Worklifebalance_final Report

1

Group Members

Abhisek Semlani Pratap Acharya Ajay Kamath Avishek Tiwari Nicy Cheriyath Rahul Joshi Maulik Kothari Parin Savla Jayanti

03 04 05 17 19 34 44 51 119

Table Of Contents

2

Sr.No

Topic

Page

1

Introduction

No 4

2

Brief History

8

3

Benefits of Work Life Balance

11

4

Global Perspective

13

5

Indian Picture

16

6

Objective of the Study

18

7

Methodology

19

8

Analysis

22

9

Testimonials

43

10

Conclusions

44

11

References

47

12

Annexures

48

“If you are losing your leisure, look out; you may be losing your soul”, Logan P.Smith. 1.0 Introduction

3

Since the 1960’s, the labor market, employment, work and home life have undergone significant transformation as a result of factors such as changes in demographics, increased female participation in the labor market, increased levels of educational attainment, changes in the composition of households, the decline of traditional employment models and the rise of dualearner families. These developments have contributed to fundamental changes in the “traditional” allocation of time between work performed in employment settings, work at home, home production and leisure. (Chaykowski Richard, June 2006) Today, the division between home and work life is different for both males and females — and there is increased public and policy concern and debate about whether the quality of working life and home life has eroded and whether work-life balance has been transformed into work-life conflict. The concern is that these developments have increased work-life conflict that manifests itself as increased reported stress, with costs to employees in terms of health, to employers arising from lost productivity and to society from increased costs of health care and other negative social outcomes.( Chaykowski Richard, June 2006) Consider the example of the IT sector in India. Information Technology (IT) sector in India is doing very good. There are more job opportunities due to the IT boom. Just after the completion of professional qualifications like B.Tech and MCA (engineering graduates and computer post graduates), the applicants are getting jobs. The pay and perks are encouraging. But the work life is highly complicated and highly demanding. There are many pulls and pressures during the work life. There are too many commitments and deadlines and there are too much of unpredictable peaks and troughs during the course of the working time. All these things make the work as a hectic activity and a strenuous one. Sitting in front the computer systems is leading to developing stiff neck problems, dry eyes, irritation, back pains etc., It looks like having everything

but

losing

so

many

things

related

to

health

and

recreation.

But, organizations’ need to attract and retain valued employees in a highly competitive labor market is a strong motivating factor for increased organizational awareness and action with regard to human resource policies and practices that address work/life balance. Work-life balance

4

is an important area of human resource management that is receiving increasing attention from government, researchers and management.( Helen de Cieri et. al. , Nov 2002) 1.1 Why Should Employers Care about Employees’ Work-Life Balance? Many organizations feel that helping employees balance competing work and non-work demands is not their responsibility. Rather, they subscribe to a somewhat outdated view called the “myth of separate worlds” that is based on the premise that work is work and life is life and that the domains do not overlap. Such organizations argue that “it was the employee’s choice to have a family so balancing competing demands is their problem not ours.” Such organizations also note that they are “in the business” of increasing shareholder value and serving customers and not helping employees cope with stress. In other organizations, employees without dependent care responsibilities interpret “family friendly” as favoritism and complain that they are being “unfairly” or inequitably treated. Such employees feel that their colleagues with childcare or eldercare responsibilities are “getting away with less work” and that the needs of childless employees are being ignored. This backlash against “family friendly” makes it harder for organizations who wish to address the issue. Our research debunks the above preconceptions and supports that the inability to balance work and family is “everyone’s problem.” High work-life conflict negatively impacts the employer, the employees’ colleagues, the employee, the employees’ family, and society as a whole. From the employer’s perspective, the inability to balance work and family demands has been linked to reduced work performance, increased absenteeism, higher turnover, lower commitment and poorer morale. Work-life conflict has also been linked to productivity decreases associated with lateness, unscheduled days off, emergency time off, excessive use of the telephone, missed meetings, and difficulty concentrating on the job. Conflict between work and family demands is also a problem for employees and their families. (Duxbury & Higgins, Oct 2001) Work-life balance strategies are used as solutions to reduce these growing work life conflicts. 1.2 Defining work-life balance 5

We all play many roles: employee, boss, subordinate, spouse, parent, child, sibling, friend and community member. Each of these roles imposes demands on us that require time, energy and commitment to fulfill. Work-family or work-life conflict occurs when the cumulative demands of these many work and non-work life roles are incompatible in some respect so that participation in one role is made more difficult by participation in the other role. (Duxbury & Higgins, Oct 2001) Work/life balance, in its broadest sense, is defined as a satisfactory level of involvement or ‘fit’ between the multiple roles in a person’s life. Although definitions and explanations vary, work/life balance is generally associated with equilibrium, or maintaining an overall sense of harmony in life. The study of work/life balance involves the examination of people’s ability to manage simultaneously the multi-faceted demands of life. Although work/life balance has traditionally been assumed to involve the devotion of equal amounts of time to paid work and non-work roles, more recently the concept has been recognized as more complex. There exists three basic aspects of work life balance • •

Time balance, which concerns the amount of time given to work and non-work roles. Involvement balance, meaning the level of psychological involvement in, or commitment to, work and non-work roles.

•

Satisfaction balance, or the level of satisfaction with work and non-work roles.

This model of work/life balance, with time, involvement and satisfaction components, enables a broader and more inclusive picture to emerge. For example, someone who works two days a week and spends the rest of the week with his or her family may be unbalanced in terms of time (i.e. equal measures of work and life), but may be equally committed to the work and non-work roles (balanced involvement) and may also be highly satisfied with the level of involvement in both work and family (balanced satisfaction). Someone who works 60 hours a week might be perceived as not having work/life balance in terms of time. However, like the person who works only a few hours a week, this individual would also be unbalanced in terms of time, but may be quite content with this greater involvement in paid work (balanced satisfaction). Alternatively, someone who works 36 hours a week, doesn’t enjoy his or her job and spends the rest of the time pursuing preferred outside activities may be time-balanced but unbalanced in terms of 6

involvement and satisfaction. Thus, achieving balance needs to be considered from multiple perspectives. (Hudson)

2.0 A Brief History During the 1960s and 1970s, employers considered work-life mainly an issue for working mothers who struggled with the demands of their jobs and raising children. Throughout this 7

period and into the mid-1980s, the U. S. government had the major impact in the field, as reflected by the Presidential Conference on Families, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, and the Quality of Employment Survey. During the 1980s, recognizing the value and needs of their women contributors, pioneering organizations such as Merck, Deloitte & Touche, and IBM began to change their internal workplace policies, procedures, and benefits. The changes included maternity leave, employee assistance programs (EAPs), flextime, home-based work, and child-care referral. During the 1980s men also began voicing work-life concerns. The term ‘work-life Balance’ was first coined in 1986 in reaction to the unhealthy choices that many Americans were making in favor of the work place, as they opted to neglect family, friends and leisure activities in the pursuit of corporate goals. Articles of the time suggested a sharp increase in the working hours of the Americans. This had started to affect their families and individual heath. Work life balance slowly was gaining grounds in the various organizations. By the end of the decade, work-life balance was seen as more than just a women’s issue, affecting men, families, organizations and cultures. The 1990s solidified the recognition of work-life balance as a vital issue for everyone--women, men, parents and non-parents, singles, and couples. The 1990s saw a rise in the number of working women and the dual-income families. A second family configuration, the lone parent household also became prevalent in the 1990s. the labor force experienced considerable challenges in balancing the work and family responsibilities. This growing awareness of the central importance of the issue resulted in major growth in attempted work-life solutions during this decade. Numerous studies showed that the generations from baby boomers to new college graduates were making job choices based on their own work-life issues and employers’ cultures. Unfortunately, although companies were adopting family-friendly policies, employees and managers were not implementing them. Many of the policies put into place in the 1980s failed to have a significant impact on most managers’ and employees’ real-world work-life-balance results. Americans still reported feeling even more overworked and out of touch with their nonwork lives much of the time. (Duxbury & Higgins, Oct 2001)

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It can also be argued that much of the above discussion is no longer relevant to our discussion on work-life conflict due to labour market changes that occurred in the late 1990s and beyond. Proponents of this view contend that organizations have made significant progress with respect to work-life balance in recent years. They attribute increase in corporate awareness to two issues: the greater need to recruit and retain workers, and changing attitudes toward work. Such changes, they argue, have provided a power impetus for companies to turn to more flexible, family friendly workplaces as a means of retraining and energizing key employees and meeting strategic objectives. Arnold Deutsche, in his book entitled The Human Resource Revolution: Communicate or Litigate noted that today’s “knowledge workers” hold work attitudes that differ in many ways from those of the “factory and production” workers that preceded them. Key differences include rising expectations for a more rewarding career, more humane working experiences and a greater “democratization” of the workplace. Today’s employees are more likely to want a career not “just a job” and a meaningful life outside of work. Many have high expectations about gaining satisfaction from their work now and in the future, and want a say in decisions affecting their jobs and their employment. Researchers are also seeing a different set of attitudes in individuals just entering the workplace. As Conger (1998, p. 21) notes: •

In a nutshell, they distrust hierarchy. They prefer more informal arrangements. They prefer to judge on merit rather than on status. They are far less loyal to their companies. They are the first generation to be raised on a heavy diet of workplace participation and teamwork. They know computers inside and out. They like money but they also say they want balance in their lives.

Research also indicates that this group wants choice, flexibility and increased control over both their jobs and the work-life interface (Conger, 1998). Individuals who are now entering the workforce tend to be the children of parents who both held jobs. While these individuals enefited from the extra family income being in a dual-income family entailed, many felt that they were 9

deprived of their parents’ company, a situation aggravated by the fact that a very high percent were the children of divorce (Conger, 1998). Many in this new generation of workers say that they do not want the sort of lives their parents led. Rather, they want to spend more time with and be more available to their families (Conger, 1998). This increased desire and quest for a “real balance between work and private life” has major implications for today’s workplace, especially with respect to recruiting and retaining this cohort. This generation can be expected to insist that organizations find more flexible ways to integrate time for family and private lives into demanding careers (Conger, 1998). The business practices that motivated the homogeneous, male breadwinning workforce of the past, therefore, may simply not work for this group of employees. Conger (1998) also suggests that this yearning for life balance may increase conflict for this new generation of workers as their value for interesting work, which is often accompanied by longer hours and greater demands, conflicts with their desire for happy marriages, meaningful family time and weekends they can call their own.( Duxbury & Higgins, Oct 2001)

3.0 Benefits of Work Life Balance Initiatives Work Life Balance initiatives have been an integral part of the HR policies for a long time. There are certainly obvious benefits to the employer as well as the employee. 10

Benefits for employers include: •

Lower staff turnover and increased return on training

•

Reduced absenteeism and lateness

•

Improved employee morale and commitment

•

Reduced stress and improved productivity

•

A more flexible workforce

•

Increased ability to attract and recruit staff

•

Potential for improved occupational health and safety

•

Fulfillment of equal opportunity objectives

•

Good corporate citizenship and an enhanced corporate image.

Benefits for employees include: •

Ability to manage work and individual commitments

•

Improved personal and family relationships

•

Flexible working arrangements resulting in reduced work overload and stress

•

Increased focus, motivation and job satisfaction knowing that family and work commitments are being met

•

Increased job security from the knowledge that an organisation understands and supports workers with family responsibilities

•

Increased ability to remain employed.

•

Increased ability to remain competitive in career advancement

•

Improved health and wellbeing of staff

3.1 Critical Success Factors

11

To achieve the benefits of introducing work life balance initiatives, the critical success factors are: •

Choose work life balance practices that are suitable to the workplace and the employees’ jobs, and ones that will meet the needs of the employees.

•

Ensure there is good communication with employees, and they are well informed of the options available to them.

•

Provide clear guidelines to all employees on how the work life balance practices are to work.

•

Ensure that supervisors do not inhibit employees from accessing the work life balance practices that are available to them.

•

Treat all employees fairly and equitably, regardless of their family/personal responsibilities.

•

Be flexible with the changing needs of employees.

•

Ensure that any changes in work practices are consistent with award or agreement requirements.

•

Check whether the new work practices are actually assisting employees to better balance their work and family/personal responsibilities.

4.0 Global Perspective 12

The trend in the globe is that, not only are companies and employees striving to strike Work-Life Balance but also are the governments working hard towards the same. Let us consider the examples of some of the countries 1) New Zealand •

Employee’s perspective of work life -

Flexible start and finish times, and more leave - both paid and unpaid.

-

More choice about the way they work, including having more input into rosters and shifts, and choosing the number of hours they work

•

•

Employers offering -

Being able to occasionally vary start and finish times to cope with a problem

-

Using personal sick leave to care for others

-

Flexible break provisions

-

Study leave

Governments initiative -

The Employment Relations (Flexible Working Arrangements) Act was passed in Parliament in late 2007. It was brought into place to provide guidelines to both employers and employees in relation to more flexible working arrangements. It provides employees with the ability to propose changes to their work environment including the place they work, and the hours and days.

•

Obstruction Working long hours, varied hours, and rotating shift work makes work-life balance a lot harder. When hours are worked also makes a difference, especially when they are worked at night. Frequently working extra hours in own time i.e. without pay makes work-life conflict worse. Work place culture made work-life balance harder to achieve, particularly the expectations of colleagues, workmates, managers and supervisors.

2) Australia 13

Work life policy for the ICT industry This policy provides guidance and recommendations by the Australian Computer Society (ACS) on work life issues for employers and employees in the ICT industry. This was landmark policy for the ICT sector developed by a working group of ICT leaders, practitioners and HR specialists from across Australia. The ACS prepared a series of recommendations for flexible working practices with an aim to facilitate a happy, committed and productive workforce within the ICT industry which includes: • Flexible working hours; • Work location options; • Employee friendly working arrangements, • Paid parental leave, • Job sharing and part time work, • Promoting healthy life style alternatives through membership of gym and other recreational clubs. The ACS initiatives provide a framework for employers to achieve long & happy working lives for their employees, as opposed to the break down and burn out for which the ICT sector had a poor reputation. In particular, these proposals accommodated the needs of those with families and also assisted in attracting new talent and retaining skilled people within the ICT sector. The ACS called upon the ICT industry to take a leadership position in adopting employee friendly work environments by: • Implementing, where practicable, flexible working hours by setting core working hours from 10am to 3pm and accommodating late starts and early finishes; • Scheduling face to face meetings in core hours only and using technological solutions to facilitate meetings outside of those hours, where they are unavoidable; • Supporting teleworking, where appropriate, for up to 2 days per week; • Encouraging employees to pursue fitness and extra curricular activities. The expected benefits for employers were a higher available talent pool, improved staff retention, productivity and higher quality of work.

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Work/life balance initiatives at Microsoft Australia •

Onsite and online parenting resources

•

Variety of sports and health benefits

•

Broadband connection to your home (enabling staff to work from home when required)

•

Job-share (where role permits)

•

Microsoft CARES counseling service for employees and their families

•

Social club

•

Career guidance and planning

•

Mentoring program

•

Employer-sponsored discount program

•

Reimbursed employee tuition

•

Flexible choices regarding superannuation, financial planning and car leasing

•

Laptop computers and mobile technology

•

Community support initiatives for various charities

3) Netherlands Initiatives to give workers more control over their working time, such as the Netherlands' Adjustment of Hours Law assist workers in improving their worklife balance. 4) Canada •

The Labour Program, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC), encourages the development of workplace measures that improve work-life balance and support working parents.

•

The Labour Program has published several research studies to assist public policy development on work-life balance issues, and to help organizations design and implement programs and policies that facilitate work-life balance.

5.0 The Indian Picture

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The career-minded gen-Xers and India’s booming economy once had people terming work-life balance as a ‘Western’ problem. But these same youngsters are now struggling with the inevitable effects of all work and no play. On the one hand, the drive is to keep up with the workload, to climb that corporate ladder and prove yourself. On the other, fatigue, milestones missed and lack of time with friends and family. For the ‘We want it all’ generation, this delicate see-saw to reduce stress and maintain harmony is an ongoing challenge. However it is not easy to find many references to Work-Life Balance policies and issues in India. This is not to discount their existence in the country, but it does indicate its relative unimportance as a strategic business issue in the country. It is indeed hurting to see a majority of Indian companies still wedded to the old style presenters philosophy instead of offering managers opportunities to strike a healthy Work-Life Balance. Thus, In India the IT Industry is probably the first mover in terms of introducing Work-Life Balance policies. There have been pioneers in the country like NIIT, a premier IT Training organization, which several years ago introduced innovative allowances for employees who were dating, got engaged and so on. It made the news time and again because of what these policies did to recruit promising talent and ensure a motivated workforce. Work-Life Balance policies seem to be targeted at potential recruits rather than a tool to further the entry and progress of women into the workplace as elsewhere in the world.( For e.g. Indian talented young women have often ended up quitting their job after marriage and children’s because of social constraints.) In India, there is a starting point in that organizations have recognized the need for and value of Work-Life Balance policies. But the debate has to now move into implementation and the Government could play a critical role in being a catalyst of change. An advantage that Indian industry will however have is learning’s from the experiences of other countries in what has worked and what has not. There’s no ‘one size that fits all’ and Indian companies will have to adapt policies to fit in with not just the nature of industry, profile of workforce and other such factors but also with the local culture and environment.

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initiatives to promote work/ life balance for employees include free membership to children of all IBMers to the GenieKids Resource center through out the year. The Resource Center houses a library, activity based games, pottery classes, computer classes etc. IBM employees can also attend Parenting Workshops at the Resource Center, covering topics like "Developing Child's Intelligence",

"Communicating

towards

better

parenting",

"Developing

parent

child

relationships", at discounted rates through out the year Accenture has also incorporated family events into its employee calendars, with social gatherings or

outings

where

the

whole

family

comes

together.

Mandatory number of holidays, discounted gym and saloon memberships and even in-house work-life effectiveness managers and career counselors are all attempts by Accenture to counter stress and maintain the work life balance. Accenture currently has 30,000 employees in India as of May 2007. Said Rekha Menon, Executive Vice President, India Geographic Services and Human Capital & Diversity, Accenture India, “It’s important to create the right mixture because without work/life balance, any career goals or aspirations one has set will eventually fall flat due to the mind or body’s inability to keep up. Finding one’s career niche involves more than gathering and applying

copious

amounts

of

industry

and

job

information.

Learning to create work/life balance can help by clearing the mind and body, which in turn helps you

identify

which

goals

are

most

important

to

you.”

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6.0 Objective of the Study During the research for the study we understood that work life balance is beneficial to employers and employees. Work life balance mainly is disrupted when the thin line dividing the work and life fades out. The boom in IT sector led many organizations to outsource their computer systems to the various IT firms. This called for ‘Around the Sun’ working of the IT firms. This would eventually fade the line of distinction mentioned earlier. Hence, work life balance in the IT sector becomes a vital issue. •

The objective of the project is to measure the work life balance in IT sector in India.

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7.0 Methodology This study was completed in a period of 3 months. We used the primary data collection tools. The subject data was collected from 197 employees among various organizations in the IT sector. The study was conducted among the various cadres like Asst. system engineers, Group leaders, Team leaders, Project managers etc. The data collected was from reputed firms like TCS, Infosys, Accenture, Syntel, Cts, 3i-infotech etc. Convenient sampling technique was used while selecting the respondents. Responses were taken by the questionnaire method wherein a questionnaire consisting of 32 questions was circulated among the respondents and filled accordingly. This questionnaire was structured into 3 substantive sections:  Issues in work life  Issues in family life

 Issues in self life In the work life section, respondents were asked about the problems faced by them in their professional life and at their offices. In the family life section questions were posed to quantify the time they spent with their families. In the self life section, questions were framed to measure the time respondents spent for themselves. This section included questions related to individuals hobbies and other recreational activities. This report is based on the responses thus collected. The responses were analyzed to measure the work life balance among the respondents. 7.1 Sources of data: Primary data: Data was collected by using the semi-structured questionnaire. Secondary data: Various books, articles, project reports, survey reports were referred to for collecting information about the subject. 19

Time Constraints

WorkLife

Marital Status

Gender

7.2 Parameter used for the study

The three main parameters used for our study are Time constraints: Under this parameter, we look into the time constrains which people face, how much time to they spend doing office work, how much time do they spend with their families, how much time to they spend doing activities of their choice. Since time is an very important factor which can help determine the degree of work-life balance a person achieved, we have tried to look at time from various aspects, which are office time, family time, social time, personal time. Gender: Another parameter considered for the study was gender. Equality of gender has got out the women and men to work shoulder to shoulder with each other. In our study we tried to measure the work life balance in an individual’s life based on their gender. We have also tried to throw light on the effect of their work life balance on their attitudes. Marital status: Marriage comes with additional responsibilities and duties. We in our study have tried to indentify and measure these responsibilities. The study focuses to

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understand the time the singletons and married employees spent at work, with family and devoted for their holistic development. 7.3 Approaches to work life balance

Work-Life Balance

Work-Life

Family-Life

Self-Life

We have classified work life balance into three main categories Work – life: Through this parameter we have tried to throw light on number of hours an employee works in a day which includes not only the time spent in office but also the time spent at home doing office work. This parameter also looks at how satisfied are the employees with their work life. Family – life: family is an integral part of an individuals life. Using this parameter we tried to measure the time employee spends with his family on a daily basis. This includes the time the individual spends at home and teaching their children. We have also tried to throw light on the frequency and the no of days the employees takes a vacation. Self – life: self life is the time the employee devotes to his holistic development. We have tried to highlight the time the employee devotes to developing his hobbies or participating in social or spiritual activities. Based on the medical research sleep is essential for the holistic development of the person. Considering this, we tried to measure in general, the average no of hours an employee sleeps.

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8.0 Analysis The total data comprised of 197 respondents across various designations like ASE, TL, GL, Project Manager Etc and the companies under review were TCS, Infosys, Accenture, Syntel, CTS and 3i-Infotech. A technique of convenient sampling is used. The respondents were segregated by gender, 69% males ie. 136 out of 197 and rest 31% females and marital status. 8.1 Work life In this study certain questions in the questionnaire were aimed to understand the time spent by each individual at work. These included events like working days and hours and carrying office tension home and vice versa. The analysis of the data collected is presented as follows: Analysis of the survey Working Days (Representing the Gender)

The sample consists of 136 males and 61 females. The working days in a week of the total population are 5, 6 and 7 days. In which 75% of males work for 5 day a week and 24% work for 6 days and there is only 1% who work for 7 days a week. The 1% who are working for 7 days a week are the people who are in the position of Manager. 22

Where as in the case of females there are 74% of females working for 5 days and 26% working for 6 days. And there are no females working for 7 days a week. From the above findings of the sample we can say that there is no much difference in terms of working hours between males and females. Overall majority are working for 5 days. Representing the Marital Status

The sample consists of 154 singletons and 43 married people. In the sample there are 65% of the married people who working for 5 days, 30% working for 6 days and 5% working for 7 days. There are 77% of the singletons who are working for 5 days in week and 23% working for 6 days. So, the married and singleton are working for almost same days.

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Working hours (Representing the Gender)

The working hours is the most important factor in the work life balance. From the analysis we can see that there are very less number of males and females who are working for less than 8 hours. There are 81% of males who are working for 8-10 hours per days. And there are 16% who are working for 10-12 hours. Where as in the case of females there are 90% of females working for 8-10 hours and 5% working for 10-12 hours. Means comparing with the males there are less percentage of females who are working for long hours. Representing the Marital Status

24

Coming to the analysis of married and unmarried people we see that there are 75% of married people working for 8-10 hours and 23% of people working for 10-12 hours. We have also observed that there are 2% of people working for more than 12 hours. In the case of singletons there are 4% who are working for less than 8 hours. There are 86% working for 8-10 hours and there are 9% working for 10-12 hours. Here we can observe in case of long working hours the percentage of married people is more than single tons. Official Travel (Representing the Gender)

This talks about for how many days the population of the sample travel in a month. So, the analysis shows there are 78% of the males who are travelling for less than 5 days a month and 13% travelling for 5-10 days. There are 9% who travel for more than 10 days. Where as 71% of females travel for less than 5 days and 28% travel foe 5-10 days. And there are no females who travel for more than 10 days a month.

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Representing the Marital Status

There are 87% of the married people who travel for less than 5 days, 13% who travel for 5-10 days. And there are no married people who travel for more than 10 days. Where are there are 69% of singletons who travel for less than 5 days, 18% travel for 5-10 days and there are 13% who travel for more than 10 days in a month for official purpose. From this observation we can say that the because married people have more responsibilities and they have to dedicate more time to family they are travelling less as compare to singletons. Household Tension at work ( gender- wise)

26

Females are more worried about household tensions at work. About 81% of these worried women work for 5 days a week About 72% of them work for 8-10 hours while the rest work for 10-12 hours and most of them travel for 60-90 minutes Office Tension at home According to Gender

We find that women are more worried than men about their work when they come home. We can notice that substantially 78% women carry office tension home compared to just 60 % men.

According to marital status 27

Married women comparatively carry more office tension back home than single women. Approximately 90 % of the married women carry tensions back home that 60% of single women

8.2 Family life

28

In this study certain questions in the questionnaire were aimed to understand the time spent by each individual for family. These included events like spending time with family on a daily basis, going for a vacation, missing of social gatherings etc. The analysis of the data collected is presented as follows: Respondents spending time with their family. (gender wise)

It was found that majority of the males spent either less than 30 minutes or more than 90 minutes with their family. Whereas majority of the females spent around 60-90 minutes with their family. This could be by their own personal choice. When probed further into the study it was ofund that men who spent less than 30 minutes with their families were generally unmarried. This could probably be because they are spending more time on their personal life like going out for picnics, vacations etc. while in case of females they showed a very stable trend. Probably due to the Indian culture women are seen more to spend time with their families.

Respondents spending time with their family. (marital status wise)

29

In this case we found out that most of the married respondents once they reach home like to spend time with their family. Whereas in case of unmarried respondents we found that once they reach home they like to spent time watching TV, surfing internet, self recreational activities, etc rather than spending time with family. Percentage of respondents going on a vacation in a year (gender wise).

30

We found out that out of the total no. of male respondents forty one per-cent went on a vacation once in a year. using the modes for the various options we concluded that the males went on vacation for an average of 12 days. Whereas in case of females we found out that 45 per-cent of them go on a vacation once in a year for an average of 11 days. Also it was noticed that males usually go for vacation more than once a year, while in case of females it was observed that they confined to the limit of a vacation a year. Percentage of respondents going on a vacation in a year (marital status wise).

We then analysed the same question to identify the behavior of the individuals based on their marital status. In this case we found that seventy two per-cent of the married respondents went on a vacation for about once in a year. Whereas in case of unmarried respondents we found out that a high percentage of respondents i.e. 25 per-cent didn’t go on a vacation even once a year. Probably less family responsibilities on the shoulders of the singletons helped them to dedicate more time for themselves as well as their work. On the time frame when analysed the singletons were found spending more time at work and for their self life. But the same frame would not be feasible to measure the time spent by the married individuals.

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Helping children in studies(gender wise for married individuals)

This was a question specifically designed for the married individuals. We were surprised to note that 62% of the males and 50% of the females did not help out their wards with their education. This could be attributed to the late working hours experienced by each of our respondents. Further analysis proved that most of these individuals worked for 10 – 12 hours a day. We then calculated the mode value and found it to be 11.19 hours. We then found the no of hours these individuals travelled from home to office and vice versa. It was found that most of them travelled for 51.176 minutes. From this we found that roughly the married individuals in our sample were contributing 11.19 hours of their day to their work and approximately 1 hour to travel and could not or on personal choice did not contribute much to help their wards with their studies.

Missing of social gatherings (gender wise) 32

Missing of social gatherings (marital status wise)

Based on the previous questions analysis we were of the opinion that probably the respondents were missing out on large no of social gatherings. But this was not the case. Whether married or unmarried, male or female, approximately 48.5% of them missed only 2 social gatherings in a year. This was a clear indication that thought they had work pressures and did fall out on some of

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the family aspects but social gatherings were generally not avoided. Respondents of our sample attempted to balance their family and work life efficiently. The family life of the employees surveyed was measured broadly based upon their gender and their marital status. 1.

(a) Out of the total male respondents 18 percent of them were married. It was found that about 34% of them spent on an average only 45 minutes with their families. They work for about 11 hours a day for 5 days a week. They travel for about 1 hour and sleep only for about 5.5 hours. They go on a vacation once a year for about 8 days. Most of them often suffered from health ailments like headache, insomnia and depression. (b) From the remaining married male surveyed about 35% of them spent on an average 2 hours with their families. They work for about 8 hours a day for 5 days a week. They travel for about 1 hour and sleep only for about 6.5 hours. They go on a vacation once a year for about 4 days. Some of them often suffered from health ailments like headache and common cold. (c) Out of the total male respondents 82 percent of them were unmarried. It was found that about 34% of them spent on an average only 45 minutes with their families. They work for about 9 hours a day for 5 days a week. They travel for about 1.5 hour and sleep only for about 6 hours. They go on a vacation thrice a year for about 4 days per vacation. Some of them often suffered from health ailments like headache, insomnia.

2. (a) Out of the total female respondents 28 percent of them were married. It was found that about 35 per cent of them spent on an average 3.5 hours with their families. They work for about 8 hours a day for 5 days a week. They travel for about 1 hour and sleep for about 6.5 hours. They go on a vacation once a year for about 11 days. Most of them often suffered from common health ailments like headache and common cold.

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(b) Out of the total female respondents 72 percent of them were unmarried. It was found that about 35 per cent of them spent on an average only 45 minutes with their families. They work for about 9 hours a day for 5 days a week. They travel for about 1 hour and sleep only for about 6 hours. They generally don’t go on a vacation. Most of them often suffered from health ailments like headache, insomnia and depression. Interpretation 1. The survey found two groups of married males- those spending about 2 hours with the family in a day and those spending only 0.75 hours with the family. The former group was able to spend more time with the family because of less work load, balanced self life and good health. However the other group is able to give only 0.75 hours to the family because of comparatively more work load, less time for self and stress related health problems. Where the group which spends more time with the family goes on a vacation once in a year for about 4 days, the other group spending less time with the family is able to balance his family life by going on a vacation for 8 days in a year. Thus it was found that inspite of heavy work load and stressful life, the married males are able to balance their family life by giving less time for self, going on a long vacation with the family, engaging in group recreational activities, etc. 2. It was found that the unmarried males surveyed spend less time with the family because of more working hours, stress related health problems, and preference to spend more time on self recreational activities than with family. Also, considerable no. of them do not stay with family. However they are able to balance their family life by going on a vacation for thrice a year for about 4 days. Hence we found that the IT male professionals, whether married or unmarried are able to balance their family life with their work and self life by prioritizing their day to day activities. 35

3. It was found that compared to unmarried females the married females are able to spend more time with the family because of comparatively less work load and preference to spend more time with family than on self. Most the married females also tutor their children. Also going on a vacation for a longer duration adds to their balance family life. However the family life in case of unmarried females was found to be unbalanced due to stressful work life, preference to spend more time on self than with family and not going on a vacation even once in a year.

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8.3 Self life One of the growing areas of concern in work-life balance is attention towards one’s own self. We have the ability to solve most, if not all, of our work problems in life if we know how. Self Care means the understanding of spirit of pride, love of praise, self-will etc. Awareness of these needs of the self life is the first step to avoid conflicts within self life. Along with work, family and friends, I is also important. One needs to be attentive to one’s own personal self being. Being self responsible becomes the first step towards striking the balance.

In our study we classified the questions based on self - care, self – awareness, self – attention and self responsibility. Some of the questions asked were no of hours of sleep daily, recreational activities, hobbies etc.

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No of hours of sleep daily

In response to the question of sleep time in a day, 90% of the respondents confirmed that they slept for 6 or more than 6 hours daily. According to the medical theories, it is said that an average of 6 hours of sleep is required for an adult to rejuvenate his physical capacities on a daily basis. Despite, the heavy work schedules all the respondents of the survey satisfied this criterion. On further analysis based on their marital status gave us the following results.

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It was found that more of the singletons were sleeping for more than 6 hours. While in case of married respondents approximately 50% of them slept strictly for 5 – 6 hours. Recreational activities

IT is well known for its extensive working hours. Recreation is essential for the holistic development of the person. This question was framed to tap the opinions and the general behavior of the respondents. In response to getting involved in recreational activities, 50 % of the male respondents spend time engaging in recreational activities while maximum females do not. This clearly shows a striking difference in the choice made by males and females towards balancing self life. One fourth of our respondents also confided that they were interested in recreational activities, but could not find time to include them in their daily routines for lack of time. They were of the opinion that vacations were the time when they could get a break from work.

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Membership of spiritual organizations As a counterbalance to the pressures and stress of a turbulent pace of life and the lack of community many people feel and their increased need for involvement and connection. Job demands have made the workplace dominant in many people’s lives, yet they continue to question the meaning of work. An increasing number of people are finding that the pursuit of more material acquisitions leaves them unfulfilled. The recognition that people have an inner life that nourishes and is nourished by meaningful work that takes place in the context of the community led us to include this question into our questionnaire.

In response to being part any spiritual or social organization, out of the total males, singletons have a upper hand than married ones. 25% (34 out of 136) of males are a part of social or spiritual organization, out of which 88% (30 out of 34) are single males and 12% (4 out of 34) are married. The rest 75% of males, married or single (102 out 136) are not part of any social or spiritual organization. Out of the total females, there is an equal distribution of analysis. 36% (22 out of 61) of females are a part of social or spiritual organization, out of which 45% (10 out of 22) are single females and 55% (12 out of 22) are married. The rest 64% of females, married or single (39 out of 61) are not part of any social or spiritual organization. 40

Hobbies

The pie-diagram represents the general response of the respondents pertaining to hobbies. 32% of them preferred to watch T.V. while just 4% finished their office work while at home. When further analysed according to the gender it was found that females were more keen on viewing the television soaps while males were into gym and internet surfing. A quick observation of the details showed that there was a even distribution to all the options when male respondents were considered. While in case of female respondents, the choices were more tending to wards otions like T.V, spending time with family etc. General In response to being left alone once reaching home, out of total males 18% are married and 82% are unmarried, it was evident from the data that 40% of married males never like to be left out, compared to 28% of single males. Out of the married males, 4% always like to be left out after they reach home and 56% sometimes like to be left out, whereas, 20% single males always like to be left alone after they reach home and 52% of them, sometimes like to be left alone. For 31% female respondents, 71% 41

are single and 29% are married. Out of the married females, none like to be always left out after they reach home, 33% sometimes like to be left out and 67% never like to be left out. Out of the single females, 19% always like to be left out, 60% sometimes like to be left out and 21% never like to be left out. In response to attending official calls after office hours, 60% of the males attend the official calls after the office hrs while only 41% of the females do that. Even during vacation, there are 43% of males who attend to official calls whereas, only 38% of females attend the official calls during the vacation.

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9.0 Testimonials Due to inflexibility in working hours, I am normally not able to spend more time with family during the working days. However, I arrange a family picnic once a month. I spend my Sundays with my family. Whenever I get time, I play with my kids to relieve my stress. -Aasif Sheikh, Team Leader, Accenture I don’t stay with my family. On non-working days, I spend most of my time on self-recreational activities like playing squash, yoga, music, etc. But, I do go on a family vacation once in 6 months. -Bhavesh Mehta, ASE, Syntel Syntel takes initiatives to balance the work-life balance of their employees. The activities include yoga and aerobics, gym, sports and flexible working hours. This allows us to devote more time for family and for self. - Amit Pingle, ASE, Accenture I recently joined Accenture. I wish to concentrate more on work than on self at least in the early working years, since future rewards will follow based on my initial success in the organization. However, my Sundays are for my family and friends. - Harsh Sanghvi, ASE, Accenture I took an off from work until my son was 6 years old. Now, after work, I generally spend time tutoring my son. However, I am not able to spend more time on myself but that could be done in some following years. -Megha Amin, SE, Syntel I spend time gymming, playing table tennis, yoga and aerobics to combat my stressful life. - Ankit Gogri, ASE, Accenture

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10.0 Conclusions Work life balance refers to those factors which strike a balance between Work life, Family life and self life. These factors play an integral part in building an employee’s routine and lifestyle. Issues like stress management, personal space, time for family and friends, time to pursue hobbies etc. start becoming evident as when there is work life imbalance. In our study of Work life balance in the IT industry, we considered three major parameters of Time, Gender and Age in order to aid us in our analysis. However, there have to be conscious efforts taken by the employer to counter barriers to work life balance. Also, the employee has to ensure that there is effective time and stress management. In other words, Work life balance can be ensured only if there are conscious efforts taken by both, the employer and the employee. From our analysis we concluded that respondents of this survey were spending time in all the three fronts of work, family and self life. But the no of hours spent by each of them was different. This could be attributed to their personality and individual choice. It could also depend on what they considered as best balance for themselves. Somebody who is not spending much time with family on a daily basis would go for a family outing 2 -3 times while a person spending time with family on a daily basis may even skip a yearly vacation.

Our study thus helped us confirm that time pressures are not the primary problem underlying work – life conflicts. It is the psychological incursion of work into family domain and vice versa. People are thinking about work when at home and about home when at work. Finally it all draws down on individual parameters like personality, values, perception of a work life balance, attitudes towards work , family and self. Another aspect of the entire study though not explicitly covered is the organizational culture to readily accept the work life initiatives into the organizational environment.

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On the basis of our analysis, the following recommendations can be made. RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE EMPLOYER

1. Motivation Motivation techniques seemed to work in some organisations in which work life balance was high. Specifically in two organisations that we surveyed, i.e. TCS and Accenture, motivation techniques have come a long way in reducing attrition rates and absenteeism. We found that employees high on motivation had a better work life and family life balance. 2. Appreciation of work Good work must always be appreciated. The key to making an employee feel satisfied and acknowledged at work is to have constant supervision. However, a line should be drawn between supervision and interference. 3. Authority and Responsibility There should be regular checks on the responsibilities and duties of employees. They should neither be underperforming nor over performing.

RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE EMPLOYEE 1. Pursuing Hobbies and Passions It is important for everyone to have a hobby or some activity that he/she can pursue, as a stress buster or just for fun. It can act as a major stress reliever and can go a long way in improving the Work life balance of employees.

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2. Effective Time and Stress Management It is a myth that poor work life balance is caused due to the working patterns of the firm or aggressive attitude of the supervisor, ultimately trying to indicate that imbalance is due to the organization’s practices. But the reality is not so. It is the individual also who is equally responsible to maintain his or her work life balance. In fact many a times it is the individual’s incapability of managing his time that results in an unhealthy work-life balance. If the employees can work on their time management skills, they would definitely be able to improve their work-life balance Prior to implementing any new work life balance initiatives, employers must ensure that it is consistent with existing obligations and arrangements under any award, enterprise agreement, employer-employee agreement or contract of employment that exists in the workplace. Employers must carefully assess the implications of any proposed changes in working arrangements, and ensure that unintended additional costs, such as overtime payments, are not incurred. Employers seeking to change working arrangements may wish to consider establishing an agreement for their workplace or for a particular employee. Communication with employees is essential when changing any work practices or arrangement, including introducing work life balance initiatives. All employees need to be made aware of what new initiatives are available, how they are to be implemented and the rules and conditions related to these new work practices. Employers must communicate that work/life balance and the use of flexible options are not just for women with family responsibilities. Senior managers in organisations need to ‘walk the talk’ and demonstrate that balancing paid work and non-work activities is positive, necessary for physical and psychological health and will not damage career prospects.

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11.0 References:•

Kate Grosser and Jeremy Moon, Gender Mainstreaming and Corporate Social Responsibility: Reporting Workplace Issues , No. 27-2004 ICCSR Research Paper Series – ISSN1479-5124

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Jim Bird (2006), Work Life balance: Doing it right and avoiding pitfalls Vol 33, no. 3 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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Marjolein Broers and Matt Sanders, Work-Life Balance: Is Having Policies Enough?, Queensland Department of Industrial Relations, University of Queensland

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Linda Duxbury and Chris Higgins (2001), Work-Life Balance in the New Millennium: Where Are We? Where Do We Need to Go? , CPRN Discussion Paper No. W|12

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Hudson, The case for work/life Balance: Closing the gap Policy and Practice : A Hudson Initiative

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Mervyl McPherson, The Role of Managers In Work- Life Balance Implementation, Equal Employment Opportunities Trust, Auckland

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Richard P. Chaykowski (2006,June), Toward Squaring the Circle Work-Life Balance and the Implications for Individuals, Firms and Public Policy,Vol 12 , No 3, ISSN 0711-0677

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Heller Ehrman (2007, January 23), Work/Life Balance: “Not Just for Women” ,Stanford Park Hotel, Menlo Park, CA

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Helen de Cieri, Barabara Holmes, Jacqui Abbot & Trisha Pettit (2002, November), Work/ life balance strategies: Progress and Problems in Australian organizations, working paper 58/02, Faculty of business and economics, Monash University

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Herman Miller, When work and life balance, everyone wins

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https://www.acs.org.au/acs_policies/docs/2005/worklife.pdf

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http://www.e-pao.net/epSubPageExtractor.asp?src=leisure.Essays.Work_Life_Balance

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http://www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk/ESRCInfoCentre/PO/releases/2006/january/worklife_ balance.aspx

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http://www.hinduonnet.com/mag/2002/10/06/stories/2002100600180300.htm

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12.0 Annexure 1. Since how many years you have been working in IT industry? a. 0 to 3 years b. 3 to 7 years c. 7 to 12 years d. More than 12 years 2. Do you have shifts? a. Yes b. No 3. If yes, list your official shift timings. ________________ ________________ ________________ 4. Do you have flexible timings? a. Yes b. No 5. If yes, kindly list the timings. ________________ ________________ ________________ 6. How many days do you work in a week?

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a. 5 b. 6 c. 7 7. How many hours (average) you work in a day? a. Less than 8 b. 8 to 10 c. 10 to 12 d. More than 12

8. How many minutes do you travel (to and fro) in a day? a. Less than 30 b. 30 to 60 c. 60 to 90 d. more than 90 9. Please tick the appropriate, for the modes of transport used. a. Public transport b. Personal vehicle c. Company transport facility 10. How many days do you travel for official purpose or go on site in a month? a. 0 b. Less than 5

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c. 5 to 10 days d. More than 10 days 11. For how many hours do you sleep in a day? a.

less than 4

b. 5 c. 6 d. More than 6 12. How much time do you spend with your family each day? a. Less than 30 minutes b. 30 to 60 minutes c. 60 to 90 minutes d. More than 90 minutes 13. How many times do you go on a vacation in a year? a. b. c. d.

0 1 2–3 More than 3

14. If yes, how many days do you go on a vacation in a year? a. 0 – 10 days b. 10 - 15 days c. 15 - 20 days d. More than 20 days 15. Do you like to be left alone once you reach home? a. Always

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b. Sometimes c. Never 16. Are you a member of any social/spiritual organizations? a. Yes b. No 17. How many hours a week do you help your children in studies? a. 0 b. 3 - 5 c. 5 - 7 d. 7 – 10 18. Do you get involved in any recreational activities? a. Yes b. No c. Don ’t find time 19. (i) Do you stay with your parents? a. Yes b. No (ii) Do you stay with your spouse and children? a. Yes b. No

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20. If the answer to the above question is no, then how frequently do you visit them? a. Weekly b. Monthly c. Half yearly d. Yearly 21. Do you take office work home? a. Yes b. No 22. What do you do once you reach home from work? a. Watch T.V. b. Surf the internet c. Finish pending office work d. Sleep e. Spend time with your family f. Recreational activities g. Gym h. Yoga i. Any other 23. Is your mind pre occupied with household tensions during office hours?

a. Often 52

b. Sometimes c. Seldom 24. Is your mind pre occupied with official tensions while at home? a. Often b. Sometimes c. Seldom 25. Are you called to office at odd hours in case of work load? a. Often b. Sometimes c. Seldom d. Never 26. Do you go to office at odd hours in case of work load? a. Often b. Sometimes c. Seldom d. Never 27. Do you attend office calls after office hours? a. Often b. Sometimes c. Seldom 28. Do you attend office calls while on a vacation? 53

a. Often b. Sometimes c. Seldom 29. You frequently complain of (please tick the appropriate ) a. Insomnia b. Headache c. Hair fall d. Depression e. Blood pressure f. Diabetes g. Acidity h. Constipation i. Common cold 30. How many times have you missed an important social gathering because of official work? a. 0 b. Up to 2 c. Up to 6 d. More than 6

31. Does your organization take initiatives in work life balance? a. Yes b. No

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32. If yes, can you list some of them? _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ ______________________

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