Liceo de Cagayan University School of Graduate Studies

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Liceo de Cagayan University

College of Graduate Studies
Vamenta Blvd., Cagayan de Oro City

PROJECT PAPER

Level of Productivity in Work-Life Balance among Employees of Banco de Oro

Unibank in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines

Submitted by:
Rodna Jema Gremille Alenton
beng.alenton@gmail.com

Submitted to:
Dr. Bienvenido Flores

INTRODUCTION

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Cagayan de Oro is beginning to become one of the Philippines busiest cities with
constructions everywhere and companies big or small, are sprouting like mushrooms. Truly,
the city has made progress not only in alleviating poverty in the region but also in attaining a
stable economic growth. According to an article written by Baos, the National Competitive
Council (NCC) has hailed Cagayan de Oro as the most competitive city in the Philippines for
the year 2012. This was based on the competitive rankings made by NCC giving CDO a
score of 72.09 (1st) out of 50 cities in the Philippines. As it evolves into a metropolis, certain
issues are being raised on how the citys growing workforce are being utilized. Do the
Kagay-anons still value work-life balance? Are they overworked or are they still productive
in the workplace? These are issues that this study will try to tackle and hopefully will give
answers to these questions.
Work-life balance is an important matter to consider for employees to determine
whether or not they will stay longer on a company or move into a better one. The
significance of understanding work-life balance in the current society is that it highlights
issues that may help organizations or institutions create policies that will not only protect its
employees but also improve their productivity. There are certain factors that affect work-life
balance and these are; demographics, social change, technological advancement, and global
competition (Jones, F. et. al. 2013). It is important that these factors are understood and given
appropriate attention to avoid work-life conflict. According to Lenhard H. (2007), conflicts
arising from unbalanced work-life has a damaging effect on job satisfaction, organizational
commitment, productivity turnover, and absenteeism and at more serious end, work-life
conflict is associated with employee burnout, mental health issues, substance abuse, and
diminished family functioning. Thus, work-life balance is an important issue that should be
addressed by the employers and financial institutions in Cagayan de Oro.
The study will focus on the financial institution in Cagayan de Oro, specifically
Banco de Oro Unibank due to the noticeable long working hours among banking employees

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in the city. Long and inflexible work hours are usually the constant predictors of work-life
conflict (Lenhard, 2007), particularly those working on banking institutions, construction or
even in call centers.
BDO is a full-service universal bank in the Philippines. It provides a complete array
of industry-leading products and services including Lending (corporate, middle market,
SME, and consumer), Deposit-taking, Foreign Exchange, Brokering, Trust and Investments,
Credit Cards, Corporate Cash Management and Remittances in the Philippines. Through its
local subsidiaries, the Bank offers Leasing and Financing, Investment Banking, Private
Banking, Rural Banking, Bancassurance, Insurance Brokerage and Stock Brokerage services.

BDOs institutional strengths and value-added products and services hold the key to
its successful business relationships with customers. On the front line, its branches remain at
the forefront of setting high standards as a sales and service-oriented, customerfocused force.
BDO has one of the largest distribution networks, with more than 1,000 operating branches
and over 3,000 ATMs nationwide (including One Network Bank). This is one of the resaons
why employees spend long hours working due to the number of customers and transactions
the bank is accommodating.

The researcher will try to establish the connection between long working hours and
how it affects work-life balance among the employees. The importance of establishing the
causal relationship of work-life conflict and long working hours will help create policies that
are both beneficial to the employers and employees.
The cases of long working hours or overtime work in Cagayan de Oro is very
prevalent especially on financial institutions. This problem has lingered long enough that no
one have ever thought of finding a solution to curb this problem. As investors flock to the
city, the way of life and the way of living including work-life balance are becoming
globalized. The local workforce now competes with its global competitors and, therefore, the

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demand for work by companies or organization have also increased. According to Syed
Shabib (2011), the rise of globalization has increased the need for employers to extend
working hours to meet customer demands. To address conflicts arising from extended
workings hours, companies should have flexitime so that employees are well compensated
for every extra time they spend on work. However, Syed Shadib has highlighted that
flexitime does necessarily mean that an employee has to work for a lesser amount of time.
Instead, he emphasized that flexitime is about working smart and managing an employees
time efficiently so as to not jeopardize one for the other.
Apparently, while many offices or companies in the city have adopted flexitime,
financial institutions have remained committed to implementing strict on-time work hours of
8:00 am to 5:00 pm or to others it is 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. Moreover, these financial
institutions are demanding overtime work from employees to cope-up with the demands not
only of the local market but of the global financial market.
The lack of understanding of work-life balance and the conflict arising from extended
working hours have made critical researches around the globe. Around 2005, a research
published by Gregory et.al (2009) have confirmed a rise of researches covering work-life
balance and work-life conflicts. Surprisingly, financial institutions in Cagayan de Oro have
not noticed this and have failed to create policies addressing the issue that could have an
adverse effect on employee productivity.
On the contrary, Manuel et.al (2008) believes that work-life balance varies from
individuals stages of life. A single or unmarried person may prefer to work overtime than to
spend his personal time alone. However, a married or a family oriented individual would like
to have a balance of both. Manuel also emphasized that environment and lifestyle may also
be a factor that an individuals perception of work-life balance differs from one another.
In the hope of finding solution to this problem, this study will attempt to discover the
reasons why the financial institution in Cagayan de Oro does not implement flexitime. It will

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also seek to understand the factors that affect ones perception of work-life balance and its
relation to employee productivity.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

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The basis in determining work-life balance has not been fully established by many
researchers. Existing studies only points out to previous studies and similar studies conducted
by scholars and researchers. According to Taylor (2002), there is a lingering question in the
division of work and life in the assumption that the concept of balance is theoretical or just
practical sense. He pointed out that the term balance between work and life is just a bogus
term and does not describe the nature or the origin of the problem. Taylor also implied that in
reality life and work overlap and interact with each other.
However, Gregory (2009) has reaffirmed Alan Felstead and colleagues noted
(Felstead et al., 2002) worklife balance can be dened as the relationship between the
institutional and cultural times and spaces of work and non-work in societies where income is
predominantly generated and distributed through labour markets. He further explained
worklife balance practices in the workplace are, therefore, those that, intentionally or
otherwise, increase the exibility and autonomy of the worker in negotiating their attention
(time) and presence in the workplace, while worklife balance policies exist where those
practices are intentionally designed and implemented. Gregory (2009) elaborated that
when employees' needs are not met, employees are expected to experience worklife stress,
although it may be that, particularly for those without caring responsibilities, time stress is
partially or wholly offset by other factors, such as material rewards or job enjoyment.
By clearly defining the dichotomy between the balance of work and life, the
researcher will be able to understand fully what triggers work-life conflict and how work-life
balance plays a role in lessening stress in the workplace. Employee stress is something that
financial institutions in Cagayan de Oro should not ignore mainly because it is a significant
business and social cost.
The paper will also examine the effects of working time on employee productivity
and then identify factors that affect work-life balance. The study of Golden (2011) explained
that personal performance and work-life balance associated with the length and flexibility of

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working time can often influence firm performance. Furthermore, the paper looked into
business case a term for promoting greater workplace flexibility and more flexible work
options for workers, i.e. potential long-term improvements in company or unit productivity,
labor cost savings, market competitiveness or revenue-earning opportunities that result in
gains in output per worker-hour, reduced tardiness, absenteeism and turnover, and improved
employee morale and mental and physical health (e.g. Ortega, 2009; Lee and DeVoe, 2012).

DEPENDENT VARIABLE
Level of Productivity of
Work and Life Balance in
terms of:

INDEPENDENT
VARIABLE
Level of Productivity
among employees in terms
of:
-Work Balance
-Life Balance

1. Quality time
with Family
2. Hanging out
with friends
3. Fitness
4. Travel
5. Daily reports
6. Customer
Assistance
7. Bank
transactions
8. Meetings

Liceo de Cagayan University School of Graduate Studies

EMPLOYEES PROFILE

Age
Gender
Annual Income
Civil Status
# Of Dependents
Designation Or Position
Work Experience
Hours usually spent at
work

Schematic Diagram

Figure 1:

The schematic Diagram showing the interrelation of

independent variable and the dependent variable.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

This study aims to determine the following:

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1. The underlying reasons of work-life conflict and its effect to employee productivity;
2. The difference in perception of work-life balance in relation to employees age,
3.

gender, civil status, and environment; and,

The Implications of work-life conflict on employees of financial institutions in
Cagayan de Oro.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study is beneficial in understanding work-life balance among employees of

financial or banking institutions and so as for the following:

Academe. The study will help students and academicians alike to understand the value
of work-life balance and propose similar studies that is beneficial to everyone.
Employees. The study will enhance awareness of employees in having work-life
balance to conflicts in the workplace.
Human Resource Personnel. The study will help the HRs to draft policies that put
work-life balance as a key consideration.
Future Researchers. This will provide insights and reference for other researchers
who are interested in pursuing studies pertaining work-life balance and conflict.

SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS

The study shall be limited to identifying causes of work-life conflict and how it
affects employee productivity. It shall be limited to determining the perceptions of different
employees to work-life balance and shall be critical in analysing the collected data. The

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scope of the study is firmly based on the notion that work-life conflicts trigger dissatisfaction
and hinders growth and productivity of employees of financial institutions in Cagayan de
Oro.
METHODOLOGY
Research Design
The study will undertake a qualitative research approach and will utilize survey and
interviews in gathering the data.
Research Instruments
A set of survey questionnaires shall be used coupled with random sampling to
investigate the main cause of work-life conflicts.
Research Setting
The study shall be conducted in the 9 different branches of Banco de Oro Unibank
situated in Cagayan de Oro City.
Respondents of the Study
The respondents of the study are employees of Banco de Oro Unibank situated in
Cagayan de Oro City. They will be selected randomly and permission shall be sought before
the survey will be conducted.
Library books and internet articles from Google Scholar and Proquest shall be used in
gathering the data related work-life balance and the work-life conflict. Outputs will then be
used to compare and create impartial conclusion. Results will be tabulated in a table so that
readers would be able to easily determine the causes of work-life conflicts and its
repercussions.
Research Instrument and Scoring Procedure

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The study used three sets of survey questionnaire for data gathering. The first set
should be answered by the employees of Banco de Oro Unibank Cagayan de Oro branches to
assess the Individual Profiles of the respondents, the second questionnaire, which was
accomplished by the same respondents, evaluated the employees level of productivity in
terms of Work-Life balance.

Data Gathering Procedure

The researcher distributed to random Banco de Oro employees questionnaire for them
to evaluate the level of productivity in Work-Life balance in their job as bank employees of
Banco de Oro Unibank. The accomplished questionnaires were then retrieved at once and a
short interview with the respondents Branch Manager was conducted to validate the
employees answers, more importantly on the number of hours spent by the employees
working on the bank.

Statistical Techniques
The weighted mean was used to determine the level of productivity among employees
of Banco de Oro Unibank in terms of work balance and life balance. The level of
productivity of work and life balance in terms of the employees output at work and his/her
time spent with family and friends were also determined using the weighted mean.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Objective 1: To validate the level of productivity in work life balance among the employees
of Banco de Oro Unibank Cagayan de Oro branches.

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Table 1. Level of productivity in work life balance.

Orientation

Staff N=45

Productive
time
spent working on 3.59
the tasks assigned
to me.
I meet the target
qoutas and goals.
3.59
Overall
productivity
getting the
done

in 3.58
job

Going
beyond
what is expected 3.58
of me to make
customers happy
I respond quickly
and courteously to 3.70
fulfill customers'
needs
The overall quality
of service that I 3.30
provide is
TOTAL
3.54

Officers
N=18
3.95

Mean

Verbal

Description

Staff

Officers

3.77
Excellent
Excellent

3.95

3.77

86

3.72

3.24

3.41

3.74

3.72

3.78

3.51

3.73

3.64

Excellent

Excellent

Excellent

Satisfactory

Excellent

Excellent

Excellent

Excellent

Satisfactory
Excellent

Excellent
Excellent

Mean= 3.64
Standard Deviation= 0.507
Verbal Description:
Staff= Excellent
Officers= Excellent
Table 1 shows the level of implementing orientation on the OJT program. The overall
mean (3.64) indicates that the OJT program orientation for both Cebu and Cagayan de Oro
OJT was highly implemented.

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Among the indicators of orientation, with the highest mean (3.77) were involvement
of the practicumers on giving orientation before practicum. The finding indicates that the
practicumers, on Cebu and Cagayan de Oro, are well oriented as to the OJT requirements to
comply with, work practices to observe, and regulations to follow. Such inference is further
supported by the indicator, which was perceived to be implemented as well, being orientated
about OJT program, requirements, and preparation needs (3.72).
On the other hand, the indicator with the lowest mean (3.40- satisfactory) having
students concern effectively responded by HRM department. This finding suggests that
HRM department does recognize the practicumers relevant to the actual performance of the
work. The practicumers needs are addressed by the providing them with the necessary
orientation, in-campus skills enhancement, and work assignment and enough knowledge
appropriate to their acquired skills.
As emphasized during the orientation, all trainees during the training are must strictly
comply the regulation imposed by the HRM department and the company in Cebu and
Cagayan de Oro. During the orientation day done on the establishment assigned to them, they
were told about the days of duties, they are not allowed to enter the hotel premise during off
days, unless special permission is granted by the supervisor. They are not allowed to be late
during duty hours unless with valid reasons. They are to report at least 20 minutes before
time.

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Job Stress
JBq1
Count
Age

Gender

Marital Status

JBq2

Mean

Count

JBq3

Mean

Count

JBq4

Mean

Count

Mean

18 below

27

27

27

27

19-25

10

10

10

10

26-39

40 above

36

36

36

36

Female

Other

Single

25

25

25

25

Married

18

18

18

18

Divorced

Male

Educational

College graduate

39

39

39

39

Attainment

Masters Degree

32

32

32

32

5-10 Years

11-15 Years

Board Passer
(CPA)
Doctoral
Years in Service

Below 5 Years

16 Years and
above

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Role Overload
ROq1
Count
Age

Gender

Marital Status

ROq2

Mean

Count

ROq3

Mean

Count

ROq4

Mean

Count

Mean

18 below

27

27

27

27

19-25

10

10

10

10

26-39

40 above

36

36

36

36

Female

Other

Single

25

25

25

25

Married

18

18

18

18

Divorced

Male

Educational

College graduate

39

39

39

39

Attainment

Masters Degree

32

32

32

32

5-10 Years

11-15 Years

Board Passer
(CPA)
Doctoral
Years in Service

Below 5 Years

16 Years and
above

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Long Working Hours

LWHq1
Count
Age

Gender

Marital Status

LWHq2

Mean

Count

LWHq3

Mean

Count

LWHq4

Mean

Count

Mean

18 below

27

27

27

27

19-25

10

10

10

10

26-39

40 above

36

36

36

36

Female

Other

Single

25

25

25

25

Married

18

18

18

18

Divorced

Male

Educational

College graduate

39

39

39

39

Attainment

Masters Degree

32

32

32

32

5-10 Years

11-15 Years

Board Passer
(CPA)
Doctoral
Years in Service

Below 5 Years

16 Years and
above

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Work-Family Conflict
WFCq1
Count
Age

Gender

Marital Status

WFCq2

Mean

Count

WFCq3

Mean

Count

WFCq4

Mean

Count

Mean

18 below

27

27

27

27

19-25

10

10

10

10

26-39

40 above

36

36

36

36

Female

Other

Single

25

25

25

25

Married

18

18

18

18

Divorced

Male

Educational

College graduate

39

39

39

39

Attainment

Masters Degree

32

32

32

32

5-10 Years

11-15 Years

Board Passer
(CPA)
Doctoral
Years in Service

Below 5 Years

16 Years and
above

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Job Satisfaction
JSq1
Count
Age

Gender

Marital Status

JSq2

Mean

Count

JSq3

Mean

Count

JSq4

Mean

Count

Mean

18 below

27

27

27

27

19-25

10

10

10

10

26-39

40 above

36

36

36

36

Female

Other

Single

25

25

25

25

Married

18

18

18

18

Divorced

Male

Educational

College graduate

39

39

39

39

Attainment

Masters Degree

32

32

32

32

5-10 Years

11-15 Years

Board Passer
(CPA)
Doctoral
Years in Service

Below 5 Years

16 Years and
above

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REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Maintaining work-life balance has been the focus of industries human resource
practitioners amidst the demanding nature of work and the workers personal endeavours in
the age of information and technology. The fast-paced life, the instant accessibility of almost
anything does not put the individual in a more lax state; instead it pushes the person to do
more with the seemingly more time in his/her hands. The individual engages himself/herself
with more activities in and out of the office than usual as this seems to be supported by the
adoption of flexibility measures in the workplace. The availability of technology anywhere
which aids in the connectivity of people 24/7 further delineates the boundaries between work
and personal life.
Work-life balance is the stability characterized by the balancing of an individuals
life complexity and dynamism with environmental and personal resources such as family,
community, employer, profession, geography, information, economics, personality, or
values (Crooker et al, 2002: 389). The linkage of work and personal aspect of lives have
always been emphasized (Bruck et al., 2002; Gibson, et al., 2006). Gibson et a. (2006: 197198) offered two explanations regarding the interconnectedness of work and life in the
organizational setting: (1) the compensation effect implies that employees tend to
compensate for low work or personal life satisfaction by seeking contentment in the other
domain, and (2) the spillover view that indicates that job satisfaction spills over into ones
work life and vice versa.
Work-life balance is different for every individual in different stages of life. An individual
who is fresh out from college and single would have a different notion of work-life balance
compared with an individual who may be single but have certain obligations to his/her
family and again different for a married individual with kids, more so for single parents.
According to Johnson (2005) the employees age, lifestyle, and the environment plays
important role in ones perception of work-life balance. The conflict between work and
family spheres is also considered especially when there is role conflict and strain (Friede and

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Ryan2005; Kossek and Lambert 2005); added to this is the productivity requirements in the
workplace that often interferes with family responsibilities of individuals employed in sectors
relying heavily on shift work (Williams 2008).
Traditionally, temporal terms of employment have been determined unilaterally by the
employer according to their operational needs. In sectors with strong union representation,
employees may have been able to negotiate terms for working time, but its formal provision
was in the hands of employers. And this remains so, despite the right to request flexible
working introduced in 2005. There has been no formal expectation on employers to
accommodate to the out-of-work needs of employees. Any conflicts between work and home
were expected to be resolved in the private domains of the employee with minimal
interference to work. Management attitudes toward work-life conflicts can be surprisingly
resistant to change.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Golden L,
2011 The Effects of Working Time on Productivity and Firm Performance: a research
synthesis
paper.
Retrieved
on
February
28,
2013
from
http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_protect/---protrav/--travail/documents/publication/wcms_187307.pdf
Jones, F., Burke, R. J., & Westman, M. (Eds.).
2013 Work-life balance: a psychological perspective. Psychology Press. Retrieved on
February 28, 2014 from
http://www.google.com.ph/books?
id=aJ8x0pvzM1MC&dq=Work+life+balance+2013&lr=&source=gbs_navlinks_s
Baos M.
2013 Cagayan de Oro sparks Region X as Most Competitive City in the Philippines.
November 10, 2013 Issue. Retrieved on February 28, 2014 from http://www.kagayan.com/cagayan-de-oro-sparks-region-x-as-most-competitive-city-in-the-philippines/
Taylor, R.
2002 The future of work-life balance. ESRC Publications. Retrieved on Feb 28, 2014 from
http://societytoday.net/_images/future_of_work_life_balance_tcm8-13554.pdf
Gregory, A. and Milner, S.
2009 Editorial: Worklife Balance: A Matter of Choice?. Gender, Work & Organization,
16: 113. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-0432.2008.00429.x Retrieved on February 28, 2013
from
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130401151715/https://www.education.g
ov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/RR249.pdf
.
Syed Shabib, u. H. (2011). Work life balance, stress, working hours and productivity: A case
study of fashion retailers in the UK. Journal of European Studies, 27(2) Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/1038333735?accountid=139409

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Manuel Curita M., Ramos Racquel. (2002). Work Organization and Work Life Balance In
The Bpo Sector The Experiences Of Selected Bpo Workers In Metro Manila Updated. Retrieved from
http://www.byteboss.com/view.aspx?
id=90962&name=Work+Organization+and+WorkLife+Balance+in+the+BPO+Sector+the+Experiences+of+Selected+BPO+Workers+in+Metro+Manila_Updated
SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE
Adapted from http://www.citehr.com/449290-work-life-balance-questionnaire.html Work Life
Balance questionnaire and revised for the purpose to fit in for this research paper.
Name:
1. Age of respondent:
a. 18 below
b. 19-25 years old
c. 26-39 years old
d. 40 and above.
2. How much is your monthly salary?
a. 10,000 below
b. 12,000-15,000
c. 16,000-18,000
d. 19,000 and above.
3. Educational Attainment
a. College Graduate
b. Master Degree
c. Board Exam Passer (CPA)
d. Doctoral
4. How many dependents do you have?
a. None
b. 1
c. 2
d. 3 and above
5. How would you describe your working habits?

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a. Slacker
b. Hard-worker
c. Active
6. How long do you stay at work?
a. Less than 8 hours
b. 8 hours
c. 9 hours
d. 10 hours and above
7. How often do you work overtime?
a. Once a week
b. Twice a week
c. Three to Four times a week
d. Everyday
8. In a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your productivity at work?
a. 6 below
b. 7
c. 8
d. 9 above
9. How long have you been working with the bank?
a. Less than a year
b. 1-5 years
c. 5-10 years
d. More than 10 years
10. How important is your social life for you?
a. Very Important
b. Important
c. Neutral
d. Unimportant
e. Very Unimportant

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Productivity Questionnaire
We are interested in how you believe you perform on the job. Please answer
the following questions. Thank you, we appreciate your feedback.

Productive time spent working

on the tasks assigned to me.
Almost all of the time

Most of the
time
Half of the
time
1/4th of the
time
less than 1/4th of the
time

I meet the target qoutas and goals.

Strongly Disagree
Somewhat Disagree
Neutral
Somewhat Agree
Strongly Agree
N/A

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Overall productivity in getting the job done

Excellent

Good
Average
Below average
Poor

Going beyond what is

expected of me to make
customers happy

Yes, I always do so
Yes, occasionally
I work as much as is
expected of me
I work less than what is
expected of me

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I respond quickly and courteously to fulfill customers' needs

Strongly Disagree
Somewhat Disagree
Neutral
Somewhat Agree
Strongly Agree

The
ove
rall
qua
lity
of
ser
vice
tha
tI
pro
vid
e
is:

Excellent

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Good
Average
Below average
Poor

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