WORK LIFE BALANCE AMONG UNIVERSITY AND COLLEGE

TEACHERS OF AMRITSAR CITY (PUNJAB)

Hardeep Singh
PhD Research Scholar, IKG Punjab Technical University, Kapurthala (Punjab) India
Email: geniussodhi@gmail.com
Dr. Rohan Sharma
Associate Professor, Innocent Heart Group of Institutes, Jalandhar (Punjab) India
Email: rohansharma001@gmail.com

“Life is like riding a bicycle to keep your balance you keep moving”
– Albert Einstein
Abstract:
In today fast growing time of technology we all are passing thorough a common problem – how to maintain a right
balance between professional career life and personal family life. This is called work-life balance. In this paper we
have discussed about the meaning of work life balance, need of work life balance, working hours, and factors
affecting the work life balance and how to manage work-life balance for teachers working in universities and
colleges of Amritsar City of Punjab state. This paper is mainly based on primary data and secondary data.
Secondary data was collected from various articles, research papers and magazines. Primary data has been
discussed that has been collected with the help of questionnaires, personal interview and interactions done with
teachers of universities and colleges.

Keywords: Balance, Family, Professional Life, Personal Life, Teachers, Work Life Balance.

Introduction:

Personal Life and Professional Life are the two most important domains in the life of an
employed individual. Some may argue that we realize ourselves through work – being able to
self-actualize – attaining unto the very zenith of our chosen career; a truly all-encompassing self-
actualization however, will integrate both our work and life (family, personal life, community
service). When an individual is thus employed in an organization, he does not give up his life in
exchange for work rather he attempts to maintain a balance between them. This balance is
necessary for a healthy life. For many employees, the day is not over when they go home. Often,
a second day of work starts at home for most working mothers, they come home to the second
shift (assuming the inescapable role of a wife and a mother). The challenge of balancing work
and family (non-work) demands is one of today‘s central concerns for both individuals and
organizations (Valcour, 2007). People who have better balance have a greater job satisfaction
and perform better in their position. They have a bigger loyalty and a higher level of trust

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(Vlems, 2005). In many of today‘s workplaces, employers are cutting cost mainly through lay-
offs and are placing more demands on the lean staff left behind. The excuse is to stay afloat in
the wake of a global economic recession. The implication however, is that the more time and
energy employees give to work, the less they have to give to the other important aspects of their
lives, thus creating a work-life balance problem with its attendant negative consequences for
both the employee and the organization. In this paper, we contend that assisting employees to
achieve a work-life balance should become a critical part of HR policy and strategy if it is to
truly get the best from the organization’s people without leaving them unsatisfied, burnt-out and
unfulfilled.

Meaning of Work-Life Balance

Work-life balance is a broad concept including proper prioritizing between “work” (career and
ambition) on one hand and “life” (pleasure, leisure, family and spiritual development) on the
other. Related, though broader, terms include “lifestyle balance” and “life balance”.

Work life balance may be defined as the conflicts between the demands of work and the
demand of personal life (family commitments, leisure time activities etc).

Literature Review

Rathee Rupa, e.t al. (2018) in their paper “Factors Affecting Work Life Balance of Women in
Education Sector” stated that today work-life balance has become an increasingly pervasive
concern for employers as well as employees. The study found that out of nine factors stress
factor was most important. The present study suggests that there are lots of hindrances in work
life balance which all are related to the factors analyzed in this present study. For example, tug of
war between time and work, stress, traveling problem, people’s attitude towards their jobs,
excessive responsibilities at home and workplace, lack of coordination at workplace and home,
family’s expectations etc. are hindrance of work life balance.

C. Muthulakshmi (2018) in his paper “Study on Work Life Balance among the Teaching
Professionals of Arts and Science Colleges in Tuticorin District” found that the growing
diversity of family structures represented in the workforce, including dual-earner couples, single

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parents, blended families, teaching staff members with elder care responsibilities and the
increasing number or people choosing to live alone, has heightened the relevance of balancing
work and life roles for a substantial segment of employed men and women. These societal
developments have greatly increased the complexities of the interface between work and life
roles especially in case of educational institutions. Institutions should consider child supervision
to be better regulated than teaching staff members do. At the same time, teaching staff members’
expectations of balance in this area are high. It should therefore be pointed out to management
that more attention could be devoted to this area. Apart from this, flexible working time is also
an area which requires particular attention from management. The incorporation of Work-Life
Balance strategies into annual planning of educational institutions can, in fact, have positive
impact on employee’s well-being. Therefore, it is equally important for teaching staff members
to express their expectations and needs, since otherwise they cannot expect management or the
institutions to resolve matters for them on their own initiative.

Nor Azilah Husin, e.t al. (2018) in their paper “Work-life Balance of Malaysian Lecturers” has
stated that lecturer is a crucial asset to universities to ensure excellent students can be produced.
This study has been done to identify main variables that influence Results showed that all
factors: Family, work, and flexible working hours are significantly related to WLB. Health factor
mediates all the variables. Family factor (F2 = 0.662) and health factor (F2 = 0.414)

Agha, K., e.t al. (2017) in their paper “Work-life balance and job satisfaction: An empirical study
focusing on higher education teachers in Oman” identified the relationship between work life
balance, teaching satisfaction and job satisfaction. Results of this paper show that teaching
satisfaction had a positive relationship with job satisfaction.
Shalini M. (2017) in her research paper “Work Life Balance among Women Employees with
Reference to Teaching Faculties at KLE S.Nijalingappa College” has stated that Work life
balance is the idea which is related with well balancing between your work and lifestyle. It is a
proper management of career and personal life. Findings include that service to the society
motivates them to work in teaching profession. The respondents listen to music to manage stress.
Family emergencies and health issues affect their professional life. Work on holidays and long
travelling hours to work place affect their personal life. Interpersonal relationship in work place
helps to maintain work life balance.
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Zaheer, A., et. al. (2016) in their research paper “Occupational stress and work-life balance: A
study of female Faculites of central Universities in Delhi, India” has investigated the level of the
occupational stress among females, work life balance and assess the relationship between
occupational stress and work life balance amid female faculties in the central university Delhi..
The study found that correlation analysis identified a strong positive relationship between
occupational stress and work life imbalance of female faculty in central universities of Delhi.

Tressa, A.D., Manisha and C.K. (2016) in their paper “Work life Balance: A study of female
teachers of Kendriya Vidyalaya in Uppal, Hyderabad” have explored the work life balance and
stress level of KV school female teachers. The study found that there was a stress-free
environment, obligations and responsibilities of work life balance for the teaching professionals.
Also, found that the employers of the institution are used to flexible working strategies and better
working conditions.
M. Aarthy and Dr. M. Nandhini (2016) in their research paper titled “A Study on Quality of
Work Life among the Engineering College Faculty Member in Coimbatore District” has stated
that Quality of Work Life is an important factor in motivating employees and increasing their job
satisfaction which helps the organization to achieve its goals. The study concluded that there is a
moderate level of Quality of Work Life is found among the faculty members and the
demographic variables namely age, gender, marital status, income, experience and number of
children has a significant influence on Quality of Work Life of the engineering college faculty
members. The findings show that age, gender, marital status, income, experience and number of
children have a significant influence on Quality of Work Life of the respondents. The coefficient
of correlation value shows that there is a significant relationship between age and Quality of
Work Life of the respondents at 0.05 level of significance.

Research Methodology
Research on teachers’ work life balance, ethics and the moral dimensions of teaching has
contributed to extensive and valuable knowledge, which has sometimes led to constructive
syntheses of positions. The major problem to be discussed in this study is Study on Work Life
Balance among University and College Teachers with special reference to Amritsar City of
Punjab State. This study is exploratory and descriptive in nature. Exploration will be done to find

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out the impact of work life balance of university and college teachers Amritsar district of Punjab.
For this both primary and secondary data has been used. To collect the primary data the teachers
of universities and colleges have been personally interviewed and discussions were made with
them. It has been done with the help of structured questionnaire. Secondary has been collected
from various previous studies including research papers, journals, articles in newspapers and
magazines and previous PhD theses and websites.

Sampling Procedure
In first stage, purposive random sampling method has been adopted to select the colleges for
studying the impact of work life balance. A sample of 35 teachers working in Universities and
Colleges of Amritsar city of Punjab were selected. The data was collected by filling the
questionnaires by the teachers working in Universities and Colleges of Amritsar City. The
questionnaire consists of the information/detail about the work life balance of Teachers of
Universities and Colleges of Punjab, its positive effects and loopholes/challenges etc.
Objectives of Study: To study the overall work life balance of the college and university
teachers.
Data Analysis
S. No. QUESTION MEAN
Q 1. Do you generally feel you are able to balance your work life? 3.60

Q 2. Is the present job more convenient for balancing your life? 3.50

Q 3. How do you feel about in working as a teacher in a college/university? 4.00

Q 4. Do you personally feel any of the following will help you to balance your work 3.97
life? (Flexible starting time)

Q 5. Do you personally feel any of the following will help you to balance your work 3.94
life? (Flexible finishing time)

Q 6. Do you personally feel any of the following will help you to balance your work 4.60
life? (Flexible hours in general)

Q 7. Do you personally feel any of the following will help you to balance your work 4.57
life? (Holidays)

Q 8. Do you personally feel any of the following will help you to balance your work 3.91
life? (Job sharing)

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 Q 9. Do you personally feel any of the following will help you to balance your work 4.43
life? (family engagements)

Q 10. How do you feel about the present working environment is more pleasant in your 3.71
family life?

Q 11. Do you feel your family more supportive for your present work pressure? 3.12

Q 12. How satisfied are you with your life overall? 3.60

Q 13. How satisfied are you with your life as an employee of your organization? 3.86

Q 14. How SATISFIED are you with the following aspect of your job? (Job 2.40
Satisfaction)

Q 15. How SATISFIED are you with the following aspect of your job? (Workplace 3.70
Issues)

Q 16. How SATISFIED are you with the following aspects of your Health and Health 3.66
Care?

Q 17. How SATISFIED are you with the amount of leisure time you have? 2.90

Q 18. How SATISFIED are you with the following aspects of your Marriage/Intimate 3.60
Relationship?

Q 19. How SATISFIED are you with the following aspects of your Relationship with 4.10
your Children?

Q 20. Do any of the following hinder you in balancing your work and family 3.80
commitments? (Technology such as laptops, Mobile Phone)

Q 21. Do any of the following hinder you in balancing your work and family 2.14
commitments? (Frequently traveling away from home for Conferences, FDPs
etc.)

Q 22. Do any of the following hinder you in balancing your work and family 3.89
commitments? (Negative attitude of peers and colleagues at work place)

Q 23. Do any of the following hinder you in balancing your work and family 4.57
commitments? (Negative attitude of HOD, Principal/Director and Employer)

Q 24. Do any of the following hinder you in balancing your work and family 4.03
commitments? (Negative attitude of family members)

Findings of the Study:

Ability to balance work life. (Mean Value: 3.6). Mostly the respondents told
that they can balance their work life balance generally. Convenience for balancing your life.

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(Mean Value: 3.5). Mostly the respondent questioned were the teachers doing their job by
choice. They responded that their present teaching job was very convenient in making a balance
between work and life. Good/bad feeling about in working as a teacher in a college/university.
(Mean Value: 3.6). The most respondent showed that they feel good in working as a teacher.
Personal feeling of the following to help in balancing work life (Flexible starting time). (Mean
Value: 3.97). Mostly the teachers showed that flexible starting time may make their work life
balance better. Personal feeling about the following to help in balancing work life (Flexible
finishing time). (Mean Value: 3.91). This shows that flexible finishing time can also make the
work life balance better. Personal feeling of any of the following to help in balancing work life
(Flexible hours in general). (Mean Value: 4.4). The respondents showed more interest in flexible
hours that this can also improve the work life balance. Personal feeling about the following to
help you in balancing work life (Holidays). (Mean Value: 4.5). The teachers responded that
Holiday can improve the work life balance as we can give more time to our family and children
and get ourselves free from stress of work place. Personal feeling of the following to help in
balancing work life (Job sharing). (Mean Value: 3.91). According to the view of mostly teachers
job sharing will gain help in improving the work balance. Personal feeling about the following to
help in balancing work life (family engagements). (Mean Value: 4.43). High value of the mean
shows that the teachers felt that giving more time to the family members will also improve the
work life balance.
Feeling about the present working environment is more pleasant than your
family life (Mean Value: 2.50). This shows that half of the teachers responded to this in positive
manner. Your feeling about the family support for your present work pressure. (Mean Value:
3.12). This shows mostly people have conflicts in their families due their shortage of time. Few
families support their spouses to get relief from work stress. Satisfaction with your life overall.
(Mean Value: 3.60). Mostly people are over all satisfied but even then there are people who are
not satisfied from their life overall. Satisfaction with your life as an employee of the
organization. (Mean Value: 3.86). This showed that mostly people were satisfied with the
organization work culture. Satisfaction with the following aspect of job (Job Satisfaction). (Mean
Value: 2.40). Mostly people were not satisfied with the job due to additional job responsibilities,
unnecessary work pressure and other reasons. Satisfaction with the following aspect of your job

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(Workplace Issues). (Mean Value: 3.70). Mostly people were having satisfaction with work
culture still many people had work place issues. Satisfaction with the following aspects of Health
and Health Care. (Mean Value: 3.66). Some people claimed that due to uncomfortable conditions
of work and personal life they were having health problems. Satisfaction with the amount of
leisure time you have. (Mean Value: 2.90). Maximum people complained that there was shortage
of leisure time with them. Satisfaction with the following aspects of Marriage/Intimate
Relationship. (Mean Value: 3.60). Still some people had conflict in their families due to work
problems. Satisfaction with the relationship with your Children. (Mean Value: 4.10). Mostly
people claimed that they had good relations with their children.
Hindrance in balancing work and family commitments (Technology such as
laptops, Mobile Phone). (Mean Value: 3.80). Mostly people agreed that the mobile and other
technologies create an obstacle in maintaining work life balance. Hindrance in balancing work
and family commitments (Frequently traveling away from home for Conferences, FDPs etc.).
(Mean Value: 2.14). Only half of the teachers agreed that the conferences and FDPs hinder in
maintain work life balance.
Hindrance in balancing your work and family commitments (Negative
attitude of peers and colleagues at work place). (Mean Value: 3.89). Mostly people agreed that
negative attitude of colleagues make a problem in maintaining work life balance. Hindrance in
balancing your work and family commitments (Negative attitude of HOD, Principal/Director and
Employer). (Mean Value: 4.57). Mostly people agreed that negative attitude of HODs, Director,
Principal and Employer again create a problem in maintaining work life balance. Hindrance in
balancing your work and family commitments (Negative attitude of family members). (Mean
Value: 4.02). Negative attitude of family members also makes hurdles in making work life
balance.
Conclusion:
Lastly we conclude that there are many teachers that are having work life balance problem. The
factors that play major role in work life balance are job satisfaction level, work place issues, time
problem, leisure time problem, less time for family, negative attitude of employers, HODs,
Principals and Directors and even peers. Work life balance can be improved by improving the
work place culture, solving work place issues, by solving the time problems of the teachers, by

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working upon job satisfaction factors and deceasing the work pressure and stress of the teachers
of universities and colleges.
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