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A Comparative Study on Home Management Practices Among Working and

Non-working Women in Rourkela City, Sundergarh, Odisha

Article · April 2018

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International Journal of Applied Home Science RESEARCH PAPER
Volume 5 (2), February (2018) : 316-321 ISSN : 2394-1413
Received : 07.12.2017; Revised : 20.12.2017; Accepted : 11.01.2018

A comparative study on home management practices

among working and non-working women in Rourkela
City, Sundergarh, Odisha

VIJAYETA PRIYADARSHINI*1 AND BABITA BEHERA2

1
Lecturer
1`&2
Department of Home Science, Govt. Women’s College, Keonjhar (Odisha) India

ABSTRACT
Management plays a significant role in shaping our lives. With the changing environment, the need for
management also becomes inevitable to identify and deal with problems, which emerge from change.
Home-making has undergone great changes. With the advances in science and technology, modern
homes provide greater comforts, convenience and facilities. A good home provides a healthy
environment, it satisfies their need, physical, emotional and social requirements for its members. The
study is based on to find out the home management practices with which the working and the non-
working women of Rourkela city of Odisha are managing their home. A sample of 110 women was taken
for the study. A descriptive research design was followed for carrying out this research. Personal
information and home management practices was estimated by using Home Management Scale (Haseen
Taj and Hemlatha, 2001).

Key Words : Home management, Working women, Home manager

INTRODUCTION
Home is one of the non-formal agencies which lay solid foundation for developing human
values. By catering to the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of the members, the home gives
meaning to life, provides a suitable environment for the growth of children and cultivates and
refines the life of the citizen (Saxena, 2009).
The term ‘Home Management’ was coined by Maria Parloa in 1880. When she first uses the
term it simply meant anything that needed to be accomplished within the household. Home
management can also be defined as the process by which proper maintenance of a home, the
overall household activities can be done in a proper way. Home management depends upon various
managerial processes. Through effective management processes the available resources can be
easily identified and properly utilized for the attainment of family goals. With the changing environment,
the need for management also becomes inevitable to identify and deal with problems, which emerge
from change (Narayanan, 2006).
In order to achieve desired goals or to motivate the family members the home maker needs to
exercise her managerial abilities and leadership qualities. Home management is dependent on various
Cite this Article: Priyadarshini, Vijayeta and Behera, Babita (2018). A comparative study on home management
practices among working and non-working women in Rourkela City, Sundergarh, Odisha. Internat. J. Appl. Home
Sci., 5 (2) : 316-321.
 VIJAYETA PRIYADARSHINI AND BABITA BEHERA

managerial processes. These involve decision-making, understanding of the process and nature of
the work involved, supervision and the successful use of proper methods (Thakur and Sultania,
2010).

The role of women as a home-manager:

Technical and industrial advancements on one side have made life easy while on the other side
the role of women has also changed considerably. It is not only that the functions of the family have
changed with general social changes, but the roles of the various members with in the family have
also changed. Women play a dynamic role in their home activities- as wives; as mothers responsible
for the development of their children and as home-makers in change of the operation of their
homes.
Work-life balance issues have attracted the attention of home makers who are working outside
the home especially over the past few decades. Flexible working time and work simplification in
the home and awareness-raising about work-family life balance and rising education about the
work simplification is very much crucial for a working women. Role conflict, quality of health,
problems in time management and lack of proper social support are the major factors influencing
the Work Life Balance of women professionals in India (Mani, 2013 and Sutariya, 2010).
In recent time, with the increase in educational facilities and wide spread changes women
have gradually started taking employment outside the home. The increase in population, economic
pressures and diminishing resources compel both men and women to go out to work. Thus the
management of the home is no more a mere question of house-keeping; it calls for a scientific
attitude towards management as applied to the home (Kalia, 2005 and Jenny, 2013.)

Objectives:
In this backdrop, the proposed study aims to document the home management practices including
five areas which are transaction with family members, food management, and cloth management,
management of furniture and equipment and management of time and energy on the basis of age,
education, family size and family income of working and non working women.
The specific objectives in this study are:
– To study the Home management practices of working and non-working women
– To record the socio-economic status of working and non-working women

METHODOLOGY
Research design:
The present study aims to compare the home management practices of working and non-
working women of Rourkela City. A number of 110 respondents were selected purposively for the
present survey work. Total numbers of 55 working and 55 non-working women were randomly
selected from Rourkela city. The working women were taken as a sample from different schools
and colleges and the housewives were from different house between the ages group of 25-55
years.

Data collection:
To measure the home management practices among working and non-working women, an
exploratory cum descriptive research design was adapted.

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 A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON HOME MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AMONG WORKING & NON-WORKING WOMEN IN ROURKELA

– Home Management Scale was used to investigate the Home management practices of
working and non working women. Home Management Scale (HMS) was developed by Haseen
Taj (Bangalore) and Hemlatha (Tumkur), 2001. It comprised of questions related to general aspects
and five areas of home management. The Home Management Scale contained 102 questions.
Which were divided in five areas; such as: Transaction with family members, food management,
cloth management, management of furniture and equipment and management of time and energy.

RESULTSAND DISCUSSION
Table 1 depicts the demographic profile of the respondents who fall under different category
of age groups, educational qualifications, type of family with number of members in family, and
family monthly income.

Table 1 : Distribution of respondents on the basis of personal information

Non-working Working Total
N % N % N %
Age 26-35 36 65.45 08 14.55 44 40
36-45 13 23.64 22 40 35 31.82
46-55 6 10.91 25 45.45 31 28.18
Total 55 100% 55 100% 110 100%
Education Matriculation 19 34.55 0 0 19 17.27
12 14 25.45 3 5.45 17 15.45
Under Graduate 17 30.91 24 43.64 41 37.27
Post Graduate 5 9.09 28 50.91 33 30
Total 55 100% 55 100% 110 100%
Types of family Nuclear 35 63.64 38 69.09 73 66.36
Joint 20 36.36 17 30.91 37 33.64
Total 55 100% 55 100% 110 100%
Size of family 2 to 4 14 25.45 16 29.09 30 27.27
5 to 7 31 56.36 28 50.91 59 53.64
Above 7 10 18.18 11 20 21 19.09
Total 55 100% 55 100% 110 100%
Family monthly income 10,000 -30,000 37 67.27 23 41.82 60 54.55
30,000 - 50,000 8 14.55 18 32.73 24 21.82
Above 50,000 10 18.18 14 25.45 22 20
Total 55 100% 55 100% 110 100%

Table 2 represents distribution of respondents on the basis of various home management

practices. In relation to the 5 areas of home management, no respondents were found to be in poor
practices category of home management, which might be because Rourkela city was an industrial
area and all of the respondents were educated and experienced. So respondents were categorised
under two groups i.e. average and good.
The 1st area which was transaction with family members showed that, out of total respondents
70% were having good transaction with their family members from which 31% were working and
40% were non-working women. Rest 30% respondents were in average category which includes
both the working and non-working women. Non-working women had good transaction with their
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 VIJAYETA PRIYADARSHINI AND BABITA BEHERA

Table 2 : Distribution of respondents on the basis of various home-management activities

Non-working Working Total
N % N % N %
Transaction with family members
Average (20-25) 15 13.66 24 21.82 33 30
Good (25-30) 40 36.36 31 28.18 77 70
Total 55 50% 55 50% 110 100%
Food management
Average (145-185) 14 12.73 9 8.18 23 20.9
Good (185-225) 41 37.27 46 41.82 87 79.1
Total 55 50% 55 50% 110 100%
Cloth management
Average (80 – 105) 7 6.36 19 17.27 26 23.64
Good (105-130) 48 43.64 36 32.73 84 76.36
Total 55 50% 55 50% 110 100%
Furniture and equipment management
Average (41-58) 5 4.55 3 2.73 8 7.27
Good (58-75) 50 45.45 52 47.27 102 92.73
Total 55 50% 55 50% 110 100%
Time and energy management
Average(30-40) 17 15.45 2 1.82 10 9.09
Good (40-50) 38 34.55 53 48.18 100 90.91
Total 55 50% 55 50% 110 100%

family members, as they spend more time in home and they had less stress compare to working
women (Khandai, 2006, Mani, 2013, Jain, 2005, Nasurdin, 2008 and Vijay, 2012).
As of food management it was found that 90.9% respondents had good knowledge about food
management from which 46% were working and 41% were non-working. Whereas 20.9%
respondents had average knowledge about food management out of which 9% were working and
14% were non-working women. Working women had good knowledge about food management
compared with non-working women because they had more exposure to various recourses media
like radio, television, news papers, magazines and cook books. They had sufficient knowledge
about food practices, decision of purchasing items, nutrition, daily nutritional needs, meal management,
food prices, food materials etc. (Parvati, 2013, Khandai, 2006, Raval, 2009 and Trivedi, 2010).
The clothing management was found to be better in case of non-working women (43%)
compared with working women (32%), out of 76% of the respondents due to they take independent
decision. The average management of cloth was done by rest 23% of the respondents, from which
17% were working and 6% were non-working women.
According to the table, 92% of the respondents managed good their furniture and equipments
from which 45% were non-working and 47% were working women. Rest 7% respondents of
which 3% were working and 4% were non-working are belongs to the average category.
With regard to time and energy management, 88% of the respondents managed their time and
energy in a good manner. As compared with non-working (34%), working women (48%) managed
their time and energy properly because they practice work simplification methods in dishwashing,
food preparation and housecleaning (Saeed, 2014) and had better access and knowledge regarding

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 A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON HOME MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AMONG WORKING & NON-WORKING WOMEN IN ROURKELA

various equipments, altering situation, planning, reducing responsibilities to reduce time and effort
(Khandai, 2006).

Conclusion :
The homemaker’s managerial ability, her interest, her leadership and her ability to motivate
other members of the family are decisive factors in utilising the family’s resources in the best
possible manner. It is essential for the homemaker to have adequate knowledge of the various
functions that she has to perform and the most effective methods of doing so. Thus home
management is not an easy work to do, many working and non-working women face many problems
to manage their home properly in limited time. The homemaker has a great responsibilities in
running the home smoothly and efficiently. Other members of the family must understand their role
in home management and co-operate the homemaker in every sphere. The managerial process not
only requires only managerial abilities but some innovative managerial abilities to prove themselves
as a good homemaker. Flexible working time and work simplification in the home and awareness-
raising about work-family life balance and rising education about the work simplification is very
much crucial for a working women.

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