Work-Life Balance and Gender Differences: A Study of College and University Teachers From Karnataka

Shreemathi S Mayya,Lena Ashok,Sureshramana Mayya,Maxie Martis,Ashma Dorothy Monteiro

doi:10.1177/21582440211054479

Abstract

Teaching responsibilities in today’s higher education sector are increasingly demanding. Apart from the focus on the quality of teaching-learning activities, teachers of today are evaluated for their active involvement in professional and societal growth. Women in academia shoulder equal responsibilities as of men, but in India, women play multiple roles in the non-work setting unlike men. The primary objective of this cross-sectional study was to find out the gender difference in Work-Life Balance (WLB) among teachers of higher education. Institutional Ethical Committee’s approval was obtained. Data was collected using the WLB questionnaire, from 127 male and 136 female faculties employed on a tenure basis in the Public Universities in Karnataka. The multiple regression analysis indicated an association of better WLB with the upper age group, male gender, and faculties of science discipline. Strategies at the organizational level and initiatives at the personal level are essential to address the issues of WLB.

Highlights

Work and personal life are the core domains of an individual’s social world (Leslie et al, 2019), and a balance between the two has become a necessity in the modern world
The analysis shows an association of better Work-Life Balance (WLB) with male gender, upper age group, and faculties of science discipline
This study aimed to identify whether gender was associated with the WLB of academicians in Karnataka

Summary

Introduction

Work and personal life are the core domains of an individual’s social world (Leslie et al, 2019), and a balance between the two has become a necessity in the modern world. The literature on Work-Life Balance (WLB), refers work predominantly to the formal paid employment in the organizational setting and personal life as the non-work domain including family, education, travel, fitness, health, and the like (BenitoOsorio et al, 2014; Kalliath & Brough, 2008). WLB is often referred to as a dynamic phenomenon and is a continuum in which the individual oscillates between the two extremes of work and life, at a particular point in time (Leslie et al, 2019). The higher education sector is under greater scrutiny than ever before (Schubert-Irastorza & Fabry, 2017), and the faculty of Higher

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