1. DISSERTATION REPORT
ON
“The Role of Management in Promoting Work-Life
Balance in Education Industry : An Employee
Perspective”
SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE
MASTER’S DEGREE IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (INTERNATIONAL
BUSINESS)
OF
H. N. B. GARHWAL UNIVERSITY, SRINAGAR
Submitted to: Submitted by:
Prof. Parvi Bharti Soumya Singh
Assistant Professor G202120186
DBS MIB
Dehradun 2020-2022
DOON BUSINESS SCHOOL, DEHRADUN

2. Doon Business School Soumya Singh
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I, Soumya Singh, would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my mentor Prof.
Parvi Bharti for being so devoted to every single progression in my dissertation
report. She helped throughout from helping me choose the right topic to making
me understand how a dissertation is done. Her guidance helped me writing my
project. Her brilliant comments and suggestions helped me a lot to complete this
dissertation.
I also would like to thank my friends, peers and family for providing me with
valuable support. I would especially like to mention here that this paper was
written, keeping in mind two extremely close family members who are from
education industry - my parents, whose lives I have seen up close and personal and
also, seen their constant battle to keep up their work-life balance in perfect
equilibrium which time to time fails due to so much pressure from their respective
jobs and superiors.
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CERTIFICATE
I have the pleasure in certifying that Ms. Soumya Singh is a bonafide student of
IVth
Semester of the Master’s Degree in Business Administration (International
Business) Batch 2020-22, of Doon Business School, Dehradun under H.N.B.
Garhwal University Enrollment No. G202120186.
She has completed her project work entitled “The Role of Management in
Promoting Work-Life Balance in the Education Industry : An Employee
Perspective” under my guidance.
I certify that this is her original effort & has not been copied from any other
source. This project has also not been submitted in any other Institute / University
for the purpose of award of any Degree.
This project fulfils the requirement of the curriculum prescribed by this Institute
for the said course. I recommend this dissertation project for evaluation &
consideration for the award of Degree to the student.
Signature :
Name of the Guide : Prof. Parvi Bharti
Designation : Assistant Professor
Date : 10-11-2022
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4. Doon Business School Soumya Singh
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The aim of this research is to identify the causes of job stress along with studying the
impact of stress in maintaining work life balance and to find out the factors desired
from the management’s side to bring Work-life balance. This research aims to analyse
the role of management in looking out for the mental and physical well being of their
employees by reviewing and maintaining a healthy WLB and to find out what actions
the management are taking and what more needs to be done in this arena.
The literature review and research work showed us that the causes of job stress are
job security or instability, improper pay structure, extensive working hours leading to
no work life balance. Employees are replaceable in private organisations which
generates adultery and flattery towards their seniors making the most less skilled
person in the team their favourite which is unfair to the other employees who are
honest and dedicated in their work. A fair check should be done on a daily or a
weekly basis to ensure who’s been doing what and can differentiate the hardworking
ones from the lot.
Moving on to the impact of job stress which leads to lack of sleep, choosing poor
eating habits because of fatigue or no time to cook oneself a meal, no or less working
out, no sense of personal life, less family time, stress related problems like anxiety,
zoning out, less concentration, poor mental health. Research and studies have shown
that work stress can lower performance at the workplace, anxiety, depression,
sleeping problems,other mental problems and increase the risk of diabetes.
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The main causes of job stress lies in excessive workloads, pressure of deadlines,
hectic work schedules, lack of appreciation, job instability, improper pay structure,
etc. This leads to poor work-life balance, lowering productivity, affecting their
self-esteem and undervaluing oneself due to lack of motivation or appreciation. stress.
Other main causes might be related to job security, being deficient in occupation
opportunities, or level of pay along with facing bullying. A weak or ineffective
management might leave the employees without a sense of direction while
over-management can leave employees feeling undervalued and affect their
self-esteem. Job stress as well as work life conflict lead to similar impacts like job
accidents and low performance.
Creating a flexible work environment is one of the best ways to satisfy the work-life
balance needs of most employees – no matter which generation they belong to. A
flexible work environment has been shown to decrease stress, boost levels of job
satisfaction and help employees maintain healthier habits. Employers should offer
flexible work hours, the ability to work from home and unlimited PTO to create a
more flexible work environment that appeals across generations of workers.
It’s important for employers to realise that work-life balance is about more than just
hours. Besides promoting flexibility, employers should also strive to improve the
overall workplace experience for their employees. Prioritising a healthy culture and
cultivating a happy workplace environment promotes work-life balance. When
employees are happy in their roles, work will feel more like a second home, and less
like working for a paycheck. Employers should prioritise competitive compensation,
comfortable office conditions, opportunities for professional growth and opportunities
for social connections.
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The management should ensure a healthier environment, they should encourage
quality over quantity. That means not focussing on how many hours an employee has
worked for rather how much quality work has he done. Next thing they should do is
encourage breaks to avoid burnouts and provide a healthy and open environment
where employees can freely share any troubles they are facing in the workplace.
The corporate world, to a large extent, has already taken positive steps towards
formulating WLB policies and initiating practices. A 4-day-work week is one such
policy which can provide some flexibility to manage work and personal life
effectively. Other incorporations should be focusing on productivity rather than the
number of hours by either running a daily check at the end of the or a weekly check.
Also, making the employee a conscious worker and not being a lazy bum. Next
thing they should do is encourage breaks to avoid burnouts and provide a healthy
and open environment where employees can freely share any troubles they are
facing in the workplace. Job security was found to be another big stressor. We can’t
emphasise enough about having a stable job and what it does to our stress and
anxiety levels. Also, Organisations should think of providing family care or design a
support system such that employees having older parents or infants at home can be
taken care of. For example some offices have started incorporating the system of
creches from mothers refraining to worry about leaving their child at home with no
one to look after him or her is a boon.
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LIST OF CONTENTS
S.No PAGE TITLE PAGE
NUMBER
1. List of tables and figures 7-8
2. Objectives of the study 9
3. Introduction 10-22
4. Literature Review 14-22
5. Research Methodology 23
6. Findings and Analysis 24-38
7. Limitations 39
8. Conclusion & Recommendations 40-41
9. References 42
10. Annexure 43
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LIST OF FIGURES
S.no Title of the figures Page
Number
Fig.1 Job Satisfaction 11
Fig.2 Conceptual Model of WLB 15
Fig. 3 Three factor based Model of WLB 17
Fig. 4 Working Hours Model 18
Fig.5 Effective Performance 18
Fig.6 Perceived WLB 22
Fig. 7 Perceived Organisational Commitment 23
Fig. 8 Working from home in Covid desire of working employees 24
Fig. 9 WFH or craving to go back to normal routine 25
Fig. 10 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs 26
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Fig. 11 Gender 30
Fig. 12 Age 30
Fig. 13 Working with which organisation 31
Fig. 14 Do you work for more than 5 days a week? 32
Fig. 15 Would you like it if your organisation made it to 4 days a
week?
32
Fig. 16 How many hours do you work in your
workplace/organisation?
33
Fig. 17 How many hours do you work after your office hours end? 33
Fig. 18 Do you feel you aren't able to balance your life? 34
Fig. 19 Do you often worry about work when you are not at work? 35
Fig. 20 Do you feel you are able to give your family quality time? 35
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Fig. 21 Do you feel you are always lost/zoned out due to work while
spending time with your family?
36
Fig. 22 Do you miss or avoid family time because of the pressure of
deadlines at work?
37
Fig. 23 How often do you feel exhausted or depressed because of
work?
37
Fig. 24 Do you get enough (6-8 hours) of peaceful sleep or do you
face sleep problems?
39
Fig. 25 Do you get time for working out? 39
Fig. 26 Do you focus on having a good diet? 41
Fig. 27
Do you suffer from mental or physical stress-related disease? 40
Fig. 28 Does your management try to make the work environment
less stressful through certain initiatives?
41
Fig. 29 Do you feel the management should actively promote a
healthy work-life balance for employees?
41
Fig. 30 What initiatives would you suggest your management take to
improve Work-life balance for employees?
42
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11. Doon Business School Soumya Singh
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OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The current research work has been formulated keeping in mind
following objectives which are:
1. To identify the causes of job stress
2. To study the impact of work-life balance on many pursuits
with special reference to education industry
3. To find out the factors desired from the management’s side to
bring Work-life balance.
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INTRODUCTION
Work life balance
Work life Balance is the balance between one’s physical, mental, emotional
capabilities between their work and personal lives or the non- work area. It
should be a healthy balance as work life is only a constituent of life and not the
complete life so it's important to have distinction between work and life. It is the
synergy between the work and the outside work life which includes family, and
personal leisure time and personal development. Ensuring the proper WLB is an
important concern for contemporary organisations.
Job Stress
Job stress can be explained as the unhealthy physical and emotional responses
that occur when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities and the
needs of the workers (Ursin & Eriksen, 2010). A study found that workplace
stress occurs when there are imbalanced demands and perceived pressures of the
work environment and an individual's ability to cope. It is also seen that in the
case of female workers an unsafe environment also causes stress
Another study said that the results imply that higher the importance attached to
work by an individual, lower is the interference of work with personal life, higher
is the work/personal life enhancement and higher is the overall work life balance
and vice versa. Organisational pressures combined with lack of work centrality
result in work intruding into non-work areas of employees’ lives.
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Job Satisfaction
Job satisfaction depends on several different factors such as satisfaction with pay,
promotion opportunities, fringe benefits, job security, relationship with co-workers
and supervisors, etc. Factors affecting the level of job satisfaction are: Good
Salary, Career Growth, WLB, job security, Recognition, Challenges. Apart from
them there are Working Environment, Fair Policies and Practice, Caring
Organisation, Appreciation, Pay, Age, Promotion, Feel of Belongingness,
Initiation and Leadership, Feel of Being Loved, Safety and Security,
Challenges, Responsibilities, Creativity in Job, Personal Interest and Hobbies,
Respect from Co-Workers, Relationship with Supervisors, Feedback, Flexibility,
Nature of Work.
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The situation of job satisfaction and attrition in the higher education system of
India
Employee satisfaction can be regarded as being utmost important in a company
as it has a direct impact on employee productivity as high quality teaching
personnel is the foundation stone on which the educational institution is based.
The increased attrition rate in education institutions necessitates the attraction as
well as retention of high quality teachers (Sharma & Jyoti, 2010). In Mohammad
niaz (2008) research he finds out that women report higher levels of job
satisfaction than that of men. The main finding is that WLB is the important
determinant of the intrinsic extrinsic aspects of job satisfaction.
Ensuring job satisfaction of teachers is a versatile experience (Sharma & Jyoti,
2010; Srivastava, Holani, & Bajpai, 2015) which is significant in employee
turnover, commitment towards the organisation, and school effectiveness.
Retaining high performing employees is of great importance to educational
institutions as it eliminates the recruitment, selecting and on-boarding costs
which would otherwise be incurred in replacing them (Tymon, Stumpf, & Smith,
2011, 293).
Increase individual efficiency — people are more productive in-office when
they’ve had leisure time out-of-office. Relaxing and breathing space is needed
for fresh ideas. Increase crew effectiveness — The Mental Health Foundation
found that about 27 percent of people working long hours feel depressed, 34
percent feel anxious and 58 percent experience irritation.
To reduce those feelings and prosper teamwork is of great help. Improve
employee engagement — many studies show that people are not happy in the
workplace.
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Encouraging work-life balance helps individuals feel more positive — which is
the key to increased productivity, performance, and retention. Easing recruitment
— when organisation culture genuinely promotes work-life balance, that fact
becomes an important part of the employer brand. Which makes talent brands
more competitive, so it is easier to attract better people, faster. Boost diversity
— work-life balance makes company accessible and attractive
If the sufficient amount of time available increases the well being of the
employees as it helps in satisfying personal needs. The finding in this research
was that the perceived sufficiency of time available for personal life and work
tells the level of well-being only if the individual’s needs are fulfilled in the
given time.
The overall number of the employees who want to reduce their working hours is
influenced mainly by the overtime compensation. Their study result shows that
generally the long working hours do not lead to dissatisfaction among the
employees, but long working hours have a positive effect on the employee’s life
and job satisfaction and the desire to reduce the long working hours have a
negative impact on the job satisfaction of the employees.
Work life balance is where the tensions between the work life and personal life
is minimised by having proper policies, systems, supportive management and
provisions at work place and good relations in personal life. Performance and
the job satisfaction of the employees are said to be affected by the work life
balance. The higher the emotional intelligence, the less the personal life
interferes with work; higher is the work/personal life enhancement; and higher is
the overall work life balance and vice versa.
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If the sufficient amount of time available increases the well being of the
employees as it helps in satisfying personal needs. The finding in this research
was that the perceived sufficiency of time available for personal life and work
tells the level of well-being only if the individual’s needs are fulfilled in the
given time.
The overall number of the employees who want to reduce their working hours is
influenced mainly by the overtime compensation. Their study result shows that
generally the long working hours do not lead to dissatisfaction among the
employees, but long working hours have a positive effect on the employee’s life
and job satisfaction and the desire to reduce the long working hours have a
negative impact on the job satisfaction of the employees.
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LITERATURE REVIEW
Work life balance will take place where the friction between the work life and
personal life is minimised. By having supportive management and provisions at
work place and good relations in personal life, WLB can be achieved. A lot
many things are affected by WLB such as Performance and the job satisfaction
of the employees.
A good Work life balance helps in reducing the stress level at work and
increases job satisfaction. Many companies are realising that work life balance
is crucial with respect to the productivity and the creativity of the employees.
Employers these days are offering different programs to employees to work
efficiently for example flexible hours, shifts, team outings, day care centres,
health care centres, etc.
It is seen that the employees feel motivated and committed to their organisation
if they put extra efforts to provide a healthy balance WLB. A whole lot of
challenges are faced by the organisations in implementing the policies on WLB
as employees today are not just looking out for a job but also their well being.
Management and employees in every organisation focus on achieving the goals
like employees need knowledge, skills, job satisfaction, supervisor and peer
support to execute their role and responsibilities constructively. Needing to
concentrate on their work and family responsibilities, many times this causes
imbalance in their WLB leading to suffrage in either of the two or sometimes
both aspects of life of the employee.
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Work life balance Models
3-Dimensional based life concept or 3 factor Model suggest us that WLB
depends on 3 factors: work time which is professional life, social time which is
personal life and me time which is quality time for one's own self..
Work life balance among Men and Women
It stated that women and men have a different perception generally on balance
between work and life. It says that women devote more time to their family and
the men spend more time pursuing their personal interests. She also quotes that
balance is not only about dividing the time spent on work and personal life, but
also establishing harmony that reflects on the individual's priorities.
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Work-life balance among generations
Baby Boomers (1945 and 1960)
It was around the time of World War II, this generation was exposed to a lot of
hardships at a very young age. Making a decent living was no small task, and in
turn, this generation craved stability in the workplace and valued the opportunity
for employment.
For them work-life balance wasn’t a main priority or concern. They tended to
stay at companies for longer periods of time than following generations. Many
of these employees are currently in senior or director level positions that require
a high degree of responsibility. As a result, 80% of Baby Boomers report
moderate to high levels of stress.
Gen X (1961 and 1980)
As the children of the Baby Boomers, Gen Xers grew up witnessing the long
hours and poor work-life balance of their parents. Many Gen Xers were exposed
to the effect such a relationship with work had on the family unit. As a result,
this generation put more emphasis on creating work-life balance in their own
lives.
Many of these employees prioritise spending time with their family and are
more likely to utilise their PTO than the Baby Boomers. Because of this, Gen
Xers tend to think of work-life balance as a necessary prerequisite to a company
of employment. They look for perks such as telecommuting, extended
maternity/paternity time and adequate vacation time.
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Millennials (1981 and 2000)
Being a millennial comes with its fair share of stereotypes. Generally, for those
born between the years of, work ethic is thought to be secondary, or ‘just a part
of life.’ But for the generation born into the harshest student loan burden in
history, finding stable employment to pay for the higher education of both
themselves and their children – as well as soaring housing costs – remains
amongst the highest of priorities.
With this generation growing to over a quarter of the U.S. population and in
their prime-working years, figuring out what attracts millennials remains one of
the biggest HR decisions at any major company.
To satisfy the assumed desires of millennial employees, many employers
overcompensate by adding game rooms and beanbags to spruce up the work
environment. An entire industry has popped up surrounding making workspaces
more “millennial-friendly.” WeWork, one of the most well-known of this new
breed of property managers, recently made headlines by leasing an entire
Manhattan office to IBM, an over 100-year old company that houses multiple
generations of employees. However, many millennials report that they don’t care
for these types of perks.
Instead, they are more interested in finding a career path that will support their
“lifestyle”, which in this context means their life outside of work. While
Ping-Pong tables and free coffee aren’t necessarily scoffed at in this generation,
it’s important for employers to understand that the same factors that have pushed
prior generations to choose which company to work for (pay, career trajectory,
job location, etc.) are still the major differentiating factors to the largest working
generation in the U.S.
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Unfortunately for millennials, the 2017 Workplace Benefits Report by Bank of
America Merrill Lynch found that 59% of millennials report feeling worried
about finding a career path that will support the lifestyle they’ve envisioned for
themselves. For an employer, promoting work-life balance can seem a daunting
challenge. How can a company promote a healthy lifestyle, both physically and
emotionally, without sacrificing employee productivity?
While employers can look to studies about what work-life balance means to
millennials to gain some insight, it’s important to remember that work-life
balance will always mean something a little different to everyone. Just because
an employee fits into a specific generation, this doesn’t always mean that they
will want the same things as another employee of the same generation. This is
where flexibility and workplace happiness comes into play.
Creating a flexible work environment is one of the best ways to satisfy the
work-life balance needs of most employees – no matter which generation they
belong to. A flexible work environment has been shown to decrease stress, boost
levels of job satisfaction and help employees maintain healthier habits.
Employers should offer flexible work hours, the ability to work from home and
unlimited PTO to create a more flexible work environment that appeals across
generations of workers.
It’s important for employers to realise that work-life balance is about more than
just hours. Besides promoting flexibility, employers should also strive to
improve the overall workplace experience for their employees. Prioritising a
healthy culture and cultivating a happy workplace environment promotes
work-life balance.
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When employees are happy in their roles, work will feel more like a second
home, and less like working for a paycheck. Employers should prioritise
competitive compensation, comfortable office conditions, opportunities for
professional growth and opportunities for social connections.
Attitudes on work-life balance will continue to evolve with cultural, generational
and economic changes. Flexible leaders can update or reinvent their workplace
culture to try something new if employees report poor work-life balance. While
maximising employee productivity will always remain a constant goal, ensuring
employees have the time they desire away from the office and enjoy their time
spent in the office is the best way to retain talented employees and make them
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lifers, regardless of perceived generational differences.A model proposed of
Work life Balance, Job Satisfaction and Organisational Commitment
Work life balance during Covid-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many negative and drastic changes in
contemporary organisations with regard to employees. Human resources
management faces the challenge of developing ways to mitigate the negative
effects of work during the pandemic. Factors such as feeling threatened, isolation,
working from home or insecurity have all contributed to the well-being of
employees. They pose a significant challenge for managers who need to adapt
management tools to new realities.
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It is also necessary to ensure the well-being of employees in order to work
efficiently. An important element that requires analysis and development of
further support schemes is work-life balance. Remote working has caused an
accumulation of professional activities in private places. The spatial boundary
separating the workplace from the resting place has also been blurred.
Additionally, due to the extension of working time at home, time limits have also
changed. As a result, the work-life balance was disrupted, negatively affecting the
mental health of employees.
Work life before the Pandemic Covid - 19 was so busy and hectic; a work routine
was set for all people at home and at work. People who are working or studying
had a free movement across, travelling was hectic and crowded, work life balance
was met with great difficulty. Most of the people used to aspire to work from
home. Working from home was restricted to a few sectors like IT in India. When
asked the respondents about their desire to work from home before lockdown, the
response was as shown below in the diagram. A survey conducted showed that the
majority of the respondents preferred working from home.
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People started depending on the Internet of Things (IOT) for entertainment, online
purchase of essential commodities, communicating and connecting for work,
through online platforms like ZOOM, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, etc to
conduct meetings and connect with teams and students. Thus it is seen from the
findings that respondents feel that dependence on the Internet has increased more
than 70%, during the pandemic lockdown phase.
Thus as IOT dependence increased, organisations had to redesign their digital
platform usage by subscribing to the communication software applications like,
ZOOM, Google Meet, Cisco Webex Meet, Microsoft Teams, etc to conduct
meetings and connect with teams and students. All had to upgrade and learn to
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adapt the usage of analytical and digital platforms, so that they could work from
home. It was seen the gradually increasing percentage of requirement of
increasing reorganisation of work by using digital platforms. As the dependence
on digital platforms increased, skills had to be upgraded for people to adapt
themselves to use the software required to do their jobs for work from home due
to the pandemic lockdown situation. Organisations conducted webinars and online
training sessions to upgrade the employees technical skills for making them work
from home.
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Relating Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs with Work Life Balance
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A job should meet all the hierarchy levels of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
model to be able to create a harmonious Work-Life Balance after the first level
being met which consists of the basic physiological needs. The employer
should make sure that the job creation entails stability, order, security to a
person leading to fulfilling employees belongingness needs so that they can
give ample amount of time to work as well as their family and other
relationships.
Moving up to the next level, we should get a sense of achievement and
reputation when it comes to work and also feel responsible for everything
attached to it to satisfy our esteem needs and then lastly reaching the apex of
needs which should surely fulfil personal growth and fulfilment in a person’s
life overall. They then move on to issues of self-esteem, cognitive needs, and
aesthetic needs, and finally, at the top of the pyramid, there is
self-actualisation, or achieving your full potential as a human being.
What this means in practice is that work provides for basic needs: money
earned provides food, and shelter, and a regular income means safety. Work
also allows people to belong to a group, and doing well at work boosts
self-esteem. The lower levels are all largely met through aspects of working.
At the top of the pyramid, however, are needs which are hard to meet with
work alone, and this is where lifestyle choices, and having time for leisure,
become important.
This explains partly why a work-life balance is a relatively modern concept,
because you truly do need all the basic needs to be met before you have time
or energy, or need, to worry about aesthetics or self-actualisation.
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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research design
The design of this research is Survey Research. Inferential Analysis is done on a
small sample to deduce about a larger population. The goal was to gather and
derive information to a larger group.
Source of data collection
For this research, a questionnaire was formulated and a method of online survey
was chosen to circulate the questionnaire. The source of data collection was
Google Forms where the URL link was shared among the population.
Sample Size
The sample size for this research was 100.
Sample Area
This research is limited to Education Industry hence the sample area being teachers,
professors
Data Analysis tool used
In this section, the research paradigm, philosophy, data collection and the
analysis procedure of qualitative data has been presented. The research purpose
utilised in the study helped in dealing with the current predicament, whereas the
approach explained the sort of data that needed to be collected while defining the
exacting sources of collection. The info type is primary and primary research
studies include the collection of qualitative data from the respondents. For this
research, primary qualitative data shall be collected to know the relationship
between work-life balance and job stress in the faculties in the educational
institutions.
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FINDINGS & ANALYSIS
Demographics Analysis
Out of 100 respondents, most of the respondents were females (62%).
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Most of the respondents were in the age group of 25 to 35 years (41%), followed by
46 to 55 years (21%), very close to the age group of 36 to 45 (20%) and lastly,
respondents above the age of 56 years (18%).
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Majority of the respondents (53.5%) were in regular employment with school,
followed by college (23.2%), coaching institutes (10.1%) and rest work other
organisations for example NGOs. Since the respondents belonged to high
academic designations, it was found that almost all of the respondents were
post-graduates, some being doctorates and the rest being M.eds and MAs. The
years of teaching experience lie generally between 3 to 33 years. Out of these, a
big majority of them had been employed in the post of Assistant professor. Most
of them had a degree in M.ed or had a Phd.
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35. Doon Business School Soumya Singh
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Analysis of Workplace Stress
Most of the respondents (70%) said that they work more than 5 days a week.
While almost the same percentage of the rest said sometimes and not at all.
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71% said they would love it if the organisations switched it to 4 days a week
(71%). Majority of the employees worked for 6 to 7 hours a day (55%), 7 to 8
(19%), 8 to 9 hours (18%) and rest employees who worked for more than 9 hours
(8%).
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More than half said they usually work for 1 to 2 hours after their working hours
end. 21.3% said their hours range from 2-3 hours. So, the majority of the
respondents worked ranging from 6 to 9 hours daily, sometimes more than 6 days
in a week. 64.3% said that they also work beyond the working hours for 1-2
hours. 21.4% said that they sometimes work for 2 to 3 hours.
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38. Doon Business School Soumya Singh
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38% of the respondents said that they can't seem to balance their professional life
with personal life. Half of the respondents said that they often worry about work
when not working.
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39. Doon Business School Soumya Singh
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Analysis of Quality Time with Family
A big number of respondents said they sometimes cannot give their family
enough time due to work related pressures or commitments while 37% of
respondents agreed they can and others strictly said no.
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48 % of the population said that sometimes they can't seem to give their family
much desired family time and they feel they have zoned out of the conversations
while interacting with their family members. While 28% of respondents clearly
denied about zoning out and 24% clearly agreed that they do zone out.
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46% said they sometimes miss or skip family time due to pressures of work.While
a good 32% agreed that they do miss out on their personal family time or quality
family time due to work pressures or deadlines.
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Analysis of Mental Exhaustion
More than half i.e. 64% of the respondents said they feel they are in a state of
exhaustion or depression sometimes due to work. While 16% agreed they are and
20% said they are fine.
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43. Doon Business School Soumya Singh
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Almost half of the population said they can sleep while others almost the other
half stated that it usually gets disrupted by anxiety or stress of work while the
other half said they could get peaceful sleep.
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Analysis of Physical Health
Only 22% of people get the time to work out while others said sometimes and some said
they can’t.
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45. Doon Business School Soumya Singh
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58% said they try while only 32% of the people get a good diet and the rest couldn’t.
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33% said that they think they might be suffering from a mental or physical stress related
disease while 24% clearly said they do suffer from that.
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47. Doon Business School Soumya Singh
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Analysis of Role of Management
More than half of the population said that their management takes no initiatives in regard
with maintaining work life balance.
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48. Doon Business School Soumya Singh
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94% would want their management to do something to actively promote a healthy work
life balance for them.
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Half of the population clearly said their management does not take initiatives in
maintaining a healthy work life balance. When asked in detail a lot of them said
the management does nothing while a handful of them said Child care leaves for
children’s (under 18) exam or health for a period of 15 days minimum. Almost all
responded that it's the management’s duty to promote and sustain a healthy work
life balance and voted for a bunch of suggestions provided by me. From the
provided suggestions, the most voted was to encourage employees to focus on
productivity rather than hours followed by encouraging breaks to avoid burnouts
and provide a healthy and open environment where employees can freely share
any troubles they are facing in the workplace.
Job security was found to be another big stressor. We can’t emphasise enough
about having a stable job and what it does to our stress and anxiety levels. Also,
Organisations should think of providing family care or design a support system
such that employees having older parents or infants at home can be taken care of.
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50. Doon Business School Soumya Singh
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For example some offices have started incorporating the system of creches from
mothers refraining to worry about leaving their child at home with no one to look
after him or her is a boon. Reviewing workloads so that the employer knows what
the employee has achieved or set to achieve weekly or daily. Also, making the
employee a conscious worker and not being a lazy bum.
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51. Doon Business School Soumya Singh
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LIMITATIONS
1. This research survey was conducted on a small segment of the employees
population so the generalisation that we arrive at may not be accurate as the one
conducted on a larger population. It is difficult to identify significant
relationships in the data.
2. Since I am not a professional researcher or an expert in this field, therefore
there might be a possibility of errors in this study albeit I have been utmost
sincere and earnest in my research.
3. Moreover, being an amateur researcher, my own thoughts, perceptions or biases
could be shown while forming the questions and their options in the
questionnaire although I have been utmost fair to my understanding.
4. The respondents might not feel comfortable in providing accurate and honest
answers.
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52. Doon Business School Soumya Singh
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CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONS
● Workplace stress occurs when there is disproportion between demands and
perceived pressures of the work environment and an individual's ability to cope.
Especially among working women, a poor working environment or unsafe
environment is a huge stressor. The main causes of job stress lies in excessive
workloads, pressure of deadlines, hectic work schedules, lack of appreciation,
job instability, improper pay structure, etc. This leads to poor work-life balance,
lowering productivity, affecting their self-esteem and undervaluing oneself due
to lack of motivation or appreciation. stress. An ineffective management will
leave the employees without a sense of direction. On the other hand,
over-management can leave employees feeling undervalued and affect their
self-esteem. WLB practices have the calibre to improve employee satisfaction
and organisational commitment.
● A lot of the times due to strenuous work schedules, people tend to not get time
or the energy to work out or even do any physical exercise because the work day
itself was filled with so much stress that becomes draining for a person to come
home and spend a little time on his or her own self. Not focussing on their diet
as due to lack of enough time a person would definitely switch to quicker and
easier choices making it difficult for that person to adopt healthy dietary choices
in his or her lifestyle which obviously makes them prone to physical as well
mental diseases. A lot of them believed that they are dealing with mental or
physical stress related disease while some were sure of it while others denied
and there might be two possibilities for that they really are managing it well or
they themselves haven't realised or figured it out that they are actually dealing
with something as it has become a part of their life and they know no other way
of being. Job satisfaction depends on many factors which can improve or
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53. Doon Business School Soumya Singh
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degrade work life balance like Optimal Working Conditions, Opportunity for
Growth, Stress Level, Workload, Respect from Colleagues, Relationship with
Seniors, Financial Rewards. Family time conflict means struggling to find a
balance between their work and their family time which can hamper WLB as
well. Last but not the least is a vicious cycle of WLB affecting mental health
and in return it affecting WLB. Also, not having a sense of differentiation of
professional and personal life due to increased technology and the internet which
connects employees to their employers through apps like whatsapp, email which
ultimately makes employees to be ‘permanently’ at work.
● The teaching fraternity of India, from both affiliated to government and private
sector institutions is not much exposed to WLB practices and even the
employers have no role in designing and formulating policies about this. There is
a need for inventing and implementing such policies and programs to enable the
teaching fraternity to balance their work and personal life. The corporate world
has already taken positive steps towards formulating WLB policies and initiating
practices. A four day work week is one such policy which can provide some
ability to manage their personal life with work life effectively. Other
incorporations should be focusing on productivity rather than the number of
hours by either running a daily check at the end of the or a weekly check. Also,
making the employee a conscious worker and not being a lazy bum. Next thing
they should do is encourage breaks to avoid burnouts and provide a healthy and
open environment where employees can freely share any troubles they are facing
in the workplace. Job security was found to be another big stressor. We can’t
emphasise enough about having a stable job and what it does to our stress and
anxiety levels. Also, Organisations should think of providing family care or
design a support system such that employees having older parents or infants at
home can be taken care of. For example some offices have started incorporating
the system of creches from mothers refraining to worry about leaving their child
at home with no one to look after him or her is a boon.
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54. Doon Business School Soumya Singh
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55. Doon Business School Soumya Singh
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REFERENCES
1. Research Paper : Female Faculties in India’s Higher Education Institutions by
Sayeda Meharunisa
2. Centre for the promotion of Health in the New England Workplace pdf
3. Balkan, O. (2014a). Work-life balance, job stress and individual performance:
An application. International Journal of Management Sciences and Business
Research, 3(3)
4. Balkan, O. (2014b). Work-Life Balance, Job Stress and Individual
Performance: An Application.
5. COVID-19 Lockdown and work life balance Pooja Jain1,*, U. S. Rawat 1.1
Dept. of Management, Shri Guru Ram Rai University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India
6. Work-Life Balance, Job Stress and Individual Performance: An Application
Author Detail Onur Balkan -Asst. Professor University of Turkish Aviation
Association Turkey. 4. Bhargava, D. D., & Trivedi, H. (2018).
7. A Study of Causes of Stress and Stress Management among Youth.
International Journal of Management and Social Sciences, 11(3), 108–117.
8. Work-Life Balance Amongst Teachers Ramesh Kumar Miryala* and
Nagapriya Chiluka
9. Paper on work life balance in phase of pandemic, University of Mumbai
10. Chapter : Individual related variables and work life balance
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ANNEXURE
1. Name
______________________
2. Gender
Male
Female
3. Age
25-35
36-45
46-55
56-60
4. Designation
______________________________
5. Highest Education Qualification
______________________________
6. Working with which organisation?
School
College
Coaching institutions
Others
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57. Doon Business School Soumya Singh
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7. Do you work for more than 5 days a week?
Yes
Sometimes
No
8. Would you like it if your organisation made it to 4 days a week?
Definitely
No
9. How many hours do you work in your workplace/organisation?
6-7
7-8
8-9
9-10
10+
10. How many hours do you work after your office hours end?
1-2
2-3
3-4
5-6
6+
11. Do you feel you aren't able to balance your life?
Always
Often
Sometimes
Rarely
Never
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58. Doon Business School Soumya Singh
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12. Do you often worry about work when you are not at work?
Yes
No
Sometimes
13. Do you feel you are able to give your family quality time?
Yes
No
Sometimes
14. Do you feel you are always lost/zoned out due to work while spending time
with your family?
Yes
No
Sometimes
15. Do you miss or avoid family time because of the pressure of deadlines at
work?
Yes
No
Sometimes
16. How often do you feel exhausted or depressed because of work?
All the time
Sometimes
Rarely
17. Do you get enough (6-8 hours) of peaceful sleep or do you face sleep
problems?
No, it usually gets disrupted due to work stress & anxiety
Yes, I get enough sleep
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No
18. Do you get time for working out?
Yes
Not at all
Sometimes
19. Do you focus on having a good diet?
No
Yes
I try
20. Do you suffer from mental or physical stress-related disease?
Yes
No
Maybe
21. Does your management try to make the work environment less stressful
through certain initiatives?
Yes
No
22. What does your management do to make your workplace a healthy
environment to work in?
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23. Do you feel the management should actively promote a healthy work-life
balance for employees?
Yes
No
24. What initiatives would you suggest your management take to improve
Work-life balance for employees?
Encourage employers to focus on productivity rather than hours.
Adequate salary with incentives
Regularly review workloads
Encourage breaks
Give employees time to volunteer.
No work calls beyond work hours when it isn’t urgent
To prevent burnout give employees time-off
Increase support for family care like newborn babies, old parents.
Job Security
Healthy environment; ease of sharing of problems and opinions
Educational excursions to promote learning
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