Balance of work and personal life in the perception of civil servants of the metropolitan megalopolis

Abstract

The article presents the results of a sociological study to identify the peculiarities of the perception of work-life balance by modern civil servants of the metropolitan megalopolis. As the empirical basis the materials of questionnaires and interviewing carried out by the authors in 2022 in several ministries of the city of Moscow were used. Using modern methods of textual data analysis, the authors visualise with the help of a word cloud the answers of respondents to an open-ended question about their subjective understanding of work-life balance. Such terms as "time", "opportunity" and "family" prevail in the interpretation of the interviewed civil servants, that allows to find out what meaning civil servants put into the concept of work-life balance. Thus, being a subjective phenomenon, this concept is primarily associated with the proportional distribution of time for family and work. Based on the results of the questionnaire survey, the authors distinguish two groups of civil servants who do and do not experience a sense of work-life balance and analyse their socio-demographic characteristics, life priorities, attitude to work, assessments of time resources and level of satisfaction with various life spheres. Representing subjective assessments, the authors note that just over half of the civil service employees surveyed do not experience work-life balance. Statistical analysis showed that the selected groups do not have significant socio-demographic differences. It was also found that civil servants, who differently assess the presence of work-life balance, do not differ significantly in determining the leading life priorities, putting family and work in the foreground. However, statistically significant links were found between subjective indicators of work-life balance and peculiarities of differentiation of work and personal problems, assessment of sufficiency of time for everyday practices and satisfaction with private life. It was found that the state of imbalance is more characteristic of people who note the influence of work on personal affairs, experience a lack of time for everyday private life and are not satisfied with its main components. The interviewing focused on a group of external factors that relate to the conditions of employment, which is important to consider in matters of personnel policy and work organisation in the public service. The obtained materials allowed to consider the existing working regime from the point of view of civil servants, to discuss initiatives for its improvement, opportunities and limitations of remote work.