WORK LIFE BALANCE: A CONCEPTUAL

REVIEW
Omar Fayaz Khan*, Asif Iqbal Fazili*
*Assistant Professor, Department of Business Studies, Islamic
University of Science & Technology, Jammu & Kashmir, India.
Email: asif.fazili@islamicuniversity.edu.in

Abstract  The present paper is an attempt to revisit the concept of work-life balance. An effort is made to cover in a conceptual framework
the vast knowledge of work-life balance. It highlights the progress of work-life interface as work-family affair to more comprehensive and
evolutionary term as work-life balance. Specifically, the progress of work-life balance issues related to women employees has been emphasized.
The recent issue in the work-life literature as work-life conflict is included. The role of colossal upscale of technological innovations impacting
work-life balance is acknowledged. The antecedents, consequences and strategies affecting the work-life balance are touched. A futuristic view
on the concept is put forward.

Keywords:  Work-life balance (WLB), Work-life conflict (WLC), Work-life interference (WLI), Life-work interference (LWI)

Introduction Work in context of WLB means a domain where monetary

returns are expected for the efforts put in either working
The concept of work-life balance is growing in importance for somebody or self-employed. This domain expects and
day by day in today’s fast paced global world. The consumes a good amount of time, energy and involvement.
heightened debate of balance between work and personal In contrast, the life domain is more encompassing involving
life owes to i) high speed technological innovations, ii) in its fold-family, friends, hobbies, religion, community etc.
considerable raise in expectations for both employees and with whom a person is associated apart from work. This
employers, and iii) a realisation among employees for a fit domain to be part of requires time, energy and involvement
between work and personal life which has got blurred due to although not as binding as in work domain. The domain
mobile technologies. So, employees greatly value firms who of life is non-paid domain rather it’s the social attachment
see employees not just as physical input to generate output and obligations of a person. Balance in context of work-
but accept their other roles. Such firms continuously adopt life balance is highly subjective concept which implies
policies which facilitate balance of employees work role a satisfying relationship perceived by a person between
and personal role. The drivers for WLB can be attributed domains of life and work. The more the balance, the more
to changes in the demographic distribution of the labour happier and productive a person is work in a straightforward
force, technological advancement and the 24/7 opening way is conceived as paid employment and life is viewed as
hour culture in modern society (Beauregard & Henry, 2009; activities outside work (Guest, 2002).
Kalliath & Brough, 2008). WLB has progressed a lot since its realisation in the middle
The expression WLB was first used in the late 1970s to of twentieth century. It began with employees especially
describe the balance between an individual’s work and working women experiencing difficulties to balance the
personal life. Work-life balance is a broad concept including obligations of family and work assignments. With more
proper prioritising between career and ambition on one working women joining workforce, policies were created
hand, compared with pleasure, leisure, family and spiritual to facilitate their effort of balancing work and family roles.
development on the other. Other terms that are used to refer With close of 21st century, the issue was no more restricted
to work-life balance include work-family balance, work- to women employees as more men and working couples
family conflict, and family friendly policies etc.Work-life found difficulty to fulfill both roles. The employees had
balance is a much broader concept in comparison to work- experienced more expectations and interference owing to
family balance in the sense, that it encompasses multiple technology. They were contactable even during family hours
roles outside family life e.g. community, leisure and religious leading to conflict and crossover of two domains. At the
roles, that an individual engages in (Frone, 2003). same time, the employees apart from family valued other
components of life- entertainment, hobbies, friends, religion,
 Work Life Balance: A Conceptual Review   21
community etc. So, family was no more single domain, there with family and family interference with work has now
had entered other groups which employees valued especially started to be researched (Duxbury, Higgins, and Mills,
for unmarried and young individuals. 1992). So, researchers are studying both conflict directions
of work-life interaction as work-life interference (WLI) and
Researchers in human resources development have been
life-work interference (LWI).
continuously working on construct of work-life balance.
Various studies have been conducted showing relationship
of WLB with variables: job satisfaction, family satisfaction, Work-Life Enrichment
life satisfaction, productivity, organisational performance,
psychological well-being, organisational commitment, At the same time, for some employees in certain cultures, the
absenteeism, health, and stress. The researchers have come two domains seem not be at conflict rather are supporting.
up with results taking WLB as independent variable and Generally in collectivistic cultures, the life domain especially
other variables as dependent variables. At times, the roles family - the sibling and extended family helps in reducing
of moderators generally as demographics have been studied. and managing the family obligations. So, the support in
Quite recently, there has been interest in finding association family domain helps in managing the balance in work and
of technologies on the work-life balance of employees. life, termed as positive work-family spill-over (Grzywacz,
Majority of studies have been done in west and other Almeida, & McDonald, 2002; Crouter, 1984) or work-
advanced countries with much to be researched in developing family enhancement (Barnett, 1998; Voydanoff, 2002).
countries. In developing countries, employers have started The researchers have begun to realise that one domain can
to realise the long-term benefits of well-constructed work- support and enrich the other domain in the shape of work-
life balance policies for employees. life enrichment.The degree to which involvement at work or
at home makes to gain experiences, skills and opportunities
Review of Literature which facilitates discharging responsibilities in work or at
home (Frone, 2003).However, some studies have revealed
The literature review is categorised under the following themes supporting roles between work and life (family) with no
as i) work-life balance/conflict studies, ii) consequences of gender differences (Baral, 2010).
work-life balance/conflict,and iii) individual strategies and
organisational strategies/policies for maintaining work-
life balance. The colossal increase in the technological
Gender
innovations is acknowledged for 21st century employees
An important factor among demographics/individual related
who seems to be contactable even without in office.
factors affecting work-life balance/conflict is gender. Most
of the studies have indicated that a woman has more issues
Work-Life Conflict of work-life balance that man. A woman shares more of
family responsibilities than males especially in eastern
Researchers at the turn of 21st century have focused attention countries. The highly skewed load of family obligations
on conflict arising in two domains.Now-a-days employees are makes difficult for women to balance work and family (Bird,
facing competing demands between life (family) and work 2006). Married women experience more work-life conflict
resulting in conflict between the two domains. Researchers than unmarried women. Mothers with younger children
are studying conflict related issues in work-life interaction as experience the highest work-life balance issues. Majority of
work-life conflict. The three variations of conflict as i) time- scholars have come up with that family interferes more with
based conflict, (ii) strain-based conflict, and (iii) behaviour- work than the other-way round as seen in studies by Gutek et
based conflict have been identified Greenhaus and Beutell al. (1991), Williams and Alliger (1994), Higgins, Duxbury,
(1985). Most of the studies on the work-life conflict revealed and Lee (1994), Loscocoo (1997), Aryee, Luk, Leung, and Lo
that more interference of work with life (family) rather the (1999), Grzywacz, Arcury, Marin, Carrillo, Burke, Coates,
latter. Thedirection of spillovers among employees have and Quandt (2007), Rajadhyaksha and Velgach (2009).
been studied indicating more work-interference with family However, some scholars have seen interference of family on
(Gutek, Searle, & Klepa, 1991; Frone, Russell, & Cooper work is not moderated by gender, indicating both genders
1992; Frone, Yardley, & Markel, 1997; Hammer, Allen, have similar work-life balance issues (Hill, Hawkins, Ferris,
& Grigsby,1997; Eagle, Miles, & Icenogle,1997; Hsieh, & Weitzman, 2001; Wesley & Muthuswamy, 2005). Other
Pearson, Chang, & Uen2005; Wesley & Muthuswamy, 2005; demographic factors like age, marital status and personality
Rajadhyaksha & Ramadoss, 2010).The conflict source is not type too have been researched to have influence on the work-
only work domain but demands in life too can interfere with life balance.
work. A two-directional relationship as work interference
 22   Journal of Strategic Human Resource Management Volume 5 Issue 2 June 2016

Family and Work Related Factors organisations to maintain personal affairs and work. The
policies and initiatives regarding work-life balance by the
The family and work related factors have been studied to have organisations go a long-way to facilitate it. The individual
influence on one’s work-life balance. Among the family factors, strategies are in the shape of compromising/negotiating
the important variables relationships studied which contribute the family or work. The help from family members and
on work-life balance; number of dependents, spousal support, colleagues at work are helpful to build and sustain balance
partners work-hours and parental responsibilities. There are between two domains. In order to manage work-family
significant researchers highlighted that supportive family conflict, individuals mobilise support from family/work
environment help in managing work-life balance. Family domain to reschedule activities (Powell & Greenhaus, 2006).
support especially the support from one’s spouse creates Organisations too are realising their role to enhance work-
less conflict in between work and family Frone et al. (1997). friendly policies. The pressure has increased on employees
The environment in which employees work too have been to deliver unmatched service 24x7 with ever-increasing
the focus of work-life balance researchers. A relationship competition. The employees as a result have been at work
has been sought between variables i.e. work-hours, role even after normal work-hours thanks to revolutionizing
conflict, task freedom, work-schedule flexibility etc. which technology. Also, there is more diversity in organisations
have greatly impacted employees’ work-life balance. Studies including increasing involvement of women workforce. A
by Greenhaus, Parasuraman, Granrose, Rabinowitz, and sizable proportion of women in the workforce especially at top
Beutell (1989), Voydanoff (2004), Butler, Grzywacz, Bass, execution position are attached with policies as job sharing,
and Linney (2005) have revealed that with more employee child care and flexi-time (Galinsky & Johnson,1998).As a
friendly policies reduced episodes of conflict resulting in result, the employees of today highly value firms providing
better work-life balance. suitable policies on wok-life balance. So many new
innovative strategies/policies adopted from organisations
Outcome of Work-Life Balance include flex-timing, job sharing, telecommuting, compressed
working week to maternity benefits, parental leave, paternity
The consequences of work-life balance/conflict on important leave, onsite day care, emergency child care, elder care
organisational efficiency measures like productivity, arrangements.
organisational commitment (OC), orgranisational citizenship Organisations are providing policies parental leave, study
(OCz), organisational performance, job satisfaction, leave, flexi-time, part time working, job sharing, emergency
intention to leave/quit, stress, health, life satisfaction, and leave, and extra maternity leave in order to recruit and retain
career satisfaction have been studied. Considerable group of the best talent (Maxwell & McDougall, 2004). The work-life
researchers have found positive relationship between work- balance benefits not only employees but organisations too,
life balance and variables of job satisfaction, OC, OCz, reap benefits in the long-run. Organisations provide work-
and productivity whereas negative relationships between life balance policies due to legal requirements, the business
work-life balance and variables viz intention to leave/quit, benefits and employee well-being (Dex & Scheibl, 2001).
stress and health. Duxbury and Higgins (2001) found that Healthcare employees were seen to have lower work- family
employees who experience higher conflict in work-overload, conflict, job dissatisfaction, depression and blood pressure
family to work-interference and work-to-family interference because of supportive work-life balance practices-flexible
had less organisational performance and low quality of life. scheduling and supportive supervisors (Thomas & Ganster,
Also, the stress levels, cases of burn-out and weak physical 1995). Organisations are benefitted too where employees
and mental health were high in those employees. However, perceive supportive work-life balance policies as improved
the relationships were moderated by family and work-related their job satisfaction and reduced intention to leave (Forsyth
variables experienced by an individual. The more supportive & Polzer-Debruyne, 2007).
family and work environment, the better the work-life
balance leading to higher rating of organisational efficiency
measures for an individual. Bhargava and Baral (2009) found Technology and Work-Life Balance
supportive family and work factors lead to enrichment leading
to higher cases of job satisfaction, affective commitment and Researchers have specially seen impact of technology
organisational citizenship behaviour. on the work-life balance at the beginning of 21st century.
Technological innovations have increased the pace and
accuracy of work for employees. Mobile technologies bring
Strategies of Individuals and Organisation Policies flexibility to employees in the shape of controlling speed,
location, and time of day (Towers, Duxbury, Higgins, &
Work-life balance/conflict researchers are coming up Thomas, 2006; Middleton, 2008). There is considerable
with evidences on strategies adopted by individuals and number of studies indicating the technological innovations
 Work Life Balance: A Conceptual Review   23
have greatly increased the work-efficiency of workers. organisational performance etc. which presses organisations
Technology provides potential for productivity and efficiency to provide policies which enhance employee’s work-life.
as perceived by employees (Towers et al., 2006). The work-life balance/conflict is an issue which is valued
highly by employees of today. They expect organisations
But, on the negative side, technology has made employees
to provide environment and policies which enhances their
contactable without in office. Technology has generated
balance of personal life and work.
sense of feeling with employees as never being off
from work due to increased expectations (Towers et al.,
2006). Many studies have shown that stress, anxiety and Conclusion
psychological well-being has been greatly affected due to
mobile technologies. The stress level within employees has Work-life balance is relevant in today’s technological
increased due to feeling of being controlled with technology world where expectations are rising from employees to
Green (2002) has lengthened work day, therefore impacting adopt customer orientation. In the coming future, the issues
the family life (Hill et al., 1996). of work-life balance/conflict are going to upscale due to
lessening of boundaries between work and life (family).
So, researchers have come up with evidences where The work-life merge has already set its foot for employees
technological innovations have impacted work-life balance. where due to technology, time between personal life and
Both positive as well as negative impacts of technology on work is difficult to segregate. The governments of nations
the work-life balance have been researched. The positive are now realising value of highly motivated citizen who can
effect on work-life balance has been in the shape of work be asset for the nation. There are various minimum statutory
efficiencies which have added resources in the work laws which direct organisations to provide certain minimum
environment for employees. On the negative side, the benefits to employees. It’s high time for the nations to gear
workers stress and anxiety levels have increased affecting up to realize the full potential of their most valued resource
his physiological and psychological health. in the shape as human resource.

Discussion Scope for Future Research

The review of literature indicates the progress in the concept The researchers have still gray areas to investigate in the
of work-life balance. From mere issue of balance between understanding of the concept of work-life balance. Most
family and work for women, it has seen involvement of studies have been done in advanced countries especially US;
males and other sub-groups. There is considerable number there is scope to investigate work-life balance in culturally
of studies highlighting conflict issues in the shape of work- different area. Studies have been mostly done on broader
life conflict. Both directions of work-life conflict have been groups like women; a more valid study can be done with
studied.Research studies are focused to investigate conflicts focus on narrower group.
in work and life (family) among groups viz. couples, single,
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