By Kehinde Okeowo
The need for an employee to remain gainfully employed while meeting up with other life expectations often leads to unhealthy rivalry which leaves either the job or employee’s social life in jeopardy. Consequently, organizations in response often introduce polices that would allow employees flexible time on the job to keep them in high spirit and healthy condition so that they can maintain high productivity level. In a nut shell, the system is simply looking at how working people manage time spent at and outside of work in such a way that it rubs off positively on their performances. Time outside of work may include managing relationships, family responsibilities and other interests.
The method an individual uses to juggle work and life demands constitute their work-life balance and as the name suggests, it is the act of striking a balance between work and social life. However, achieving equal number of hours for work and personal activities is usually unrealistic. The right balance today will probably be different tomorrow. The right one as single person may be different when married; again, it will vary as a new employee and when nearing retirement. Therefore, there is no perfect, one-size fits all, balance in reality. The practice also differs from place to place. In Nigerian for example, practices such as paternity and adoption leaves are alien to our culture.
Historical perspective
Generally, balancing work and social life was born out of the need to schedule jobs in such a way that workers are not overburdened and productivity is enhanced. In the United Kingdom, the average worker used to work for 14-16 hours a day, 6 days a week. The long hours had socio-economic and health implications, especially on young children who worked at that time. US on the other hand, tracked workers working hours and noted that, on average, they performed more than 100 hours a week. They therefore, concluded that these hours worked posed serious health and safety hazards to the country. On October 24, 1940, after decades of worker movements, the US officially amended the Fair Labor Standards Act and adopted a 40-hour work week. This was the first attempt at giving workers back more time.
The term “work-life balance” first appears in the U.K. in the 80’s as a policy in the Women’s Liberation Movement, which advocated flexible schedules and maternity leave for women. It was an agitation which started because men were socially unencumbered to pursue their career goals without worrying about housekeeping and family-raising while working women were expected add such to their duties. Despite the movement, women experienced little progress towards work-life balance attainment. Today, the practice is prevalent in most developed economies. Nigeria however, is yet to come to full realization of the benefits of the scheme to productivity of its economy.
Contemporary Work-Life Balance Practices
- Flextime: A flexible working arrangement where employee can choose their work schedule within some limits. For example, an employee may choose to work for a 4-day 10 hour per day work schedule or more, may choose to beat work during some core periods, usually in the middle of the day, say between 9am to 4pm.
- Permanent part-time working: This type of work arrangement has always been available on temporary basis for some jobs, but in recent times, it has been applied on a permanent basis to professional jobs.
- Job sharing: A work arrangement in which two or more employees divide the responsibilities, hours and benefits of a job among themselves. In Job Sharing, one person may work mornings, while the other person works in the evenings.
- Compressed workweeks: A work arrangement where employee may choose four 10-hour days instead of live 8- hour days. This type of work arrangement has been an option for some occupation such as nurses, police officers, and firefighters. Other occupations are adopting it as well
- Telecommuting: This work arrangement allows an employee to work from their homes, part or full time, using computers, video applications or phones to transmit completed jobs back to office.
- Others: Such as unpaid or paid sabbatical schemes, allowing employees extra days off work paid and unpaid, giving employees maternity, paternity, adoption or parental leaves in excess of the statutory minimum, longer leave and making working environment more conducive.
Benefits of work-life balance
When employees feel that their employer imbibe the culture of work-life balance, the organization is often rewarded with loyal, attentive and committed employees. A good work-life balance system can also enable employees to feel more in control of their working life and therefore, lead to increased productivity, lower absenteeism, happier and less stressed workforce, improvement in employee health and well-being and a more positive perception of the employer
The benefits are not limited to employees. Work-life policies also help organization achieve increase in employee accountability and commitment, better teamwork and communication, improved morale, increased engagement and commitment levels, less negative organizational stress, reduction in staff turnover and recruitment costs, meet seasonal peaks and business competitiveness, become recognized as a business that people want to work for as well as react to changing market conditions more effectively in such a way that, shift work, part-time work and flextime can help organizations open longer without making employees work longer hours.
Conclusion
Finding a balance between work and life demands of workers is gaining increasing acceptance in the global business economy and Nigeria cannot afford to be left out. The increasing acceptance has become necessary as business concerns are moving at a fast pace to sustain their competitive advantage. This fast and furious pace has inevitably intensified the work pressure in leading organizations thus compelling them to introduce some choice, control, and flexible work plan to give room for personal interest, family and other social and civic activities. These strategies will ultimately lead to growing a healthier, motivated and contented work force and a profitable organization on the long run.
Additional reports from Kamaru and CIPM
