Work-Life Balance

A good balance between work and personal life are critical to successful and happy life in any organization. The research paper focuses mainly What, Why and How of work-life balance. Initially it used known as work- family balance; however there has been shift from Family to Life as it encompasses more than just family. It means to have balance between work and study, travel, sport, voluntary work, personal development, leisure or eldercare. It is important to understand that worklife balance does not mean to devote equal amounts of time to paid work and non-paid roles; in its broadest sense it is defined as a satisfactory level of involvement or fit between the multiple roles in a person s life. It is the equilibrium between the amount of time and effort someone devotes to work and personal activities in order to maintain overall sense of harmony in life. Various work-life balance initiatives that are usually implemented in organizations would be Flexi time, Telecommuting, Compressed Work Weeks, Part- time Work, Job Sharing. The factors that influence the success of these work arrangements would be management support and supportive organizational culture. The motives for applying work-life balance practices by organizations would be to increase participation of female personnel and make use of their capacities, to keep employees motivated and well performing, to make their organizations more attractive to employees, to have a better social responsibility. The benefits of work-life balance to a organization would be reduced staff turnover rates, reduced absenteeism and lateness, increased retention of valuable employees, employee loyalty and commitment, improved productivity and enhanced organizational image. The benefits for an employee would be increased job satisfaction, greater sense of job security, better physical and mental health, reduced job stress levels, and enhanced control over work-life environment. Changing demographics are behind the move to embrace work-life balance programs. Everyone benefits from a good practice in work-life balance.