Work-Life Balance: The Role of HRM in Organizations

Introduction

Human resources management comes with massive demands, chiefly because it involves dealing with people — a task that is complex in itself. To enhance organizational growth, satisfaction on the part of the workforce is crucial. This is a necessity that human resources departments in organizations must grapple with on a day-to-day basis through the initiation and implementation of strategies for achieving worker satisfaction and overall performance (Frame & Hartog, 2003). Creating room for work-life balance constitutes one of the mechanisms that employers use in achieving this goal (Clutterbuck, 2003).

Work-life balance is a concept whose relevance in organizations — and especially in a world of advancing technology — carries considerable weight. It brings numerous benefits to both parties in the business environment (Ehnert, 2009). The concept encompasses a wide range of practices, including home office arrangements, five-day work weeks, leave programs, and flexible hours, among others. Additionally, organizations across the globe have implemented these practices in accordance with specific standards required at the global level. Work-life balance involves a number of players, all of whom are affected directly or indirectly when the phenomenon is practically implemented — most significantly by the Human Resources Management sector, whose role in the process is widespread (Weese & Tucholka, 2007).

Concept of Work-Life Balance

According to David Clutterbuck (2003), work-life balance is a notion that relates to the support human resources provide, with a view to helping individuals divide their energies and time between work and other important life activities. This is a phenomenon that takes place on a day-to-day basis in the lives of employees and that also materializes with the support of employers. It can best be defined as the aspect of prioritizing between lifestyle and career, and it encompasses maintaining some balance between those two features of life. This feature includes other activities alongside compensated work, such as unpaid work including household chores, leisure time, community interactions, family commitments, and personal development, just to mention a few (Cascio, 2010).

Erica Chick and the American Society for Training and Development, in their publication Fundamentals of Work-Life Balance: Career Development, demonstrate that work-life balance covers features associated with enhancing a more productive work culture. According to the authors, the concept helps minimize the possibilities of pressure that can occur between career and other activities in individuals' lives. It translates to employers putting in place proper employment provisions, in addition to instituting supportive management and functional organizational structures (Chick & American Society for Training and Development, 2004). For any individual who possesses the appropriate blend of contribution in paid work and other activities, this feature becomes quite practical in their lives, along with its various dimensions as time progresses (Weese & Tucholka, 2007).

In a world where technological advances are witnessed on almost a daily basis, pressure within organizations — and thus on their employees — is inevitable (Duxbury, Higgins, & Coghill, 2003). This has not only affected organizations and employees but has also extended to the family units from which these employees come. As workers strive to beat competition and increase productivity, their efforts are likely to prove futile if no proper measures of creating balance are instituted (Frame & Hartog, 2003). Many have chosen to ignore the demands of family members and other relations in the name of earning a living and providing a comfortable standard of living for them. The instability that this has caused in the contemporary world is of considerable magnitude, and without the application of work-life balance, a solution to these problems becomes elusive (Frame & Hartog, 2003). Companies that practice work-life balance have reported an increase in happier employees, thanks to the improved relationships they have with their families.

IKEA's Glasgow store is one organization whose commitment to enhancing the physical well-being of employees is highly commendable. In addition to facilitating part-time programs for more than 67 percent of its over 480 employees, the organization takes serious consideration of employee convenience in connection with the implementation of part-time systems (Maxwell, 2009). On a job application to the organization, preferences regarding the mode of part-time work are left solely to the applicant to decide. This has helped cultivate a sense of autonomy among workers and has consequently established a culture of energy, interest, and commitment among staff members. Health promotion at this organization goes beyond part-time programs; it also extends to direct initiatives ensuring that workers live a healthy lifestyle. For example, the firm provides healthy meals for workers in its self-service restaurant at a subsidized cost and offers massage sessions and foot care services during working hours. All of these measures are taken in consideration of the physical nature of the work and have produced significant benefits for the organization (Maxwell, 2009).

Practices of Work-Life Balance

Different individuals in the workplace have different needs, and this applies when it comes to creating balance between work life and general everyday life (Frame & Hartog, 2003). At the same time, the organizations within which these employees work also have different needs and structures, all of which ought to be considered in decision-making, including the implementation of work-life balance structures (Weese & Tucholka, 2007). There is a clear need for employers and their human resources teams to strike a balance between the needs and capabilities of both parties, with a view to creating the most appropriate work-life balance plan for the workforce (Maxwell, 2009). Different organizations and individuals have put in place a variety of approaches to practicing work-life balance, including flexitime, time off, family leave, unpaid leave, part-time work, parental leave, study leave, and home office or teleworking, among others (Cieri, Holmes, Abbott, & Pettit, 2005).

Family leave refers to instances where employers allow their workers to take leave based on a family emergency — such as incapacitation or severe family illness — that requires the employee's attention. Workers are typically required to provide appropriate documentation establishing their need for the leave, such as a medical certificate (Maxwell, 2009). In most cases, this option is provided when the employee himself or herself faces an emergency, or when an immediate family member — such as a child, partner, or spouse — is seriously in need of the employee's attention. Very few companies extend this provision to relatives from an employee's extended family. According to most organizations, particularly those with established work-life balance systems, all employees are entitled to family leave provided the reason is justified. Different organizations have different policies, and therefore the manner in which family leave programs are practiced — including the duration of the leave and the eligibility of members — varies from one organization to another (Cieri, Holmes, Abbott, & Pettit, 2005).

Organizations institute part-time arrangements in consideration of the fact that some employees may have other priorities unrelated to work that hold greater significance for them at particular points in life (Maxwell, 2009). Allowing employees to earn a living and remain productive while attending to those priorities reflects the employer's effort to strike a balance between the two. For most organizations, the decision to work on a part-time basis is left in the hands of the workers, with the firm negotiating pay in proportion to the hours worked. IKEA's Glasgow store is one example of an organization whose approach to part-time practices is noteworthy. By 2009, the firm had approximately five hundred workers, with over 66 percent being female employees, and the same proportion working on a part-time basis. However, female workers were not exclusively concentrated in the part-time program. Job applications at the firm include, among other requirements, the flexibility to choose between full-time and part-time work, allowing all applicants to select whichever arrangement suits their preferences and needs (Maxwell, 2009).

It is also important to note that there are many reasons why employees who work part-time reduce the hours they devote to their occupational duties within specific periods. Some of these reasons include taking care of community or family responsibilities, pursuing individual hobbies, attending to family needs such as caring for the elderly or children, engaging in voluntary activities, or undertaking additional studies (Avgar, Givan, & Liu, 2011). Depending on the workplace culture, employees request part-time arrangements, which are then approved in consideration of organizational demands and procedures.

Teleworking — synonymous with telecommuting or remote work — involves completing professional work without commuting to a physical work station, primarily by working from home (Watad & Gregory, 2004). Telecommuting takes many forms, with most workers choosing to accomplish their employment goals at home. Others rely on mobile and other technologies to work while in transit; these individuals are often called "nomad workers." Working from home has become one of the most important means through which individuals achieve work-life balance and has grown increasingly widespread in the information society (Cieri, Holmes, Abbott, & Pettit, 2005). According to a Reuters Poll, more and more individuals are adopting telecommuting, with approximately 20 percent of all workers globally using the arrangement. Those most involved include workers in Latin America, parts of Asia, and the Middle East (Watad & Gregory, 2004).

Even as organizations strive to accomplish their goals and keep their workforce in place, they recognize that members of staff may desire to take a break from work and attend to other needs at some point in life. Reasons for applying for such leave vary from one worker to another and may stem from professional requirements or personal priorities. For unpaid leave, many organizations require that staff members bear in mind that they remain employees of the organization, are still bound by its regulations, and may not be permitted to engage in other professional activities without the organization's consent. Unpaid leave can take the form of family leave or, in some organizations, maternity leave. The durations and conditions of such leave vary from one organization to another (Avgar, Givan, & Liu, 2011). Although organizations provide no compensation to workers during unpaid leave, most firms indicate that this benefit is not an automatic entitlement. Accordingly, proper procedures must be followed before an employee is granted an unpaid leave.

Flexitime is, in most instances, applicable to office-based employees whose job descriptions fall below the managerial level (Weese & Tucholka, 2007). It is common in both the public and private sectors. Manufacturing firms, on the other hand, tend to refrain from this mode of work-life balance given the constant operational demands placed on all staff members. The application of flexitime differs across organizations, with each taking into account organizational demands relative to the needs of employees (Clutterbuck, 2003). For instance, some organizations allow employees to take flexitime for a maximum of four to five half-days within a month, while others stipulate more or fewer hours. Flexitime can be offered in a fixed or flexible mode, with the latter being the most common. Most workers therefore have the freedom to choose the times they take their stipulated hours off, provided they assure the employer that their tasks will be completed.

For employers, flexitime is an incentive that also aids in recruiting and retaining workers. Ensuring that employees are motivated — partly by providing flexitime and allowing them to attend to personal priorities — is one of the ways employers reduce turnover. Workers generally prefer employers who afford them working-time flexibility and are unlikely to leave such environments unless circumstances make it unavoidable (Avgar, Givan, & Liu, 2011). Flexitime also provides an effective alternative to overtime, which can be inconvenient for workers who are unable to attend to ordinary life matters because of extra hours spent at work. By allowing some employees to work outside of normal shifts, flexitime reduces the necessity for overtime while maintaining adequate operational coverage.

Time off refers to a one-time permission granted to employees so they can attend to specific issues; it may last anywhere from a few hours to a full day. For example, a parent may be granted time off to take a sick child to a doctor's appointment or to attend a meeting at the child's school (Cieri, Holmes, Abbott, & Pettit, 2005). Other instances where time off is appropriate include when an employee needs to sit for an examination. It is necessary, however, for the employee to provide the employer with appropriate documentation serving as proof of the need, either before or after the time off.

Other work-life balance practices include parental leave and study leave. Parental leave constitutes the right bestowed upon working parents to take time away from the workplace in order to attend to the needs of young children or to facilitate matters surrounding their children's well-being (Frame & Hartog, 2003). Organizations provide this option not only to biological parents but also to those who have adopted children. Such leave can be taken continuously or in intervals, depending on the preferences of the parents and the policies of the organization (Clutterbuck, 2003). In many cases, time off is not categorized as unpaid leave, and employees continue to receive their full compensation unless the organization has specific policies to the contrary.

Study leave is another work-life balance provision that workers in many organizations are privileged to access. It can be arranged at the organization's initiative — for example, to fill a skills gap — or initiated by the employee, such as when an employee chooses to pursue an MBA for career development. The employee and employer must reach an agreement on the conditions of the leave, guided by the employment contract. Study leaves can range from one week to considerably longer periods, depending on the complexity of the program and the hours required for study on a daily basis.

Conclusion

The demand for work-life balance in a world that has experienced increasing activity in the corporate sphere is an issue whose significance cannot be underestimated. The feature, which takes serious consideration of the fact that employees need to balance other normal life activities with work, is now applied in organizations with the view of promoting the good of both employers and employees. Work-life balance carries both advantages and disadvantages for employers and workers alike. Advantages include employee motivation and enthusiasm, improved health, and improved organizational performance. However, if not appropriately implemented, it may cause losses for organizations, particularly in the form of additional costs.