WORK-LIFE BALANCE: THE IMPACT OF OBTAINING A GRADUATE DEGREE ON WORK AND NON-WORK COMMITMENTS

Abstract

This paper seeks to explore the impact of schooling on the work-life balance of Coventry University students at the Ghana Communication Technology University (GCTU). Combining schooling with work, and other responsibilities create challenges for employees who are upgrading themselves. The challenges range from the inability to adequately perform family responsibilities, to the inability to attend religious and social functions of even close relatives. The challenges observed, therefore, called for an investigation to determine the impact of schooling on the work-life balance of the participants. The study employed a descriptive cross-sectional survey method to collect data from 174 participants who responded to the questionnaires. The study postulated that the impact of schooling on participants work commitments was positive, as it ensures better conditions of service. Whereas the impact of non-work commitments was negative since participants were unable to adequately attend to their family, religious and social responsibilities. The study concluded that having an optimal work-life balance enables employees to portion their time for their schedules to prevent frequent spillovers. The findings further suggest that the application of the optimal work-life balance model developed by the study will enable employees to adequately handle their professional, family, religious and social commitments during further studies. KEYWORDS: Work-life balance, schooling, optimal work-life balance, non-work, Awareness.