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1.1 INTRODUCTION Meaning Maintaining a balance between work life and personal life is called Work Life Balance. The meaning of work/life balance has chameleon characteristics. It means different things to different groups, and the meaning often depends on the context of the conversation and the speaker's viewpoint. The following are working definitions of terms used regarding work/life balance; some definitions overlap and some are continuing to evolve.
Work/family It is a term more frequently used in the past than today. The current trend is to use titles that include the phrase work/life, giving a broader work/life connotation or labeling referring to specific areas of support (e.g., quality of life, flexible work options, life balance, etc.)
Work/family conflict Work/family conflict is a push and pulls between work and family responsibilities.
Work/life balance from the employee viewpoint It is a dilemma of managing work obligations and personal/family responsibilities.
Work/life balance from the employer viewpoint Work/life is the challenge of creating a supportive company culture where employees can focus on their jobs while at work.
Family-friendly benefits The benefits that offer employees the latitude to address their personal and family commitments, while at the same time not compromising their work responsibilities.
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Work/life programs This programs (often financial or time-related) established by an employer that offer employees options to address work and personal responsibilities.
Work/life initiatives This policies and procedures established by an organization with the goal to enable employees to get their jobs done and at the same time provide flexibility to handle personal/family concerns.
Work/family culture It is the extent to which an organization's culture acknowledges and respects the family responsibilities and obligations of its employees and encourages management and employees to work together to meet their personal and work needs.
Indicators When you have balance you are
Satisfied with your work and home lives.
Able to fulfill your responsibilities without guilt or regret.
Healthy physically and emotionally.
In control of your life
Loss of balance may cause you to
Miss work more often and not be as productive at work.
Your involvement in the community may go down.
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Changing & Increasing work pressures A decade back, employees used to have fixed working hours or rather a 9 to 5 job from Monday to Friday. The boundary between the work and home has disappeared with time. But with globalization and people working across countries, the concept of fixed working hours is fading away. Instead of just 7 or 8 a day, people are spending as much as 12-16 hours every day in office. The technological blessings like e-mail, text messaging and cell phones which were thought of as tools to connect them to their work being away from their workplace, have actually integrated their personal and professional lives. Now professionals find themselves working even when they are on vacations. The ever-increasing working hours leave the individuals with less time for themselves and to pursue his hobbies or leisure activities. This hinders the growth of the person as an individual in terms of his personal and spiritual growth. Professionals working in the BPO industry, doctors and nurses and especially IT professionals are the few examples who are facing the brunt of the hazard constantly.
Reasons of imbalance: There are various reasons for this imbalance and conflicts in the life of an employee. From individual career ambitions to pressure to cope up with family or work, the reasons can be situation and individual specific. The speed of advancement of information technology, the increasing competition in the talent supply market has led to a "performance-driven" culture creating pressures and expectations to performance more and better every time. Also, many a times, many people find it difficult to say "NO" to others especially their superiors. They usually end up over burdening themselves with work. The increasing responsibilities on the personal front with age can also create stress on personal and professional fronts. There was a time when employees showed up for work Monday through Friday and worked eight- to nine-hour days. The boundaries between work and home were fairly clear then. But the world has changed and, unfortunately, the boundaries have blurred for many workers. The main reasons are:
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Global economy As more skilled workers enter the global labor market and companies outsource or move more jobs to reduce labor costs, people feel pressured to work longer and produce more just to protect their jobs.
International business Work continues around the world 24 hours a day for some people. If you work in an international organization, you might be on call around the clock for troubleshooting or consulting.
Advanced communication technology Many people now have the ability to work anywhere — from their home, from their car and even on vacation. And some managers expect this.
Longer hours Employers commonly ask employees to work longer hours than they're scheduled. Often, overtime is mandatory. If you hope to move up the career ladder, you may find yourself regularly working more than 40 hours a week to achieve and exceed expectations.
Changes in family roles Today‘s married worker is typically part of a dual-career couple, which makes it difficult to find time to meet commitments to family, friends and community.
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Effects Constant struggle and effort to maintain a balance between the work and personal life can have serious implications on the life of an individual. According to a survey, 81 per cent of the respondents have admitted that their jobs are affecting and creating stress in their personal lives. The pressures of the work or personal life can lead to stress. According to studies, it has been found to that such situation can take a toll on the person's health both physiologically and psychologically. Heart ailments, cardiovascular problems, sleep disorders, depression, irritability, jumpiness, insecurity, poor concentration and even nervous breakdowns are becoming common among the victims of such imbalance. Pressure, stress or tension in work life can lead to bad social life and vice versa.
Solutions Many experts have given different solutions to this problem. 1.
Time management is one of the best solutions which can help to reduce the 0imbalance between the personal and the work life of the employees. Prioritizing the tasks and planning the activities can help to take out some free time which can be utilized for other purposes.
2.
Taking some time out for hobbies and leisure activities, spending time with loved ones can help to beat the stress.
3.
Learn to say "no" if required.
4.
Sharing the responsibilities will help and don't commit for something which is practically impossible.
5.
Utilizing the flexible working hours option of the organizations to get some free time.
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Conclusion Juggling between the obligations towards the families and expectations of the organization and constant struggle to maintain a balance can work and have serious implications on the life of an individual. Therefore, it is important for employees to maintain a healthy balance between work and their private lives. This will help them achieve their personal and professional goals as well the organization they are working for.
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1.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY Primary objectives
To analyse how far the employees of Virtusa India Pvt.Ltd are able to maintain balance between their work life and personal life.
Secondary Objectives
To analyse factors contributing to work life balance of employees.
To study the factors which hinders work life balance and creates imbalances.
To suggest measures that should be concentrated to improve work life balance.
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1.3 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
People would like to have a neat balance of Work & Life. The scope of balancing both work and life by a person would be leading to good quality of life and an enjoyable work life and career progression.
Work and Life Balance will make a person to maintain the good health and affordable childcare and eldercare.
One can concentrate on their personal interests and voluntary work.
The balancing of work and life keep the persons away from pressurized mentality which in turn reflect in happier life and good productivity at work.
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1.4 NEED OF THE STUDY The present study concentrates deeply in ―Employee Work Life Balance‖ which refers to how the employees are balancing the work as well as life. The concept of ―Employee Work Life Balance‖ is flexible and elastic and differs widely with time, industry, social values, degree of industrialization, it is also moulded according to age-group, gender, social-culture, marital, economic status, and educational level of employees.
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1.5 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
Even though the concept of Organizational Commitment may be an universally applicable concept, by nature of present study, it has got only a limited scope with reference to the organization studied.
Further the researcher has limited the scope of the study only up to the conforming the association between personal
variables and organizational
commitment, even though the scope for higher level analysis is possible.
The busy work schedule of the employees was a constraint for the study.
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1.6 INDUSTRY PROFILE About IT Industry Information technology (IT), as defined by the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), is "the study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer-based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware.".IT deals with the use of electronic computers and computer software to convert, store, protect process, transmit, and securely retrieve information. Today, the term information technology has ballooned to encompass many aspects of computing and technology, and the term has become very recognizable. The information technology umbrella can be quite large, covering many fields. IT professionals perform a variety of duties that range from installing applications to designing complex computer networks and information databases. A few of the duties that IT professionals perform may include data management, networking, engineering computer hardware, database and software design, as well as the management and administration of entire systems. When computer and communications technologies are combined, the result is information technology, or "InfoTech". Information technology is a general term that describes any technology that helps to produce, manipulate, store, communicate, and/or disseminate information. Presumably, when speaking of Information Technology (IT) as a whole, it is noted that the use of computers and information are associated.
Features of the IT Industry at a Glance:
Economies of scale for the information technology industry are high. The marginal cost of each unit of additional software or hardware is insignificant compared to the value addition that results from it
Efficient utilization of skilled labor forces in the IT sector can help an economy achieve a rapid pace of economic growth.
The IT industry helps many other sectors in the growth process of the economy including the services and manufacturing sectors.
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Domain of IT industry: A wide variety of services come under the domain of the information technology industry. Some of these services are as follows:
Systems architecture
Database design and development
Networking
Testing
Documentation
Maintenance and hosting
Operational support
Security services
KEY ATTRIBUTES ENABLING IT SECTOR IN A COUNTRY:
A stable and open business environment that encourages competition It goes without saying that for the IT industry to thrive; private property must be sacrosanct, competition and investment from all quarters welcomed, and regulation transparent and well-balanced. The best performers are also striving to inject more flexibility into their labor markets, making it easier for firms to hire or fire workers.
Advanced IT and communications infrastructure IT producers themselves need good technology to excel. A country‘s firms must be well endowed with computer hardware and have reliable high-speed Internet access. US software firms, for example, make enormous use of the country‘s fast and secure network infrastructure to develop new applications with partners. IT firms are also pacesetters in the use of wireless and mobile technologies to improve productivity.
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IT talent and skills development geared to the future The supply of talent for the IT industry is growing increasingly tight. Even firms in the US—which remains a magnet for talented science and engineering students from overseas—are feeling the pinch. This is because skill requirements for IT specialists are changing. Universities in only a few countries have begun to orient technology training to the new demands.
Robust protection of intellectual property rights Protection of IPR, and recognition of its importance to innovation, is entrenched in the legal regimes of the US, Western Europe and other OECD countries. Their governments and courts also enforce IPR laws vigorously. Progress is more mixed in developing a legal framework for online business; as ardent users of the Web to conduct business, IT firms have much to lose if the right balance between protection and openness is not found.
Strong support for innovation East Asian economies are prolific generators of patents, and along with the US they are noteworthy for high levels of private-sector investment in R&D, which is integral to product and service innovation in the IT sector. Strong university-industry ties in research, along with a culture of risk taking, are also important elements of a supportive innovation environment for IT.
Carefully calibrated government support Most governments desire a strong IT sector. Many provide direct and indirect forms of support, but few have found the right formula to encourage sector growth without picking winners or introducing market distortions.
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IT INDUSTRY IN INDIA: Indian IT industry has built up valuable brand equity for itself in the global markets. IT industry in India comprises of software industry and information technology enabled services (ITES), which also includes business process outsourcing (BPO) industry. India is considered as a pioneer in software development and a favorite destination for ITenabled services. The origin of IT industry in India can be traced to 1974, when the mainframe manufacturer, Burroughs, asked its India sales agent, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), to export programmers for installing system software for a U.S. client. The IT industry originated under unfavorable conditions. Local markets were absent and government policy toward private enterprise was hostile. The industry was begun by Bombay-based conglomerates, which entered the business by supplying programmers to global IT firms located overseas. During that time Indian economy was state-controlled and the state remained hostile to the software industry through the 1970s. Import tariffs were high (135% on hardware and 100% on software) and software was not considered an "industry", so that exporters were ineligible for bank finance. Government policy towards IT sector changed when Rajiv Gandhi became Prime Minister in 1984. His New Computer Policy (NCP-1984) consisted of a package of reduced import tariffs on hardware and software (reduced to 60%), recognition of software exports as a "delicensed industry", i.e., henceforth eligible for bank finance and freed from license-permit raj, permission for foreign firms to set up wholly-owned, export-dedicated units and a project to set up a chain of software parks that would offer infrastructure at below-market costs. These policies laid the foundation for the development of a world-class IT industry in India. Today, Indian IT companies such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro, Infosys, and HCL etc. all are renowned in the global market for their IT prowess.
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Major factors played for India's emergence as key global IT player are Indian Education System The Indian education system places strong emphasis on mathematics and science, resulting in a large number of science and engineering graduates. Mastery over quantitative concepts coupled with English proficiency has resulted in a skill set that has enabled India to reap the benefits of the current international demand for IT. High Quality Human Resource Indian programmers are known for their strong technical and analytical skills and their willingness to accommodate clients. India also has one of the largest pools of English-speaking professionals. Competitive Costs The cost of software development and other services in India is very competitive as compared to the West. Infrastructure Scenario Indian IT industry has also gained immensely from the availability of a robust infrastructure (telecom, power and roads) in the country.
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1.7 COMPANY PROFILE Introduction Virtusa Corporation (NASDAQ: VRTU) is an information technology services company headquartered at Massachusetts, USA. The company provides IT Consulting, Systems Implementation and Application Outsourcing services to Global 2000 enterprises and software vendors. The company, founded in 1996, has offices and delivery centers in U.S., U.K., India, Sri Lanka and Netherlands.
Purpose, vision and mission Purpose The purpose is to make a qualitative difference to the lives of millions of people and organizations by harnessing the power of India and of the Internet. We will do this by empowering them with the potential of the Internet and by leveraging the capabilities of Indian Knowledge Resources. Vision The vision is to be the dominant and profitable India centric Internet Company by: – Building on India's unique advantages. –
Being the leader in terms of market share, quality, revenue, growth and gross margins.
– Adding value to our stakeholders: namely investors, customers, peers and associates. – Being enablers and catalysts of the Internet for positive change.
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Mission: – To be the partner of choice for corporation in creating competitive advantage through technology excellence – To create the best conditions for professional success and quality of life for all Virtusans – To be a socially conscious and responsible corporate citizen in all countries of operations. Virtusa Value Definition:
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Corporate history Virtusa was founded as ‗Software Solutions‘ in 1996 by as a software development company. The company started in one of the back rooms of founder, Kris Canekeratne‘s residence in Colombo, Sri Lanka with just three engineers Prasad Reddy, AdityaVardhan, Vinod Kumar.
In 1997, Software Solutions was renamed as ‗Technology Providers International‘ and was involved in outsourced object-oriented software design and development services.
In 1998 the company opened their head office in Westborough, Massachusetts and the company was incorporated as Technology Providers Inc. in the United States.
In 2000, during e-commerce trend, Technology Providers International was renamed ‗eRUNWAY Inc.‘ and offered eBusiness, Internet software development and systems integration services.
eRUNWAY was re-launched as ‗Virtusa Corporation‘ on April 22, 2002. The name Virtusa is derived from the Latin "virtus" meaning excellence. Virtusa went public on August 3, 2007 by listing on the NASDAQ exchange.
On November 5, 2009, Virtusa announced the acquisition of InSource,a technology consulting company with specialization in the Insurance and Healthcare industries. InSource is based in Hartford, Connecticut, USA and has approximately 50 employees.
In February 2010, the company acquired ConVista Consulting, LLC, a U.S.based, privately-held, market leader in finance transformation, specifically focusing on high volume collection, disbursement, claims and billing systems in BFSI.
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Milestone
1995: Founded as 'Software Solutions' in Colombo, Sri Lanka
1997: Renamed as Technology Providers International
1998: Opened office in Massachusetts, USA
2000: Technology Providers International was renamed as eRUNWAY, Inc.
2002: eRUNWAY was re-launched as 'Virtusa Corporation'
2004: Spearheaded the design and development of an open source system for disaster relief, Sahana in the wake of the 2004 Asian Tsunami. Sahana received the biggest award so far, the Free Software Foundation's award for the social benefit on the 24th of March 2007. The awards ceremony at the annual FSF meeting, held at MIT in U.S.A, where they received the award from the founder of the FSF, Richard Stallman. The award, which is only one of two awards given by the FSF each year, was inspired by Sahana a year ago. The recipient of last year's award was Wikipedia, and Sahana follows in its footsteps this year.
2007: Listed on NASDAQ under the symbol 'VRTU'
2008: Finalists 2008 U.S. Secretary of State‘s Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE)
2009: Announces the acquisition of InSource, a specialist technology consulting company.
2010: Announces the acquisition of ConVista Consulting, LLC,a U.S.-based, privately-held, market leader in finance transformation in BFSI
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Operations Virtusa provides technology solutions and services to Banking & Financial Services, Insurance, Communications and Technology and Media and Information. In addition to developing custom solutions for customers, the company offers services across Business Process Management (BPM), Enterprise Content Management (ECM) and Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence among others. The company uses a global delivery framework, through its delivery centers in India and Sri Lanka, to deliver solutions and services to its customers. Virtusa has partnerships with global software vendors including IBM, Microsoft, Pegasystems , Open Text and Oracle Corporation among others, to provide custom solutions and services in Business Process Management (BPM), Enterprise Content Management (ECM) and Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence.
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2.1 REVIEW OF LITERATURE The Work-Life Balance Concept The importance of managing an employee‘s WLB has increased markedly over the past 20 years (De Bruin & Dupuis, 2004). There have been changes in several areas that directly impact on this issue. Firstly, jobs have become more complex and employees have been put under pressure to produce quality results in shorter timeframes and with fewer resources (Hosie, Forster &Servatos, 2004) that has resulted in a redefinition of ‗normal working hours‘. Secondly, the demographic make-up of the labour force (i.e. gender, ethnicity, dual career couples, religion, multi-generational workplaces etc), and thirdly the very nature of the employment contract has necessitated that organisations effectively manage their employee‘s wellbeing, stress and job satisfaction (Greenhaus& Powell, 2006).
Organisational interest in the management of the WLB derives from evidence that ―there is little doubt any more that there is a clear connection between the way people are managed and organisational performance‖ (Purcell, 2002:1), and that with the onset of predicted skill-shortages, the ability to offer effective WLB employment opportunities may become a source of competitive advantage. Ideally, the WLB concept requires organisations to effectively integrate employees‘ work and non-work roles such that levels of multiple-role conflict, and the associated stress and job-dissatisfaction, are minimised or avoided (De Bruin & Dupuis, 2004; Greenblatt, 2002). In attempts to achieve a WLB, however, western organisations have tended to adopt a limited set of policies such as on-site child-care facilities, on-site gymnasiums, telecommuting opportunities, and even on-site sleeping quarters for the employee and their family (Hacker &Doolen, 2003; Hyman & Summers, 2004). Each has attempted to increase the flexibility by which employees can enact their work-roles whilst simultaneously enabling them to enact their family-based roles to the minimum extent necessary.
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Issues in Work-Life Imbalance
Despite their best intentions, there remains considerable contention about the effectiveness of organisational WLB policies in delivering flexibility and reducing stress and job-dissatisfaction in the modern workplace (Eates, 2004; Kirrane& Buckley, 2004). Researchers have identified two empirical shortcomings within the WLB literature that have served to undermine its theoretical and practical usefulness. The first relates to the WLB literature‘s almost exclusive focus on the work-family interface at the expense of other important life-balance issues. Buzzanell et al, (2005) notes that the WLB literature typically portrays role conflicts for white, married, professional and managerial women, with little reference to the many other demographics represented in the modern organisation. Shorthose (2004) and Wise and Bond (2003) go so far as to state that the WLB discipline is essentially flawed, as it is ‗one-dimensional‘, assumes a unitary HR perspective, and that its underlying management has been one of maintaining the statusquo rather than the adoption of competitive and future-oriented HR policy. The second relates to the literature‘s inability to clearly define the interaction of work and non-work roles that impact employees‘ working-life (i.e. stress, job satisfaction etc.). Elloy and Smith (2004) and Spinks (2004), for example, state that because an individual‘s non-work roles are inherently ambiguous and idiosyncratic, organisations are incapable of understanding how their enactment (or otherwise) impacts each individual. Spinks (2004), in particular, suggests that organisations are either incapable (or unwilling) to understand their workforce in sufficient detail, and have instead defaulted to a ‗one-sizefits-all‘ policy regime that has simply enabled employees to ‗stay at work longer‘ rather than enable them to enact their important non-work roles. The inadequacy of current WLB policy regimes is highlighted by Kiger‘s (2005) study that revealed that less than two percent of employees actually participate in available WLB programs.
Dex and Smith (2002) cite two main causes for this low figure. The first relates to equity, with many employees reporting that they did not wish to appear a ‗special case‘ or to require ‗special treatment‘ to their colleagues. This is supported from the results of Waters &Bardoel‘s (2006) study that found a range of workplace cultural factors that reduced the willingness of Australian university staff to access WLB policy options.
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The second is that the wide range of policies adopted by organisations has been based on an ill-informed conceptualisation of contemporary WLB, and that this has led to its ineffective formalisation in HRM practices. The consequence for organisations not taking a more holistic approach to WLB is increased issues in attraction and retention of employees in the context of skills shortages in significant occupational groups. The work expectations of Generation X (born 1965 to 1979) and generation Y (born 1980 onwards) (Mackay, 1997) place higher importance on WLB than previous generations and these employees will be attracted to and remain longer with organisations that provide flexibility in accordance with individual employee expectations (Henry, 2005). There is evidence of an increase in women managers holding values and goals with greater emphasis on WLB who are opting to leave organisations and undertaking consulting or contracting work which can permit greater control of WLB conflict (Beck & Davis, 2005).
The contribution of the WLB literature, therefore, appears limited in its ability to provide a useful framework for both academics and practitioners alike (Hyman &Summers, 2004). Despite its name, the WLB literature has remained largely focused on the work-family interface and fails to accurately identify and define the array of work and non-roles that impact inter alia on an individual‘s stress levels and job satisfaction (Hacker &Doolen, 2003; Mellor, Mathieu, Barnes-Farrell &Rogelberg, 2001; Noor, 2004; Pocock, 2005). In order to overcome these issues, Elloy and Smith (2003: 63) suggest that an effective conceptualisation of the WLB requires: …an holistic approach to human resource management, which implies a greater awareness of the total context of worker’s daily lives, not just those hours they spend at work. Guest (1987, 1997 & 2002) suggests for the WLB literature to incorporate a holistic approach to HR management and better inform organisational HR policy development, its design and implementation should adopt the following four criteria:
That the WLB literature maintains a focus on the integration of HR policies with the organisations vision, goals and strategy. Central to this point is the consistency between the organisations espoused culture and the context of its WLB approach;
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That the implementation of WLB policies create a set of internally consistent employment polices intended to produce employee commitment, flexibility and quality – mutual flexibility and commitment being a cornerstone of the concept of a WLB programme;
That there is recognition of the importance of human resources and of the need to engage in practices which reflect this understanding. Therefore, managers internalising (and demonstrating by their behaviour) the importance of human resources is fundamental to the link between WLB goals and their achievement; and
That there is a response by employees to the WLB policies (i.e. an ‗up-take‘ of WLB opportunities by employees) and to the behaviour of the line managers (i.e. a recognition by employees that their superiors are committed to the achievement of a meaningful WLB).
Therefore, the degree to which employers can support the achievement (and benefits associated with) effective WLB/HR policy depends on two main considerations: the manner in which the WLB is defined and formalised within HR policy, and/or how managers respond to employee requests for WLB relief. In terms of its formalisation, organisations need to be aware of the extent to which WLB is operationalised– that is, whether it is to be regarded as a ‗right‘, a ‗right to request‘, or as a matter of managerial discretion. In terms of managerial responses, organisations need to decide whether to apply an authoritarian approach (i.e. ‗hard HR‘), a paternal approach (i.e. ‗benevolent‘), or a commitment (i.e. ‗Soft HR‘) approach to employee requests for WLB relief. It is this intersection between corporate culture, as enacted, in rituals and practices modelled by organisational leaders that set the tone for employees‘ responses to WLB initiatives. Where leaders work very long hours, tend to take little annual leave and then in small amounts, demand travel at short notice (Sinclair, 2005) and require employee availability at the leader‘s whim and wears these sacrifices as ‗badges on honour‘, it follows that employees are, at best, cautious in utilising WLB.
The achievement of an effective WLB-HR policy interface has largely failed in Australia given the issues discussed above, and an exploration of possible remedies represents the research opportunity for this paper.
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QUALITY OF WORK LIFE IN FOURRTS, CHENNAI: AN OUTLOOK FROM JEROME M.ROSOW’S PERCEPTION (2008) -by Prema Manoharan, 2010
The QWL is one of the aspects useful to retain resources. This approach considers people as ‗assets‘ to the organization rather than as ‗costs‘ and motivates people by satisfying not only their economic needs but also their social and psychological ones.
Quality of work life focuses on all aspects of workers‘ life and the satisfaction of the workforce in an organization. The definition of Jerome M Rosow, President of the Work in American Institute, about QWL is considered for the study. The identified seven critical factors which will affect the quality of work life-pay, employee benefits, job security, alternative work schedules, Occupational stress, participation and democracy in the workplace are studied.
Good health is the primary goal of the society and this study was done by researcher to find out whether a company in health care industry takes care of its employees too.
The researcher opted a descriptive study done among employees of FOURTTS, a firm in Pharmaceutical industry.
Questionnaires were used to collect the primary data and the statistical tools used are percentage analysis, chi-square test.
The sample size and the time limitation were the main constraints.
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EMPLOYEES MIRRORING ON QUALITY OF WORK LIFE- AN EMPIRICAL EVALUATION (2010) - by J.ARTHI & DR.KIRUPA, PRIYADARSHINI.M
In this paper researcher through light on Quality of work life (QWL) that has increasingly gained recognition, as employees want to feel respected at work for what they do and who they are. Today's business climate is increasingly characterized by rapid change and Fierce competition. Organizations must adapt to this environment if they are to survive and prosper. • Proactive managers and human resource departments respond to this challenge by finding new ways to improve productivity. As a goal, QWL aims to improve organizational effectiveness through the creation of more challenging, satisfying and effective jobs and work environments. • Here researcher projects the ideas from the research conducted in a selected organization and the consolidation of results reveal the major influential factors of QWL. • They also give a suggestive model to achieve favorable QWL environment in any organisation.
A WAY OF LIFE: JOB STRESS AND TURNOVER INTENTION (2008) -
by R.T.NIRMAL KUMAR, S.DEEPA and M.KEERTHIGA
In this paper the researcher focuses on the job stress. According to him, man's life today faces all sorts of challenges, obstacles that hamper normal functioning and most of the time it is too hard to handle. In a nut shell, stress is ubiquitous these days, becoming an increasingly global phenomenon affecting all countries, all professions and all categories of workers, families and society in general. It is a physical and mental response to everyday demands, particularly those associated with change.
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Stress is the change that drives the worker from normal psychological and physical condition (Behr and Newman, 1978).Stress takes heavy toll of the person‘s health and his capacity to adjust with others. They state about the few years‘ evidence has accumulated from around the world to show that the most Common cause of destructive ill health is stress at work. As a result of which, an individual faces many psychological as well as psychosomatic disorders. A stressful workplace is rarely a productive one. Therefore the researcher says that employers must develop stress management key to retain the existing employees in the workplace. As it, become very important for organizations to retain their employees, in today's competitive environment. This research helps to understand the relationship between job stress, Personality Characteristics and intent to leave employment, which aid administrators seeking to attract and retain employees.
QUALITY OF WORK LIFE IN TODAY’S ERA -
by DR. A. ARUMUGAM & K. SIVAGAMA SHUNMUGA SUNDARI(2009)
Here the researcher discusses about Quality of work life (QWL) denotes all the organizational inputs which aims at the employee's satisfaction and enhancing organizational effectiveness. It is referred to as favorable or unfavorable of the job environment for people. Many early QWL efforts focus on job enrichment. Researcher states that today QWL gives much concern about decent wages, convenient working hours, conducive working conditions etc. In a deeper sense, QWL refers to the quality life of individuals in their working organizations. QWL provides for the balanced relationship among work and non-work and family aspects of life. In this paper the researcher discusses several notable factors that influence QWL are adequate & fair compensation, safety and healthy working conditions, opportunity to use & develop human capabilities, opportunities for career growth etc. This study was carried out to find out the evolution of QWL and some ameliorative criteria for measuring QWL. It is concluded that there is vast change in QWL and to find out the latest changes in QWL.
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2.2 Research Methodology Research methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem. It is the scientific method of conducting a research.
It consists of defining the research
objectives, preparing the research design, determining the sample design, collecting the required data – its analysis, interpretation and finally drawing conclusions out of it and giving suggestions. Research Design The research design used for this study is Descriptive research. Universe The sample for this study is taken from Virtusa India Pvt.Ltd. Sampling Method The sampling method adopted by researcher is Non probability convenience sampling method. No. of Samples Among the total population of 1700, 125 samples has been taken for the research. Data Collection Method Primary and Secondary data were collected for carrying out research. (a) Primary Data Primary Data was collected by way of Questionnaire, using relevant variables related to this study. (b) Secondary Data Secondary data was collected from journals, company website, and relating to the company profile, industry profile and review of literature. Data Analysis Tools The tools used for analyzing data are frequency tables, Chi-square, Rank correlation, Friedman test, and one way Anova.
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3.1 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
TABLE No. 3.1.1 MARITAL STATUS OF THE RESPONDANCE
Opinion Single Married Total
Respondents 82 43 125
Percentage 65.6 34.4 100
CHART: 3.1.1 SHOWING MARITAL STATUS OF THE RESPONDANCE 82
90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
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Single Married
Interpretation: The above table shows that 65.6% are single and 34.4% are married in the organization.
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TABLE No. 3.1.2 SHOWING THE NEGATIVE ATTITUDES OF PEERS AND COLLEAGUES AT WORK PLACE
Opinion Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree Total
Respondents 4 40 17 38 26 125
Percentage 3.2 32 13.6 30.4 20.8 100
CHART: 3.1.2 SHOWING THE NEGATIVE ATTITUDES OF PEERS AND COLLEAGUES AT WORK PLACE Strongly Disagree
26
Disagree
38
Neutral
17
Agree
40
Strongly Agree
4 0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Interpretation: The above table shows that 3.2% strongly agrees, 32% of them are agree, 13.6% have the neutral opinion, 30.4% disagrees with this and 20.8% strongly disagree with the negative attitudes of peers and colleagues at work place.
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TABLE No. 3.1.3 SHOWING THE RESPONSES FOR TRAINING/MEETING AFTER OFFICE HOURS
Opinion Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree Total
Respondents 0 3 25 84 13 125
Percentage 0 2.4 20 67.2 10.4 100
CHART: 3.1.3 SHOWING THE RESPONSES FOR TRAINING/MEETING AFTER OFFICE HOURS 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
84
25 13 0
3
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Interpretation: The table infers that 2.4% of them agree, 20% have a neutral opinion, 67.2 disagrees and10.4% strongly disagrees with the Training/Meeting after office hours.
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TABLE No. 3.1.4 SHOWING THE RESPONSES FOR RIGHT REMUNERATION FOR THEIR WORK
Opinion Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree Total
Respondents 12 11 91 11 0 125
Percentage 9.6 8.8 72.8 8.8 0 100
CHART: 3.1.4 SHOWING THE RESPONSES FOR RIGHT REMUNERATION FOR THEIR WORK 90
84
80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
20 16
2 Strongly Agree
3 Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Interpretation: The above table infers that 9.6% strongly agree, 8.8% agree, 72.8% are neutral, 8.8% disagrees with the remuneration that they are getting for their work.
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TABLE No. 3.1.5 SHOWING THE RESPONSES TO WORK IN NIGHT SHFITS TO EARN MORE
Opinion Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree Total
Respondents 22 74 15 3 11 125
Percentage 17.6 59.2 12 2.4 8.8 100
CHART: 3.1.5 SHOWING THE RESPONSES TO WORK IN NIGHT SHFITS TO EARN MORE Strongly Disagree
3
Disagree
16
Neutral
84
Agree
20
Strongly Agree
2 0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Interpretation: The table shows that 17.6% strongly agree, 59.2% agree, 12% are neutral, 2.4% disagrees and 8.8% strongly disagrees to work in Night Shifts to earn more.
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TABLE No. 3.1.6 SHOWING THE RESPONSES TO WORK INDIVIDUALLY IN THEIR WORK ASSIGNED TO THEM
Opinion Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree Total
Respondents 2 20 84 16 3 125
Percentage 1.6 16 67.2 12.8 2.4 100
CHART: 3.1.6 SHOWING THE RESPONSES TO WORK INDIVIDUALLY IN THEIR WORK ASSIGNED TO THEM
3
Strongly Disagree
16
Disagree Neutral
84 20
Agree 2
Strongly Agree 0
20
40
60
80
100
Interpretation: The table shows that1.6% strongly agrees, 16% agrees, 67.2% are neutral, 12.8% disagrees and 2.4% strongly disagrees to work individually in their work assigned to them.
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Statistical Tools Chi Square for Age and Flexible Work hours Null Hypothesis: There is no association between Age and flexible work hours. Alternate Hypothesis: There is association between Age and flexible work hours.
Case Processing Summary Cases Valid N Age * Flexible Work 125 Hours
Missing Percent
N
Percent
N
Percent
85.6%
21
14.4%
146
100.0%
Age * Flexible Work Hours Cross tabulation Count Flexible Work Hours Not Provided provided Age
Total
Total
20-25 57
24
81
26-30 18
5
23
31-35 4
5
9
36-40 7
5
12
39
125
86
Total
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Chi-Square Tests
Value
Degree Assumption. of Significance. freedom (2-sided)
Pearson Chi-Square
4.152a
3
.246
Likelihood Ratio
3.976
3
.264
Linear-by-Linear Association
1.380
1
.240
N of Valid Cases 125 a. 2 cells (25.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 2.81.
Symmetric Measures
Nominal by Nominal N of Valid Cases
Contingency Coefficient
Value
Approx. Sig.
.179
.246
125
Inference In examining the observed cell frequencies it can be concluded that the Pearson chi-square value 4.152 in a significance of .246 is well above the alpha level of .05.so there is no significant association between age and flexible work hours.
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Friedman Test for Monetary and Non-Monetary Benefits The variables that is chosen for the Friedman test is PAY
Null Hypothesis There is no significant difference in relationship between monetary and Nonmonetary benefits and right pay. Alternate Hypothesis There is significant difference in relationship between monetary and Non-monetary benefits and right pay.
Ranks Are you getting paid rightly for your work
Mean Rank 1.75
Monetary benefits offered by the firm is 2.58 equivalent to other firms in the same industry Non-monetary benefits offered by the firm is 1.67 equivalent to other firms in the same industry Test Statistics Numbers Chi-Square Degree of Freedom Assumption Significance
125 79.654 2 .000
Inference The result of Friedman test indicates there is significant difference between monetary and non-monetary benefits in reaction to getting paid rightly for both, p<.05 and that non-monetary benefit has close association with getting paid rightly for work.
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Correlation for Stress related Disease and Long Working Hours To know the correlation between stress related disease and long working hours
Null Hypothesis There is no relationship between long working hours and stress related disease. Alternate Hypothesis There is relationship between long working hours and stress related disease.
Correlations Stress Related Disease Stress Related Disease 1 Pearson Correlation
Long Working Hours .102 .259
Sig. (2-tailed) 125 Number Long working hours .102 Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed)
.259
Number
125
125 1
125
Inference There is perfect relationship between long working hours and stress related disease as Pearson correlation is .102 and alternate hypothesis is accepted.
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One Way ANOVA for Gender and Stress Related Diseases To analyse the stress related diseases by gender wise.
Null Hypothesis There is no significant difference between gender and stress related disease. Alternate Hypothesis There is significant difference between gender and stress related disease.
ANOVA Gender
Between Groups Within Groups Total
Sum of Degree of Squares Freedom
Mean Square
Frequency
Significance
.383
4
.096
.377
.825
30.529
120
.254
30.912
124
Inference There is no significant difference between gender and stress related disease as the level of significance is more than 0.05
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Chi Square for Age and Stress related Disease The Variables that is chosen are Age and Stress related disease Case Processing Summary Cases Valid N Age * Stress Related 125 Disease
Missing
Total
Percent
N
Percent
N
Percent
85.6%
21
14.4%
146
100.0%
Frequent Diabetes Headaches
None
Total
Age * Stress Related Disease Cross tabulation Count Stress Related Disease Hypertension Obesity Age
Total
20-25 16
8
3
47
7
81
26-30 4
2
0
15
2
23
31-35 0
1
4
3
1
9
36-40 0
2
5
3
2
12
13
12
68
12
125
20
Chi-Square Tests
Value
Degree Assumption of Significance. Freedom (2-sided)
Pearson Chi-Square
38.095a
12
.000
Likelihood Ratio
33.643
12
.001
Linear-by-Linear Association
.335
1
.563
N of Valid Cases
125
a. 13 cells (65.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is .86.
41
Symmetric Measures
Nominal by Nominal N of Valid Cases
Contingency Coefficient
Value
Approx. Sig.
.483
.000
125
Inference In examining the observed cell frequencies it can be concluded that the Pearson chi-square value 38.095 in a significance of .000 is well above the alpha level of .05.so there is no significant relationship between age and stress related disease.
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3.2 FINDINGS OF THE STUDY
As per the analysis there is no relationship between the age of the employees and flexible working hours.
The employees are getting paid rightly for their work both monetarily and non monetarily.
The employees due to their long working hours are being affected by stress related diseases.
There is no relation between the gender and the stress related diseases.
According to the study, the stress related diseases are no way related to the age of the employees.
73% of the respondents are neutral in saying that they receive right remuneration for their work.
67% of the respondents disagree that they have to stay after office hours to attend training/meeting 20% are neutral and 10% disagree with that.
67.2% of the respondents agree that they work individually to complete the work assigned to them.
77% of the respondents agree that they work in night shifts to earn more.
51.2% of the respondents disagree that they have negative attitude towards peers and colleagues at work place whereas 35.2% of the respondents agrees the same.
44.8% of the respondents are male and 55.2% of them are female.
13.7% of the respondents are finished their Bachelor degree, 50.7% of the respondents are post graduate, and 21.2% of the respondents are professionals.
34.4% of the respondents are single and 65.6 % of them are married.
55.2% of the respondents are in nuclear family were as 44.8% are in joint family.
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3.3 SUGGESTION OF THE STUDY
The organization can give flexible working hours to their employees in the organization and hence they can get relaxed for their next day.
Fun at work can be encouraged to keep the employees relaxed at work.
The gender has no way relation with the stress but still facilities and other compensation can be provided to the female workers.
Organization should conduct stress relieving programs like yoga and meditation for the employees regularly in order to reduce the stress level.
Sessions on time management, work planning can be provided to employees by their managers.
By creating a friendly circumstance within the organization, the employees would enjoy working with their colleagues not considering the age or gender.
Work can be shared among team mates in order to complete the tasks on or before time. This will not be a burden for an individual employee.
Employees should be satisfied by providing their appraisal/bonus/incentives on time which will make them happy at work in turn they will lead their life happily.
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3.4 CONCLUSION
The study was conducted in Virtusa India private limited, Chennai, on the topic Work Life Balance. Based on the study conducted the following conclusions were drawn. It was found that, even though most of the employees are of the age below 25, they suffered from stress related diseases. Most of the employees have problems concerning fixed working hours. The employees at Virtusa get two days off in a week still they are not able to spend quality time with their family because of work pressure. Work life balance of employees can be enhanced by considering the above suggestions.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY: Mamoria C B & Gankar S V (2004), ―Personnel Management‖, Himalaya Publishing House. P Nick Blanchard and James W Thacker (2008), ―Work life balance, Strategies, and Practices‖, Prentice Hall. Micheal Armstrong (1996), ―A Hand Book of Personnel Management Practice‖, Kogan Page Ltd. DR.S. Shajahan (2004), ―A Hand Book of Research Methods for Management‖, Jaico Pub House. P.R. Vittal& V. Malini (2004), ―A Hand Book of Statistical & Numerical Methods‖, Margham Publications. Robert L. Mathis Jhon H. Jacjson (2006), ―A Hand Book of Human Resource Management‖, Kogan Page Business Books.
ARTICLES: Rameesha Kalra & Monika Bhatia, Lecturers School of Management - Ansal Institute of Technology, Gurgaon
WEBSITES: www.google.co.in/human resources/work and life www.citehr.com/balancing work and life www.hrfolks.com/studyonworkandlife www.virtusa.com/aboutus/company-overview.asp
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Questionnaire
Demographic 1) Name(Optional) : 2) Age
:
3) Gender
:
Male Female
4) Education Qualification :
Degree Post graduate Professionals Others
5) Marital Status :
Single Married
6) If married employment details of Spouse:
Private Government Business Professional
7) Family Type:
Nuclear Joint
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8) If yours is a joint family, please answer the following: i)
Details of dependent adults
Gender
Relationship
Age
ii) Who takes care of your children when you come to work?
Baby sitter
Child care center
In-laws/Parents
iii) Time spent on family chores in a day
Less than 2 hours
2 to 4 hours
More than 4 hours
iv) Time spent with children in a day
Less than 2 hours
2 to 4 hours
More than 4 hours
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v) Who has primary responsibility in taking care of the following cases Responsibility
Self
Parents/In-laws
Child care Elder care Caring for sick child Caring for disabled child Caring for disabled adult Caring for sick adult
9) If yours is a Nuclear family answer the following questions: i) Who takes care of your children?
ii)
Child care Centre
In-laws/Parents
Time spent on family chores in a day
Less than 2 hours
2 to 4 hours
More than 4 hours
iii) Time spent with children in a day
Less than 2 hours
2 to 4 hours
More than 4 hours
House help
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Managing Work Life Give your response how you manage to have balance between work and life. 10) Please tick the relevant option that you look for to manage stress? Yoga Meditation Entertainment Dance Music
11) Which of the following work –Life- Balance Initiatives are provided by your organization? Work –life Balances Initiatives
Not Provided Provided
Flexible working hours Working from home Technology like cell phones/laptops Career break Time off for family engagements/events On-site child care Family leave policies Elder care initiatives Time off for over time Child care consultation and counseling
12) Do you suffer from any stress-related disease? Hypertension Obesity Diabetes Frequent headaches None
50
Give your response about how do you balance your work life in a scale of Strongly Agree to Strongly Dis-agree.
5. Please state your level of agreement for the following statements Strongly Agree (SA), 4. Agree (A), 3. Neutral (N), 2.Dis-agree (D), 1. Strongly disagree (SD)
SA 13
Long working hours
14
Compulsory overtime
15
Shift work
16
Frequently travelling away from home
17 18
Negative attitudes of peers and colleagues at work place Meetings/training after office hours
19
Are you getting paid rightly for your work
20
To earn more do you work in night shifts
21
To avail the shift allowance do you change your work shift Monetary benefits offered by the firm is equivalent to other firms in the same industry Non-monetary benefits offered by the firm is equivalent to other firms in the same industry Performance appraisal done by your superior provides you any added advantage(e.g. hike in salary, promotion) Can you perform the job assigned to you individually
22 23 24
25 26 27 28
The expectation of your higher-ups leads to more stress in work when you are loaded with more work how do you manage with that Satisfactory performance of any job depends on physical fitness
A
N
D
SD
51
29
Job assigned is interesting that gives joy/fun at work
30
when discussions made by superior you have chance to give your opinion The training offered during probation period makes you feel secure in your job The job that you have chosen is right choice for your future The employer makes you feel secured in your job
31 32 33 34 35 36
Among your tight schedule are you able to look after the welfare of your family members The time that is spent with your family members is adequate Look more for holiday trips to spend with your family
Thank You for your time.
