hrm

Running Head: CONCEPT OF WORK-LIFE BALANCE 1

CONCEPT OF WORK-LIFE BALANCE 2

Concept of Work-Life Balance

Definition

Work-life balance refers to the situation where people lack opposition between their roles of life and the work they do. In this situation, people try to balance the demand for personal life, family life, and professional life. It involves having flexible arrangements of work that enables the employees to carry out their duties (Lim & Misra, 2019). Balancing work and life balance is very important as it helps people to have a healthy work environment. It reduces work stress and burnout in the place of work. 

Latest Trends in Work-Life Balance in Global Companies

Different companies in the world have implemented then new developments in the work-life balance. Some of the latest tend include more centralized communication, a faster pace of work, focus on gender equality, and increased mentorship opportunities (Jeffrey, 2012). Examples of global companies that have implemented these modern trends include Starbucks (Seattle, WA) Intuit (Mountain View, CA) and Overstock.com. These companies have ensured that they have a centralized communication in their workplace. However, the overflowing inboxes have been a great challenge to these companies but these have got a solution in the last few years Cabrelli, D. (2018). It is now simple for companies to receive instant messages and save communication workload. These instant messages are more convenient because they reduce work stress. The future of the company or the workplace, in general, is not all about technology Cabrelli, D. (2018). However, these global companies have also garnered efforts to provide career advancement opportunities to their employees. They have always embraced the gender balance within the institutions. With gender equality being prioritized, the companies’ progress is kept on track. 

Effects of Work-Life Balance or Work-Life Imbalance

Work-life balance or imbalance has various effects on various aspects based on organizational theory. Some of the aspects include job satisfaction, job stress, and motivation. Firstly, the employees’ motivation has always been a great challenge to most of the companies in the world (Lim & Misra, 2019). However, balancing work and life has established the issue of not engaging the employees in the companies’ management processes. Therefore, it has continuously been reducing the engagement of the employees in the institutions. 

Secondly, failure to balance between life and work negatively affects the job stress of the employees. The members of the staff may at times have so much work in the office. However, this may lead to stress, anxiety, and more pressure to complete the huge task on the table (Lim & Misra, 2019). This also makes the job satisfaction for the employees become a big challenge to the company. Therefore, companies need to consider the issue of the remaining employees to increase their ability to deal with their work-life balance. 

Job stress may manifest itself in different ways including excessive absenteeism, tardiness, and disability claims. These effects are forested by the job stress of the employees. Other signs of job stress caused by the work-life imbalance include fallout from job disparity, irritability, lack of concentration, and headaches (Jeffrey, 2012). Generally, the work-life imbalance increases job stress which reduces job satisfaction among the employees. When the company has work-life imbalance practices to its employees, it is likely to perform poorly. Therefore, if the company has have reduced stress and increased job satisfaction for its employees then it has to ensure that it has implemented work-life balance

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References

Cabrelli, D. (2018). 9. Work–Life Balance. Law Trove. doi: 10.1093/he/9780198813149.003.0009

Jeffrey, L. (2012). Work Life Balance: perceptions of generation y graduates. Oxford: Oxford Brookes University.

Lim, M., & Misra, J. (2019). Work/Life Balance. Sociology. doi: 10.1093/obo/9780199756384-0218