Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (Two Years)), 10 credits / 15 HE credits
The increased pace of life can create difficulties for individuals to manage their time
efficiently and sustainably, this in turn could lead to more stress. As a result of this, work-
life balance has become a frequently used term to describe the relation between work and
life. Since the increased awareness regarding work-life it has also been important for
organizations to apply strategies to provide employees with the tools necessary to
withhold a balanced lifestyle to become an attractive employer. Factors that can influence
work-life balance that an organization can implement are to give the ability to work
remotely and have more flexible conditions. The employee attitudes we set out to find if
they have relation with work-life balance were: Organizational commitment, job
satisfaction, employee engagement and employee health. These were chosen due to the
fact that there had been little research connecting work-life balance influence on these
topics. Furthermore, these employee attitudes have been found to create a better
organizational performance and overall create better employee well-being.
As found in earlier studies, work-life balance has shown to increase employees' life and
job satisfaction. Furthermore, it also showed that it had some influence on employees'
well-being, meaning reduced stress, risk for burnouts, depression and anxiety due to the
fast pace of life and work (Haar, 2013, p. 3319). Furthermore, it also indicates that work-
life balance is defined as having a balance between professional and personal interests
(Kelliher et al., 2019, p. 98; Hall et al., 2013, p. 548).
This research set out to answer the following question: “How does work-life balance
influence different employee attitudes?”. To be able to answer our research question we
conducted qualitative research and gained a deeper understanding of the reality of the
subject. Furthermore, our data was gathered using six semi-structured interviews.
Furthermore, this study provides practical implications which might be of use to
managers and organizations. First, this study showed that work-life balance does in fact
have an influence on different employee attitudes. Secondly, the study also provides
insights into which attitudes relate to each other and what factors influence work-life
balance. This could be taken into consideration of managers and organizations when
planning to implement new policies or strategies to better increase organizational
performance and retention rates.
2024.
Work-life balance, employee attitudes, organizational commitment, job satisfaction, employee engagement, employee health