A Study on Work Life

Balance among BPO

Employees
-With reference to BPO'S in
Chennai
Dr.R.Shanthi

(1)

identified. From this study I finally

concluded that Motivation, Employee
Performance, Health and Stress were the
four major factors identified are the four
major dimensions of Work Life Balance
which play the vital role for employees'
better performance in the organization.

(2)

& Ms. V.Chitra ,

Key Words:

ABSTRACT
Work life balance is the term used to refer
the policies that strive to achieve a great
complementary and balance between work
and home. With the level of completion
heightening between employees within
nearly every industry and with the cost of
living rising uncomfortably. It is easy for
workers to find themselves working extra
hours. However the overtime negatively
affects numerous aspects to one's life
performance
at
work
place.
The
psychological stress one experience at the
work place and the group morale where he
performs. This research paper "A study on
Work Life Balance
among
BPO
employee". The primary objective of this
study is to find out how employees balance
their work life. (With Reference to BPO
companies in Chennai) and also this paper
focuses on the work related accident
especially ill health. For this purpose WLB
is measured by taking into the account of
Flexi -timing, Job stress, Employees
safety, Job performance, Motivation and
Work life Balance. The sample size for
this study was 30 by adopting the
Judgment sampling method the data was
collected among employees' working in
BPO companies in Chennai. Data was
analyzed through chi-square and factor
analysis 68.736% of problem will be
1

Assistant professor, Department of Commerce, University of

Madras. rshanthicommer ce@gmail. com
2
PhD, Research Scholar, Department of Commerce,
University of Madras. Veecee83@gmail.com

Work Life Balance, BPO

employees, Stress
Introduction:
Work-life balance has come to the
forefront of policy discourse in developed
countries in recent years, against a
backdrop of globalization and rapid
technological
change,
an
ageing
population and concerns over labour
market participation rates, particularly
those of mothers at a time when
fertility
i
rates are falling . A better balance
between
work and life is an issue for everyone, not
just those with caring responsibilities.
Stress levels have increased as the work
environment has changed in the last
decade in response to downsizing,
globalization, competitive pressures and
ii
technological change .
Stress levels have increased as the work
environment has changed in the last
decade in response to downsizing,
globalization, competitive pressures and
technological change. In addition, broader
and fundamental changes in society and
the family have contributed to the
problems inherent in balancing competing
responsibilities.
The views of the
individuals documented here underscore
the degree to which all these changes have
affected individuals at work, at home and
in their personal life. Essentially, work-life

balance is about helping employees better

iii
managed their work and non-work time .

and HR practitioners better understand and

predict the outcomes of the initiatives they
iv

Review of Literature:
The recent explosion of interest in the
work-family interface has produced a
number of concepts to explain the relation
between these two dominant spheres of
life:
accommodation,
compensation,
resource drain, segmentation, spill over,
work-family
conflict,
work-family
enrichment, and work-family integration
(Barnett, 1998; Edwards & Rothbard,
2000; Friedman & Greenhaus, 2000;
Greenhaus & Beutell, 1985; Greenhaus &
Parasuraman, 1999; Lambert, 1990). One
term widely cited in the popular press is
work-family balance. Sometimes used as a
noun (when, for example, one is
encouraged to achieve balance), and other
times as a verb (to balance work and
family demands) or an adjective (as in a
balanced life), work-family balance often
implies cutting back on work to spend
more time with the family. Moreover, it is
thought to be in an individual's best
interest to live a balanced life (Kofodimos,
1993).
Ariane Ollier - Malaterre in the paper
titled "CONTRIBUTIONS OF WORKLIFE
AND
RESILIENCE
INITIATIVES
TO
THE
INDIVIDUAL/ORGANIZATION
RELATIONSHIP"
he
makes
contributions both on the theoretical and
managerial sides. Not only should positive
outcomes such as commitment be
anticipated, but also negative outcomes, as
well as an absence of outcomes. This
article also calls for a broadening of the
theoretical frameworks that work-life
researchers mobilize. From a managerial
perspective, this research helps supervisors

develop .
Jeffrey H. Greenhaus, Karen M. Collins,
and Jason D. Shaw in their study "The
relation between work-family balance
and quality of life" they examined the
relation between work-family balance and
quality of life among professionals
employed in public accounting. Three
components of work-family balance were
assessed: time balance (equal time devoted
to work and family), involvement balance
(equal involvement in work and family),
and satisfaction balance (equal satisfaction
with work and family) and also they
observed similar findings for involvement
and satisfaction. They identified the
contributions of the study to the workfamily balance literature and discussed the
implications of the findings for future
v
research .
Natalie Reiter Roy in his paper "Work
Life Balance: What DO You Mean? The Ethical Ideology Underpinning
Appropriate Application" he gave the
categorizes definitions of work life balance
(WLB) according to a framework of
ethical ideologies. By understanding what
perspective the definition of WLB is
framed within, practitioners and academics
will be better able to assess the suitability
of that definition for a particular
vi
application .
Emma Roberts in his article "Time and
Work-Life Balance: The Roles of
'Temporal Customization' and 'Life
Temporality'" he quantitatively proved
that Two temporal themes are reported
from a study which identified employees
who had customized their working pattern
to suit the various and multi-dimensional

facets of their lifestyles and thereby

successfully improved their work-life
vii

balance .
Linda Elizabeth Duxbury and Christopher
Alan Higgins in their paper "Gender
Differences in Work-Family Conflict"
they significantly proved that significant
differences were noted in 11 of 17 gender
comparisons and are attributed to societal
expectations and behavioural norms. It
appears that the redistribution of roles
within the family to match increased role
responsibilities outside the home has not
viii
yet occurred .
Need for the study:
This research paper makes contributions
both on the theoretical and managerial
sides. Not only should positive outcomes
such as commitment be anticipated, but
also negative outcomes, as well as an
absence of outcomes. This paper also calls
for a broadening of the theoretical
frameworks that work-life researchers
mobilize. From a managerial perspective,
this research helps supervisors and HR
practitioners better understand and predict
the outcomes of the initiatives based on the
findings.
This study helps the organization to know
their employees work safety which in turn
helps to take necessary measure to prevent
the work place accidents.
Objectives of the study:

To study the Work - Life balance

among BPO Employees'.
To identify the health determinants
in working life among employees'.
To know the relationship between
stress and Work Life balance.

Limitation of the study:

Any research study can be restricted in scope

by certain interest limitations that are
participated by the choice of the research
design, sampling procedure and respondent
selection. This study has the following
limitation.
Even though the survey was
conducted among the sample of fifty
employees, the research may not
reflect the real opinion of the entire
employees.
Because of the time constraints, the
sample size is restricted to 30, which
may not reflect the opinion of the
entire population.
Methodology:
Research settings:
The present study was Descriptive Nature
and conducted among Lecturers working
in arts and science colleges
Samples:
Sample size for this study is THIRTY. The
judgment sampling was adopted to collect
the data. Data were collected in the form
of structured questionnaires and through
direct Interview method.
Questionnaire:
QWL and its relationship with Human
Resource practices variable were measured
by using a self - administrated
questionnaire prepared by us.
The questionnaire is specifically designed
to perception of QWL among Lecturers.
For this QWL is divided into Five groups
Flexi -timing, Job stress, Employees
safety, Job performance and Motivation
The Questionnaire was divided in to TWO
parts
PART: A- Questionnaire contained 30
items measuring the QWL. The items

Income (In Rs)

No. of
Persons

UPTO 2,00,000

under each group were measured by using

5 Point Likert scale.
Age (In years)
No. of
PART:
B - persons
Questionnaire includes
question about personal and organizational
BELOW 25YRS
details such as Age, 23Gender, Marital
status,- Income
25YRS
30YRS and Experiences.
4
Table - 1 Age
30YRS - 35YRS
Tota

22

2,00,000
Table -- 4,00,000
4 Income:

4,00,000 - 6,00,000

Tota

30

*SOURCES :
Primary data

Data
were
collecte
d from
THIRT
Y
respond
ents
and
their
Income
compos
ition is
present
ed
in
the
above
table.

30

Table 5
Work
Experi
ence:
Experience
(In
*
S
years)

O
U
LESS THAN
3YRS
R
C
3YRS - 5YRS
E
5YRS -S7YRS
Tota :
P
r
i
m
a
r
y
d
a
t
a

D
a
t
a
w
e

No. of
Persons
24
4
2
30

r
e
c
o
l
l
e
c
t
e
d
f
r
o
m
T
H
I
R
T
Y
r
e
s
p
o
n
d
e
n
t
s
a
n
d
t
h
e
i
r

p
o
s
i
t
i
o
n
i
s
p
r
e
s
e
n
t
e
d
i
n
t
h
e
a
b
o
v
e
t
a
b
l
e
.
T
a
b
l
e

A
g
e

c
o
m

M
a
r

i
t
a
l

S
t
a
t
u
s
:

1
H0: There is no
significance
difference
between Health
and Age.
H1: There is a
significance
difference
between Health
and Age.

b
l
e
No. of

Persons
MARR ED

22

Tota

30
*SOURCES :
Primary data

Data
were
collected
from
Gender
No. of
THIRTY
Person
respondents and
their
Marital
MALE
status
FEMALE
composition
is
presented
in
Tota
the above table.

*SOURCES :
Primary data

S NGLE

Status

T
a
b
l
e

u
t

Data
were
collected
from
THIRTY
respondents and
their
Work
experience
composition
is
presented
in
the above table.

23

30

A
G
Observed N Expected N Res duaE

6
.

BELOW

23

10.0

25YRS -

10.0

30YRS -

10.0

1
25YRS
O
u
30YRS
t
p
35YRS

*SOURCES : Primary data

S
q
u

G
e
n
d
e
r
:

r
e
A
n
a
l
y
s
i

D
a
t
a
w
e
r
e
c
o
l
l
e
c
t
e
d
f
r
o

13.0
(
I
N
-6.0
Y
R
S
-7.0
)

m
T
H
I
R
T
Y
r
e
s
p
o
n
d
e
n
t
s
a
n
d
t
h
e
i
r
G
e
n
d
e
r
c
o
m
p
o
s
i
t
i
o
n
i
s
p
r

e
s
e
n
t
e
d
i
n
t
h
e
a
b
o
v
e
t
a
b
l
e
.

Therefore there is the significance

AGE (IN YRS)

Observed N Expected N Res dua
BELOW

23

10.0

13.0

10.0

-6.0

10.0

-7.0

25YRS
25YRS 30YRS
30YRS 35YRS
Tota

30

relationship between Age and Health.

Table - 6.2
Output - 2
H0: There is no significance
difference between Work life balance and
Marital status.
H1: There is a significance
difference between Work life balance and
Marital status.
MARITAL STATUS
Observed N Expected N Res dua

HEALTH
Expected
Observed N
HYPER

Res dua

11

3.5

7.5

MARR ED

12

15.0

-3.0

S NGLE

18

15.0

3.0

Tota

30

TENS ON

WLB

OBES TY

7.5

-4.5

D ABETES

7.5

-3.5

OTHERS

12

7.5

4.5

Tota

30

df
Asymp. S g.

Expected N

Res dua

YES

22

15.0

7.0

NO

15.0

-7.0

Tota

Test 30
Statistics

HEALTH

AGE ( N YRS)
Ch -Square

Observed N

25.400

8.667

.000

.034

Test Statistics
MAR TAL
WLB

STATUS
a. 0 ce s
Ch -Square
(.0%) have
df
expected
Asymp.
S g. es
frequenc
ess than 5.
The m n

ce

6.533
frequency s
1
1
7.5.
.273
.011

1.200

The observed and

expected

mum

frequencies are

expected

given in output -

ce

1. The asymptotic

frequency
s 10.0.
b. 0 ce s

significance is
less than 0.05; the

(.0%) have

difference

expected

between

frequenc es

observed

ess than 5.
The m n

frequencies and

mum

expected

expected

frequencies is

signifi

than 5.

asymptotic

cant.

The m n

significance is

mum

Theref
ore the
null

a
.
0

hypoth

expected

less than 0.05;

ce

the

frequency

difference

s 15.0.

between

esis is

The observed

observed

rejecte

and expected

frequencies

frequencies are

and expected

given in output

frequencies is

- 2. The

significant.

d.

s
(
.
0
%
)
h
a
v
e
e
x
p
e
c
t
e
d
f
r
e
q
u
e
n
c
e
s
e
s
s

Therefore the null hypothesis is rejected.

Therefore there is the significance

EXPERIEN
CE (IN
YEARS)

relationship between Work life balance

and Marital status.
Observed N
TableTHAN
- 6.3
LESS

Test Statistics

Expected

Ch -Square
df

Res dua

24

10.0

14.0

3YRS - 5YRS

10.0

-6.0

5YRS - 7YRS

10.0

-8.0

Asymp. S g.
a.

3YRS

Tota

0
ce
s
(.0

30

%)
ha

Output - 3
H
There
is no
significanc
e
difference
between
Stress and
Experienc
e.
H
1: There is
a
significan
ce
difference
between
Stress
and
Experien
ce.
0:

ve
ex
pe
cte
d
fre
qu
en
c
es
es
s
tha
n
5.
Th
e
m
n
mu

STRE
Obse
YES

m
ex
pe
cte

NO

Tota

ce
fre
qu
Te
st
Sta
tist
ics

en
cy
s
10.
0.

29.600

.000

EXPER ENCE
STRESS

( N YEARS)
29.600a

Ch -Square
df
a. 0 ce s

null

(.0%)

hypothesis is

have
expected

rejected.

frequenc

Therefore

es ess

there is the

than 5.
The m n

significance

mum

relationship

expected

between

ce

Experience

frequency
s 10.0.

and Stress.

b. 0 ce s
(.0%)

Factor Analysis:

have
expected
frequenc
es ess
than 5.
The m n
mum
expected
ce
frequency
s 15.0.

The observed
and expected
frequencies are
given in output
- 3. The
asymptotic
significance is
less than 0.05;
the
difference
between
observed
frequencies
and expected
frequencies is
significant.
Therefore the

Factor analysis
is one used to
analyze
the
inter
relationships
between
independent
variables with
metric data. The
analysis
summarizes
a
majority of the
information in
the data set in
terms
of
relatively a few
new
categoriesknown
as
factors.
The
main
applications of
factor analytic
techniques are:
(1) to reduce the
number
of
variables
and
(2) to detect
structure in the
relationships
between
variables, that is
to
classify
variables. The
present
study
uses the factor

Asymp. S g.

analysis to.000
analyze
the
statement
responses
in
the
questionna
ire
and
the
results were
presented in
ix
Table - 7
T
o
t
a

8.533b
1
l
.003
V
a
r
i
a
n
c
e
E
x
p
l
a
i
n
e
d

through maximizing the significant

loadings of a variable on a single factor.

Extract on
Sums of
n t a E genva ues
Co

% of

mpo
nent
1

Squared

Rotat on Sums of

Load ngs

Squared Load ngs

Cumu

% of Cum

Tota

93

93

38

31

96

27

.873

.776

20.798

8
39.100

Rotated Component Matrix

56.599

.551

.418

.274

.235

-.076

.580

-.187

-.490

HS1

-.061

-.013

-.115

.896

HS2

-.127

.086

.753

-.063

7.759 85.22

HS3

.675

.196

-.327

.377

WLB5

.007

.777

.141

.019

5.509 90.73

JP1

.075

.862

-.083

.011

JP2

.372

.165

.607

.036

JP4

.125

-.267

.765

-.070

M1

-.777

.036

-.198

.126

M3

.913

-.031

.088

-.037

36

8.729 77.46

4.178 94.91

2.741 97.65
2

10

F4

09

1
9

68.736

4
7

Component

1.001 10.009 68.73 1.0 10.0 68.7 1.21 12.13

6 01

ve %

1.690 16.896 58.72 1.6 16.8 58.7 1.75 17.49

7 90

nce

1.964 19.638 41.83 1.9 19.6 41.8 1.83 18.30

1 64

ance e %

2.219 22.193 22.19 2.2 22.1 22.1 2.08 20.79

3 19

% of

Var anc at ve Tot Var u at v Tota Var a Cumu at

The goal of rotational strategies is to

obtain a clear pattern of loadings, that is,
factors that are somehow clearly marked
by high loadings for some variables and
low loadings for others. This general
pattern is also sometimes referred to as
simple structure.
Typical
rotational
strategies are varimax, quartimax, and
x
equamax .

2.348 100.0
00

Extract on Method: Pr nc pa Component Ana ys s.

The above table shows that the statements

explain about 68.736% of the problem
studied.
The loading of the factors are presented
below.
Rotated Component Matrix:
Perhaps the most important tool in
interpreting factors in factor rotation. The
term rotation means the reference axes of
the factors are turned about the origin until
some other position has been reached.
Factor rotation assists in the interpretation
of the factors by simplifying the structure

Extract on Method: Pr nc pa Component Ana ys s.

Rotat on Method: Var max w th Ka ser Norma zat on.
a. Rotat on converged n 5 terat
ons.

Table: 7 contain the information regarding

possible factor and their relative degree
expressed by their values. The rotated
identified Grouped the 10 statements into
five factors and on the basis of loading the
statement they were given names and
explained
below.
These
statements
explained about 68.736% of the problem
studied.

Factor - 1 Motivational factor:

Major statement loaded in this factor
shows the importance of Employee
motivation to achieve the organizational
goal.

I feel comfortable to work with the

latest
technologies
in
the
organization.
Health problem caused me to be
absent from work.

Intrinsic, meaning internal motivation is a

technique to feel a driving force which will
lead towards accomplishment of your
goals. In common terms, intrinsic
motivation is a passion or interest in doing
a good job. On the other hand, extrinsic
motivation comes from outside, i.e, from
the environment. Money, competition,
awards and accolades, appreciation and
praise are all examples of extrinsic
motivation.
While both forms of
motivation are important for employees to
put in their best in an organization,
employees who are intrinsically motivated
will work because they derive pleasure
from their work. If they do not like a
particular job they will not be motivated to
do it even if they are offered better salary
than other employees.
All employees are motivated to work
harder for their rewards, incentives, bonus
etc. However, managers must remember
that money is not everything. One needs to
understand the need of the employee and
reward him or her accordingly. Along with
rewards, recognition is something that can
be a huge source of motivation for most
employees. Recognition and appreciation
is greatly valued when it is received on
time. You can keep your employees
motivated by simply saying "good work".
Organization is a place that is full of
opportunities for employees to grow and
widen
their
knowledge.
Employee
development is as important as rewards

and recognition
employees.

to

motivate

your

Factor - 2 Performance factor:

Major statement loaded in this factor
shows the importance of Employee
motivation to achieve the organizational
goal.

I am able to get the necessary

information to perform my job
efficiently
I have been given my expected
promotion
I would have not been able to
concentrate
on
my
further
education.

Relationships between job performance

and well-being also varied as a function of
time commitment to work. The data
suggest that low levels of job performance
may depress marital adjustment and
quality of life for employees who work
long hours. Perhaps poor performance
despite an extensive time commitment to
work intensifies feelings of failure as an
employee and as a spouse. Again, these
results highlight the need for considerably
more research on the meaning of job
success under different circumstances.
Factor - 3 Health factor:
Major statements loaded in this factor
show the importance of the employees'
health in performing the individual and
organizational task.

I never felt depressed because of

my work.
I am having enough time to enrich
my knowledge to perform my task
I have been given my expected
promotion

There is also some evidence that high job

performance may detract from quality of
life in non supportive environments and
from marital adjustment in inequitable

environments, although since these latter

two findings did not reach conventional
levels of significance, they are in need of
further investigation. It is possible that
achieving high levels of job performance
in conflict-producing, non supportive and
inequitable environments increases the
sacrifices, compromises, and feelings of
emptiness that ultimately take their toll on
employees' personal and family wellbeing. It is also possible that job success in
these environments exacerbates employee
stress which, in turn, spills over into the
nonworking sphere of life.

conflicts experienced, the time committed

to the work role, and the perceived
inequity and non supportiveness of the
work environment. The present study
provides evidence that initiatives that
employees' interpret as supporting their
work-life balance can have consequences
for the organisation. Work quantity may
reduce as a consequence of less time
committed to work and also this study
significantly proved that Motivation,
Employee Performance, Health and Stress
were the four major factors identified as
the dimension of Work life balance of
BPO employees'.

Factor - 4 Stress Factor:

References
Major statement loaded in this factor show
the impact of the stress in organizational
relationship.

Editorial: Work-life Balance: A Matter of Choice?

Abigail Gregory and Susan Milner, Gender, Work and
Organization. Vol. 16 No. 1 January 2009

Health
problem
caused
me to be
absent
from
work
I
experienc
ed
argument
s,
heated
conversat
ion with
colleague
s

Workplace stress
is often caused
among
employees
through
their
idea about new
requirements and
new procedures
in a company.
This can severely
pull
down
productivity
levels
of
employees.
Hence, it will

be
a
good
idea to inform
your employees
in
advance
through
mails
and
seeking
their
participation
through
feedback. It will
also assist in
building
a
healthy relation
between
employee
and
employer.
C
o
n
c
l
u
s
i
o
n
:

WORK-LIFE
BALANCE:
A
STRATEGICAPPROA
CH
FOR
EMPLOYEES by
S.Solamalai,
JIMS,
October December
2008
WORK-LIFE
BALANCE:
A
STRATEGICAPPROA
CH
FOR
EMPLOYEES by
S.Solamalai,
JIMS,
October December
2008
iv

CONTRIBUTIONS
OF
WORK-LIFE
AND
RESILIENCE
INITIATIVES
TO
THE
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performance and
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