International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology

Vol 29, No. 9s, (2020), pp. 165-173

Work Life Balance Among Married Female Nursing Employees In

Hospital Industries With Special Reference To Nabh Accredited Hospital
At Kottayam District - Kerala State
Nainu Pareekshith,
M.Phil. Commerce and Management
Dr. N. Ajithkumar
Assistant Professor
Department of Commerce and Management
Amrita School of Arts and Science Kochi,
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham

Abstract
The term “Work Life Balance” (WLB) is widely used across the globe in almost all the sectors.
Efficient way of managing one’s Profession/work, Family and personal wellbeing determines the
positive work life balance of an individual. Success of every organization depends on its employees.
Organization has understood that they can positively influence its employees by creating inclusive
Work Life Balance.Several studies show that when Work Life Balance is positive, an individual will be
able to contribute his best towards the work, family and his/her self needs. Health industry in India is
growing at swift pace and majority of the work forces are contributed by women. As per the NITI
Aayog’s second edition of “Health States, Progressive India” report, Kerala as a state is one of the
front-runners in Health sector as a whole. National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare
Providers (NABH) is a constituent board of quality control of India, set up to establish and operate
accreditation programme for health care organization.Through this research paper, study was made
on Work life balance of married female nurses working in NABH accredited hospitals at Kottayam
district (Kerala State – India). Demographic factors mainly Age, Qualification, Experience and
Number of Children were considered as Dependent variables and Work Life Balance as Independent
Variable. All the three NABH accredited hospitals of Kottayam were considered for the study with the
total sample size of 100 married female nurses.Questionnaire was used for data collection and first
hand data were made for data analysis by using SPSS software with the help of multiple linear
regression method and T - test. The association of the Dependent Variables were assessed with the
Work life balance of the nurses. The results of the study showed that demographic factors like
Qualification and Number of Children has a direct relationship with the work life balance of the
nurses whereas Age and Experience has no association between the work life balance.
Keywords: WLB, NABH, Female nurses, Demographic factors.
Introduction
Indian culture predominantly considered its women as a class whose prime responsibilities are
home keeping, raising children etc. which was limited to the walls of their families. Since then, the
time has evolved and Indian women are empowered in various areas and pioneering in different
sectors. Ever increasing cost of living, urbanization and changes in the social environment has
forced multiple incomers in families for meeting their needs for their well-being.

Work life balance is a narrow line of balancing the priorities and importance between one’s personal
and professional pathway, which is highly co-related in all aspects. It is a broad concept, where its
level varies from individual to individual according to their priorities over personal and professional
life. Allocating time and energy for their professional role and personal life is challenging and difficult
to manage the end requirements. Owing to the multiple roles they perform; it is affecting the mental
and physical health of some of the working women.
Indian health care industry is growing in high pace and the majority of the work force is contributed
by female nurses. The nature of job of nurses involves various factors like night shift, extended shifts,
fewer breaks and work pressure. They interact with different types of people at work such as

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 International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology
Vol 29, No. 9s, (2020), pp. 165-173

criminals, mentally retarded, stressed people etc. The low payment in the industry along with the
highly demanding target gives them more pressure in the professional environment. In addition to
that, like any other industry or sector they are prone to workplace stress. The time after their work
shifts is loaded them with responsibilities of parenting, taking care of spouse, and home keeping work
and thus multi-tasking becomes challenging. These factors have the potential to affect the work life
balance. This research report is engrossed on the various aspects of work life balance of nurses
working in the NABH accredited hospitals located at Kottayam district.
Research problem
The married women working in health care industries in nursing profession are facing difficulty in
sustaining their work life balance due to the innumerable challenges they face while fulfilling their
professional and personal responsibilities. Owing to the challenges they face it is indispensable to
study the imbalance in the work life balance and resultant stress and the stress related ailments and
measures to overcome them.
Objectives
1. To study the socio-demographic profile of the married working female nurses of NABH
hospitals at Kottayam district and their Work Life Balance
2. To examine the stress related issue resultant to poor work life balance of married working
women in the NABH hospitals at Kottayam district
Research Methodology
The Research design proposed for the study is “Descriptive” type of research service and involved
married female nurses as the respondents. The sample of this research was made up of 3 NABH
accredited hospital nurses across Kottayam district of Kerala state. Total of 100 samples were selected
using Purposive sampling technique. Data collected using primary method through questionnaire and
the responds have been analysed through multiple linear regression and T – test with the help of
statistical package for social science (SPSS).

The independent variables used in this research were individual factors, namely qualification, work
experience, Age and the number of children. The dependent variable employed was the struggle of
managing Work Life Balance.
Hypothesis
Ho : there is no significant association between socio-demographic factors and
corresponding work life balance.
H1 : there is a significant association between socio-demographic factors and corresponding
work life balance.
Ho : there is no significant relation between age and work life balance.
H1 : there is a significant relation between age and work life balance.
Ho : there is no significant relation between qualification and work life balance.
H1 : there is a significant relation between qualification and work life balance.
Ho : there is no significant relation between experience and work life balance.
H1 : there is a significant relation between experience and work life balance.
Ho : there is no significant relation between number of children and work life balance.
H1 : there is a significant relation between number of children and work life balance.
Literature Review

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 International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology
Vol 29, No. 9s, (2020), pp. 165-173

Enormous studies have addressed to work-life balance issue in different perspectives. Some of
the papers related to this subject are reviewed.
 Amstad et al. (2011) [1] – Toxic work environment creates disparity in work-life balance.
Non-supportive managers are also one of the reasons for creation of disproportion at work
place.
 Delecta, (2011) [2] - Work-life balance is an independent prodigy which varies from
person to person
 Munn (2009) [3] - Work-life balance is defined as a person who prioritizes their work,
family, individual, and community responsibilities. The means and way to prioritize
individual work, family, personal and community responsibilities are influenced by the
availability and knowledge of work-life initiatives as well as the organizational culture.
 Allen et al. [4] established that work and family are meticulously connected domains of
human LIFElife.
 Tomazevic, Kozjek, and Stare, (2014) [5] has illustrated the out-come resultant to the
balance and imbalance of Work-Life. There is co-relation between the one’s successful
career and personal life provided they are mastering the art of manging health work-life
balance.
 Raj.R, (2013) [6] Optimized functioning of an organization is dependent on the positive
work-life balance and any deviation will have an adverse effect.
 A.DAY (2010) [7] The approximate value of 50 percent nova scotia Canada region
reported different work conflicts and turnover issues and 25 percent of the Canada people
facing grater level of family and work conflicts.
 Lambert, Tucker-Gail and Baker (2010) [8] explaining the term work stress as the feeling
of the person in relating to the job-related stress, frustration, emotional distress, anxiety,
worry and tension.
Analysis and Interpretation
Multiple Liner Regression method has been used for the research analysis. Against 1
Dependent Variable, 4 Independent Variable has been used to find out whether there
exists any significant association between socio-demographic factors and corresponding
work life balance of Married Nurses who are working in NABH accredited hospitals
across Kottayam District of Kerala State.

Multiple Dependent variable: Do You Struggle In Managing Work Life Balance.

Independent variable: Socio-Demographic Factors [Age, Qualification, Experience, and Number of

children.]

(Table 1)

Model Sum of Squares Df Mean Square F Sig.

1 Regression 8.989 4 2.247 3.197 .016b
Residual 66.771 95 .703
Total 75.760 99
a. Dependent Variable: DO YOU STRUGGLE IN MANAGING YOUR WORK-LIFE BALANCE
b. Predictors: (Constant), NUMBER OF CHILDREN, QUALIFICATION, EXPERIENCE, AGE

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 International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology
Vol 29, No. 9s, (2020), pp. 165-173

(Table 2)

Standardized
Unstandardized Coefficients Coefficients
Model B Std. Error Beta
T Sig.
1 (Constant) .652 1.079 .604 .547
AGE .070 .048 .740 1.453 .149
QUALIFICATION -.275 .128 -.213 -2.154 .034
EXPERIENCE -.037 .045 -.418 -.821 .414
NUMBER OF
-.133 .124 -.113 -1.073 .286
CHILDREN
a. Dependent Variable: DO YOU STRUGGLE IN MANAGING YOUR WORK-LIFE
BALANCE
b. Predictors: (Constant), NUMBER OF CHILDREN, AGE, EXPERIENCE

Considered the significance Level at 5%, and basis the multiple variables used for the research,
Degree of Freedom (df) stands at 4. Plotting the responds using Two Tailed Test, resultant T – Value
is 2.776. From the above table (Coefficientsa), T – Value 2.776 is greater than 0.05 (5%), accept the
null hypothesis
1. Do You Struggle at Managing Your Work-Life Balance?
Chart : 1

The above shown (chart 1) illustrates the level of response made by the married female nurses. Out of
100 sample 53% of the nurses strongly agreed that they struggle to manage healthy work-life balance.
32% of the respondents agreed to the statement, 9% of the respondents were neutral with their
response and remaining 6% disagreed to the question.
2 Number of Children
Chart : 2

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 International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology
Vol 29, No. 9s, (2020), pp. 165-173

Basis 100 sample, 54% of the respondent has 2 children followed by 30% of the respondents with 1
child, 8% of population has 3 or more child and 8% of the respondents had no children. (Chart 2)
32% Responds with two children and overall, 50% of the responds with Children find it difficult to
manage the Work-Life Balance respectively (Reference from Appendix 1)
Basis analyzing constant (Do you struggle in managing work life balance.) with 1 variable (Number
of children) the df is 1. significance is 5% (0.05). p value 0.980 greater than 0.05 so we reject the null
hypothesis (Ho) that means there is a significant relation between sociodemographic factor (Number
of children) and corresponding work life balance.
3 Experience of Responds
Chart : 3

Experience of the respondents were classified under 6 frequency levels;

a) Between 0 to 6 years of experience
b) Between 7 to 12 years of experience
c) Between 13 to 18 years of experience
d) Between 19 – 24 years of experience
e) Between 25 – 30 years of experience
f) 30 years and above –
Experience level of 61% of the respondents are below 6 years. Experience level of 15% of the
nurses are between 18 to 24 years. Experience level of 10% of respondents are between 24-30
years. Experience level of 7% of respondents are between 12 to 18 years, 5% of the respondent’s
experience ranges between 6 to 12 years of frequency followed by meagre 2% of respondents
who are has more than 30 years of working experience. (chart 3)
 34% of the responds under 5 years of Experience “Strongly Agreed” that they find it
difficult to manage the Work-Life Balance
 Meagre 6% of the responds “Disagreed” to the statement “Do You Struggle to Manage
Work-Life Balance”
 Overall, 53% of the responds across freshers and experience category “Strongly Agreed”
that they find it difficult to manage the Work-Life Balance (Reference from Appendix
2)

Basis analyzing constant (Do you struggle in managing work life balance.) with 1 variable
(Experience) the df is 1 . significance is 5% (0.05). p value 0.0219 less than 0.05 so we accept the
null hypothesis (Ho) that means there is no significant relation between sociodemographic factor
(Experience) and corresponding work life balance.

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 International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology
Vol 29, No. 9s, (2020), pp. 165-173

4 Age of the Respondents

Chart 4

Age of the Responds

35
30
No. of Responds

25
20
15
10
5
0
21--25 26--29 30--33 34--37 38--41 42--45 46--49 49--53 54--57
Age Group

The above chart shows the age of the respondents accordingly.

32% of the responds are between the age category of 25 to 29 followed by 29% of respondents are
between the age of 21 to 25, 13% of responds are between 41 to 45 age group. 7% of the responds are
between 29 to 33 age groups, 6% of the responds are between 45 to 49 age group. 4% of responds are
between 37 to 41 and 33 to 37 years group respectively. 3% of the responds are between 49 to 53 age
group and 2% of the responds are between the 53 to 57 years age group category. (Chart 4)
 38% of the responds under 30 years of agree “Strongly Agreed” that they find it difficult
to manage the Work-Life Balance
 Overall, 53% of the responds across age category “Strongly Agreed” that they find it
difficult to manage the Work-Life Balance (Reference from Appendix 4)
Basis analyzing constant (Do you struggle in managing work life balance.) with 1 variable (Age) the
df is 1 significance is 5% (0.05) p value 0.013 less than 0.05 so we accept the null hypothesis (Ho)
that means there is no significant relation between sociodemographic factor(Age) and corresponding
work life balance
5. Qualification of the Respondents
Chart : 5

QUALIFICATION of the Respondents

GNM, 34 Msc NURSING, 15

Bsc NURSING
GNM
Msc NURSING

Bsc NURSING, 51

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Vol 29, No. 9s, (2020), pp. 165-173

Qualification table shows the qualification level of the responds. The qualification was classified
under 3 categories viz, M.sc Nursing, B.sc Nursing, and GNM (General Nursing) respectively. 51%
of the respondents have completed B.sc Nursing followed by 34% of responds have completed GNM
and only 15% of the responds have completed their Masters in Nursing. (Chart 5)

 29% of the Bsc. Nursing responds “Strongly Agreed” that they find it difficult to manage
the Work-Life Balance
 Irrespective of their Educational qualification, 53% of the responds “Strongly Agreed”
that they find it difficult to manage the Work-Life Balance (Reference from Appendix
3)
Basis analyzing constant (Do you struggle in managing work life balance.) with 1 variable
(Qualification) the df is 1. significance is 5% (0.05). p value 0.130 greater than 0.05 so we reject the
null hypothesis (Ho) that means there is a significant relation between sociodemographic factor
(Qualification) and corresponding work life balance
Findings and conclusion
Two tailed -test has been used to analyse the association of variables. The level of impact of socio-
demographic factors and work life balance of married female nurses was evaluated using the level of
significance and P- Value.
(Table:3)
SL.No Variables Df P- Value Accept/Reject
1. Struggle in WLB. 4 0.05 Accepted
2. Number of Children. 1 0.980 Rejected
3. Experience. 1 0.0219 Accepted
4. Age. 1 0.013 Accepted
5. Qualification 1 0.130 Rejected

From the above table (Table No3) Variables with value P-Value 0.05, 0.0219, 0.013. (1,3, &4) are
accepted as it proved that there is no significant relation between the variables with regards to WLB
of married female nurses in NABH hospitals. Basis considering all the demographic factors as single
variable it is proved that there is no significant relation between variables. When dependent variables
are individually analysed with the Independent Variable, Age and Experience of the Nurses has
positive relation with the Work Life Balance. The impact of the work Life Balance and socio-
demographic factors proves that there exists a certain level of influence which are directly related to
the Work Life Balance of the married female nurses.
APPENDIX.
Appendix 1
Number of Children
Responds Total Responds
0 1 2 3
Agree 3 13 13 3 32
Disagree 1 1 3 1 6
Neutral 1 1 6 1 9
Strongly Agree 3 15 32 3 53
Total Responds 8 30 54 8 100

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Vol 29, No. 9s, (2020), pp. 165-173

Appendix 2

Experience
Agree Disagree Neutral Strongly Agree
of Responds

0 - 6 Years 20 1 5 35
07 - 12 Years 1 0 0 4
13 - 18 Years 3 1 2 1
19 - 24 Years 5 2 1 7
25 - 30 Years 3 0 1 6
Above 30 Years 0 2 0 0
Total 32 6 9 53
Total Responds – 100

Appendix 3

Responds BSc. Nursing GNM MSc. Nursing Total Responds

Agree 15 10 7 32
Disagree 3 2 1 6
Neutral 4 2 3 9
Strongly Agree 29 20 4 53
Grand Total 51 34 15 100

Appendix 4

Responds
Age Group Total Responds
Agree Disagree Neutral Strongly Agree
21—25 8 1 1 19 29
26—29 10 0 3 19 32
30—33 4 0 2 1 7
34—37 2 1 0 1 4
38—41 0 1 1 2 4
42—45 4 1 1 7 13
46—49 4 0 0 2 6
50—53 0 0 1 2 3
54—57 0 2 0 0 2
Total Respondents
100

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 International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology
Vol 29, No. 9s, (2020), pp. 165-173

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