Organizational Strategic Approach towards Work Life Balance of Women in India

Abstract

With the increase in education and awareness relating to women empowerment, there is a considerable increase in the number of working women in different sectors. Ever-changing dynamic environment and economic conditions have pressurized the organizations to perform or perish. This, in turn, has created an unseen pressure on the employees. Career and personal life are the two aspects considered important by employees, the success of which requires major attention. The major challenge for women is to balance the demands and the requirements of career and family. The various aspects like socio-demographic conditions, work stress, the impact of work on personal life negatively affects the personal life and career advancement creating a glass ceiling for women employees. It is seen that in the absence of proper work-life balance policies and practice result in work-life conflict. This can be seen in the form of increased absenteeism, high attrition, low recognition and job satisfaction. There are initiatives taken by the organizations and the government but the question is if the initiatives taken are adequate and are actually benefitting the women employees. This paper reviews the work-life balance initiatives adopted by employers in different organizations. An attempt is also made to find the challenges undergone by the organizations in providing such measures to the women employees. The sources referred for this purpose includes various published research papers on internet sites, magazines, doctoral thesis, newspapers etc.