A STUDY ON QUALITY OF WORK LIFE BALANCE IN DSM TEXTILE AT

KARUR

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

MEANING

Maintaining a balance between work life and personal life is called Work Life
Balance. The meaning of work/life balance has chameleon characteristics. It means different
things to different groups, and the meaning often depends on the context of the conversation
and the speaker's viewpoint. The following are working definitions of terms used regarding
work/life balance; some definitions overlap and some are continuing to evolve.

WORK/FAMILY

It is a term more frequently used in the past than today. The current trend is to use
titles that include the phrase work/life, giving a broader work/life connotation or labeling
referring to specific areas of support (e.g., quality of life, flexible work options, life balance,
etc.)

Work/family conflict

Work/family conflict is a push and pulls between work and family responsibilities.

Work/life balance from the employee viewpoint

It is a dilemma of managing work obligations and personal/family responsibilities.

Work/life balance from the employer viewpoint

Work/life is the challenge of creating a supportive company culture where employees

can focus on their jobs while at work.
Family-friendly benefits

The benefits that offer employees the latitude to address their personal and family
commitments, while at the same time not compromising their work responsibilities.

Work/life programs

This programs (often financial or time-related) established by an employer that offer

employees options to address work and personal responsibilities.

Work/life initiatives

This policies and procedures established by an organization with the goal to enable
employees to get their jobs done and at the same time provide flexibility to handle
personal/family concerns.

Work/family culture

It is the extent to which an organization's culture acknowledges and respects the

family responsibilities and obligations of its employees and encourages management and
employees to work together to meet their personal and work needs.

Indicators

When you have balance you are

 Satisfied with your work and home lives.

 Able to fulfill your responsibilities without guilt or regret.
 Healthy physically and emotionally.
 In control of your life

Loss of balance may cause you to

 Miss work more often and not be as productive at work.

 Your involvement in the community may go down.
CHANGING &INCREASING WORK PRESSURES

A decade back, employees used to have fixed working hours or rather a 9 to 5 job
from Monday to Friday. The boundary between the work and home has disappeared with
time. But with globalization and people working across countries, the concept of fixed
working hours is fading away. Instead of just 7 or 8 a day, people are spending as much as
12-16 hours every day in office.

The technological blessings like e-mail, text messaging and cell phones which were
thought of as tools to connect them to their work being away from their workplace, have
actually integrated their personal and professional lives. Now professionals find themselves
working even when they are on vacations.

The ever-increasing working hours leave the individuals with less time for themselves
and to pursue his hobbies or leisure activities. This hinders the growth of the person as an
individual in terms of his personal and spiritual growth. Professionals working in the BPO
industry, doctors and nurses and especially IT professionals are the few examples who are
facing the brunt of the hazard constantly.

REASONS OF IMBALANCE:

There are various reasons for this imbalance and conflicts in the life of an employee.
From individual career ambitions to pressure to cope up with family or work, the reasons can
be situation and individual specific. The speed of advancement of information technology,
the increasing competition in the talent supply market has led to a "performance-driven"
culture creating pressures and expectations to performance more and better every time. Also,
many a times, many people find it difficult to say "NO" to others especially their superiors.
They usually end up over burdening themselves with work. The increasing responsibilities on
the personal front with age can also create stress on personal and professional fronts.

There was a time when employees showed up for work Monday through Friday and
worked eight- to nine-hour days. The boundaries between work and home were fairly clear
then. But the world has changed and, unfortunately, the boundaries have blurred for many
workers. The main reasons are:
GLOBAL ECONOMY

As more skilled workers enter the global labor market and companies outsource or
move more jobs to reduce labor costs, people feel pressured to work longer and produce
more just to protect their jobs.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

Work continues around the world 24 hours a day for some people. If you work in an
international organization, you might be on call around the clock for troubleshooting or
consulting.

ADVANCED COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

Many people now have the ability to work anywhere — from their home, from their
car and even on vacation. And some managers expect this.

LONGER HOURS

Employers commonly ask employees to work longer hours than they're scheduled.
Often, overtime is mandatory. If you hope to move up the career ladder, you may find
yourself regularly working more than 40 hours a week to achieve and exceed expectations.

CHANGES IN FAMILY ROLES

Today’s married worker is typically part of a dual-career couples, which makes it

difficult to find time to meet commitments to family, friends and community.

EFFECTS

Constant struggle and effort to maintain a balance between the work and personal
life can have serious implications on the life of an individual. According to a survey, 81 per
cent of the respondents have admitted that their jobs are affecting and creating stress in their
personal lives. The pressures of the work or personal life can lead to stress. According to
studies, it has been found to that such situation can take a toll on the person's health both
physiologically and psychologically. Heart ailments, cardiovascular problems, sleep
disorders, depression, irritability, jumpiness, insecurity, poor concentration and even
nervous breakdowns are becoming common among the victims of such imbalance. Pressure,
stress or tension in work life can lead to bad social life and vice versa.

SOLUTIONS

Many experts have given different solutions to this problem.

 Time management is one of the best solutions which can help to reduce the imbalance
between the personal and the work life of the employees. Prioritizing the tasks and
planning the activities can help to take out some free time which can be utilized for
other purposes.

 Taking some time out for hobbies and leisure activities, spending time with loved
ones can help to beat the stress.

 Learn to say "no" if required.

 Sharing the responsibilities will help and don't commit for something which is
practically impossible.

 Utilizing the flexible working hours option of the organizations to get some free time.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES

 To analyze how far the employees of DSM TEXTILES AT KARUR are able to
maintain balance between their work life and personal life.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES

 To analyze factors contributing to work life balance of employees.

 To study the factors this hinders work life balance and creates imbalances.
 To suggest measures that should be concentrated to improve work life balance.
SCOPE OF THE STUDY

 People would like to have a neat balance of Work & Life. The scope of balancing
both work and life by a person would be leading to good quality of life and an
enjoyable work life and career progression.
 Work and Life Balance will make a person to maintain the good health and
affordable childcare and eldercare.
 One can concentrate on their personal interests and voluntary work.
 The balancing of work and life keep the persons away from pressurized mentality
which in turn reflect in happier life and good productivity at work.

NEED OF THE STUDY

 The present study concentrates deeply in “Employee Work Life Balance”

which refers to how the employees are balancing the work as well as life.
 The concept of “Employee Work Life Balance” is flexible and elastic and
differs widely with time, industry, social values, degree of industrialization, it
is also moulded according to age-group, gender, social-culture, marital,
economic status, and educational level of employees.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

 Even though the concept of Organizational Commitment maybe and universally

applicable concept, by nature of present study, it has got only a limited scope with
reference to the organization studied.
 Further the researcher has limited the scope of the study only up to the conforming
the association between personal variables and organizational commitment, even
though the scope for higher level analysis is possible.
 The busy work schedule of the employees was a constraint for the study.
 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

The Work-Life Balance Concept

The importance of managing an employee’s WLB has increased markedly over the
past 20 years (De Bruin & Dupuis, 2004). There have been changes in several areas that
directly impact on this issue. Firstly, jobs have become more complex and employees have
been put under pressure to produce quality results in shorter timeframes and with fewer
resources (Hosie, Forster &Servatos, 2004) that has resulted in a redefinition of ‘normal
working hours’. Secondly, the demographic make-up of the labour force (i.e. gender,
ethnicity, dual career couples, religion, multi-generational workplaces etc), and thirdly the
very nature of the employment contract has necessitated that organisations effectively
manage their employee’s wellbeing, stress and job satisfaction (Greenhaus& Powell, 2006).

Organisational interest in the management of the WLB derives from evidence that
“there is little doubt any more that there is a clear connection between the way people are
managed and organisational performance” (Purcell, 2002:1), and that with the onset of
predicted skill-shortages, the ability to offer effective WLB employment opportunities may
become a source of competitive advantage.

Ideally, the WLB concept requires organisations to effectively integrate employees’

work and non-work roles such that levels of multiple-role conflict, and the associated stress
and job-dissatisfaction, are minimised or avoided (De Bruin & Dupuis, 2004; Greenblatt,
2002). In attempts to achieve a WLB, however, western organisations have tended to adopt a
limited set of policies such as on-site child-care facilities, on-site gymnasiums,
telecommuting opportunities, and even on-site sleeping quarters for the employee and their
family (Hacker &Doolen, 2003; Hyman & Summers, 2004). Each has attempted to increase
the flexibility by which employees can enact their work-roles whilst simultaneously enabling
them to enact their family-based roles to the minimum extent necessary.
ISSUES IN WORK-LIFE IMBALANCE

Despite their best intentions, there remains considerable contention about the
effectiveness of organisational WLB policies in delivering flexibility and reducing stress and
job-dissatisfaction in the modern workplace (Eates, 2004; Kirrane& Buckley, 2004).
Researchers have identified two empirical shortcomings within the WLB literature that have
served to undermine its theoretical and practical usefulness. The first relates to the WLB
literature’s almost exclusive focus on the work-family interface at the expense of other
important life-balance issues. Buzzanell et al, (2005) notes that the WLB literature typically
portrays role conflicts for white, married, professional and managerial women, with little
reference to the many other demographics represented in the modern organisation. Shorthose
(2004) and Wise and Bond (2003) go so far as to state that the WLB discipline is essentially
flawed, as it is ‘one-dimensional’, assumes a unitary HR perspective, and that its underlying
management has been one of maintaining the status-quo rather than the adoption of
competitive and future-oriented HR policy.

The second relates to the literature’s inability to clearly define the interaction of work
and non-work roles that impact employees’ working-life (i.e. stress, job satisfaction etc.).
Elloy and Smith (2004) and Spinks (2004), for example, state that because an individual’s
non-work roles are inherently ambiguous and idiosyncratic, organisations are incapable of
understanding how their enactment (or otherwise) impacts each individual. Spinks (2004), in
particular, suggests that organisations are either incapable (or unwilling) to understand their
workforce in sufficient detail, and have instead defaulted to a ‘one-size-fits-all’ policy regime
that has simply enabled employees to ‘stay at work longer’ rather than enable them to enact
their important non-work roles. The inadequacy of current WLB policy regimes is
highlighted by Kiger’s (2005) study that revealed that less than two percent of employees
actually participate in available WLB programs.

Dex and Smith (2002) cite two main causes for this low figure. The first relates to
equity, with many employees reporting that they did not wish to appear a ‘special case’ or to
require ‘special treatment’ to their colleagues. This is supported from the results of Waters
&Bardoel’s (2006) study that found a range of workplace cultural factors that reduced the
willingness of Australian university staff to access WLB policy options.
 The second is that the wide range of policies adopted by organisations has been based
on an ill-informed conceptualisation of contemporary WLB, and that this has led to its
ineffective formalisation in HRM practices. The consequence for organisations not taking a
more holistic approach to WLB is increased issues in attraction and retention of employees in
the context of skills shortages in significant occupational groups. The work expectations of
Generation X (born 1965 to 1979) and generation Y (born 1980 onwards) (Mackay, 1997)
place higher importance on WLB than previous generations and these employees will be
attracted to and remain longer with organisations that provide flexibility in accordance with
individual employee expectations (Henry, 2005). There is evidence of an increase in women
managers holding values and goals with greater emphasis on WLB who are opting to leave
organisations and undertaking consulting or contracting work which can permit greater
control of WLB conflict (Beck & Davis, 2005).

The contribution of the WLB literature, therefore, appears limited in its ability to
provide a useful framework for both academics and practitioners alike (Hyman &Summers,
2004). Despite its name, the WLB literature has remained largely focused on the work-
family interface and fails to accurately identify and define the array of work and non-roles
that impact inter alia on an individual’s stress levels and job satisfaction (Hacker &Doolen,
2003; Mellor, Mathieu, Barnes-Farrell &Rogelberg, 2001; Noor, 2004; Pocock, 2005). In
order to overcome these issues, Elloy and Smith (2003: 63) suggest that an effective
conceptualization of the WLB requires:

Guest (1987, 1997 & 2002) suggests for the WLB literature to incorporate a holistic
approach to HR management and better inform organisational HR policy development, its
design and implementation should adopt the following four criteria:
 That the WLB literature maintains a focus on the integration of HR policies
with the organisations vision, goals and strategy. Central to this point is the
consistency between the organisations espoused culture and the context of its
WLB approach;
 That the implementation of WLB policies create a set of internally consistent
employment polices intended to produce employee commitment, flexibility and
quality – mutual flexibility and commitment being a cornerstone of the concept
of a WLB programme;
  That there is recognition of the importance of human resources and of the need
to engage in practices which reflect this understanding. Therefore, managers
internalising (and demonstrating by their behaviour) the importance of human
resources is fundamental to the link between WLB goals and their achievement;
and
 That there is a response by employees to the WLB policies (i.e. an ‘up-take’ of
WLB opportunities by employees) and to the behaviour of the line managers
(i.e. a recognition by employees that their superiors are committed to the
achievement of a meaningful WLB).

Therefore, the degree to which employers can support the achievement (and benefits
associated with) effective WLB/HR policy depends on two main considerations: the manner
in which the WLB is defined and formalised within HR policy, and/or how managers respond
to employee requests for WLB relief. In terms of its formalisation, organisations need to be
aware of the extent to which WLB is operationalised– that is, whether it is to be regarded as a
‘right’, a ‘right to request’, or as a matter of managerial discretion. In terms of managerial
responses, organisations need to decide whether to apply an authoritarian approach (i.e. ‘hard
HR’), a paternal approach (i.e. ‘benevolent’), or a commitment (i.e. ‘Soft HR’) approach to
employee requests for WLB relief. It is this intersection between corporate culture, as
enacted, in rituals and practices modelled by organisational leaders that set the tone for
employees’ responses to WLB initiatives. Where leaders work very long hours, tend to take
little annual leave and then in small amounts, demand travel at short notice (Sinclair, 2005)
and require employee availability at the leader’s whim and wears these sacrifices as ‘badges
on honour’, it follows that employees are, at best, cautious in utilising WLB.

The achievement of an effective WLB-HR policy interface has largely failed in Australia
given the issues discussed above, and an exploration of possible remedies represents the
research opportunity for this paper.
QUALITY OF WORK LIFE IN FOURRTS, CHENNAI: AN OUTLOOK FROM
JEROME M.ROSOW’S PERCEPTION (2008)
-by PremaManoharan, 2010

The QWL is one of the aspects useful to retain resources. This approach considers
people as ‘assets’to the organization rather than as ‘costs’ and motivates people by satisfying
not only their economic needs but also their social and psychological ones.

 Quality of work life focuses on all aspects of workers’ life and the satisfaction of the
workforce in an organization. The definition of Jerome M Rosow, President of the
Work in American Institute, about QWL is considered for the study. The identified
seven critical factors which will affect the quality of work life-pay, employee benefits,
job security, alternative work schedules, Occupational stress, participation and
democracy in the workplace are studied.

 Good health is the primary goal of the society and this study was done by researcher
to find out whether a company in health care industry takes care of its employees too.

 The researcher opted a descriptive study done among employees of FOURTTS, a firm
in Pharmaceutical industry.

 Questionnaires were used to collect the primary data and the statistical tools used are
percentage analysis, chi-square test.

 The sample size and the time limitation were the main constraints.
EMPLOYEES MIRRORING ON QUALITY OF WORK LIFE- AN EMPIRICAL
EVALUATION (2010)
- byJ.ARTHI & DR.KIRUPA, PRIYADARSHINI.M

In this paper researcher through light on Quality of work life (QWL) that has
increasingly gained recognition, as employees want to feel respected at work for what they do
and who they are. Today's business climate is increasingly characterized by rapid change and
Fierce competition. Organizations must adapt to this environment if they are to survive and
prosper.

 Proactive managers and human resource departments respond to this challenge by

finding new ways to improve productivity. As a goal, QWL aims to improve
organizational effectiveness through the creation of more challenging, satisfying and
effective jobs and work environments.
 Here researcher projects the ideas from the research conducted in a selected
organization and the consolidation of results reveal the major influential factors of
QWL.
 They also give a suggestive model to achieve favorable QWL environment in
anyorganisation.

A WAY OF LIFE: JOB STRESS AND TURNOVER INTENTION (2008)

- By R.T.NIRMAL KUMAR, S.DEEPA and M.KEERTHIGA

In this paper the researcher focuses on the job stress. According to him, man's life
today faces all sorts of challenges, obstacles that hamper normal functioning and most of the
time it is too hard to handle. In a nut shell, stress is ubiquitous these days, becoming an
increasingly global phenomenon affecting all countries, all professions and all categories of
workers, families and society in general. It is a physical and mental response to everyday
demands, particularly those associated with change.
 Stress is the change that drives the worker from normal psychological and physical
condition (Behr and Newman, 1978).Stress takes heavy toll of the person’s health and his
capacity to adjust with others. They state about the few years’ evidence has accumulated
from around the world to show that the most Common cause of destructive ill health is stress
at work.

As a result of which, an individual faces many psychological as well as

psychosomatic disorders. A stressful workplace is rarely a productive one. Therefore the
researcher says that employers must develop stress management key to retain the existing
employees in the workplace. As it, become very important for organizations to retain their
employees, in today's competitive environment.

This research helps to understand the relationship between job stress, Personality
Characteristics and intent to leave employment, which aid administrators seeking to attract
and retain employees.

QUALITY OF WORK LIFE IN TODAY’S ERA

- By DR. A. ARUMUGAM & K. SIVAGAMA SHUNMUGA SUNDARI(2009)

Here the researcher discusses about Quality of work life (QWL) denotes all the
organizational inputs which aims at the employee's satisfaction and enhancing organizational
effectiveness. It is referred to as favorable or unfavorable of the job environment for people.
Many early QWL efforts focus on job enrichment.

Researcher states that today QWL gives much concern about decent wages,
convenient working hours, conducive working conditions etc. In a deeper sense, QWL refers
to the quality life of individuals in their working organizations. QWL provides for the
balanced relationship among work and non-work and family aspects of life.

In this paper the researcher discusses several notable factors that influence QWL are
adequate & fair compensation, safety and healthy working conditions, opportunity to use &
develop human capabilities, opportunities for career growth etc. This study was carried out to
find out the evolution of QWL and some ameliorative criteria for measuring QWL. It is
concluded that there is vast change in QWL and to find out the latest changes in QWL.
 CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

“A Research is a careful investigation or inquiry; especially through search for new

facts in any branch of knowledge .It is a systemized effort to gain more knowledge.”

Research methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem. It may

be understood as a science of studying how research is done scientifically. It is necessary for
the researcher to know not only the research methods or technique but also the methodology.
Researcher always needs to understand the assumption underline various technique and they
need to know the criteria by which they can decide that certain technique and procedures will
be applicable to certain problems and other will not.

TYPE OF RESEARCH:

The method of conducting research deals with research design, data collection method,
sampling method. It explained about the nature of research work to be done such as
descriptive nature of research, which is used in this study.

DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH:

The researcher has adopted descriptive research design for the purpose of this survey.
Descriptive studies are that study which is concerned with describing the characteristics of a
particular individual, or of a group.

TYPES OF DATA

1) Primary data

2) Secondary data
PRIMARY DATA:

First time collected data are referred to as primary data. In this research the primary data
was collected by means of a Structured Questionnaire. The questionnaire consists of number
of questions in printed form. It has both open-end closed end questions in it.

Section I- Personal Data: This section includes questions soliciting the respondent’s details
such as Age, Gender, Marital status, Education, Designation, section and Work experience.

Section II- Scale for measuring the issues: It comprises of single open ended type and
various close ended questions which includes yes no type, scaling and other optional
questions.

SECONDARY DATA:

Data which has already gone through the process of analysis or were used by someone
else earlier is referred to secondary data. This type of data was collected from the books,
journals, company records etc.

SOURCE OF DATA:

The data has been collected from the employees of DSM TEXTILE AT KARUR

SAMPLING UNIT:

Sampling unit refers to process of defining the target population that will be sample.
Hence for the present study, data was collected by means of questionnaire from the
employees.

SAMPLE SIZE:

Sample size plays a critical role, because the generalizability of the conclusion depends
on sample size. Sample size for the present study is 70.

SAMPLING METHOD:

Sampling means the method of selecting a sample from a given universe with a view to
draw conclusions about the universe. Sample means representative of universe selected for
the study. Sampling is a process of units(e.g. People) from a population of the interest

Sampling method is divided into 2 types

 1) Probability Method

2) Non Probability Method

The sampling method that was chosen is entirely non probabilitistic in nature. In non
probabilitistic method the researcher has adopted convenience sampling method.

In this method, the researcher select the accessible population members from which to
get information and the items selected are easy to approach or easy to measure.

TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES:

In this research the tools such as Simple percentage analysis, chi square, ANOVA and
correlation are used for data analysis.