richa summer training report (1)
TRANSCRIPT
A
Project Study Report
On
The ICICI Bank Ltd, Udaipur
“Analysis of Work Life Balance in Banking Sector”
Submitted in partial fulfillment for the
Award of degree ofMaster of Business Administration
Submitted By: Submitted To:Richa Nerwal Prof. Sheela Dashora
MBA PART II
2011-2013
CERTIFICATE
This is certify that the project work done on “Analysis of Work Life Balance in
Banking Sector” submitted to The ICICI Bank Ltd, Udaipur for the partial
fulfillment of requirement of award of MBA programme.
This benefited work is carried out by at The ICICI Bank Ltd,
Udaipur (Raj).
DATE : - RICHA NERWAL
PLACE:- UDAIPUR MBA II Year
PREFACE
Work life & family life are two sides of a coin, both the aspects are equally
important for an individual’s life. In the zooming ahead scenario it has become
quite difficult to have an equal balance between the work & family life. So, here
starts the framework of this major research project.
The study is based on analysis of work life balance in
banking sector which is of great importance for each & every employee. The
study covers various angles of family life and work life stress situation and
remedial actions.
In recent years, employers, unions, policy makers and researchers
have all tried to identify ways that might better assist employees to balance paid
work with the other aspects of their lives such as study, leisure, and caring for
others.
Employee engagement has been identified as critical to competitive advantage in
a labour market where skilled, committed people are increasingly hard to find and
keep. Many of the factors that impact on employee engagement have been
identified, or at least speculated on. In this exploratory research, the EEO Trust
investigates whether supporting work-life balance results in a more engaged
workforce which gives greater discretionary effort at work.
Planned research in some of workplaces in supporting work-life balance will ask
employees whether their employers’ support of work-life balance encourages
them “to go the extra mile”.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I take the opportunity to express my profound sense of gratitude and sincere
indebt a sympathetic, pains taking, and kind guidance of whom, I was able to
complete this Major Research Project. I thank Prof.Sheela Dashora for her
guidance in completion of my project.
It is my privilege and honor to have an opportunity of working with The ICICI
Bank Ltd., Udaipur to undertake project work.
I wish to extend my gratitude to all those who helped me at various stages into
this report. I wish to thank for their valuable guidance and support throughout the
course of this project.
I also thank all the employees at bank who parted with their valuable time and
extended full cooperation and support towards me.
RICHA NERWAL
MBA II Year
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Work life balance is an umbrella term for expectations, events, practices,
structures, or rules that stop us from getting most out of work and the rest of our
lives. Issues such as working hours , and leave entitlements, workplace stress,
workplace discrimination , employees terms and conditions, health and safety
concerns, the two-tier workforce, pay levels and the living wage all have an
impact on our “ work life balance”.
The work life and family life imbalance causes stress and strain especially to the
executives as they have very less time to be with their members of the family.
There are various factors which cause stress & therefore a study is necessary.
For conducting the study, The ICICI Bank Ltd. at Udaipur city is selected
because here the employees have to spend most of their time in the bank and
these results in stress in their work life and family life. Therefore methods and
techniques to tackle this situation has become need of the hour.
The objectives of this study are:
To study the work life balance in banking sector
To know how the work pressure can effect family life
To know the results of work life imbalance on efficiency, health and personal
as well as professional life of employees of banks.
To study how the nature of family structure influences work related stress
To know the marital status of the individuals affect their lives
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The concept of work-life balance has developed out of demographic and
social changes that have resulted in a more diverse and declining workforce
and different family/work models. Encouraging work-life balance is seen as
a way of attracting and retaining the labour force needed to support
economic well-being.
This review of research and literature in the areas or work-life balance,
workplace culture, employee engagement, discretionary effort and
productivity aims to demonstrate the links between these factors.
A body of research supports a positive relationship between work-life
balance and productivity. This includes individual case studies, statistical
research across a range of organisations and reviews of a number of
studies. However, workplace culture is identified as an intermediary factor in
whether work-life balance is related to increased productivity. A positive
correlation is dependent on a workplace culture that supports using work-life
initiatives.
Many studies, including surveys by New Zealand’s Department of Labour,
have found a positive relationship between a workplace culture that is
supportive of work-life balance and use of work-life provisions.
Key aspects of workplace culture that affect the link between work-life
balance and productivity are managerial support, career consequences,
gender differences in attitudes and use, attitudes and expectations of hours
spent in the workplace, and perceptions of fairness in eligibility for work-life
options.
“Discretionary effort” is the extent to which employees give extra effort to
their work. It is one of the outcomes of employee engagement, which also
involves a mental and emotional commitment to the job/organisation.
Discretionary effort is given by an employee in exchange for some benefit
and results in increased productivity.
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Although little research has been done specifically linking support for work-
life balance to discretionary effort and employee engagement, the evidence
to date indicates that a positive relationship depends on workplace culture.
It can be argued that workplaces can improve employee engagement,
discretionary effort and productivity by supporting work-life balance by
means of a people-centric culture that wholeheartedly supports work-life
balance
Key factors identified in changing workplace cultures are: identifying the
business case, finding a board level champion, changing organisational
language and behaviour, monitoring/measurement, and integration of work-
life/diversity policies into mainstream policies.
For conducting the study various tools are used to collect data. The major
emphasis was given to the questionnaire method and the respondents were
selected on the basis of random selection among the different levels, different
authorities and different departments of certain banks of Udaipur city. For
collection of secondary data various newspapers, journals and other periodicals
containing articles were used.
The collected primary data was completely tabulated with the help of tables and
percentages were calculated. From the table information was analyzed and
relevant inferences were drawn and wherever necessary graphs were made for
the presentation of data.
From the collected data, it was very clear that it is a difficult affair for the
executives to manage the family as well as work life. Work and family life
imbalance will have definite impact on the stress and strain of any executives in
banks.
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The findings of the study are:
Majority of the executives belong to nuclear family and thereby the level of
stress is more as compared to those employees who belong to joint
family.
For married employees it is more difficult to concentrate on their personal
life because of their work pressure and therefore more work load in banks
resulted in poor family relation.
Long working hour culture directly affects the level of efficiency of
employees thereby causing stress at work resulting into hypertension and
other diseases.
Family members of most of the employees feel neglected when
employees have to overstay in the banks.
So to conclude the family and work life are both important to employees in any
service sector and if these two are not maintained properly it creates stress and
strain and results into various diseases. This study is found important because it
tries to know how the work life and family life interface results into stress. This
study also throws light on the suggestions to overcome imbalance in work and
family life in order to keep the profile of the executives high and also keep their
family life happy which in the long run benefits the organization in achieving its
long term goals.
This study has very wide aspects because of its multiple, complex and unique
variables for future researchers.
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CONTENTS
Sr. No. Subject Covered Page No.
1 Introduction to Banking Industry 10
2 Indian Banking Industries 13- 14
3 THE ICICI BANK LTD 15
4 Introduction to the topic 23 - 44
4 .Research Methodology 45
Type of Research 46
Title of the study 47
Objectives of the study 48
Sampling techniques 48
Scope of the study 49
5 Data analysis & interpretation 51-68
6 Facts & Findings 69-70
7 Conclusions 71
8 Recommendation & suggestions 73
9
9 Limitations of the study 80
9 Appendix 81
10 Bibliography 83
INTRODUCTION TO BANKING INDUSTRY
10
BANKING STRUCTURE IN INDIA
Scheduled Banks in India
(A) Scheduled Commercial Banks
Public sector Banks
Private sector Banks
Foreign Banks in India
Regional Rural Bank
(28) (27) (29) (102)
Nationalized Bank
Other Public Sector Banks
(IDBI) SBI and its
Associates
Old Private Banks
New Private Banks
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(B) Scheduled Cooperative Banks
Scheduled Urban Cooperative
Banks (55)
Scheduled State Cooperative
Banks (31)
Here we more concerned about private sector banks and competition among them.
Today, there are 27 private sector banks in the banking sector: 19 old private
sector banks and 8 new private sector banks. These new banks have brought in
state-of-the-art technology and Aggressively marketed their products. The
Public sector banks are Facing a stiff competition from the new private sector
banks.
The banks which have been setup in the 1990s under the guidelines of the
Narasimham Committee are referred to as NEW PRIVATE SECTOR BANKS.
New Private Sector Banks
Superior Financial Services
Designed Innovative Products
Tapped new markets
Accessed Low cost NRI funds
Greater efficiency
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INDIAN BANKING INDUSTRIES
The Indian banking market is growing at an astonishing rate, with Assets
expected to reach US$1 trillion by 2010. An expanding economy, middle class,
and technological innovations are all contributing to this growth. The country’s
middle class accounts for over 320 million people. In correlation with the growth
of the economy, rising income levels, increased standard of living, and
affordability of banking products are promising factors for continued expansion.
The Indian banking Industry is in the middle of an IT revolution, Focusing
on the expansion of retail and rural banking. Players are becoming
increasingly customer - centric in their approach, which has resulted in
innovative methods of offering new banking products and services. Banks
are now realizing the importance of being a big player and are beginning
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to focus their attention on mergers and acquisitions to take advantage of
economies of scale and/or comply with Basel II regulation. “Indian banking
industry assets are expected to reach US$1 trillion by 2010 and are poised to
receive a greater infusion of foreign capital,” says Prathima Rajan, analyst in
Celent's banking group and author of the report. “The banking industry
should focus on having a small number of large players that can compete
globally rather than having a large number of fragmented players."
UPCOMING FOREIGN BANKS IN INDIA
By 2009 few more names is going to be added in the list of foreign banks in
India. This is as an aftermath of the sudden interest shown by Reserve Bank
of India paving roadmap for foreign banks in India greater freedom in India.
Among them is the world's best private bank by EuroMoney magazine,
Switzerland's UBS.
The following are the list of foreign banks going to set up business in India:-
Royal Bank of Scotland
Switzerland's UBS
US-based GE Capital
Credit Suisse Group
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
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INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZTION:
History
ICICI Bank was originally promoted in 1994 by ICICI Limited, an Indian financial
institution, and was its wholly-owned subsidiary. ICICI's shareholding in ICICI
Bank was reduced to 46% through a public offering of shares in India in fiscal
1998, an equity offering in the form of ADRs listed on the NYSE in fiscal 2000,
ICICI Bank's acquisition of Bank of Madura Limited in an all-stock amalgamation
in fiscal 2001, and secondary market sales by ICICI to institutional investors in
fiscal 2001 and fiscal 2002. ICICI was formed in 1955 at the initiative of the World
Bank, the Government of India and representatives of Indian industry. The
principal objective was to create a development financial institution for providing
medium-term and long-term project financing to Indian businesses.
After consideration of various corporate structuring alternatives in the context of the emerging competitive scenario in the Indian banking industry, and the move towards universal banking, the managements of ICICI and ICICI Bank formed the view that the merger of ICICI with ICICI Bank would be the optimal strategic alternative for both entities, and would create the optimal legal structure for the ICICI group's universal banking strategy. The merger would enhance value for ICICI shareholders through the merged entity's access to low-cost deposits, greater opportunities for earning fee-based income and the ability to participate in the payments system and provide transaction-banking services. The merger would enhance value for ICICI Bank shareholders through a large capital base and scale of operations, seamless access to ICICI's strong corporate relationships built up over five decades, entry into new business segments, higher market share in various business segments, particularly fee-based
ICICI Bank was established in 1994 by the Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India, an Indian financial institution, as a wholly owned subsidiary. The parent company was formed in 1955 as a joint-venture of the World Bank, India's public-sector banks and public-sector insurance companies to provide project financing to Indian industry.[ The bank was initially known as the Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India Bank, before
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it changed its name to the abbreviated ICICI Bank. The parent company was later merged into ICICI Bank.
ICICI Bank launched internet banking operations in 1998.
ICICI's shareholding in ICICI Bank was reduced to 46 percent, through a public offering of shares in India in 1998, followed by an equity offering in the form of American Depositary Receipts on the NYSE in 2000. ICICI Bank acquired the Bank of Madura Limited in an all-stock deal in 2001, and sold additional stakes to institutional investors during 2001-02.
In the 1990s, ICICI transformed its business from a development financial institution offering only project finance to a diversified financial services group, offering a wide variety of products and services, both directly and through a number of subsidiaries and affiliates like ICICI Bank. In 1999, ICICI become the first Indian company and the first bank or financial institution from non-Japan Asia to be listed on the NYSE.
In 2000, ICICI Bank became the first Indian bank to list on the New York Stock Exchange with its five million American depository shares issue generating a demand book 13 times the offer size.
In October 2001, the Boards of Directors of ICICI and ICICI Bank approved the merger of ICICI and two of its wholly owned retail finance subsidiaries, ICICI Personal Financial Services Limited and ICICI Capital Services Limited, with ICICI Bank. The merger was approved by shareholders of ICICI and ICICI Bank in January 2002, by the High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad in March 2002, and by the High Court of Judicature at Mumbai and the Reserve Bank of India in April 2002.
In 2008, following the 2008 financial crisis, customers rushed to ATM's and branches in some locations due to rumors of adverse financial position of ICICI Bank. The Reserve Bank of India issued a clarification on the financial strength of ICICI Bank to dispel the rumors.
Creation of market infrastructure in India
ICICI Bank has contributed to set up different institutions which include the following:
National Stock Exchange
The National Stock Exchange was promoted by India’s leading financial institutions (including ICICI Ltd.) in 1992 on behalf of the Government of India with the objective of establishing a nationwide trading facility for equities, debt instruments and hybrids, by ensuring equal access to investors all over the country through an appropriate communication network
Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited
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In 1987, ICICI Ltd. along with UTI set up CRISIL as India's first professional credit rating agency. CRISIL offers a comprehensive range of integrated products and service offerings which include credit ratings, capital market information, industry analysis and detailed reports.
National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange Limited
NCDEX is a professionally managed online multi-commodity exchange, set up in 2003, by ICICI Bank Ltd, LIC, NABARD, NSE, Canara Bank, CRISIL, Goldman Sachs, Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) and Punjab National Bank
Financial Innovation Network and Operations Pvt Ltd.
ICICI Bank has facilitated setting up of "FINO Cross Link to Case Link Study" in 2006, as a company that would provide technology solutions and services to reach the underserved and underbanked population of the country. Using cutting edge technologies like smart cards, biometrics and a basket of support services, FINO enables financial institutions to conceptualise, develop and operationalise projects to support sector initiatives in microfinance and livelihoods.
Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India
Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), an autonomous body and not-for-profit society, was set up in 1983, by the erstwhile apex financial institutions like IDBI, ICICI, IFCI and SBI with the support of the Govt. of Gujarat as a national resource organisation committed to entrepreneurship development, education, training and research.
Subsidiaries
]Domestic
ICICI Lombard
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited
ICICI Securities Limited
ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company Limited
ICICI Venture
ICICI Home Finance
ICICI direct.com
ICICI fund
International
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ICICI Bank UK PLC
ICICI Bank Canada
ICICI Bank Eurasia LLC
Acquisitions
1996: SCICI Ltd. A diversified financial institution with headquarters in Mumbai 1997: ITC Classic Finance. Incorporated in 1986, ITC Classic was a non-bank financial firm that engaged in hire,m purchase, and leasing operations. At the time of being acquired, ITC Classic had eight offices, 26 outlets, and 700 brokers. 1998: Anagram Finance. Anagram had built up a network of some 50 branches in Gujerat, Rajastan, and Maharashtra that were primarily engaged in retail financing of cars and trucks. It also had some 250,000 depositors. 2001: Bank of Madura 2002: The Darjeeling and Simla branches of Grindlays Bank 2005: Investitsionno-Kreditny Bank (IKB), a Russian bank 2007: Sangli Bank. Sangli Bank was a private sector unlisted bank, founded in 1916, and 30% owned by the Bahte family. Its headquarter were in Sangli in Maharashtra, and it had 198 branches. It had 158 in Maharashtra and 31 in Karnataka, and others in Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Goa, and Delhi. Its branches were relatively evenly split between metropolitan areas and rural or semi-urban areas. 2010 Bank of Rajasthan
Profile:
The ICICI Bank Ltd. is a private sector bank. It has more than branches all over
India with prominent presence in Rajasthan, having specialized forex and
industrial finance branches.
Present Board of Directors:
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Director Name Designation
K V Kamath Non-Executive Chairman
Chanda D Kochhar Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer
K Ramkumar Executive Director
N S Kannan Executive Director & CFO
Rajiv Sabharwal Executive Director
Arvind Kumar Govt.of India Nominee
Homi R Khusrokhan Director
Sridar A Iyengar Director
V Sridar Director
Tushaar Shah Director
M S Ramachandran Director
Sandeep Batra Company Secretary
Ajay Gupta Senior General Manager
Anita Pai Senior General Manager
Arvind Kumar Director
G Srinivas Senior General Manager
Girish Nayak Senior General Manager
H Sriram Senior General Manager
K M Jayarao Senior General Manager
Kumar Ashish Senior General Manager
M S Ramachandran Director
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Maninder Juneja Senior General Manager
Mukeshkumar Jain Senior General Manager
Murali Ramakrishnan Senior General Manager
Pravir Vohra President
Rahul Vohra Senior General Manager
Rakesh Jha CFO & Sr. General Manager
Ravi Narayanan Senior General Manager
S Dhamodaran Senior General Manager
Sanjay Chougule Senior General Manager
Sanjeev Mantri Senior General Manager
Sanker Parameswaran Senior General Manager
Saurabh Singh Senior General Manager
Shilpa Kumar Senior General Manager
Sudhir Dole Senior General Manager
Suresh Badami Senior General Manager
Suvek Nambiar Senior General Manager
Swati Piramal Director
T K Srirang Senior General Manager
Vijay Chandok President
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ZarinDaruwala President
Udaipur (Regional office)
_________________________________↓______________________________
__
↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓
Personal General Credit Information Priority Asset
Law
Administrative Banking Administrative Technology Sector Management
deptt.
Deptt. deptt. deptt. deptt. deptt. deptt.
SENIOR MANAGER
│
----------------------------------------------
│ │
DEPUTY MANAGER DEPUTY MANAGER
There are 15 branches of ICICI Bank in Udaipur city which are as under:
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1 .ICICI Bank UDAIPUR 000045 MADHUBANI, 2 - C, GROUND
FLOOR, MADHUBAN
, UDAIPUR, RAJASTHAN. 313001
2. ICICI Bank UDAIPUR 000883 ICICI BANK LTD.,
BUILDING NO. 1F, 1G & 1H, BUS STAND ROAD, NEXT TO PARAS HOTEL,
UDIAPOLE, UDAIPUR - 313001 (RAJASTHAN)
3. Icici Bank UDAIPUR PANCHWATI, RAJASTHAN 001679
ICICI BANK LTD., 28, PANCHWATI, NEAR
R.K. MALL, UDAIPUR 313001, RAJASTHAN
4. ICICI BANK AT & POST BEDLA - 313016.GIRWA TEHSIL
5.ICICI Bank BHINDER 006904 BHINDAR – 313603
6. ICICI Bank CHAWAND 006905 CHAWAND BRANCH - 313904
SARADA TEHSIL
7.CHHANI 006906 AT & POST - CHHANI, KHERWARA TEH.PIN -
313804
8.ICICI Bank FATEH NAGAR 006911 ZOHRA SADAN, NEAR
SARDAR PATEL STADIUM, WARD NO. 12, FATEHNAGAR FATEHNAGAR
313205
9.ICICI Bank JHADOL 006914 JHADOL - 313905, TEHSIL SARADA
10.ICICI Bank KHERODA 006916 BRANCH KHERODA - 313602,
VALLABHNAGAR TEHSIL
11. ICICI Bank PALODARA 006922 PALODARA - 313001,
TEH.SARADA
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12.ICICI Bank RIHKABDEO 006923 TEMPLE RD,
RIKHABDEO - 313802, TEH.KHERWARA
13.ICICI Bank UDAIPUR, ASHWANI MARG 006931 ASHWINI
MARG, UDAIPUR, TEH.GIRWA, 313001
14. ICICI Bank UDAIPUR B.N.COLLEGE 006932 B N COLLEGE
BLDG, COLLEGE ROAD, SUBHASHNAGAR, UDAIPUR, 313001
15.ICICI Bank UDAIPUR, BAPU BAZAR 006933 BAPU BAZAR,
UDAIPUR - 313001
INTRODUCTION TO WORK LIFE BALANCE
History has myriad examples of kings and monarchs who aspired and set out to
conquer the world. But had to drop their ambitious endeavors midway as their
troops lost morale due to years of isolation from their homes, making them
vulnerable to fatigue and disease. Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, etc., are
few examples to quote. Historians substantiate this by citing the limitations with
respect to communication, mode of travel and drawbacks in logistics of the times.
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Ironically, modern day corporate also faces the same barriers in their way
towards development, improvement and overall growth. The executives of today
face the problem of lost morale and burn out. But the question that lingers in
everyone’s mind is why do these problems still persist in the age, when mankind
has achieved landmark improvements in communication, traveling and areas of
science?
The issue of work-life balance has developed out of demographic and social
changes that have resulted in a more diverse and declining workforce and
different family and work models. Supporting work-life balance is seen as a way
of attracting and retaining the labour force needed to support economic well-
being.
This review of research and literature in the areas or work-life balance, workplace
culture, employee engagement, discretionary effort and productivity aims to
demonstrate the links between these factors. Employers and employees are
simultaneously putting efforts to be flexible and are also trying hard to equip
themselves to face the forthcoming operational challenges.
Employees today want to have freedom and live lives their way. Employers too,
have started appreciating the changes and the imperative that the employees of
today, value balance between work and life more than ever before. The major
patterns of change that have triggered the emphasis of work life balance are
mainly socio-economical. The reasons are manifold and some of them are:-
a) Changing social philosophy:-
Employees in the 21st century place personal life on a higher pedestal than work
life. The cause of this can be linked to rising divorce rates, other family and
relationship problems. Employees today expect more life outside work. They also
expect their family to be a part of their work.
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Smart companies have identified this and in regard are designing innovative
ideas to lure their employees. In the companies like Hewlett Associates,
employee’s spouses are invited to attend orientation programmes, or fruit
baskets are sent home on completion of project as a goodwill gesture towards
thanking the employee’s family for their support and co-operation during the
times when the employee had to work late.
b) Changing Work Culture:-
Corporate bodies today function on the principle of empowering employees. The
bottom line of empowerment is based on flexibility and freedom of employees to
take decisions without any hindrance from the policies and directives of the
organization structure. Employees today seek for a range of choices from their
employer and also want to have their say in availing them. Apart from initiatives
like flexi timings, focus on results and overall avoidance of long work hours
culture, employers have started giving positive reinforcements to employees by
recognizing and distinguishing the ones who are prompt in adapting challenges
posed by the never ending increasing workplace standards. These positive
reinforcements are usually in the form of increased health focus, well-being and
bringing in changes in organization legislations.
c) Raise in the 365/24/7 global operations:-
Global organizations and increasing call center operations across the globe have
to work day and night coping with the time zones. With more and more
businesses emphasizing on round-the-clock customer service, the concern for
work/life balance for employees has become more essential. Ironically,
technology has added to the speed of operation rather than easing the work
practices. To maintain competitiveness and fight the burgeoning competition,
companies are forced to deliver more with fewer inputs; employees are expected
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to work longer and cope with tougher deadlines. Today’s world literally doesn’t go
to sleep.
d) Rise in dual earning families:-
Demographic and cultural changes have also added to the problem of work/life
imbalance. Working mothers are the major chunk of population who adversely
get affected in balancing their job performance and the family life. The problem
aggravates, as employees who try to cope with the situation by putting additional
onus in their work, face unfriendly and ruthless glare from their peer groups.
Colleagues treat them as pariahs as they are perceived to be doing
unnecessarily extra work for the company, trying to impress the management or
set examples for others. Women with dependent children or elderly relatives
have to hear the music, as usually they get less support from their spouses or
other family members. On the positive note, the changing times and rise in dual
earning families have given fillip to changing social ideologies.
Today working women get more support from their families compared to that of
their predecessors. Unlike in the earlier times, today husband and other family
members share the mundane household responsibilities of working women,
providing them some breathing space and helping them to excel in their job
terrains.
Definitions and evidence of relationships
Work-life balance 1
Work-life balance is about effectively managing the juggling act between paid
work and the other activities that are important to people. It's not about saying
that work is wrong or bad, but that work shouldn't completely crowd out the other
1
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things that matter to people like time with family, participation in community
activities, voluntary work, personal development, leisure and recreation.
The 'right' balance is a very personal thing and will change for each person at
different times of their lives. For some people the issue is being able to get into
work or find more work rather than having too much work. There is no 'one size
fits all' solution.
A balanced life is one where we spread our energy and effort - emotional,
intellectual, imaginative, spiritual and physical – between key areas of
importance. The neglect of one or more areas, or anchor points, may threaten
the vitality of the whole.
The concept of work-life balance also includes the priority that work takes over
family, working long hours, and work intensification. Work intensification, defined
by Burchell as “the increasing effort that employees put into the time that they are
working” or the amount of work done in a day, the pace of work and its depletion
of energy for activities outside of work, is also an issue affecting work-life
balance.
Work-life balance is an issue not just for individuals, but for employers, the
market, the state and society as a whole. The future workforce and consumer
market is dependent on women bearing, and parents raising, children. The move
from a single male breadwinner family model to one where both parents
participate in paid employment has made it increasingly difficult to raise children
while the workplace continues to be modelled on male breadwinner workers.
“Work-family balance” evolved into “work-life balance” partly in response to
workers without family responsibilities who felt that employees with children were
getting benefits that they were not. The term “life” applies to any non-paid
activities or commitments. While the term does not generally include “unpaid
work” when referring to work, it could be extended to cover that.
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Work-life balance issues appear to affect some groups of people more than
others – those working long hours, those whose work spills over into the home as
a result of modern technology, those in non-standard employment such as shift
work, those on low incomes, those trying to juggle parenting and paid work, and
those with cultural obligations beyond the family and paid work.
“Balancing the demands of being successful in work, raising children, looking after sick
relatives and having some space for friends, family and out of work interests is a very
real and increasing challenge. The business impact of not achieving a good work-life
balance is very real - people who are under an immense burden simply don’t perform to
their best.
Work Life Balance include:-
1) Flexi-time
2) Staggered hours
3) Time off in lieu
4) Compressed working hours
5) Shift swapping
6) Self-roistering
7) Job sharing
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8) Term-time working
9) Working from home
10) Tele-working
11) Breaks from home
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WORK LIFE BALANCE
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Productivity
Labour productivity is defined as total output divided by labour inputs and is
considered as a necessary, though not sufficient in itself, condition for long-term
profitability and success.
“People tend to be more motivated in the workplace if they feel appreciated
and respected. Creating a positive work environment not only boosts morale
but also productivity levels.”
“High performing workplaces are founded on a strong workplace culture in
which motivated and engaged employees are willing to ‘go the extra mile’.”
The WPWG report notes that barriers to introducing practices to improve
productivity include the short-term costs of new practices and strategies in
relation to short-term benefits, a lack of buy-in and a belief that such practices
will lead to competitive disadvantage rather than competitive advantage.
Relationship between work-life balance and productivity
A body of research supports a positive relationship between work-life balance
and productivity. This includes individual case studies, research across a range
of organisations and reviews of a number of studies.
Some studies do not support a positive relationship between work-life balance
and productivity, for example Bloom et al’s (2003) study of 732 manufacturing
organisations in the US, France , the UK and Germany found no direct
relationship between work-life balance policies/initiatives and increased
productivity. However, these studies can usually be analysed to find the
confounding factor is workplace culture or management, or lack of
implementation of work-life policies. For example, Bloom et al found
31
management to be an intermediary factor, and they only measured having a
work-life policy, not implementation or actual provisions.
In New Zealand, a Department of Labour (2006) survey of employees found a
strong relationship between employees’ ratings of productivity practices in the
workplace and their own work-life balance.
Similarly, a UK survey of 597 working parents (Working Families, 2005) found a
correlation between self-rated productivity, flexibility and satisfaction with work-
life balance, and between satisfaction with work-life balance and enjoyment of
one’s job (Figs 1&2 ). The authors conclude with a model that relates productivity
to good management, flexible working, satisfaction with work-life balance and
enjoyment of one’s job. While productivity comprises a combination of complex
factors, flexible working options are perceived by working parents to be a factor n
their productivity.
15 41 32 11
16 44 33 7
20 51 25 5
42 39 11 7
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
perceived productivity
fairly/verydissatisfied
neutral
satisfied
very satisfied
wo
rk-l
ife
bal
ance
Productivity and work-life balance - self perceptions
very productive
productive
neutral
not productive
32
1 24 26 47
6 40 27 27
15 55 15 15
29 55 10 7
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
satisfaction with work-life balance
don't enjoymuch at all
neutral
enjoy
enjoy a lot
Work-life balance and enjoyment of job
very satisfied
satisifed
neutral
fairly/very dissatisifed
A US survey of 151 managers and 1353 mainly professional employees in six
major corporations found that 70% of managers believed that allowing staff to
work flexibly resulted in increased productivity, 76% reported higher staff
retention and 65% reported increased quality of work. The remainder mostly
reported no change on these outcomes, with approximately 5% reporting
negative effects on productivity (Boston College Center for Work and Family,
2000).
These studies have all relied on self-report by either employees or managers of
perceived impacts on productivity. The following studies have used actual
financial or statistical data.
33
Other studies have focused on factors or processes influencing productivity. A
review of international literature on business benefits of work-life balance
concluded that work-life balance can enhance productivity in various ways. One
argument is that productivity gains occur as a result of a reduction in home to
work spill over (but other evidence eg. O’Driscoll, shows that most spill over goes
in the direction of work to home). Another argument is that productivity is
improved through reducing long hours at work and fatigue. The third argument is
that in exchange for the “gift” of work-life provisions, employees “offer the ‘gift’ of
discretionary effort, thereby increasing productivity”. This relationship is
discussed below.
Long hours, work-life balance and productivity:
Long working hours is a factor in lack of work-life balance..
Research at case study/organisation level shows an inverse relationship between
long working hours and productivity. A study of 12 leading British employers
found a positive relationship between long hours and absenteeism and staff
turnover, and an inverse relationship between long hours and staff morale and
productivity . While long hours may improve productivity in the short-term, this is
not sustainable, and quality and productivity decrease in the longer term.
Workplace culture was a factor in long work hours in these case studies, and
examples of successful interventions to reverse the negative consequences of
long work hours involved changing company culture. This includes visibly
changed top management behaviour and commitment and the introduction of
flexible work patterns, job redesign and training in time management.
34
Workplace/work-life culture
Organisational culture is defined as the set of shared values and norms that
characterise what is held to be important in the organisation (Working Families,
2006:13). It is more informally described as “the way we do things around here”.
Lewis (2001) cites a definition from Pemberton (1995) as “a deep level of shared
beliefs and assumptions, which often operate unconsciously, are developed over
time embedded in an organisation’s historical experiences”. Cultures that were
initially functional may become dysfunctional as social circumstances change
over time.
The “ideal worker” workplace culture that developed around male breadwinner
female caregiver models of families is now in conflict with gender equality, female
labour force participation and dual income families.
A supportive work-life culture is defined by Thompson et al (1999) as “the shared
assumptions, beliefs and values regarding the extent to which organisations
value and support the integration of work and family lives, for women and men”.
One example of how current workplace cultural assumptions are in conflict with
new models of gender roles and family life is concepts of full-time and part-time
work. Full-time work fits the ideal worker/male breadwinner culture of the past
while part-time work is better suited to the new social reality of dual income
families and a move towards greater gender equity in child-raising.
Another type of workplace culture that is in conflict with family life is the long
hours culture discussed earlier.. A long hours culture was defined by the
employees as one in which long hours were valued, employees were praised for
working long hours and working long hours was viewed as a sign of commitment.
In one organisation in this study a long hours culture was described as “an
expectation of employees to get the job done irrespective of the contracted
35
working hours. Long hours were perceived as ‘part of the job’ and not doing this
was seen as a sign the employee was not committed” .
A long hours culture is set by senior managers working long hours and
generating high workloads for those around them, according to Kodz et al (1998).
Peer pressure also creates a culture of long hours, either through comments or
competition. The third key driver of a long hours culture is that career progress is
dependent on long hours and presenteeism. Other drivers of long hours cultures
are customer expectations and service provision, staff shortages, new
technology which enables 24/7 availability of employees, and the need to travel
for work.
Only a minority of employees in this study, which included employees from a
range of sectors, were driven to work long hours to improve pay as most are not
paid overtime.
Relationship between work-life balance and workplace culture
Many studies have found a relationship between work-life balance and workplace
culture.
In New Zealand, the Department of Labour 2006 survey of employees found that
an unsupportive workplace culture was associated with poor work-life balance.
Almost 60% of employees said aspects of their workplace culture made work-life
balance harder to achieve, particularly as expressed in the expectations and
attitudes of managers, supervisors, colleagues and workmates.
An Australian study (de Cieri et al 2002) which involved surveys of 1500
employees at three periods (1997, 1998 and 2000) found that uptake of work-life
36
balance initiatives varied from 20% to 80% of employees in an organisation.
There was also a time-lag from introduction of initiatives to uptake. Key barriers
to the implementation and on-going effectiveness of work-life balance strategies
identified in the literature and borne out in the Australian study were:
An organisational culture which emphasises and rewards long hours and high
organisational commitment (to the neglect of other life commitments).
An isolated, hostile and unsupportive working environment for employees with
life commitments outside the organisation.
Attitudes and resistance of supervisors and middle management.
Preference of senior management involved in recruitment to dealing with
people perceived as similar to themselves.
Lack of communication and education about work-life balance strategies.
The Australian research identified two key factors as barriers to work-life
implementation and success: organisational inaction and organisational values.
The most influential aspects of organisational inaction were lack of
communication to staff, ineffective implementation, failure to evaluate/measure
the impact of programmes, lack of middle management education and not getting
line managers involved. These factors have all been identified in many studies on
implementing diversity and work-life policies.
The most influential aspects of organisational values as barriers to positive work-
life outcomes in the Australian study were focusing on the programmes rather
than culture change and the way work is done, and increased work demands
over-shadowing personal needs. The authors state that what is needed to
improve utilisation of work-life balance programmes is improved implementation
and communication to managers and employees, culture change and the
development of a ‘track record’ of achievements to encourage future
management commitment to this area” .
37
Thompson et al (1999) developed a measure of work-life culture based on their
definition of work-life culture as “the shared assumptions, beliefs and values
regarding the extent to which an organisation supports and values the integration
of employees’ work and family lives”. They examined the relationship between
work-life culture and use of work-family initiatives, organisational attachment and
work-family conflict amongst 276 managers and professionals. Perceptions of a
supportive work-family culture were statistically related to the use of work-family
initiatives, reduced work-family conflict and positive organisational commitment.
They identified three aspects of workplace culture that affected the use of work-
family initiatives: managerial support, career consequences and organisational
time expectations.
.
Kirby and Krone (2002) examined the effect of workplace conversations on the
use of work-family initiatives. Kirby and Krone found that workplace discussions
around work-family policies revolved around perceived equity and preferential
treatment. These findings have implications on how to best alter workplace
culture dynamics; just adding work-family policies to an existing workplace
culture may result in under-utilisation. Recommendations follow those found
elsewhere: integrate policies into the whole organisation, generate senior
management support, and provide training for managers on the benefits of
policies and how to implement them, communicate success stories of using the
policies, and communicate the wider benefits beyond women or employees with
children.
In New Zealand the EEO Trust 2006 Work-Life Survey found that the uptake of
work-life initiatives related to actually putting work-life policies into practice rather
than to the mere existence of a policy and a range of initiatives.
38
The use of family-friendly initiatives was found to be significantly related to
employees’ perceptions of family-oriented workplace support and men reported
higher work-family conflict than women, it appears that men experience less
workplace support to use family-friendly initiatives than women as explained in
more detail on the following page.
McDonald, Brown and Bradley (2005) found that the gap between work-life
policies and initiatives and their use, particularly by men and career-oriented
employees, was due to five factors:
Lack of managerial support for work-life balance
Perceptions of negative career consequences
Organisational time expectations
Gendered nature of policy utilisation
Perceptions of unfairness by other employees (ie. those without family
responsibilities)
Relationship between work-life balance, workplace culture
discretionary effort and productivity
39
Work-life balance
initiatives
Increased discretionary
effort
People-centric culture and other factorsTrustReciprocationManager characteristics and flexibilityCommunicationCommitment to diversityIntegrityInnovationWork linked to organisational strategy
Positive work-life culture
Positive work-life culture
Increased Productivity
Understanding the drivers for work-life balance
In essence work-life balance can be defined as employers and employees
embracing a “work to live” rather than “live to work” approach. A commonly
applied definition is:-
Work-life balance is about people having a measure of control over when, where
and how they work. It is achieved when an individual's right to a fulfilled life inside
40
and outside paid work is accepted and respected as the norm, to the mutual
benefit of the individual, business and society. 1
Work/life balance has evolved over time. Historically people worked close to or at
their place of work, so work and life were inherently integrated. Life activities like
community involvement, childcare, and elder care happened within and
alongside the work environment.
The separation between work and life became more clearly defined during the
industrial revolution of the 18th century. In recent times, it is clear the workplace
and, indeed, the worker have changed, as has the composition of households.
Without someone attending to “life” issues full-time, workers now have to find
time to take care of responsibilities like childcare, or caring for an elder parent in
addition to their paid work.
Hence, for many people, 21st century life involves less work-life balance and
more of a balancing act as they juggle responsibilities which are often viewed as
competing. The digital revolution has further merged work-life environments in
many employment sectors. There are as many women as men in our workforce
and we have an ageing population. These demographics suggest that work-life
balance is going to become an increasingly important issue as people continue to
demand that their employers enable them to achieve a better work-life balance.
What types of work/life programs are there?
When people think of company work/life benefits, they often think of childcare.
However, most work/life programs entail much more. Work-life balance is not just
for people who want to reduce their working hours, it is about responding to
individual circumstances to help individuals fulfill their responsibilities and
aspirations. Some organizations around the world are gaining competitive
advantage in the recruitment market by offering work-life balance and career
progression to talented individuals.
A survey by global human resources consultancy Towers Perrin in the US
identified more than 100 varieties of work/life programs that fall into the following
six categories:
41
1. Time Include flexible work arrangements such as flexi time, telecommuting, job
sharing and part time work, term time working
2. Leave Paid and unpaid leaves for childbirth, the care of young or sick children,
sporting, or other personal or family matters.
3. Dependent Resource and referral services to help employees find childcare or
care elder care, childcare programs that are on-site or nearby, and employee
discounts or vouchers to help pay for the cost of care.
4. Counseling Employee seminars about balancing work and family life, peer and
wellness support groups, and training for supervisors to be more attuned to
employee family problems caused by overwork.
5. Benefits Cafeteria-style plans, non-taxed flexible spending accounts,
sponsored health insurance schemes or insurance to pay for the long-term care
of oneself, elderly parents, or a spouse
6. Personal Concierge services, lactation rooms, nap rooms, and food
convenience shopping and dinner preparation services.
Those employers who have introduced these types of employee benefits report
correlated business benefits including:-
• Increased productivity
• Improved recruitment and retention: Employee costs can be 50 percent of a
company’s expenditure, with replacement costing considerably more than the
advertising and direct recruitment fee so it pays to retain experienced employee.
• Lower rates of absenteeism
• Reduced overheads
42
• A more motivated, satisfied and equitable workforce
Work Life Balance: Ways to restore harmony and reduce stress
Finding work-life balance in today's frenetically paced world is no simple task.
Spend more time at work than at home, and you miss out on a rewarding
personal life. Then again, when you face challenges in your personal life, such as
caring for an aging parent or coping with marital problems, concentrating on your
job can be difficult.
Whether the problem is too much focus on work or too little, when your work life
and your personal life feel out of balance, stress — along with its harmful effects
— is the result.
The good news is that you can take control of your work-life balance — and give
yourself the time to do the things that are most important to you. The first step is
to recognize how the world of work has changed. Then you can evaluate your
relationship to work and apply some specific strategies for striking a healthier
balance.
How work invades personal life
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. Here's why:
43
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 couple, which makes it difficult to find time to meet
commitments to family, friends and community.
Married to your work
It can be tempting to rack up the hours at work — especially if you're trying to
earn a promotion or some extra money for a child's education or a dream
vacation. For others, working more hours feels necessary in order to manage the
workload.
But if you're spending most of your time at work, your home life will likely pay the
price. Consider the pros and cons of working extra hours on your work-life
balance:
Fatigue. Your ability to think and your eye-hand coordination decrease
when you're tired. This means you're less productive and may make
44
more mistakes. These mistakes can lead to injury or rework and
negatively impact your professional reputation.
Family. You may miss out on important events, such as your child's first
bike ride, your father's 60th birthday or your high-school reunion.
Missing out on important milestones may harm relationships with your
loved ones.
Friends. Trusted friends are a key part of your support system. But if
you're spending time at the office instead of with them, you'll find it
difficult to nurture those friendships.
Expectations. If you regularly work extra hours, you may be given more
responsibility. This could create a never-ending and increasing cycle,
causing more concerns and challenges.
Sometimes working overtime is important. If you work for a company that
requires mandatory overtime, you won't be able to avoid it, but you can learn to
manage it. Most importantly, say no when you're too tired, when it's affecting
your health or when you have crucial family obligations.
Research Methodology
45
Research methodology is the backbone of any research work undertaken. The
whole study was basically based on collection of data from primary source but
secondary source were also used.
Research methodology deals with the efficient plan and decisions on sources of
gathering the needed on data. Research instrument to be used Research design.
Contact method analysis and interpretation.
Methodology has been extensively discoursed under the heading given below on
the following: -
Research Design
Collection of Data
Research instrument and contact method sampling plan
Field work
RESEARCH DESIGN:
Research design is the overall description of all the steps thought which the
project has preceded from the setting of objectives to the writing of the project
report.
A Research Design specifies the methods and procedures for conducting a
particular study .The researcher should specify the approach he intends to use
with respect to the proposed study. Broadly speaking Research Designs can be
grouped into 3 categories:
1. Exploratory Research
2. Descriptive Research
46
3. Casual Research
For achieving the research objectives which are already stated clearly,the
Exploratory Research method was adopted.
Exploratory Research:
The major emphasis in this type of research is on the discovery of ideas at hand
and insights. It is a preliminary investigation which does not have a rigid design.
This is because a researcher engaged in an exploratory study may have to
change his focus as a result of new ideas and relationship among the variables.
The Exploratory study is generally helpful in breaking broad and vague problem
into smaller. In the nutshell, we can say that exploratory research helps in
formulating Hypothesis for the further research. Major part of the exploratory
research is done through survey.
Below is given the various steps in brief of the research design for the project:
Title of the study: “Analysis of Work Life Balance in Banking sector”
47
Research Objectives:
The main objectives of this study were to:
To study the work life balance in banking sector
To know how the work pressure can effect family life
To know the results of work life imbalance on efficiency, health and personal
as well as professional life of employees of banks.
To know the marital status of the individuals affect their lives
Data collection:
Data Sources:
Data was gathered through primary and secondary data.
Primary data: - It consists of original information gathered for the specific
purpose the data is generally collected by survey. Primary sources were
preferred because of its relevance to the issue to have a focused approach due
emphasis was given to obtain accurate information from the respondent.
Secondary data: - It consists of information that already exists having been
collected for another purpose. secondary data is collected from various
magazines newspapers and trade journals market patterns websites of co. &
through net surfing
For conducting the study various tools are used to collect data. The major
emphasis was given to the questionnaire method. Questionnaire is the Source of
gathering the information required for reaching the objectives of this project. The
respondents were all the employees working in Rajasthan bank.
The questionnaire deals with all types of questions necessary together
information required for the project information gathered from the employees was
48
the entirely primary data. For collection of secondary data various journals,
internet & articles were used. Both primary and secondary data were used for
tabulation and analysis of the information to obtain results.
The collected primary data was completely tabulated with the help of tables
and percentages were calculated. From the table information was analyzed
and relevant inferences were drawn and wherever necessary graphs were
made for the presentation of data.
TOOLS OF DATA COLLECTION:
The following tools were used for the data collection:
1. Structured questionnaire: By asking the structured questions to the
employees and by interviewing the executives formally.
2. On-site observation: By viewing the various systems & subsystems and
procedures followed by the bank.
3. Review of written document: some part of this study was collected from
the journals and books.
Sampling plan:
This calls for 2 decisions:
Sampling unit: - It covers the employees of ICICI Bank, Udaipur City.
Sampling size: - 50 Employees
Scope of the study
49
The scope of the project is of great importance as a perfectly balanced life for an
employee need a careful synchronization of family , health, wealth, career, social
obligations intelligence, spirituality etc. So the study covers the important factors
of managing family, work life & stress.
This study found important because it tries to know how the work
life and family life interface results into stress. This study also throws light on the
suggestions to overcome imbalance in work and family life in order to keep
profile of the executives high and also keep their family life happy which in the
long run benefits the organization in achieving its long term goals.
This study has a very wide aspects because of its multi, complex and unique
variables for future researchers.
“Data Analysis & Interpretation”
50
Interpretation
1. Family Structure:
58%
42%
Nuclear
Joint
Interpretation:
Majority of the respondents belong to nuclear family and therefore they are
unable to devote required attention towards their family members and this results
into more stress as compared to those employees who belong to joint family.
2. Marital Status of the Respondents:
51
30%
70%
Single
Married
Most of the respondents are married and therefore those employees who are
married are unable to enjoy their life because of long working hour culture in
banks. Those employees who are single remain less affected as far as their
life is concerned.
3. Working hours per day:
52
14%
36%
46%
4%
Less than 8 hrs
8 - 10 hrs
10 - 12 hrs
More than 12 hrs
46% employees are working 10-12 hours daily and 4% employees are working
for more than 12 hours every day .It clearly indicates that working hours have
increased because of privatization, and employees are bound to spend more
time in banks
53
4. Overstaying in the office for finish work :
50%
26%
6% 8%10%
Most of the times
Some times
seldom
Always
Never
50% of the respondents most of the times overstay in the office to finish their
work.
8% of the respondents always overstay in the office to finish their work.
26% of the respondents sometimes overstay in the office to finish their work.
6% of the respondents seldom overstay in the office to finish their work.
And only 10 % of the respondents never overstay in the office to finish their work
54
5. Response of the family on overstaying :
30%
16%42%
6% 6% ResentmentIrritationCo-OperativeIgnorantFeel Neglected
30% employees have to face resentment of the family members.
Family members of 16% employees get irritated on overstaying of
employees in the bank.
Family members of 6% employees feel neglected on overstaying of
employees in the bank.
Family members of 6% employees simply do not bother, even if
employees have to overstay in the bank.
42% employees are lucky enough to have cooperative family members
6. Long working hours undermine your family life:
55
52%
28%
4%
6% 10% Most of the times times
Some times
seldom
Always
Never
52% employees said that long working hours have effect on their personal
life most of the times.
6% employees were of the opinion that long working hours always
undermine their family life.
According to 28% employees long working hours sometimes undermine
their family life.
4% employees were of the view that long working hours seldom affect
their family life.
Only 10% of the respondents were not in favor of this.
1. Are you able to attend social gatherings :
56
20%
50%12%
10% 8%
Most of the times
Some times
seldom
Always
Never
50% of the respondents sometimes manage to attend social gatherings.
10% employees are always able to attend social gatherings.
8% employees have such a hectic schedule that they can never attend
any social function
20% employees are able to attend social gatherings most of the times
12% employees seldom attend social gathering.
2. You spare time for your hobbies:
57
40%
60%
Yes
No
Majority of the employees of banking sector i.e., 60% are so much
preoccupied with their work that they never get time for their hobbies and
personal interests.
3. Do you take your children to school :
58
14% 6%
50%
30%Most of the times
Some times
seldom
Always
Never
Not applicable
50% employees never take their children to their schools.
14% employees sometimes take their children to their schools.
6% employees seldom accompany their children to their schools.
59
4. Priorities :
56%
12%
26% 6%Career
Health
Family
Wealth
Hobbies
By concluding the survey we know that 56% employees give first priority to their
career, 26% give to their Family, 12% give to their Health & 6% to their Wealth.
Not a single respondent give priority to their Hobbies.
11. Do you carry your office work at home?
60
2%24%
12%2%
60%
Most of the times
Some times
seldom
Always
Never
Majority of the employees i.e. 60% never take their office work at home
while 24% of the employees sometimes carry their office work at home.
Only 2% employees always carry their office work at home.
12% employees seldom carry their office work at home.
12. How frequently you carry your family out on vacation:
61
8%
50%18%
14%
10%
Twice in a year
Once in a year
Once in three years
Once in five years
Never
50% employees of banking sector take their family out on vacation once in
a year.
10% employees never spent vacations with family.
Only 8% employees take their family out on vacation twice in a year.
18% employees spent vacations once in three years with family.
14% employees are taking their family out on vacation once in 5 years
because of their hectic schedule.
13. Does long working hours affect your efficiency :
62
44%
12%8%
28%8% Most of the times
Some times
seldom
Always
Never
According to 44% employees, long working hours affect their efficiency most of the times.28% employees said that long working hours always affect their efficiency
12% employees were of the opinion that long working hours sometimes
affect their efficiency
8% employees said that long working hours seldom affect their efficiency
Only 8% employees said that long working hours never affect their efficiency
14. Does peer pressure compels you to stay late in the office:
63
40%
24%
8%
12%16% Most of the times
Some times
seldom
Always
Never
12% executives said that peer pressure always compels them to stay late
in the office
40% executives said that most of the times peer pressure compels them
to stay late in the office
8% executives said that peer pressure seldom compels them to stay late
in the office
24% executives said that peer pressure sometimes compels them to stay
late in the office
Only 16% executives said that peer pressure never compels them to stay
late in the office
15. Does long working hours cause stress at work:
64
40%
20%6%
24%10%
Most of the times
Some times
seldom
Always
Never
By concluding survey we know that long working hours cause stress at work
Most of the times for 40% of the respondents, 10% respondents are Never get
stress due to long working hours, 20% are in stress some times, 24%
respondents get Always stress at work & 6% get stress seldom at work due to
long working hours.
16. Do you agree “YOUR HEALTH IS SUFFERING BECAUSE OF YOUR WORK”:
65
24%
36%20%
16% 4%
Strongly agree
Agree
Partially agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
By concluding the survey we know that 24% respondents are strongly agree with
the statement, 36% are agree, 20% are partially agree,16% are disagree & 4%
respondents are strongly disagree with the particular statement.
17. Do you suffer from Hypertension?
66
70%
30%
Yes
No
70% of the employees of the banking sectors are suffering from
hypertension because of increased competition in market as well as at
workplace.
.
67
18. Do you suffer from Insomnia?
20%
80%
Yes
No
20% employees in banks are insomniac which shows that because of
increased work pressure and tensions, few employees are not able to
sleep.
Facts & findings
68
1. Majority of the executives belong to nuclear family and thereby the level of
stress is more as compared to those employees who belong to joint family.
2. For married employees it is more difficult to concentrate on their personal
life because of their work pressure and therefore more work load in banks
resulted in poor family relation.
3. Long working hour culture directly affects the level of efficiency of
employees thereby causing stress at work resulting into hypertension and
other diseases.
4. One positive finding is here that family members response are co-operative
towards most of the employees on overstaying in the office resulting less
stress.
5. Most of the executives are to have a family that understands their positions
in the banks and this has helped in avoiding stress in their life.
6. Most of the executives sometimes attend functions in the family circle; some
of them cannot attend due to their office work.
7. Majority of the executives agreed that long working hours affect their
efficiency sometimes.
8. Most of the executives miss out there hobbies and interests because of
there preoccupations with there work.
9. The family members feel the absence of the executives in the house when
the executives are required to stay in the banks beyond working hours.
10. Most of the respondents were of the opinion that long working hours cause
stress at work.
11. Some of the executives need not stay back in the banks after office hours
yet senior or middle level executives have to stay back to finish their work.
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12.40% of the respondents commented that peer pressure coax them to stay
late in the office.
13.26% managers are insomniac.
14. Most of the managers are suffering from hypertension and other
psychosomatic diseases.
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Conclusions
A strategy to encourage work-life balance or a series of work-life initiatives is not
sufficient to increase discretionary effort and employee engagement. Work-life
balance must be supported and encouraged at all levels of the organisation,
including senior management, line managers and all staff.
Building an organisational culture which supports work-life balance is a long-term
process for large organisations. It involves changing the way people think and
talk about their work and about work-life balance so that using flexible working
options and other work-life initiatives becomes accepted and normal for everyone
regardless of their gender, seniority within the organisation or personal
commitments.
This is a perfect study of human resource management to understand the family
life and work life and counsel the executives in case of needs. The study reveals
that officers have to mange and identify the importance of family requirements
and decide priorities of their personal involvement so that stress and strain can
be avoided.
The study concludes that as part of human resource management, frequent
studies have to be conducted to understand the executives and their family, so
that stress and strain among the executives arising out of family and work
interface is removed.
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1. The family and work life are both important to employees in any service
sector & if these two are not maintained properly it creates stress and
strain and results into various diseases.
2. The organizations which encourage work life balance in principle and in
practice will reap the benefits of increased employee engagement,
discretionary effort and therefore productivity.
3. Building an organisational culture which supports work-life balance is a
long-term process for large organisations.
4. Work-life balance must be supported and encouraged at all levels of the
organisation, including senior management, line managers and all staff.
With this the objective of this study gets fulfilled and it has been proved that work
life and family life imbalance do pose the problems of stress and strains to the
executives but it can be managed by the proper planning of work life and family
life.
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Recommendation & Suggestions:
For Bank:
1. Banks are suggested to conduct picnic programmes for the executives
and their families.
2. Banks should accept the facts that employees work best when they can
balance their work and other aspects of their lives.
3. Banks should also try to implement certain ‘ Time away from work policies’
such as holiday banking, buying & selling of holidays, special leaves,
compassionate leave, maternity, paternity and adoption leave, study
leave, short term & long term career breaks etc.
4. Raise awareness and promote discussion of work life balance issues.
5. Promote and disseminate best practice in achieving work life balance.
6. Produce practical interventions to encourage better work life balance.
7. Recognize the needs of its employees to balance work and family and
other personal life commitments that may vary at different stages of an
individual’s life cycle.
8. Communicate the importance of investing in work/life, diversity and
workforce effectiveness initiatives.
9. Learn how changes in work processes and work structures in
organizations supported by work/life initiatives can leverage improvements
in productivity, quality, and customer and employee satisfaction.
10.A written check-list of legal entitlements should be provided to workers
when they receive their formal contract of employment.
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For Employees:
We all have so many commitments these days that we can feel at times we're
getting ripped in a million different directions.
Take control now by achieving balance between your work and personal lives.
Here are some tips :
1. Identify Priorities
Consider what you want to get out of your work and your personal life, and
eliminate the things that don't help you achieve those goals. Make those things
your top priorities, and do what it takes to make them happen.
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2. Be Sure to Ask
Sometimes all you have to do is ask for flexible hours or the option to
telecommute-- at least for a period of time. You never know what you can get
unless you ask.
3. Set a Time Frame
Don't expect to achieve this balance overnight.
Lay out your responsibilities and set small goals for when you will likely
incorporate different elements of balance into your life.
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4. Find a Balance Mentor
Identify someone who is really good at achieving work-life balance,
and ask for any tip.
5. Telecommute
Work from home when it's realistic and possible.
Not commuting or getting dressed and ready for the office saves chunks
of time. You may find you get more done on days you work from home, since
there won't be all that office chit-chat and those time-wasting meetings. You'll be
able to focus on work for long stretches and to use the extra hours in the day to
meet personal responsibilities.
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6. Use Technology to Your Advantage
Technology should help you achieve work-life balance, not rule your life.
Make certain times, like dinner, are technology-free for you and your family.
Set an example by adhering to the rules you lay down.
7. Communicate
Establish clear communication with your colleagues and your boss.
If you won't be available for certain hours during the day or weekend
because you're dealing with family problems, make sure your manager is aware
and agrees.
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8. Have a Support System
Things will come up, and you'll need help.
Identify people who can pitch in at times, such as family members,
neighbors, friends and colleagues.
9. Learn Your Employer's Policies
Your company may have set policies on flexibility.
People often don't know there are options about commuting and the work day
that can make their lives easier.
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10. Edit Yourself Personally and Professionally
Let go of the things that are not mission-critical.
Take yourself off committees and out of obligations that you can't give
your all to, leaving yourself free for the most important ones.
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LIMITATIONS:
The research conducted was limited to “The Bank of Rajasthan Ltd.”
Udaipur city only.
Findings of the study are based on the assumption that respondents
have divulged the correct information.
The study is limited due to time, costs and physical reasons
Few respondents were so much occupied with their work that they
could not spare time to fill the questionnaire
The biasness of employees affect the analysis of the study in a
significant manner
Due to unwillingness of providing any information, the respondents
filled the questionnaire casually which might have affected the
conclusions.
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Appendix
Questionnaire
WORK LIFE BALANCE SURVEY
Name : …………………. Age : ……............... Designation : ……………….. Gender : Male / Female Marital status : Single / married Family structure : Nuclear / Joint Educational Qualification : …………………….. Occupation of your spouse : ……………………………… Monthly Income ( in Rs.) : a) 5000-10,000 b) 10,000-15,000 c)15,000-20,000 d) above 20,000 Q.1) Normal working hours per day : a) Less than 8 hrs. b) 8-10 hrs. c) 10-12 hrs. d) More than 12 hrs. Q.2) How frequent you overstay in the office to finish your work : a) Most of the times b) Some times c) Seldom d) Always e) Never Q.3)Response of the family members on overstaying in the office a) Resentment b) Irritation c) co-operative d) Ignorant e) Feel Neglected Q.4) Do you thinklong working hours undermine your family life : a) Most of the times b) Some times c) Seldom d) Always e) Never Q.5) Are you able to attend social gatherings : a) Most of the times b) Some times c) Seldom d) Always e) Never Q.6) Do you spare time for your hobbies and personal interest : a) Yes b) No
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Q.7) Do you take your children to their schools : a) Most of the times b) Some time c) Seldom d) Always e) Never
Q.8) Priorities the following ( 1-5) a) Career ( ) b) Health ( ) c) Family ( ) d) Wealth ( ) e) Hobbies ( )
Q.9) Do you carry your office work at home : a) Most of the times b) Some times c) Seldom d) Always e) Never
Q.10) How frequently you take your family out on vacation: a) Twice in a year b) Once in a year c) Once in three years d) Once in five years e) Never
Q.11) Does long working hours affect your efficiency: a) Most of the times b) Some times c) Seldom d) Always e) Never
Q.12) Does peer pressure compels you to stay late in the office: a) Most of the times b) Some times c) Seldom d) Always e) Never
Q.13) Does long working hours cause stress at work: a) Most of the times b) Some times c) Seldom d) Always e) Never
Q.14) Do you agree “YOUR HEALTH IS SUFFERING BECAUSE OF YOUR WORK” a) strongly agree b) agree c) partially agree d) disagree e) Strongly disagree
Q.15) Do you suffer from Hypertension: a) Yes b) No
Q.16) Do you suffer from Insomnia: a) Yes b) No
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Bibliography
Research methodology – C.R Kothari, published by: Wishwa Prakashan
Human resource management – Pattnayak, published by: Tata McGraw-Hill
Publishing Company Limited
The ICFAI Journal of 0rganizational Behavior
HRM Review of ICFAI Journal
Manuals of the Banks
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