Work-life Balance Culture Research Articles

The Relationship between Work-Life Balance, Job Satisfaction, and Turnover Intention among Accounting Personnel in Public Accounting Firms

Of late, work-life balance issues have become an essential topic for research. However, few studies have focused on accounting personnel who typically face high work pressure. This study examines the relationship between work-life balance, job satisfaction, and turnover intention among accounting staff working in public accounting firms in Sarawak. An online survey was conducted through social media channels, yielding 122 respondents from public accounting firms in Sarawak. It was found that there was a significant positive relationship between job satisfaction and work-life balance. However, work-life balance and turnover intention were found to have a significant negative relationship. Furthermore, a significant inverse relationship existed between job satisfaction and turnover intention. This research highlights the importance of having a work-life balance culture in public accounting firms to increase job satisfaction and lower employee turnover intention. Future research could consider increasing the sample size and broadening the scope by studying different industries in Sabah and West Malaysia.

Employee Work Life Balance and Organizational Performance of the County Governments in Kenya

There is growing need to investigate the effects of work-life on organization performance. The study intended to examine the effect of Work Life Balance (WLB) organizational performance (OP) in the County Government of Busia. The unit of study was the County Government of Busia which is one of the 47 Counties in Kenya. The study was guided by Exchange and Spill over Theories. The researcher used census survey research design. The study population targeted 91 respondents of the County Government of Busia. Questionnaires were the main data collection instruments. Results of the study were: There was a positive, linear and significant association between flexible work schedule, telecommuting, compressed work weeks and organizational culture on OP. It was recommended that organizations must strive to fully operationalize flexi time, compressed work schedule, shift schedule and job sharing in their organizations. Organizations should make provisions of more platforms that would encourage employees to away from their places so that organization reduces the cost of hiring offices, space and increasing profitability. It encourages managers to ensure results expected and to push further for WLB culture in the organization, setting a pace of effective and accountable management practice.

Congenital learning, organisational performance and work-life balance culture

A possible explanation for the numerous failures in the implementation and use of work-life balance (WLB) practices may relate to the fact that the majority of companies have introduced them without exploring the nature and extent of their founders’ or owners’ prior knowledge of WLB and WLB practices. This paper analyses the relationships between congenital learning and WLB culture and tries to identify whether WLB culture impacts on business performance through an empirical study of 229 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Spanish metal industry. Our findings show that in order to create positive attitudes toward WLB, managers need to create and support a learning process. These findings provide interesting insights into the drivers of organisational performance for SMEs that develop and support a WLB-supporting culture.

Validation of the Work-Life Balance Culture Scale (WLBCS)

The purpose of this paper is to describe the theoretical development and initial validation of the newly developed Work-Life Balance Culture Scale (WLBCS), an instrument for measuring an organizational culture that promotes the work-life balance of employees. In Study 1 (N=498), the scale was developed and its factorial validity tested through exploratory factor analyses. In Study 2 (N=513), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed to examine model fit and retest the dimensional structure of the instrument. To assess construct validity, a priori hypotheses were formulated and subsequently tested using correlation analyses. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed a one-factor model. Results of the bivariate correlation analyses may be interpreted as preliminary evidence of the scale's construct validity. The five-item WLBCS is a new and efficient instrument with good overall quality. Its conciseness makes it particularly suitable for use in employee surveys to gain initial insight into a company's perceived work-life balance culture.

Work–Life Balance Culture, Work–Home Interaction, and Emotional Exhaustion

To examine the relationships among employees' emotional exhaustion, positive and negative work-home interaction, and perceived work-life balance culture in companies. Data for this study were collected through online surveys of employees from companies in the micro- and nanotechnology sectors (N = 509). A structural equation modeling analysis was performed. A company culture perceived by employees as supportive of their work-life balance was found to have both a direct negative effect on emotional exhaustion and an indirect negative effect meditated by negative work-home interaction. In addition, whereas negative work-home interaction associated positively with emotional exhaustion, positive work-home interaction had no significant effect. The direct and indirect relationship between work-life balance culture and emotional exhaustion has practical implications for health promotion in companies.

Work life balance and the retention of managers in Spanish SMEs

Executives in today's business world are increasingly conscious that the competitive advantage of companies rests upon the retention of their key employees. According to the literature, dissatisfaction with the job is an important determinant of turnover rates and work life balance (WLB) initiatives are today considered to be an important antecedent of job satisfaction. This study explores these relationships in small and medium enterprises (SMEs), where a number of academics have suggested that research is necessary. This paper presents an empirical research study with a sample of 149 managers of Spanish SMEs. The findings show that the existence of a WLB culture rather than the availability of WLB practices offered by the company is the main determinant of job satisfaction. There is also strong evidence that job satisfaction is a good predictor of turnover intentions. Based on the findings, the paper argues that informal support for WLB, expressed through the existence of positive and supportive organizational values for WLB, plays a major role in enhancing organizational outcomes such as job satisfaction among managers and their retention in SMEs. The implications for practitioners and academics are also discussed.