doing their jobs, while at
the same time reducing fatigue, cost and time spent at workplaces.

6. Regression Analysis between work-from-home and work-life balance:

Fig-6.

Fig-7.

Fig-6, and Fig-7 shows that since the value of Sig.= 0.162, which is greater than 0.05,
there is no statistically significant relationship between Work-from-home and Work-life
Balance.

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7. Correlation Analysis to determine relationship between organizational culture and
work-life balance

Fig-8.

Fig-8. shows that there exists a strong positive correlation between Work Culture and
Work-life Balance, which is statistically significant.

8. Correlation Analysis to determine if employed women have different levels of work-life

balance compared to employed men.

Fig-9.

Fig-9 indicates that there is a strong positive correlation between work-life balance and
gender of the employee. However, since the level of significance is greater than 0.05
(sig.=0.07), the correlation is statistically insignificant.

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Inference
From the above observations, it can be inferred that:
• The work culture of an organization has a high level of influence towards work-
life balance.
• There is no significant relationship between the work-life balance and work-
from-home
• The gender of the employee does not influence their work-life balance. It is
dependent on a host of other factors.

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Conclusion & Suggestions

It was found that the culture of an organization plays a major role in the work-life
balance of their employees. This is because a good work culture promotes healthier
practices amongst employees and provides them with better working hours and
workload management. This should be encouraged among all organizations, so that the
employees are more satisfied and happier with their jobs than ever before.

It was also found that contrary to popular belief, gender roles were not a significant
factor in determining the level of work-life balance amongst employees, as the concept
of work-life balance considers a lot of other factors too apart from the gender of the
employees.

Finally, most employees that were a part of the study has agreed that work-from-home
was a convenient method of doing their jobs during the past two years or so. A majority
of them also want to maintain the status-quo.

Hence, organizations can save a significant amount of their resources by designing an

unified work-life balance strategy for all their employees, instead of designing different
ones for men and women.

They can also opt to keep operating remotely for all employees that are not required to
be on-site exclusively, as it promotes a more productive experience for the employees
and will eventually result in a better output. An innovative way of achieving this might
be the introduction of a hybrid workweek, which comprises of both work-from-home
and work-from-office days.

Organizations can also prioritize providing vacation days and retreats to all their
employees as an opportunity to rejuvenate and then join back, resulting in increased
levels of job-satisfaction and happiness.

Organizations should also try to promote a better work-culture throughout all their
establishments, as it has a positive influence towards the work-life balance on their
employees.

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Limitations

Following are the limitations of the study conducted:

1. The sample size was limited to 47 respondents which is a constraint as

limiting the study to a small number like 47 employees for a study aimed at
the general working population ignores the true picture of the study.

2. The study also includes the responses of a few business owners and
entrepreneurs, who do not conform to the scenarios faced by employees of
established organizations.

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References
• Definitions of work-life balance in childfree dual-career couples: an inductive
typology
Galina Boiarintseva, Souha R. Ezzedeen and Christa Wilkin

• Work–life balance in Europe: institutional contexts and individual factors

Rumiana Stoilova, Petya Ilieva-Trichkova and Franziska Bieri

• Well‐balanced families?: A gendered analysis of work‐life balance policies and

work family practices
S.B. Burnett, C.J. Gatrell, C.L. Cooper and P. Sparrow

• Work-life balance under challenging financial and economic conditions

Susana Pasamar and Ramón Valle Cabrera

• Work-life balance and its relationship with organizational pride and job
satisfaction
Marta Mas-Machuca, Jasmina Berbegal-Mirabent and Ines Alegre

• Work‐life balance as source of job dissatisfaction and withdrawal attitudes: An

exploratory study on the views of male workers
Joanna Hughes and Nikos Bozionelos

• https://hbr.org/2021/01/work-life-balance-is-a-cycle-not-an-achievement
• https://resources.owllabs.com/blog/remote-work-life-balance
• https://www.william-russell.com/blog/finding-the-right-work-life-balance-when-
working-from-home/
• https://hbr.org/2013/05/what-is-organizational-culture

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Appendix: Questionnaire

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