Managing work life balance pdf

Entrepreneurs and self-employed workers were excluded. We distributed the link to the online questionnaire with a brief description of the research through social networks i.

To begin the assessment, the participants had to read and approve an informed consent form to freely decide whether to participate in the research. The informed consent provided informed about the aim of the study and the procedures to collect the data, and it ensured that there were no potential risks or costs involved.

The contact details of the researcher in charge were provided in the event of any further questions. The study was conducted in accordance with the ethical standards set by the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the Ethical Committee of the University of Milano-Bicocca Prot.

The number of subjects that started the questionnaire was However, the dataset used in the analyses contained responses after excluding 32 questionnaires because they were substantially incomplete; that is, the subjects opened the online page of the questionnaire but did not answer any questions.

Table 1 presents detailed descriptive statistics of the sample. The sociodemographic information described above was provided by the respondents at the beginning of the online questionnaire. Based on the instrument developed by Keeney et al. The question was asked, changing the final part, for all of the seven domains of life considered.

The response scale was a point scale from 1 not at all important to 10 extremely important. Two forms of the WLB were measured: the work—family balance and the work—health balance.

Answers were given with a five-point Likert scale, from 1 completely disagree to 5 completely agree. Answers were given according to a five-point rating scale from 1 completely disagree to 5 completely agree for WHI and from 1 never to 5 always for HC and ES.

Job satisfaction was measured with a single item that asked respondents to rate their overall satisfaction with their job on a 5-point scale from 1 not at all satisfied to 5 fully satisfied. The reliability and validity of the single-item measure to assess job satisfaction has been established [ 69 ].

The results of the explorative factor analysis performed for the Harman single-factor test are available in the online Supplementary Materials of this article. All data analyses were performed by using R [ 70 ]. The different life domains were ordered according to the mean importance to the WLB that was attached to them by the respondents. Mean and standard deviations were provided for all the life domains. To test whether family and health domains were considered more important than the other life domains in the WLB H1 , the mean of the importance that was attached to health and family were compared to the mean of the importance that was attached to all the other life domains with a paired t-test.

Even if no hypothesis was formulated specifically on this point, we explored whether the family and health domain were considered equally important.

A paired t-test between the importance ascribed to family and to health was performed. The hypotheses about the direction and effect size of work-to-family conflict, family-to-work conflict, and the WHB on job satisfaction H2a,b and H3a,b were tested with a multiple linear regression with job satisfaction as the dependent variable and work-to-family conflict, family-to-work conflict and the WHB as independent variables.

The LMG expresses the squared semipartial correlation that was averaged across all possible ordering of the predictors. Since each order of predictors yields a different decomposition of the model sum of squares, the variance of the dependent variable that is explained by a predictor in a multiple regression varies according to the sequential order in which a predictor is entered into the model in relation to the other predictors. LMG averaged this value for all the possible orders of entry [ 71 ].

This model, as well as the other following models, was controlled for age, marital status, and parental status. The control variables to be included were chosen with a backward model selection by the Akaike information criterion AIC from an initial model that included age, gender, education level, marital and parental status, job role, type of contract, and working hours.

These preliminary analyses are available in the online Supplementary Material of this article. Continuous variables involved in the interaction were centered on the mean. The mean and standard deviation of the importance that is attached to the different life domains, ordered by their importance, are listed in Figure 1. This result supported H1a, that is, the health and family domains were considered to be more important than the other domains in the WLB.

This exploratory analysis showed that health and family are life domains considered of equivalent importance in the WLB. Adjusted effects of work-to-family conflict, family-to-work conflict, and the work—health balance WHB on job satisfaction. The model resulted in a significant negative effect of work-to-family conflict and a nonsignificant effect of family-to-work conflict, thus partially supporting H2a. Moreover, the former was statistically significant, while the other was not. These results fully supported H2b.

Considering the effect of the WHB on job satisfaction, the model estimated a significant positive effect, supporting H3a. Table 3 reports models 1 and 2, which tested the moderating effect of gender and parental status, respectively. Adjusted effects of work-to-family conflict, family-to-work conflict, and the WHB on job satisfaction. Continuous variables in the interactions have been centered on the mean.

The interaction indicates that the negative effect of work-to-family conflict on job satisfaction was stronger among women than among men. To facilitate the interpretation, the interaction effect is depicted in Figure 2. This result partially supported H4a: The effect of the work—family balance, specifically of work-to-family conflict, on job satisfaction was stronger among women than among men. Moderating effect of gender on the relationship between work-to-family conflict and job satisfaction.

The interaction indicates that the negative effect of work-to-family conflict on job satisfaction was stronger among workers with children than among those without. This interaction effect is depicted in Figure 3. This result partially supported H4b: The effect of the work—family balance on job satisfaction, specifically of work-to-family conflict, is stronger among workers with children than among those without.

Moderating effect of parental status on the relationship between work-to-family conflict and job satisfaction. Table 4 reports models 3 and 4, which tested the effects of two moderators—age and work ability, respectively. The interactions showed that the negative effect of work-to-family conflict on job satisfaction increased with age Figure 4 a , whereas family-to-work conflict appeared to have a positive effect for older workers Figure 4 b.

These results again supported H4c only for work-to-family conflict, whereas they showed an unexpected positive effect of family-to-work conflict on job satisfaction among the elderly. In contrast, the results did not support H4d because the effect of the WHB on job satisfaction did not seem to increase with age.

The interaction showed that the positive effect of the WHB on job satisfaction decreased with the increase in work ability Figure 5. This result supported H4e: The positive effect of the WHB on job satisfaction increased with the decline in work ability. Moderating effect of work ability on the relationship between the work—health balance and job satisfaction. This study aimed to verify the importance of different, specific nonwork domains in the work—life balance process, with a focus on family and health.

We also investigated the impact of the work—family balance in both directions and the work—health balance on job satisfaction and how the heterogeneity of the current workforce modifies these relationships. The results supported the first hypothesis. As hypothesized, when considering their work—life balance, the workers attached more importance to the health and family domains than to the other nonwork domains. A further analysis showed that the health and family domains were given similar importance.

This result was the starting point of the entire study and justified the inclusion of the concept of the work—health balance. The fact that health was important as family is a relevant result, and it was found to be even more important when we analyzed the sample.

Indeed, there were no apparent sample characteristics that made this sample more exposed to health issues than the general population.

This fact suggests that researchers and companies should pay more attention to the health domain even for workers that are not affected by severe or chronic health conditions. The second hypothesis concerned the effect of the work—family balance on job satisfaction. The work—family balance was supposed to affect job satisfaction, and work-to-family conflict was supposed to be more important than family-to-work conflict. The results supported this hypothesis and, consistent with other studies, the effect of family-to-work conflict on job satisfaction was smaller than that of work-to-family conflict and was statistically not significant [ 73 ].

This result can be explained in light of the appraisal theory [ 40 ]: If work threatens family life work—life conflict , work will be negatively appraised; if family issues threaten work participation family—work conflict , family, not the work, will be negatively appraised [ 41 ].

Our study provides new evidence in this sense because the regression model was controlled for the work—health balance and because of the adoption of the LMG metric. The third hypothesis investigated the effect of the WHB on job satisfaction and its importance relative to work—family conflict. As hypothesized, the WHB had a positive and statistically significant relationship with job satisfaction, and its importance was two times greater than that of work-to-family conflict.

This result supports the usefulness of the specific instrument, the WHB questionnaire, and confirms the importance of filling the gap in the literature [ 42 ] by introducing the health domain into the concept of the work—life balance.

Even if our results cannot be considered definitive in saying that the health domain is more important than the family domain in the genesis of job satisfaction, they clearly indicate that, when investigating or promoting work—life balance, considering the WHB is at least as important as considering the work—family balance.

The common practice of considering the work—life balance as an issue that is related only to family is wrong and limits the possibility to explain work phenomena through the lens of the work—life balance.

The fourth hypothesis was related to the moderation of the effects of work—family conflict and the WHB by specific work characteristics i. All three hypothesized moderators of the effect of work-to-family conflict on job satisfaction i. Of the two hypothesized moderators age and work ability of the WHB effect on job satisfaction, only the interaction with work ability was supported.

In particular, the impact of work-to-family conflict on job satisfaction was greater for women H4a , parent workers H4b , and elderly workers H4c. The reason for this moderation effect is likely due to the difference in salience of the family domain attached by the groups of workers. Women are likely to evaluate family as more central in their lives than men because of widespread cultural norms and gender-differentiated values [ 56 , 57 ].

Given such result, it is possible, and should be tested in future studies, that being responsible for eldercare, beyond generally increasing the level of work-to-family conflict, also increases the impact of work-to-family conflict on job satisfaction.

Finally, as implied by the socioemotional selectivity theory, elderly workers are likely to consider family relationships more important than younger workers because of a shorter future time perspective [ 64 ]. Given the theoretically coherent nonsignificant main effect of family-to-work conflict on job satisfaction, it was not surprising that the hypothesized moderators of its effects were not relevant.

However, the moderation of the effect of family-to-work conflict on job satisfaction by age was significant and indicated that among older workers, a higher level of family-to-work conflict was related to higher job satisfaction.

A further analyses showed that the effect of family-to-work conflict was nonsignificant among workers of 27 the first quartile and 38 years of age the mean age , but this effect was statistically significant among workers of 49 years of age the third quartile.

The interpretation of this effect is hazardous with the data at hand. Further studies should investigate this effect while also considering the cross-sectional nature of our study. In fact, it is not possible to exclude that the found relationship was inverse. That is, older workers with higher job satisfaction perceived a higher family-to-work conflict because of a greater importance that is attached to the work domain than other elderly workers with lower job satisfaction.

Since the interaction term was not significant in the case of age, H4d was not supported. Our results showed that a good WHB was associated with an equally high job satisfaction among all ages. We believe this is simply because, in our sample, the importance that was given to the health domain was not associated with age. We believe this result indicates that the health domain is crucial for both younger and older workers. There is the possibility that the WHB is a very important dimension at all ages—not only for elderly workers as originally intended [ 15 ].

In contrast, our results supported H4e. With the decline of the WAI, that is, with more health problems affecting job activity, the importance of the positive effect of the WHB on job satisfaction was increased.

As proposed elsewhere [ 15 ], workers who are more vulnerable to health problems had a greater gain from their work situation with a good balance between health needs and work demands than healthy workers. Overall, the results regarding the hypothesized moderators indicate that it is crucial to take into account the heterogeneity of the current workforce and to consider the specificity of different groups of workers when considering the WLB. From the outset, most definitions of the work—life balance have stressed the fact that it is not possible to identify an absolute optimal balance because it depends on the importance that the worker gives to the different domains of life [ 1 , 9 , 10 , 16 ].

Despite being theoretically clear, individual differences have been mainly overlooked in the WLB literature. Our study presents strong evidence that the issue must be considered, especially in light of the large presence of women, elderly individuals, people with an LSHPD, singles, and childless couples in the labor force [ 12 , 13 , 14 ].

The current study presents some limitations to consider when interpreting the results. First, the study design was cross-sectional. This limits our confidence in determining the cause and effect in the relationships between the considered variables. We based our considerations on a strong theoretical basis [ 10 , 29 ], but longitudinal studies are needed to replicate our findings. Second, we adopted an online recruitment procedure that has the problem of a participant selection bias because of the self-selection of participants [ 75 ].

The online recruitment made our sample not representative of the entire working population, but this was beyond our intent. Of course, our results must be replicated in other samples to increase their generalizability.

By comparing our sample characteristics with data representative of the employees in north Italy [ 77 ] data shown in the online Supplementary Material of this article , it is possible to note some differences in the proportions of job roles, type of occupations, and levels of education that are worth being mentioned.

Specifically, like many studies in the WLB literature [ 7 ], in our sample, there was an over-representation of white-collar workers and an under-representation of blue-collar workers. There was an over-representation of clerical support workers and an under-representation of factory workers, skilled laborers, building workers, elementary occupations, and services and sale workers.

Finally, the level of education of the sample was higher than in the general population of employees in north Italy. Given these specificities, it will be necessary to test whether the same results hold across samples with an appropriate representation of factory workers, skilled laborers, building workers, elementary occupations, and services and sale workers, as well as employees with a lower level of education.

Third, the measure of the importance that workers gave to the different life domains was based on the instrument of Keeney et al. Therefore, the measurement instrument may have biased the results regarding the importance of the different life domains.

However, it should be considered that the questions that were posed to the participants were quite straightforward, and the values obtained for each domain were plausible and not extreme. Even if the instrument was not fine-tuned for exact comparisons, we believe it was appropriate for the aim of the study.

The cited limitations warn against an unconditional generalization of the results of this study that, instead, have to be replicated with stronger research designs and other samples of workers. The health issue has emerged in the organizational literature as a central topic. It no longer pertains to only small groups of workers with severe health problems. This study shows that workers are aware of the importance of the health domain for achieving a good work—life balance.

Our results indicate health as a fundamental domain in the work—life balance dynamic that is as important as the family domain, if not more so.

Researchers and practitioners should therefore consider the health domain in addition to the family domain when investigating the work—life balance. By showing the differences in the effects of the work—family balance and the work—health balance on job satisfaction for different categories of workers, the present study demonstrates the importance of individual differences in the work—life balance process.

That is, the balance between work and life is not absolute, but it is related to the importance that is given by the worker to the various domains. This relationship is of prominent importance in the current heterogeneous labor force. Finally, our results provide evidence, to be replicated, that the importance of the work—health balance is not related to age, as previously believed; but only with the health condition. Overall, this study is relevant for the work—life balance literature because, to the best of our knowledge, it is the first to consider the work—health balance.

We thank Martina Raimondi for her valuable assistance during the process of data collection and Zavagno D. Conceptualization, A.

All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. This research received no external funding. The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funder had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

National Center for Biotechnology Information , U. Published online Feb 1. Author information Article notes Copyright and License information Disclaimer. Received Dec 17; Accepted Jan This article has been cited by other articles in PMC. Associated Data Supplementary Materials ijerphs Abstract To date, research directed at the work—life balance WLB has focused mainly on the work and family domains. Keywords: work—life balance, work—family balance, work—health balance, diversity in the workplace, job satisfaction, multiple regression, interaction analysis.

Introduction The term work—life balance WLB has gained increasing popularity in the public discourse [ 1 ]. Theoretical Background and Hypotheses 2. Specific Nonwork Life Domains: Family and Health The field of study about the work—life balance has had difficulty in establishing a commonly agreed-upon definition of the WLB [ 16 ].

Therefore, if the workers were asked directly: Hypothesis 1 H1 : Workers will indicate that the family and health domains are more important than the other life domains in the WLB process.

Consequences of Work—Family Balance: Job Satisfaction Many studies have analyzed individual consequences of the different types of the work—life balance, and several meta-analyses have summarized the literature about the correlates of work—family conflict [ 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ] and work—family enrichment [ 20 ].

Based on these premises, we hypothesized that: Hypothesis 2a H2a : Work-to-family and family-to-work conflict will be significantly and negatively related to job satisfaction. Hypothesis 2b H2b : The relationship between work-to-family conflict and job satisfaction will be greater than the relationship between family-to-work conflict and job satisfaction.

Consequences of Work—Health Balance The present study aimed to expand the knowledge about the nonwork life domain other than family, specifically the health domain.

Therefore, we hypothesized that: Hypothesis 3a H3a : The WHB will have a significant positive effect on job satisfaction. Hypothesis 3b H3b : The effect size of the WHB on job satisfaction will be at least as large as that of work-to-family conflict. The Heterogeneity of the Labor Force and WLB As stated before, the present study focuses on the problem of the limited consideration that has been given in the WLB literature to the heterogeneity of the contemporary labor force [ 8 ].

Based on these premises, we hypothesized that: Hypothesis 4a H4a : The negative effect of work—family conflict work-to-family and family-to work on job satisfaction will be stronger for women than for men.

Hypothesis 4b H4b : The negative effect of work—family conflict work-to-family and family-to work on job satisfaction will be stronger for workers with children than for those without. Hypothesis 4c H4c : The negative effect of work—family conflict work-to-family and family-to-work on job satisfaction will be stronger for elderly workers than for younger workers.

Hypothesis 4d H4d : The positive effect of the WHB on job satisfaction will be stronger for elderly workers than for younger workers. Hypothesis 4e H4e : The positive effect of the WHB on job satisfaction will be stronger for workers with a low work ability than for those with a high work ability. Materials and Methods 3. Sample and Procedure The study involved workers of full age under an employment contract. Open in a separate window.

Measures The sociodemographic information described above was provided by the respondents at the beginning of the online questionnaire. Data Analysis All data analyses were performed by using R [ 70 ]. Results 4. Perceived Importance of Family and Health Domain The mean and standard deviation of the importance that is attached to the different life domains, ordered by their importance, are listed in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Mean importance and standard deviation of the seven life domains. Table 2 Adjusted effects of work-to-family conflict, family-to-work conflict, and the work—health balance WHB on job satisfaction. Moderators of the Effects of Work—Family and Work—Health Balance Table 3 reports models 1 and 2, which tested the moderating effect of gender and parental status, respectively. Table 3 Adjusted effects of work-to-family conflict, family-to-work conflict, and the WHB on job satisfaction. Figure 2.

Figure 3. Table 4 Adjusted effects of work-to-family conflict, family-to-work conflict, and the WHB on job satisfaction. Figure 4. Figure 5. Discussion This study aimed to verify the importance of different, specific nonwork domains in the work—life balance process, with a focus on family and health. Conclusions The health issue has emerged in the organizational literature as a central topic. Acknowledgments We thank Martina Raimondi for her valuable assistance during the process of data collection and Zavagno D.

Click here for additional data file. Author Contributions Conceptualization, A. Funding This research received no external funding. Conflicts of Interest The authors declare no conflict of interest. References 1. Kelliher C. All of work? All of life? Reconceptualising work-life balance for the 21st century. Valcour M. Work-based resources as moderators of the relationship between work hours and satisfaction with work-family balance.

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Name: Click here to enter text. Name of Organization: Click here to enter text. Job Title: Click here to enter text. How many hours in a week do you normally work? Early mornings before 8am, evenings after 5pm or weekend work 3.

What factors do you consider while looking for a job? Training opportunities Job security Friendly Environment 4. How do you rate your current job in following parameters? Training opportunities Job security Friendly People 5. Overall, how satisfied would you say you are with your job? Are you currently living with a spouse or partner? Do you have any children living at home with you?

If yes how many. Do you look after, or provide any regular care or help for any sick, elderly or disabled adults? To what extent does your family life and family responsibilities interfere with your performance on your job in any of the following ways? Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree Family matters reduce the time you can devote to your job Family worries or problems distract you from your work Family activities stop you getting the amount of sleep you need to do your job well Family obligations reduce the time you need to relax or be by yourself To what extent do your job responsibilities interfere with your family life in the following ways?

Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree Your job reduces the amount of time you can spend with the family Problems at work make you irritable at home. Work life balance policies applied in same way at all levels of management in your organization or it covers all levels in hierarchy. Employees are expected to put their jobs before family and personal matter.