Work Family Balance: A win-win Strategy for Families and Organizations

Presented by: Bernice NderituPrincipal Consultant, Nisela Group Limited

Associate Lecturer, Mount Kenya UniversityNairobi, Kenya

Work-life/family BalanceDefinitions:• An ideal work-life balance coordinates and balances personal

and paid work needs throughout an individual’s lifespan. Personal needs include family, hobbies, further education/training, and voluntary work.

• Work-family balance is attained when the allocations between commitments to work and family unite to meet a person’s fundamental life priorities.

• Corporate family responsibility (CFR) is the commitment companies have to promotes leadership, culture and reconciliation policies that facilitate the integration of the professional, family and personal life of their employees.

The Work-Family Connection

•Work life imbalance has repercussions which affect individuals, families,

organizations, and the society.

•Employees need to fulfill family responsibilities and still work

•The family unit is valuable because it is the cradle in which future employees

gain the competencies that Companies and the society needs

•Research has shown there is a positive relationship between job satisfaction

and work-family conflict especially in families that have a greater amount of

love and commitment.

Trends• Urbanization: 24.4% of Kenya’s population is urbanized

• Millenials (born between 1982 and 2004) form a large part of the workforce and have young families

• Rapid economic growth: Commercial Companies are bringing in more profits by being customer-focused. There is however, more work pressure on employees

• Push towards a 24 hour economy

• Infrastructure and technological advances

• Changing family structure from traditional to complex

Trends Cont’d

• Clark and Hamplova (2013) did a study on single motherhood in Sub-Saharan Africa with women aged between 15-45 years. They found that in Kenya, 30% of women have a premarital birth while 59.5% of women are more likely to become single mothers by 45 years old through a premarital birth or through divorce and separation.

Case Study

• Amy Wanja is a young parent, working for a fast rising company with great ambition and potential.

• She is 28 years old, and her son, Ian, is turning 2.

• In the past 2years she has taken off 3months maternity leave, left office 1hr earlier everyday for 6months, for breastfeeding. She has had 10 days off for clinic appointments, She has had 24 days out because she had no house help, and no one to look after the baby.

• She has had 14 nights in hospital so far taking care of the baby.

The Work-Family ConflictNo Policy or poor implementation of policies: A study conducted in 2007 by Strathmore Business School’s Center for research on work and family on 40 Companies in Kenya found that 8% have no family policies, 28% have unimplemented family policies, 38% have policies which are seldom used and 26% have family responsive cultures

Lowered Productivity: When people get less than 6 hours of sleep at night, their cognitive abilities such as learning, thinking, reaction time, and reasoning are generally slower in addition to them being irritable and emotional.

Stress and Burnout: According to a global traffic survey carried out by IBM in 2011, Nairobi is among the top four most frustrating cities for commuters. 61% of those interviewed in Nairobi felt that commuter strain negatively influenced their work-life balance in addition to lowered productivity and high stress and anger levels.

The Work-Family Conflict Continued…

• Lower employee commitment and motivation: Regus, a global firm founded in Belgium, conducted a study in East Africa that found if employees had flexible working hours and less commuter strain, 78% would use the time to further their education, 49% would put more time into work, 69% would use the extra time in recreational activities.

• Health, financial, and Relationship problems: Nisela Group (2013) conducted a study at Safaricom, Jambo Contact Centre and found that overwhelming financial needs, shifts that are unfriendly to families such as working on weekends, and coping with strained relationships in parenting and at work were major challenges that the employees had. Financial constraints may emanate from pressure to succeed and high cost of living in metropolitan areas. Another study by Nderitu (2013) found that the two highest stressors for parents were finances and their own health.

The Work-Family Conflict Continued…

• Income levels. Studies by Bass (2008) and Allen (2008) revealed that those with greater financial resources can afford help with home responsibilities such as childcare house hold chores. Thus their work-family conflict is less while those with scarce financial resources have. For example, Mama Mboga in Kawagware.

• Employer centered policies: Commercial companies are out to maximize on profits at the expense of the employee’s quality of life and future employees. This affects their brand loyalty and sustainability of their company in the long run.

• Gender Disparities: According to O’Conner (2005) women experience more work-family conflict because work and family both provide satisfaction and yet they perform two thirds of daily home activities while still spending excessive time in the office. On the other hand, it is much harder for men to utilize family friendly policies since family is seen as interfering with work.

Work-Family Balance Challenges: JCC Needs Assessment

• Attending to children or elderly parents/relatives due to ill health

• General family emergencies such as nannies leaving without notice

• Overwhelming financial needs

• Shifts that are unfriendly to their families such as working during weekends

• Need for opportunities such as paid study leave

• Coping with strained relationships in parenting and at work

GAPS• Lack of extensive research on work-life/family balance

• A dissatisfied, over worked workforce

• Existing policies are not being implemented

• Employees are partially or not fully aware about family friendly policies

• Lack of supportive relationships between higher level (management) and lower level employees

• Awareness and consideration of family issues is not built into the job design, work processes, or organizational culture

• Lack of personal development for employees

Creating a Win-win situation through best practices

• Person/employee-centered organizational culture. Sensitive work family policies that allow employees to cope with the stress of handling family and work roles

• An awareness and consideration of family issues need to be built into job design, work processes, and organizational structures

• Non-traditional working arrangements such as job sharing, telecommuting, compressed work weeks, flexi-hours, non-salary benefits, part-time work, and so on

• The family as a stakeholder

• Supportive and understanding relationships between the Employer/management and the employee

• Capacity building for employees on work - family balance

• Provision of mental health services i.e. counseling

ConclusionWork –family balance calls for a paradigm shift. It calls us to:• Internal customer care (employee is “King” even as the

customer is “King”) Dissatisfied employees make organizations dysfunctional, damaging their financial performance. Job satisfaction and work life balance are more likely to motivate employees to remain with their current employers.

• Redefine success• Gain awareness and capacities for life’s stages • Make small investments in the right places can transform

the quality of our lives. This calls for sacrifice• It is everyone’s responsibility: the individuals, the

community, and the organizations/governments

References• Clark, S., & Hamplova, D. (2013). Single Motherhood and Child Mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Life Course

Perspective.

• IESE Business School, University of Navara. (2014). Mission and Objectives. International Center for Work and Family. Retrieved on May 11th 2014 from http://ifrei.iese.edu/en/icwf/mission-and-objectives

• Industrial Relations Victoria (March 2007). Work and family balance manual: better practices for better business.

Retrieved on February 1, 2013 from

http://ways2work.business.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/153204/Work-and-Family-Balance-Manual.pdf

• Lawler, M.K., Robertson, J., & Hankins, K. (). Balancing family and work. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service.

Retrieved on February 1, 2013 from

http://www.fsa.ie/fileadmin/user_upload/Files/Balancing_Work_and_Family_Life.pdf

• Nderitu, B. (2013). The role of parenting on the socio-emotional development of children in Kahawa

Sukari Estate, Kiambu County. (Master’s Thesis). M.A. Child Development. Daystar University, Nairobi.

• Nisela Group Limited (2013). Needs assessment report on work-family balance. Nairobi, Kenya

• Spohn, W.C. (Ed.). (2004). Explore: An examination of Catholic identity and ignatian character in Jesuit higher education. 7(2). www.scu.edu/hannancenter