INTRODUCTION

In recent years, the question of the balance between people's lives as paid workers and their lives as members of families and of communities has become a topic of discussion in India and internationally. Demographic and sociological trends - more women in paid work, the changing roles of men and women, an ageing workforce, skill shortages, labor shortages, and the desire of younger generations not to be 'married to the job' - suggest that providing the right conditions for work-life balance is increasingly important to employers in attracting and retaining talent for their workplaces. The workforce of the new millennium is quite different from the one organizations are used to managing (e.g. the male dominated workforce of the past). The new workforce is older, more ethnically diverse, and has a larger proportion of working women, working mothers, dual-income families, and employees with responsibilities for the care of ageing parents, fathers with dependent care responsibilities, and sandwich employees (i.e., those with both childcare and eldercare responsibilities).

In organizations and on the home front, the challenge of work/life balance is rising to the top of many employers' and employees' agenda. In today's fast-paced society, human resource professionals seek options to positively impact the bottom line of their companies, improve employee morale, retain employees with valuable company knowledge, and keep pace with workplace trends. People have family and personal responsibilities and needs outside of work, whether it is the caring of children and/or elderly parents, or the pursuit of personal interests, activities or hobbies. Defining and working out ways to accommodate these responsibilities and needs can make a real difference to employees and to an organization. The work-life balance strategy offers a variety of means to reduce stress levels and increase job satisfaction in the employee while enhancing business benefits for the employer. In our increasingly hectic world, the work-life strategy seeks to find a balance between work and play. A sentence that brings the idea of work life balance to the point is: "Work to live. Don't live to work". It is still up to discussion though, if a harsh separation between "work" and "life" is at all a perfect solution. One may argue that work is very much a part of life. Finding the right job, that is fun to do, might be more important part in removing possible causes of stress. The best results on work life balance are achieved in workplaces where the issue is approached consensuously between managers and workers with trade union and/or employee representatives. The balance to be struck can be different at different stages of a person's life cycle and work life balance policies need to be reviewed and updated to continue to meet the needs of the workforce and the needs of business. Work life balance thus means putting in place arrangements and policies at the work place, which assist workers in combining employment with other

responsibilities and choices. They also benefit employers by helping them to develop a more productive and committed workforce.

WHAT IS WORK LIFE BALANCE

Work-life balance is about helping staff to maintain healthy, rewarding lifestyles that will in turn lead to improvements in productivity and performance. Strategies to achieve balance will differ between organizations, partly depending on their function, the types of work roles they offer, and their workforce profile. What provides a sense of balance varies from person to person. It is not a simple formula of time spent at work, compared with time spent on the rest of their lives. Hours worked is an important factor, but may not be the principal one. Work-life balance is in a sense a person's control over the conditions in his/her workplace. it is accomplished when an individual feels dually satisfied about his personal and his paid occupation. it mutually benefits the

individual, business and society when a person's personal life is balanced with his or her own job. In a growing number of dual-income families, employees of both sexes are now juggling with care giving and household responsibilities that were once managed by a stay-at-home spouse. Such employees are not well served by traditional one-size fits all human resource policies, which can impose rigid time and place constraints. Traditional promotional practices, which reward long work hours at the expense of personal time, often generate stress, and detract from the pleasures of parenting and the enjoyment of personal life. Similarly, organizational cultures that focus on doing more with less, presence versus performance, hours rather than output, where work is done not how much work is done, and dictate that work takes priority over family and life make it difficult for many employees to achieve a balance. Work-Life balance is therefore about creating supportive, healthy work environments for employees who are striving to better integrate their work and personal responsibilities. By implementing proactive programmes and initiatives that support employees, organizations can strengthen employee commitment and loyalty, resulting in higher productivity, improved customer satisfaction and healthier bottom lines.

THE EVOLUTION OF WORK LIFE BALANCE

Phrases and words serve as cultural signposts to explain where we are and where we are going. The term "work/life balance" was coined in 1986,

although its usage in everyday language was sporadic for a number of years. Interestingly, work/life programmes existed as early as the 1930s. Before World War II, the W.K. Kellogg Company created four six-hour shifts to replace the traditional three daily eight-hour shifts, and the new shifts resulted in increased employee morale and efficiency. During the 1960s and 1970s, employers considered work-life balance as mainly an issue for working mothers who struggled with the demands of their jobs and raising children. During the 1980s men also began voicing work-life concerns. By the end of the decade, work life balance was seen as more than just a womens issue, affecting men, families, organizations and cultures. The 1990s solidified the recognition of work-life balance as a vital issue for everyone-- women, men, parents and non-parents, singles, and couples. This growing awareness of the central importance of the issue resulted in major growth in attempted work-life solutions during this decade. Rosabeth Moss Kanter's seminal book, Work and Family in the United States: A Critical Review and Agenda for Research and Policy (1977) brought the issue of work/life balance to the forefront of research and organizations. Post 2000, work life balance has gone mainstream, with hundreds of dedicated internet sites, including those of mega corporations, helping spread its usage. Thus, while the first wave of these programmes was primarily to support women with children, today's work/life programmes are less genderspecific and recognize other commitments as well as those of the family.

ADVERSE EFFECT OF IMBALANCED WORKING

Many organizations feel that helping employees balance competing work and non-work demands is not their responsibility. Rather, they subscribe to a somewhat dated view called the myth of separate worlds that is based on the premise that work is work and life is life and that the domains do not overlap. Such organizations (and many employees within these organizations) argue it was the employees choice to have a family so balancing competing demands is their problem not ours. Such organizations also note that they are in the business of increasing shareholder value and serving customers and not helping employees cope with stress. The more out of balance and out of control our life is, the longer hours we work, and the more intense our work experience, the greater the likelihood is that we pay a physical and emotional price. We probably won't eat as well. One will consume more caffeine, more alcohol, more sugar, and more fat. He or she is also less likely to exercise on a regular basis and is less likely to be getting enough sleep. It also results in the employee being less likely to have a sense of satisfaction or accomplishment and

commitment to the organization. He has a greater likelihood of having relationships that are either unhealthy or unstable, and that are more prone to breaking apart.

EFFECTS OF BALANCING THE PERSONAL & PROFESSIONAL LIFE

Research has shown that if employees are less stressed,

The quality of their work is likely to improve

Productivity is likely to rise

Wastage levels can be cut through fewer mistakes and reduced sickness absence

Morale should improve Recruitment and training costs can be reduced through improved staff retention The benefits of a work-life balance initiative are not confined to just the workforce. Work-life policies and flexible working practices also help the organization to

React to changing market conditions more effectively and meet customer demands - for example, shift work, part-time work and flexi time can help them open longer without making their employees work longer hours

Meet seasonal peaks and troughs in their business Become recognized as a business that people want to work for many workplaces that offer flexible working practices and leave arrangements have also reported a better financial performance

Boost their competitiveness

than that of similar workplaces in the same industry. Work life balance arrangements can thus contribute to an organizations competitive advantage and its reputation as an employer of choice enhancing thereby employee satisfaction and promoting workplace equality.
WORK LIFE BALANCE BENEFITS TO THE ORGANIZATION / INDIVIDUAL

WORKLIFE BALANCE BENEFITS TO THE ORGANIZATION

WORKLIFE BALANCE BENEFITS TO THE INDIVIDUAL

Measured increases in individual productivity, accountability and commitment Better teamwork and communication Improved morale Less negative organizational stress Reduced staff turnover rates Lower recruitment and training costs, associated with reduced turnover Reduced absenteeism Greater staff loyalty and commitment

More value and balance in daily life Better understanding of what one's best individual work life balance is Control over time management in meeting work-life commitments Increased productivity Improved relationships both on and off the job educed stress Increased job security from the knowledge that an organization understands and supports workers with family responsibilities

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY: The objective of the project is to study the present status of work life balance in the organization and find out the issues, if any, faced by the employees in respect of the work life balance. METHODOLOGY: The study was completed in a period of 1 months. To carry on with the study, a sample size of approximate 100 was taken from different Organisation. Convenient sampling technique was used while selecting the respondents. Responses were taken by the questionnaire method. A questionnaire was circulated through email and responses were received online. This questionnaire was structured into 6 sections:

General information Information related to work Impact of work at home Impact of home at work Factors making work life balance harder Contribution of organization

In general information section respondents information was sought which consist of age, marital status, dependent children etc.

Information related to work questions were targeted to know the time and hours of working, traveling time etc. In the third section of impact of work questions were related to know the effect of workload, culture at the home and vice versa in the section four. Section five was aimed at knowing the exact causes which makes work life balance harder. Last section was designed to know contribution of the organization in balancing the worklife of employees by providing various facilities.

FINDINGS
The primary purpose of the study is to gain an indication of the proportion of workforce that is facing hardship in balancing work and home life and determine the factors in Organization that are affecting the Work Life Balance (WLB). A] General information and Work information

66% of the respondants were unmarried & have less amount of responsibilities with compare to married couple. 73% of them are under the age group of 30 years 62% do not have any responsibility primary to career. 45% spend 8 to 9 hours daily in the office(Less than 5% are spending 10 to 12 hrs per day at workplace.

Marital Status
70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Married Unmarrie d 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

Age Group

Under 30yrs. 3yrs1 to 40yrs Over 40 yrs

With reference to above graph, most of the respodants are working for 8-9 hrs a day which is normal considering any work culture, for the average age group of the resondants(30 years) time spend at work place is not very stressfull. B] Impact of work at home. 27% says that they always face impact at their personal life due tiredness and heavy work load. 34% finds that they sometimes/Rarely get affected due to office work. C] Impact of home at work 36.5% of the respondent says that thay some times have impact of home at work , this is due to responsibilities at home, personal and family worries, Stress and sleep. 33.75 % says they they never feel any consequence at work due to personal life. Only 8% of them said that their work is affected due to their personal worries and problems.

From the above it can be concluded that the percentage of married peoples having responsibilities at home primary to career is resembling the percentage of respondants having impact of home at work. The 33.75% of respondants say that their work life is not affetced by home life as most of the respondants are of young age . D] Following are the Factors affecting work life balance & results coming out

from survey

Deadlines & schedules Lot Harder A Little Harder No Difference Doesnt apply to my job No answer Not displayed 17 46 23 13 0 0

Ty pe of w or k 13 51 29 6 0 0

No . of ho ur s 14 38 42 5 0 0

Expectations/attitude of supervisor 17 45 31 6 0 0

How easy/ difficult it is to take leave 15 43 38 3 0 0

Amt. of notice for overtime 15 24 33 27 0 0

take additional work home 6 29 24 40 0 0

Amoun t of travel required 19 32 34 14 0 0

Times meeting/trai ning are scheduled 5 38 46 10 0 0

Starting and finishing time 9 50 33 7 0 0

Flexible timings 9 28 43 19 0 0

Flexible timings

Starting and finishing time

Times meeting/training are scheduled

Amount of travel required

take additional work home Lot Harder A Little Harder No Difference Doesnt apply to my job

Amt. of notice for overtime

How easy/ difficult it is to take leave

Expectations/attitude of supervisor

No. of hours

Type of work

Deadlines & schedules 0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Travelling is the most important issue where employees find it the most affecting factor in their personal & profssional life.(19%) the type of work & starting & finishing time to work are the little harder factors, for employees to balance their work life with family(51% & 50%) Some of them have said that Time meetings/training Schedules(46%) & flexible timings(43%) % no. of working hours(42%) do not make any diffrence to the them. Where as 40% of them said that, they do not required to take their additional work at home.

E] Following are the common work life balance policies or programme's provied by the organisation:

Work Life Balance Policies & Programmes

Other Family Engagement Program Daycare Time off for family emergencies & events Flexi hours Job sharing Career break Convenient transportation Part time or reduced work hours Stress Management Workshop Meditation Gym Yoga 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

It is observed that many of the organisations are providing the work life balance policies & programmes to their employees. 41% of the organisations are providing GYM facility to their employees. Another important factor i.e. time off for family emergncies & events is provided by 37% of the companies 30% of the organisations are involving the family members of their employees by inviting them on Diwali, picnics etc. Very few organisation are providing Day Care facility(6%) & Part time /reduced work hours(4%).

All the employees were asked whether they are happy with their organization polices related to work life

77% of the total percentage are more or less happy with their current organisational policies related to work life balance. 22% are not completely satisfied with the Organisation's Policies.

F]

All the employees were asked to indicate whether they were satisfied with

the overall balance between the work and home life

No 35% Yes No Yes 65%

65 % said that they have achieved a perfect work life balance 35% were dissatisfied with the balance between their work life and family life and felt that there was still a scope for improvement

G] to 5

All the employees were asked to rate their Job satisfaction level in the scale 1

Around 81% of the total employees, are more or less satisfied with their current Job Conclusion of the survey While the overall result of the study is positive (65%), a significant proportion of people (35%) said that there is still scope for them to improve their WLB There is similarity and resemblance with the percentage of respondants says satisfactory work life balance with the percentage of respondants not having any responsibility at home as primary to career. Most of the respondants were from IT and Banking sector were the people are handsomly compansated which may be one of the reasons for the positive result of the survey Average working hours are not crossing 9 10 hiurs per day which is quite comfortable to the young people forming majour chunk of the respondants in this survey. From the above findings we can conclude the following points: Many of the employees are satisfied with their current organisational policies related to work Life Balance which indicates that awareness regarding work life balance has been created among the organisation due to globalisation & privatisation. It is recommended that Meditation, yoga etc is also helping to improve the efficiency of the workforce & also be helpful for employee retaintion.

Suggestions

It is recommended to adopt more flexible form of work organization that provide more opportunities for workers to use their skills, do a variety of tasks, and have more influence over their work. This can be done through job rotation or cross training that

is, training employees in a range of tasks and rotating them through different positions. Job rotation and cross training benefits both employees and employers. Employees learn new skills and face less boredom from performing similar tasks over and over. Greater variety and a wide range of tasks makes work more interesting and challenging. Job rotation and cross training can also benefit employers. Job rotation is believed to boost innovation by enabling workers to apply knowledge of one task to others. Moreover, exposing employees to other types of jobs within the bank promotes a better understanding of what others in the bank do and how each job contributes to the whole. Finally, a multi-skilled workforce can more readily adapt to changing markets.

Other policies that make it easier for employees to balance work and their personal lives include Job Rotation & this is the cost-effective way to retain valued staff or reward those with long service Leave encashment facility enable employees to buy additional - usually limited holidays on top of their annual entitlement. Last but not the least, the HRD department's role is only to facilitate change by creating opportunities for the employees to work together and plan such change. No organization can ensure complete satisfaction for all the employees. As the needs, wants and aspirations are different; there is always a gap between what one wants and what one gets. Each individual therefore has a primary role to play in deciding one's own satisfaction and frustration levels and making improvements, in deciding his/her priorities and working towards achieving those priorities. in an organization, when group of people join hands and work as a team they can themselves do a number of things to increase their satisfaction levels. The organization can only act as "Facilitator of change". it is the employees who have to manage change .

Thus, through this study an effort has been made to highlight the importance of a healthy work and life balance in a person's life as well as in an organization. The growing stress on the working population caused by conflict between work and family responsibilities are both an economic and social problem. Productivity is impaired,

costs of production are unnecessarily high, and personal health and family well-being are at risk. The dimensions of the problem have increased over the past decade. The stress affects both men and women in both professional and non-professional jobs. This is a societal issue. Individuals, families, employers and governments can all take actions to moderate the stress, and they can all share in the benefits if action is taken. Most of the actions are cost reducing in both the short and long term. The need of the hour is to give work life balance its due importance in organizational setup. It should no longer be dismissed as an unimportant part of Human Resource Development which can be looked into at any future point of time or date. Because that day, unfortunately, never comes. An attitudinal change has to be brought about by the Human Resource Development policy makers and the whole setup needs to be revamped. Only then can work life balance receive its due weightage and importance which will help in creating a stress free environment for the employees, both at work and at home.