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).