MANAGEMENT RESEARCH PROJECT

WORK LIFE BALANCE AND ITS EFFECTS ON EMPLOYEE PRODUCITVITY.

(A CASE STUDY OF GOVERNMENT PRESS.)

BY

SC/00365/011

MANAGEMENT RESEARCH PROJECT

A RESEARCH PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF PHYSICAL AND

BIOLOLGICAL SCIENCE OF MASENO UNIVERSITY IN PARTIAL

FULFILLMENT FOR THE AWARD OF DEGREE IN BACHELOR OF ECO-

TOURISM, HOTEL AND INSTITUTIONAL MANAGEMENT WITH IT

MAY - AUGUST, 2014

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DECLARATION

This research project is my original work and has not been submitted to any other institution

or Examination body for any Award of any certificate.

Name of student: Muinuki Erick Maina

Signature …………………………………..

Date …………………………………………

i

DEDICATION

I dedicate this Research project to my two loving mum, Miriam Wangari for their inspiration

for me to pursue higher and understanding when I was not there for them.

ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am indebted to people who have assisted me in bringing this project, my employer, my

lecturer and colleagues both at work and college.

iii

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this research project was to look at the effects of work-life balance on

employee productivity of, the facts and circumstances surrounding effects of organization

productivity and make suitable recommendations. The researcher began with introducing the

project whose topic of discussion was to assess the effects of employee work-life balance on

organization productivity. In the first chapter the researcher discussed significance of the

study, what the researcher sought to accomplish was why it was important to carry out the

study and the limitations that were likely to be faced while undertaking the research. Chapter

two of the project outlines a detailed literature review of what other critics had said about the

topic of the study. Chapter three of the project describes the methods that were applied in the

carrying out the study. It describes research design, target population, sampling techniques,

instruments of data collection, procedures and analysis. In Chapter Four, the researcher

outlines the data collection through the use of tables, pie-charts and graphs. The final chapter

which is Chapter Five entails the summary of findings according to the researched questions.

It also discusses the major findings, conclusion for each objective and recommendations. It

finishes off by giving suggestions for further studies.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION......................................................................................................................................... i

DEDICATION........................................................................................................................................... ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT...........................................................................................................................iii

ABSTRACT............................................................................................................................................. iv

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS......................................................................................................................viii

LIST OF FIGURES.................................................................................................................................... ix

LIST OF TABLES.......................................................................................................................................x

DEFINITION OF TERMS..........................................................................................................................xi

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................1

1.1 Introduction...............................................................................................................................1

1.2 Background Information............................................................................................................1

1.2.1 Government Press Background Information..............................................................................2

1.3 Statement of the Problem.........................................................................................................3

1.4 Objectives of the Study..............................................................................................................5

1.4.1 General Objectives.....................................................................................................................5

1.4.2 Specific Objectives......................................................................................................................5

1.5 Research Questions...................................................................................................................5

1.6 Significance of the Study............................................................................................................5

1.6.1 Organization...............................................................................................................................5

1.6.2 Trade Unions..............................................................................................................................6

1.6.3 Employees..................................................................................................................................6

1.6.4 Other researchers......................................................................................................................6

1.7 Limitation of the Study..............................................................................................................6

1.8 Scope of the Study.....................................................................................................................7

CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW.....................................................................................................8

2.1 Introduction.....................................................................................................................................8

2.2 Theoretical Review..........................................................................................................................8

2.2.1 Segmentation Theory...................................................................................................................8

2.2.2 Compensation Theory..................................................................................................................9

2.2.3 Spill-over Theory...........................................................................................................................9

2.2.4 Border Theory...............................................................................................................................9

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2.3 Review of Past Studies...................................................................................................................10

2.3.1 Work-life balance.......................................................................................................................10

2.3.2 Productivity................................................................................................................................11

2.3.3 Workplace/work-life culture.......................................................................................................12

2.5 Summary and Gaps to be filled......................................................................................................14

2.6.1 Work life balance........................................................................................................................14

2.6.2 Positive work life........................................................................................................................14

2.6.3 Increased discretionary..............................................................................................................15

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY................................................................16

3.1 Introduction.............................................................................................................................16

3.2 Research Design.......................................................................................................................16

3.3 Target Population....................................................................................................................16

3.4 Sampling..................................................................................................................................16

3.5 Data Collection Instrument......................................................................................................17

3.6 Reliability and Validity.............................................................................................................18

3.7 Data Collection Procedures.....................................................................................................18

3.8 Data Analysis, Presentation and Interpretation.......................................................................18

CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS, PRESENTATION AND INTERPRETATION OF FINDINGS....................19

4.1 Introduction.............................................................................................................................19

4.2 Response Rate Analysis...........................................................................................................19

4.3 Demographic information about the respondents..................................................................20

4.3.1 Gender.....................................................................................................................................20

4.3.2 Age Group................................................................................................................................21

4.3.3 Ages of Children.......................................................................................................................22

4.3.4 Marital Status...........................................................................................................................23

4.3.5 Number of Children..................................................................................................................24

4.3.6 Work Experience......................................................................................................................25

4.3.7 Level of Education....................................................................................................................26

4.3.8 Department of Work................................................................................................................27

4.4 Work Life Balance Practices that are applied in Government Press........................................29

4.5 Data Analysis...........................................................................................................................32

4.5.1 Work Life Balance Practices.....................................................................................................32

4.5.2 In government press how have WLB affected on employees’ productivity.............................33

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4.5.3 On implementing work life balance in government press will face the following challenges. .34

4.6 Summary of the Findings.........................................................................................................35

CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS............................................36

5.1 Introduction.............................................................................................................................36

5.2 Discussion................................................................................................................................36

5.3 Conclusion...............................................................................................................................38

5.4 Recommendations...................................................................................................................39

5.5 Areas of Further Study.............................................................................................................39

APPENDIX I: REFERENCES....................................................................................................................40

APPENDIX II: QUESTIONNAIRE ON WORKLIFE BALANCE.....................................................................42

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONSCLC - Corporate Leadership Council

WPWG - Workplace Productivity Working Group

TFP - Total Factor Productivity

WLB – Work Life Balance

GPN - Government Press

UK - United Kingdom

viii

LIST OF FIGURES Page

Figure 2.1 - Conceptual Framework......................................................................................14

Figure 4.1 – Response Rate...................................................................................................20

Figure 4.2 – Gender...............................................................................................................21

Figure 4.3 – Age of Respondents...........................................................................................22

Figure 4.4 – Age of Children.................................................................................................23

Figure 4.5 – Marital Status.....................................................................................................24

Figure 4.6 – Number of Children...........................................................................................25

Figure 4.7 – Years in Service.................................................................................................26

Figure 4.8 - Level of Education.............................................................................................27

Figure 4.9 – Work-Life balance practices applied in Government Press..............................32

Figure 4.10 - Effects of Work-Life balance in Government Press........................................33

Figure 4.11 – Challenges of Implementing Work-Life balance in Government Press..........34

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LIST OF TABLESPage

Table 3.1 – Target Population

Table 3.2 – Sampling Design

Table 4.1 – Response Rate.....................................................................................................19

Table 4.2 – Gender of Respondents.......................................................................................20

Table 4.3 – Ages of Respondents..........................................................................................21

Table 4.4 – Ages of Children.................................................................................................23

Table 4.5 – Marital Status......................................................................................................24

Table 4.6 – Number of children of respondents....................................................................25

Table 4.7 – Years in Service..................................................................................................26

Table 4.8 – Level of education of respondents......................................................................27

Table 4.9 – Department of work of respondents....................................................................29

Table 4.10 – Effects of work life balance on productivity....................................................30

Table 4.11 – Challenges of work life balance........................................................................31

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DEFINITION OF TERMS

Work Life Balance – is a concept that supports the efforts of employee to split their time and

energy between work and the other important aspects of their lives.

Work Life Conflict – is the incompatibility between expectations to perform one role versus

another

Flexible Work Schedule – work arrangements wherein employees are given greater

scheduling freedom in how they fulfil the obligations of their positions

Productivity – is the ratio of inputs to its output

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CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction

This chapter gives a clear overview of the study. Areas of study covered:-Background

information, statement of the problem, objectives of the study, research questions,

significance, limitations and scope of the study.

1.2 Background Information

Work-life-balance traces back to the 1930’s in a W.K. Kellogg company whereby they

introduced reduction of working hours with four shifts of six hours instead of the usual three

daily eight hours. This improved worker morale and productivity (Lockwood 2003). Work

life Balance as defined by De Cieri et al., (2008) are those strategies, policies, programs and

practices instigated and maintained in workplaces to deal with flexibility, quality of work and

life and work family conflict. Further definition of work-life-balance is about people having a

measure of control over when, where and how they work (Fleetwood, 2007).

In the current global environment workers appear to be working longer and harder than ever

before and as in the end they are finding it tough to accomplish a desired work-life-balance

(Sturges and Guest, 2004). To be precise changes such as technological, structural and

demographic that have been brought about in employment, together with vast demand for

more multi-skilled and flexible knowledge workers (Carnoy and Castles, 1997) are being

related with negative experiences of work such as involuntary contingent work and role

overload. The quality of work-life has been linked directly or indirectly with these

experiences (Greenhaus and Beutell, 1985). There is existence of balance between work and

life when there is a suitable functioning at home and work with a minimum role conflict

(Sturges and Guest, 2004).

In the latest years there has been growth in superiority and function of diverse types of

technology and this has been a driver in the development of 24/7 businesses and long hours

culture. Technology has made work-life-balance easier to get to, day and night, it has enabled

a more flexible approach to when and where work should be carried out (Lester 2000). In

present world, the psychological contract that exists among workers and employers frames

what organization and individual expects to exchange in the employment relationship. Work-

life –balance seems to be a feature of this exchange (Sims 1994). Employees recognize work-

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life-balance as a function of age, there being a distinct stance to work among generation X.

They try to find lifestyle that has non-work time in spite of other responsibilities; moreover

they have confidence in their service, skills and prospects and less loyalty to the employer

(Shabi 2000).

Smola and Sutton (2002) long-established that unlike their predecessors people entering the

workforce today are laying weight on the importance of work-life-balance. There is a more

and more insufficient balance between home-life and work-life as graduates are being drawn

into situations where they have to work for increasingly longer hours. Policies covering

flexible work schedule, family and parental leave are some of strategies of work-life-balance

in organizations (Kramar, 1998; Bar doel et al., 1998).

Most workers are under pressure to perform numerous roles in and out of the work

environment. There is ever growing work – family conflict and stress caused by greater

prominence on work that brings about a negative consequence on quality of life, for this

reason an emphasis on family is related to higher quality of life (Frone et a., l 1992;

Greenhaus, Collins and Shan 2003). Employees have always seen work-life-balance as a

personal issue. With growing alertness of the existing skills shortage and war for talent

organizations are focusing on programs that aim to help their employees manage their home

life which will add on to employee engagement that in turn contributes to higher competence

and lower organizational turnover (Grawitch and Munz 2006).

1.2.1 Government Press Background Information

Government press is the oldest press in Kenya. It was established in 1895 in Mombasa by

then the colonial government to offer vital printed supplies and official rubber stamps for the

government of Kenya. Afterwards the press was relocated from Mombasa to Nairobi on 15 th

January 1905 as the Kenya Uganda railway press. In 1962 it was made the printing and

stationery Department of the Kenyan Government. Its purpose then was to make available

printing works to the colonial government and in adding up to procurement, storage and

supply of stationery items, typewriters and duplicators. This came to an end when stationery

items were decentralized.

In 1965 the department came to be known as Government press. The Government Press has

been given exclusive authority by the Kenyan Government to publish all government

documents. The documents usually bear the most complexity because they must be kept

updated regularly to reflect the current version. Amendments to government documents to

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create them to have a longer publication cycle than most others because they must constantly

be revised and it has to publicly be known that an amendment has been added and usually

there are a series of checks these documents must pass through before their publication cycle

has ended. The department also acts as the advisor to the Government Ministries and

departments on their specialized printing and publishing needs. It provides expertise in court

cases concerning forgery and counterfeiting attempts of Government accountable documents,

since all are required to use Government press to procure their Printing services and only on

the advice of the Government Printer, would authorize to outsource Government work be

granted.

The government press wishes to generate a globally competitive and adaptive human

resources base to meet the requirements of its vision, mission and objectives. To march the

pace with new challenges and fast growing technological changes taking place in raw

materials manufacturing industry, the department has no choice other than to keep side by

side with technology by vastly investing on quality through quality inspection of supplies.

1.3 Statement of the Problem

Apparently work life balance to some people means spending more time in paid work and

less time at home, on the other hand to others it means making sure that paid work does not

contravene on time needed for other responsibilities. Output is always poor when there is lack

of work flexibility, high work pressure and longer working hours. In addition it works against

the quality of family and community at large, which eats down on the employee input, as it is

tough for the employee to deal with situation at workplace when he cannot handle his family

(A. George, 2013).

Generally when people spend long hours at work and spend little or no time with their

families, their health and work output begins to deteriorate (Sparks, Cooper, Fried n Shirom

1997). Work life balance has been defined as fulfillment and good operation at work and

home with a minimum role conflict (Clark, 2000), Equilibrium or maintaining overall sense

of harmony in life (Clarke et al., 2004) and global assessment that work and family demands

such that participation is effective in both domains (Voydanoff, 2005).

Frone (2003) indicates that participating in the work may impede with or enhance the

performance in the family and likewise participation in the family may interfere or enhance 3

performance in the work or productivity (Frone et al., 1992). Government Press offers

printing services to the government, both the public and private sector. The culture and nature

of the organization always compel the employees specifically printers to work for longer

hours. More often when there are urgent state-jobs like official programs for the president,

which have timeframe, employees are forced to work for longer hours, and if not at the

workplace they are called back or even picked at night so as to deliver the jobs at the right

time More so when the jobs/books are needed in bulk, for instance, when there was

referendum and there was need to print the proposed constitution, employees who had gone

for their annual leave were called back, and were also expected to work for longer hours so as

to meet the deadline.

At times employees spend more time at work because their presence rewards more than

result, especially when they are at standby or waiting for the urgent jobs, which more than

often, there is no specific time they reach the workplace, but because, staying for longer

hours overtime will be paid. Greenhaus et al., 2003 questioned the self-evident assumption

that work life balance always leads to favorable outcomes. Studies have been conducted on

work life balance and its effects on employee’s productivity and it is not certain whether

work life balance can either enhance productivity or not, for example Konrad and Mangel

(2000) shows that WLB has an effect on employee’s performance, in contrast in a study in

United States Bloom et al (2009, 2011) find no relationship between WLB practices and

performance, when management practices are controlled. Therefore the study attempts to find

out how work-life balance has an effect on employee’s productivity in printing press,

specifically Government Press.

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1.4 Objectives of the Study

1.4.1 General Objectives

The general objective of the study was to establish effects of work-life balance on employee

productivity.

1.4.2 Specific Objectives

i. To investigate the work life balance practices those were applied in the Government

Press.

ii. To establish the effect of work life balance on employee productivity at the

Government Press.

iii. To determine the challenges faced by organization who implement work life balance

practices on employees.

1.5 Research Questions

i. Are there any work life balance effects that you experience at the Government Press?

ii. Are there any work life balance practices being exercised in your organization?

iii. Which are the challenges that you experience in your organization in carrying out

work life balance practices?

1.6 Significance of the Study

This research would be useful to the following stakeholders:

1.6.1 OrganizationThe findings would assist the management to focus on policies and programs that would be

beneficial to the organization. The policies could provide an optimistic and impact on

employee to remain in the organization other than leaving for greener pastures. The policies

could also seek to improve their commitment and satisfaction levels and in turn reduce stress

and problems at work. It would also help organization improve in the ability of recruitment

and retention of valued employees.

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1.6.2 Trade UnionsTrade unions are charged with responsibility of looking onto the welfare of their members.

This includes fighting for better pay and working conditions. Therefore the trade unions may

use this research information for acceptable collective bargaining negotiations and agreement

for flexible working arrangement.

1.6.3 EmployeesEmployees through this research study would gain knowledge on why work life balance is of

importance to them while in employment.

1.6.4 Other researchersThe findings of the study would also be used as a reference in future by those who would like

to explore more in this intriguing, informative and interesting topic beyond the scope of the

study.

1.7 Limitation of the Study

The researcher encountered limitation such as lack of support by both the management and

the employee who viewed the research as a disturbance to their peace and busy irregular

work schedules. The researcher also was viewed as a spy.

Some questionnaires were returned unanswered. Government Press is a busy institution and

especially when the government comes to the end of the financial year and starting of the new

financial year, therefore employees were not, for sure had time to respond to the

questionnaire and this reduced the response rate. A time constraint was experienced by the

fact that the researcher was an evening student and during the day was at work place. This

will limit time for research.

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1.8 Scope of the Study

The study was carried out in Government Press Haile-Selassie Avenue, Nairobi Kenya. The

research was focused on the study of work life balance and its effects on employee

productivity. This was due to the fact that it is the only printing establishment for the Kenya

Government and one of the largest presses in the printing industry.

This study sought for in-depth information on the following variables: - Effectiveness of

work-life balance practices in existence, the work-life balance culture of this organization and

its effectiveness need for work-life balance practices in the entire organization and the

various ways in which work-life practices can be implemented & how it can best suit

productivity. The study was to concentrate mostly on the production and publication

departments of Government Press.

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CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction

In this chapter, the following will be discussed: - theoretical review, review of past studies,

critical review, summary and gaps to be filled and finally conceptual framework that will

guide my research.

2.2 Theoretical Review

In the recent years Work life balance practices have an immense impact on the employee

production at their work places (Pitt-Catsouphes et al.,2006) Theories include work life

balance practices, productivity and work life culture. A number of theories have been put

forward to elaborate clearly the work family relation. These include Segmentation,

Compensation, Spillover and the Border theory (Greenhaus & Powell, 2006, Morris &

Madsen, 2007).

2.2.1 Segmentation Theory

The earliest view of the relationship between work and home was that they are segmented

and autonomous and do not impinge on each other. Blood and Wolfe (1960), who were

pioneers of this perception, applied this notion to blue collar workers. They elucidated that

for workers in unsatisfying or un-involving jobs, generally segmentation of work and home is

an accepted process. The separate spheres pattern took the family as a domestic haven for

women and work as a public arena for men (Zedeck, 1992). Nevertheless, this outlook of

segmentation was disputed by researchers who clearly demonstrated that work and family are

very much related domains of human life (Bruke and Greenglass, 1987; Voydanoff, 1987)

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2.2.2 Compensation Theory

This theory proposed that workers tend to compensate for the lack of satisfaction in one

domain (work or home) by trying to find more satisfaction in the other (Lambert, 1990).

Piotrkowski (1979, p.98) the theory explained further that men “look to their homes as

havens, look to their families as sources of satisfaction lacking in the occupational sphere”.

The theory expounded on two forms of compensation (Edwards and Rothbard, 2000). First, a

person may have little involvement in the dissatisfying domain and increased involvement in

a potentially satisfying domain (Lambert, 1990). On the other hand, the person may respond

to dissatisfaction in one domain by pursuing rewards in the other domain (experiences that

may fulfil the person’s desires, Champoux, 1978). The second form of compensation can be

either supplemental or reactive in nature (Zedeck, 1992). Supplemental compensation

generally occurs when persons shift their pursuits for gratifying experiences from the

dissatisfying task to a potentially more satisfying one. For instance, persons with little

autonomy at work seek more autonomy outside of their work role. On the other hand,

reactive compensation represents person’s efforts to redress negative experiences in one

position by pursuing contrasting experiences in the other role such as engaging in leisure

activities after a strenuous day at work.

2.2.3 Spill-over Theory

The most popular view of relationship between work and family was put forth by Spillover

theory. A number of researchers suggested that workers carry the emotions, attitudes, skills

and behaviours that they establish at work into their family life (Belsky et al., 1985; Kelly

and Voydanoff, 1985; Piotrkowski, 1979; Piotrkowski and Crits- Christoph, 1981) and vice-

versa (Belsky et al., 1985; Crouter, 1984). Spillover can be positive or negative. Positive spill

over refers to fact that satisfaction and achievement in one domain may bring along

satisfaction and achievement in another domain. Negative spill over refers to the fact that

difficulties and depression in one domain may bring along the same emotion in another

domain (Xu, 2009).

2.2.4 Border Theory

Clark (2000) presented a work/family border theory - a new theory about work family

balance. According to this theory, each of person’s roles takes place in a definite domain of

life, and these domains are separated by borders that could be physical, temporal, or

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psychological. The theory articulates the issue of “crossing borders” between domains of life,

in particular the domains of home and work. According to the theory, the flexibility and

permeability of the boundaries between people’s work and family lives will affect the level of

integration, the ease of transitions, and the level of conflict between these domains.

Boundaries that are flexible and permeable facilitate integration between work and home

domains. When domains are relatively integrated, transition is easier, although work family

conflict is more likely. On the contrary, when these domains are segmented, transition is

more effortful, but work family conflict is less likely (Bellavia and Frone, 2005).

2.3 Review of Past Studies

2.3.1 Work-life balance

Work-life balance is defined on the Labour work-life balance as being about “effectively

managing the juggling act between paid work and the other activities that are important to

people”. This notes that it is not about saying work is wrong or bad, but that “it shouldn’t

crowd out the other things that matter to people, like time with family, contribution in

community activities, charitable work, personal development, leisure and recreation”. It also

brings out that there is no “one size fits all solution”. The “right” balance is a very private

thing that changes from individual to individual and at different stages of the life course.

While for some the issue is having too much work, others do not have enough (Fielder,

2006).

The perception of work-life balance also includes the precedence that work takes over

family, in the view of working long hours, and work intensification. Work intensification,

defined by Burchell (2006) 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. Public

submissions to the Department of Labour (2004) and the New Zealand Council of Trade

Unions (2002) study identified increased intensification of work, partly due to reduced

staffing as a major issue for work-life balance, along with long hours and working non-

standard hours.

Work-life balance is not an advantage for workers, but as well as for stake holders and

employers, the market, the nation and revolves in the society as a whole. The future

workforce and consumer market is closely related to a larger extent to women bringing forth

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children and parents raising children. Recently there is the shift from a husband being the sole

breadwinner. Family model nowadays have both parents participate in paid employment this

has made the life easy. Unlike On the contrary it is difficult to up bring a family while the

workplace continues to be modelled on male breadwinner workers (Galinsky, E and Johnson,

A., 1998).

A comparative research among a number of nations clearly detailed that those nations with

the lowest fertility rates were not those with the highest female labour force participation,

such as the Nordic countries. In fact, it was well observed that low fertility rates was a

resultant of low levels of male participation in household chores and childcare and low level

of public policy support for families and women in paid work, such as in Japan, Spain and

Italy (Jaumotte, 2003; Johnston, 2005). New Zealand research shows that men have a higher

total paid plus unpaid work hours than women, due to their much longer paid work hours

(Callister, 2005) so any move into sharing in the domestic sphere for men requires a

reduction in their paid work hours or their situation would simply worsen.

“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.

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.

2.3.2 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

(Guthrie 2001). The Department of Labour established a Workplace Productivity Working

Group (WPWG) in February 2004 to determine ways to improve workplace productivity that

will produce higher wages and a high value economy. The Group produced a report in

August 2004 on how Kenya compares with other countries, what practices have been

11

successful or unsuccessful, the effect of policy settings on workplace productivity and

possible future policy options for improving productivity (WPWG 2004). Among the

findings of this report were the need to create productive workplace cultures and measure

workplace productivity and successful business practices. It also acknowledges the

relationship between employee motivation and productivity. “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.” (WPWG 2004)

“High performing workplaces are founded on a strong workplace culture in which

motivated and engaged employees are willing to ‘go the extra mile’.” (WPWG 2004) 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.

2.3.3 Workplace/work-life culture

Organizational culture is comprises of the set of shared values and standards that defines

what is held to be important in an organization (Working Families 2006). It is further

portrayed as “the way we do things around here”. Lewis (2001) and expounded by a

definition from Pemberton (1995) as “a deep level of shared beliefs and assumptions, the

latter are taken to operate unconsciously and are developed over time embedded in an

organization’s historical experiences”. This in return may deem the Cultures that were

initially functional to become dysfunctional as social circumstances change over time.

Ideally the “ideal worker” workplace culture that originally was built up around male

breadwinner and female caregiver models of families is now comes under sharp criticism

with the rise gender equality, this is due to female labour force participation and dual income

families. Further, Thompson et al (1999 described a supportive work-life culture as “the

shared assumptions, beliefs and values regarding the extent to which organizations value and

support the integration of work and family lives, for women and men”.

The concepts of full-time and part-time work can be viewed as a good example to explain or

rather bring out clearly the disharmony between workplace cultural assumptions with the new

models. Whereby Full-time work is deemed fit for the ideal worker/male breadwinner culture

of the past while on the contrary part-time work is better suited and replicates the new social

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reality of dual income families and further seen as a move towards greater gender equity in

child-upbringing.

The long hours working culture as discussed earlier portrays a workplace culture that is in

conflict with family life. This is brought out clearly by a research in the U.K which Two-

thirds of respondents to a study of 150 employees in eight organizations said that long hours

were part of their workplace culture and taken for granted (Kodz et al., 1998:29). This clearly

elucidates further the linkage between workplace culture and working long hours. Long

working hour’s culture as defined by the employees as one in which long hours were

preferred, employees were praised for working long hours and working long hours was

viewed as a sign of commitment. Another organization portrayed long hour’s culture as “an

expectation of employees to get the job done irrespective of the contracted working hours.

Long hours were perceived as ‘part of the job’ further a deviation from this was seen as a sign

that the employee was not committed” (Kodz et al., 1998:31).

A long-hours culture is brought about by senior managers working long hours they in return

generate high workloads for those around them, according to Kodz et al., (1998). Peer

pressure is perceived to be bringing forth a culture of long hours, either through comments or

competition. Another perception and key driver of a long hour’s culture is that career

progress is dependent on long hours and presenters. Overly there are other determinants of

long hour’s cultures which include customer expectations and service provision, staff

shortages, new technology which enables 24hours system whereby employees are available

round the clock, and the need to travel for work. On the other hand only a handful of

employees in this study, which included employees from a range of sectors, were seen to

work long hours as a means of improving pay since majority of organisations did not pay

overtime

2.4 Critical Reviews

Critical review entails effects of work life balance on employee productivity. Most authors

have exhaustively investigated on this although it is documented it is not practised in many

organisations. The major setback of their review is that they do not indicate on how their

findings should be applied in different firms. Therefore this has given the researcher a topic

to research on to see the effect of it being implemented.

13

Work-life balance initiatives

Positive work-life culture

Increased discretionary effort

Increased Productivity

2.5 Summary and Gaps to be filled

Combination of research evidence and logical argument can be demonstrated through

relationship between work life balance, discretionary effort, employee engagement and

productivity. Work place culture initiates productivity which is connected to work life

balance productivity of the organisation can be enhanced through work life balance employee

engagement. Supportive workplace culture increases staff commitment and discretionary

effort and thus enhances productivity.

Fig 2.1 Conceptual Frame Work

Source: Author (2014)

2.6.1 Work life balance

Priority of work taking over family, overworking and work intensification is also a concept of

work life balance Burchell (2006) defined work intensification as improving efforts that

employees that put into the time that they are on duty..

2.6.2 Positive work life

(Guthrie, 2001) states that total productivity is considered useful for periodic profitability

and success ways of enhancing work place productivity has been established by the

14

department of labour(WPWG) forum that was held in February 2004.report finding created

productive work place behaviours and limits of productivity. In the workplace employees feel

appreciated and respected when their morale is boosted and this enhances productivity.

2.6.3 Increased discretionary

There is complex relationship between work life balance and discretionary effort. As

previously intermediary factors like work place culture and impacts of using work life

practice can limit their use and as well grant discretionary efforts by employees. Currently

high management practices that employee overworking and daily reporting to duty has

improved employee productivity although this is detrimental to work life balance.

15

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction

This chapter basically covered the methodology which the researcher used to examine the

work life balance on employee productivity a case study at Government Press. The chapter

represents the methodology under the following subsections: - Research design, target

population, sample techniques and methods, data collection instruments data collection

procedure, data analysis presentation and interpretation used and the summary of the chapter.

3.2 Research Design

The researcher used questionnaires which were distributed in the three sections of a printing

establishment. According to Mugenda and Mugenda 2008, a questionnaire is a research tool

which contains several questions on a specific issue or problem being investigated.

3.3 Target Population

The target population refer to the group that the researcher was focusing on, that is basically

the aggregate of all elements sharing some common set of characteristics that comprise the

case for the purpose of the research problem. The researcher involved the entire population of

200 printers in Government Press. The common characteristics of the population included: -

similar income levels, levels of education, gender and age brackets.

3.4 Sampling

Sampling is that part of statistical observations intended to yield some knowledge about a

population of concern, especially for the purposes of statistical reference. A sample is

therefore a small group selected from the big group or population of the study.

The researcher used cluster sampling technique where by the population was divided into

groups according to their respective sections in the production departments. The sections

include: - prepress, press, and post press. The method enabled the researcher to establish

various production technologies in each of the sections in a printing establishment. The

method enabled the researcher to improve on accuracy, efficiency and focus on the most

equipped to the lowest equipped section in the organization. The sections were grouped on

16

excellent, good, fair, or poor in relevant to the required modern technology in the market .The

sample had been calculated as follows. n=N/ (1+Ne2)

n=samples size

N= population size

e= margin error

e=5%

The target population and the sample size have been presented on the table below.

Section Total population Sample size per section percentages sample size

Pre-press

Press (Printing)

Post Press (Binding)

15

40

45

13

29

32

6.5%

14.5%

22%

Total 100 73 44%

Source: Author (2014)

3.5 Data Collection Instrument

The researcher basically used primary data to accomplish the research objectives. Therefore

the basic data collecting instrument of the researcher was questionnaires. The researcher

administered 30 questionnaires to 30 respondents. Another consideration of using

questionnaires was that the surveys required research tools that were simple with a

straightforward approach enabling data on attitudes and motives to be collected in a timely

manner. This ensured that data was collected from a large group of people within the

stipulated time of the research (Smith, 2002).The major advantage of using a questionnaire as

argued by Lehmann (1995) was that they were less expensive compared to other types of data

collection and were also deemed to be most effective when time of the study was limited. In

the population of study, According to Chandran (2003), questionnaires provided high degree 17

of data standardization and adopting generalized information amongst any population. They

were useful in a descriptive study where there was need to quickly and easily get information

from people in a humble way.

3.6 Reliability and Validity

For the purpose of this study, permission to carry out the study was sought from relevant

administrative authority of Government Press. The researcher also assured confidentiality of

the information and respondents and was affirmed that the study would be made for purpose

of accomplishing academic goals. All sources of information would be acknowledged by the

researcher.

3.7 Data Collection Procedures

The researcher sought an introduction letter from St. Paul’s University to carry out the

research. The researcher also sought authority from the management of Government Press

who allowed her to carry out the study within the organization. The researcher then

proceeded to the sampled staff, starting with the section heads and administered the

questionnaires to respective respondents. The process was closely monitored to clarify any

issues that arose during the exercise.

3.8 Data Analysis, Presentation and Interpretation

The data which was collected through the questionnaires which was recorded down and

classified this data was then analyzed and presented in form of tables, pie-charts and graphs.

Proper interpretation was made to establish the available technology within the organization

and come up with appropriate recommendations

18

CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS, PRESENTATION AND INTERPRETATION OF FINDINGS

4.1 Introduction

This chapter basically covered data analysis, presentation of findings according to research

objectives and summary of data analysis. From this a total of 73 questionnaires were

distributed to respondents for data collection.

The core of this analysis was based on 50 questionnaires from facts finding on the

respondents who returned their questionnaires for analysis. This forms 68 % of the total

sample population for the study.

4.2 Response Rate Analysis

This was to find out those who answered the questionnaire and gave it back and also those

who were unable to return the questionnaire. Out of the 73 questionnaires that were given

only 50 were returned, therefore 23 questionnaires were not returned. The response was as

indicated below:

Table 4:1: Response Rate

Frequency Percentage %

Response 50 68

Not-responded 23 32

Total 73 100

Source: (Author, 2014)

Fig 4:1: Response rate

20

68%

32%

Response rate chart

ResponsededNot responded


The respondent sampled 68% participated in the study, Hence the response rate was average.

4.3 Demographic information about the respondents

4.3.1 GenderThe gender issue was important in the study, as it helped determine the gender equity in the

organization. In addition WLB assumption schemes, bases women employees to be much

committed both to domestic a tasks and employment. In the study carried out it was found

that 64% of the respondents were male while 36% were female.

Table 4: 2: Gender of Respondents

Gender Frequencies Percentage

Male 32 64

Female 18 36

Total 50 100


Fig 4:2 Gender 21

64%

36%

Gender chart

MaleFemale

Source (Author, 2014)

4.3.2 Age Group Age factor was an important factor in the study because age determined employee’s

productivity. The attempts were made to find out whether age variations could be a

contributing factor to employee productivity. The findings were as follows.

Table 4.3Ages of respondent

Age (years) Frequencies Percentage %

Under 30yrs 22 44

31-40yrs 15 30

Over 40 years 13 26

Total 50 100


22

Fig 4:3 Ages of Respondents

44%

30%

26%

Under 30yrs 31-40yrs Over 40 years

4.3.3 Ages of ChildrenAccording to the findings the response indicates 20% of respondents had children under 2

years, 24% 24% had children aged 2-5 years, 30% OF the respondents had children aged 6-

10 years, 14% had children aged 11-14 years, 8% had children aged 15-18 years and 4% of

the respondents had children over 18 years .

Table 4.3 Ages of Children

Age (years) Frequencies Percentage %

Under 2 years 10 20

2 – 5 years 12 24

6 – 10 years 15 30

11 - 14 years 7 14

15 – 18 years 4 8

Over 18 years 2 4

Total 50 100


23

Fig 4.6 Ages of Children

30%

24%

20%

14%

8%4%

Age of Children

under 2 yrs2-5 yrs6-10 yrs11-14 yrs15-18 yrsover 18 yrs


4.3.4 Marital Status Marital status was a vital aspect in the research as it determined employee’s efficiency and

effectiveness. Married employees were obliged to be committed in both family and

employment. The findings of the research were as follows;

Table 4.4 Marital Status of Respondents

Marital status Frequencies Percentage

Married 46 92%

Unmarried 4 8

Total 50 100


24

Fig 4.4 Marital Status of Respondents

96%

4%

Marital status of respondents

marriedunmarried


4.3.5 Number of ChildrenTable 4.5 Number of children for respondents

Number of children Frequencies Percentage

None 1 2

1 10 20

2 19 38

3 13 26

More than 3 7 14

Total 50 100


Number of children was an important factor in the research, because children require a lot of

attention from parents and the results were as follows: -

25

Fig 4.5 Number of Children

2%

20%

38%

26%

14%

For respondents

no child 1 children2 children3 children more than 3children


From the research those with more than three children was 14% followed by those with three

children 26% 38% for those with two children, 20% for those with one child and 2% who had

no child.

4.3.6 Work Experience Years of service was looked at as a factor that was to indicate whether they had experience in

employee productivity and work life balance for the period they had served in the

organization. The results were as follows:

Table 4.6 years in services

Year of service Frequencies Percentage %

1-5 3 6

5-10 33 66

10-15 4 8

Over 15 yrs 10 16

26

Total 50 100

Source :( Author, 2014)

Fig 4.6 Years in Service

6%

66%

8%

16%

Years in service

1-5 yrs of service5-10 yrs of service10-15 yrs of serviceOver 15 yrs of service


From the findings it was found out that 6% of the respondents had worked in the organization

for 1-5years 66% had worked 5-10 years, 8% had worked for 10-15years and 16% of the

respondents had worked over 15years

4.3.7 Level of Education Level of education was also a significant factor in the research; it determined the knowledge

of the employee productivity in the organizations as well as how well an employee is

informed. The findings of the research were as follows;

Table 4.7 Level of Education of Respondents

Education level Respondents Percentage

Primary - -

Secondary 5 10

Tertiary 26 52

27

University 19 38

Total 50 100

Source :( Author, 2014)

Fig 4.7 Level of Education

10%

52%

38%

Level of Education

secondarytertiaryuniversity


The education level of the respondent was that 52% had gone to college followed by 38%

who had attained university education and 10% had secondary education

4.3.8 Department of Work Table 4.8 department of work for respondents

Department Respondent Percentage

Pre-press 8 16

Press 16 32

Post press 26 52

Total 50 100


28

Fig 4.8 Department of Work

16%

32%

52%

Department of Work

pre press press post press


According to the findings 16% of the respondents were from pre-press followed by 31% from

press and 52 % from post press

29

4.4 Work Life Balance Practices that are applied in Government Press

Table 4.9 Are the following WLB applied in government press?

1 % 2 % 3 % 4 % 5 % Total

number of

respondents

totals

Flexible

schedules

5 10% 23 46% 3 6% 15 30% 4 8% 50 100%

Telecommuting 5 10% 10 20% 16 32% 13 26% 6 12% 50 100%

Compressed

work weeks

2 4% 26 52% 7 14% 9 18% 6 12% 50 100%

Part-time

works

7 14% 20 40% 4 8% 8 16% 11 22% 50 100%

Job sharing 11 22% 26 52% 6 12% 3 6% 4 8% 50 100%

Leave 14 28% 31 62% 1 2% 2 4% 2 4% 50 100%

Further

professional

studies

4 8% 33 66% 7 14% 6 12% 10 20% 50 100%

Table represents the number of respondents. Source (Author, 2014)

Key

1. Strongly Agree 2. Agree 3. Not Sure 4. Disagree 5. Strongly Disagree

30

Table 4.10 in government press how have WLB affected on employees’ productivity

1 % 2 % 3 % 4 % 5 % Total

number of

respondents

totals

Reduced

absentees

and lateness

1 2% 16 32% 5 10% 18 36% 10 20% 50 100%

Low staff

turnover

rates

2 4% 8 16% 16 32% 18 36% 6 12% 50 100%

Increased

retention of

valuable

staff

2 4% 8 16% 11 22% 22 44% 7 14% 50 100%

Part-time

works

2 4% 12 24% 9 18% 20 40% 7 14% 50 100%

Increased

staff loyalty

and

commitment

2 4% 17 34% 8 16% 15 30% 8 16% 50 100%

Table represents the number of respondents. Source (Author, 2014)

Key


31

Table 4.11 on implementing WLB do you think government press will face the following

challenges?

1 % 2 % 3 % 4 % 5 % Total

number of

respondent

s

totals

Few employees

are aware of

WLB

12 24% 28 56% 3 6% 4 8% 4 8% 50 100%

Attitude and

resistant

supervisors

12 24% 20 40% 13 26% 3 6% 2 4% 50 100%

Lack of

communicatio

n and

education on

WLB

15 30% 26 52% 5 10% 3 6% 1 2% 50 100%

Gender

perception

3 6% 20 40% 10 20% 13 26% 4 8% 50 100%

An

organisation

emphasizes

and rewards

long hours

10 20% 9 18% 11 22% 11 22% 9 18% 50 100%

Table represents the number of respondents: Source (Author, 2014)

32

Key


4.5 Data Analysis

4.5.1 Work Life Balance PracticesFig 4.9 work life practices that are applied in government press

flexible s

ched

ules

teleco

mutting

compressed

work wee

ks'

part time j

obs

job shari

nglea

ve

further

studies

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

strongly agreeagreenot suredisagreestrongly disagree

Graph representing work life balance practices in government press: Source (Author,

2014)

The survey established that indeed there were work life balance practices in government

press. This was observed since 66% of the respondents agreed that there existed further

training of staff in the department another 62% concurred that staff were allowed to go for

annual leave. The study also found that the department practiced job sharing and compressed

work weeks. However most of the employees were unaware of telecommuting.

33

4.5.2 In government press how have WLB affected on employees’ productivityFig 4.10 Effects of work life balance

reduced

absen

tism an

d laten

ess

low staff tu

rnover ra

te

increase

d reten

tion of staff

increase

d staff

loyal

ty

improve

d organisa

tion perform

ance

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50


Graph representing effects of WLB in government press: Source (Author, 2014)

According to the survey 36% of the staff disagreed to reduction of reduction of absentees and

lateness as a result of work life balance, further majority of the respondents disagreed that

work life balance affected production. Only a minimum percentage, 36%, felt that work life

believed that has led to reduction of employee turnover rate. 44% of the respondents felt that

work life balance has not increased employee retention in the department; further 40% felt

34

that work life balance has not led to employee loyalty with the management. However, only

34% of the respondents felt that it has led to improvement in the organisation.

4.5.3 On implementing work life balance in government press will face the following challenges

Fig 4.11 Challenges of work life balance

lack o

f aware

ness

attitudes

and re

sistan

ces

lack o

f communica

tion and ed

ucation

gender

percep

tion

organisa

tion that

reward

s long h

ours an

d commitm

ent

0

10

20

30

40

50

60


Graph representing challenges of WLB in government press: Source (Author, 2014)

35

56% of the respondents agree they were not aware of work life balance practice within the

organisation. The aspect of attitude in variation was between employees and their employer

was evident from the findings. This in return resulted to lack of commitment in the

implementation of work life balance practices. This clearly shown why majority of the

employees lacked the knowledge of work life balance practices in the organisation

4.6 Summary of the FindingsThis chapter dealt with analysing data, presentation and interpretation. From the findings the

response was average and it was also found out that there were more male than female who

are in their youth, indicating the nature of work in the industry. The findings were presented

in tables, pie charts and graphs.

To research on effects of work life balance, questions arise, such as what work life practices

are applied in government press, what are the impacts of the practices and the challenges that

comes with the implementation of work force balance. Indeed there are work life balances

practices in government press. Most of the respondents are married with children and they are

well technically educated with majority having attained tertiary and diploma level education.

Employees have raised opinion to the effect on productivity with regard to work life balance.

Awareness needs to be carried out as most employees are not aware of the work life practices

within the organisation.

.

36

CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 IntroductionThis is the last chapter in project writing. This chapter captured in details discussion of the

objectives. This segment was a litmus test whether the research project achieved its aim. It

also covered conclusions which reviews and explains whether the research was successful

and finally a recommendation explaining a course of action to be taken to improve the

problem under review.

5.2 DiscussionThe objective number one was to investigate on the work life balance at government press.

After conducting the survey it was evident that work life balance practices were practiced in

the department. This was evident since majority of the employees concurred to have either

enjoyed a number of work life balance practice as highlighted in the questionnaire. This is an

important aspect since it served as an indicator too that the organisation valued it employees

and wanted to incorporate a working equilibrium between employees work and family life.

Organisations which support their employees and enhance equilibrium between work and

family life are in line with international standards. Moreover, they are most likely to achieve

their mission and vision effectively. The organisation supports it workers family life and this

is evident since the organisation understood its staff and have set policies which have allowed

them to handle each task at a time appropriately without overworking themselves. This comes

out more clearly through practices like job sharing, compressed work weeks and working on

part time.

The survey also wanted to come up with the effect of work life balance on employee

productivity at the Government Press. It was evident that work life balances in the

organisation had far reaching effects on the organisation. Nowadays people want meaningful

work that enhance and look at their overall well being. This explains the reasons why we

have positive and negative effects of work life balance as well exhibited in the organisation.

Due to technological advancement forms or organisation are pushed to develop policies that

are competitive and would attract both genders to work with them. Time has gone where men

were the sole bread winners. We are now in the era where there is company should work to

lure even women to work for them. Among the negative effects that were observed in the 37

organisation was stress. This was observed where majority of the skilled employees

consented to have experienced stress where going about their normal life and work. This was

brought about well by the fact that people want meaningful work that caters for their social

well being. Generally this is followed by the employees working for long hours in the idea of

realizing their goals. Stress is known to be the mother of other chronic diseases, such as

diabetes, heart diseases and migraine and ulcers. It is important therefore for organisations to

work on policies that will reduce stress in the work place. Never the less all is not lost there

are some work life balance in the organisation which have positive attribute to the employees.

This includes normal leave and other conditional leaves such as maternal and paternal leaves.

Other positive aspects include payment of overtime dues, taking employees for further

training. These are good measures since they boost the employee morale. This in return helps

the organisation to achieve its mission and vision.

Eventually the study wanted to identify where they were challenges in the implementation of

the work life balance in the organisation and other organizations. From the survey the author

realized there were numerous challenges that were evident and worked against the quest to

have the work life balance. Among the challenges was the employees’ attitude. It was clear

that the employees had a negative attitude which greatly hindered smooth running of the

organisation. This came clearly as observed in cases where some absconded duties or

reported to work late. The consequences of these were overburdening some employees with a

lot of work and failure to meet set deadline and goals. Another negative aspect or hindrance

that came out so clearly was ignorance. It came as a surprise thought that quite a number of

employees claimed to have no knowledge of work life balance practices. This in return

undermines the efforts the organisation is putting in place to match the world labour market.

This is a challenge to the employer since it brings about laxity and employees tend to cling on

old and outdated practices. Cost of implementing some of the practices is high. In the short

run this is undermining factor to the organisation. This is because it will use a lot of funds

without receiving any tangible results immediately. Eventually not all the practices that the

organisation has put in place that seemed to go down well with the employees. There was

some rebellion or lack of interest. This in return could force the organisation to botch the

plans or look for other alternatives.

38

5.3 Conclusion

Work life balance practices are essential aspects both to the employer and the staff. The two

parties have to strike a neutral ground and work in tandem towards realization of each party

goal and objectives. Organisation and big companies are formed and have mission statement

of how they will achieve their goals and objectives. Towards their realization of goals and

objective the human resource is an aspect that they cannot ignore. They have to come up with

policies to favour and motivate their human resource hence maintain a competitive edge.

Towards realization of these the organisation should enhance good work life balance

practices also put in a task force to review the practices in line with the changing trends of the

21st century. Due to technological changes the terms of service of employees keep on

changing and organisation must keep reviewing this with an aim of being at par with the

changing world. When an organisation matches this then definitely it will fend away many

challenges such as high turnover rate. When employees are not well taken care of they can

have detrimental effect on the organisation.

Nowadays there are changing trends in job market. Successful entities have learnt the trick

and are giving other entities a run for their money. Organisations like government press have

to learn the trick and generate policies that will lure more professionals in the entity as well

as safeguard the ones already in place. It is saddening to observe that the department uses a

lot of funds to train its staff and arm them with the required skills in the market. It is

unfortunate though that a small misdoing or lack of interest in the well being of the

employees has led to brain drain and turnover of the highly skilled employees. The

organisation should learn the new tricks in the market.

On the other hands it is upon the employees to form a channel of airing their grievances to the

organisation. When the organisation grows so is the employees so instead of going against the

grain they should come up with forums of bringing the management to speed with the

changing trends, Instead of rebelling or working against the management. They should look

for ways to bring the management to task and uphold the core values of the organisation.

They should have representatives in the management level to enhance that each employee is

treated equally and enjoys the benefits accrued to him.

39

5.4 Recommendations

Government press is a mammoth printing industry with a range of benefits including a ready

market for its products which is the government of Kenya. This helps in great deal in that it

does engage in unhealthy competition with other printing organisations in the market. The

organisation is also funded by the government of Kenya in all its operations. This is an

ultimate opportunity hence the organisation has all the resources at its disposal to enhance

good work life balance practices for its employees. The organisation must work towards

reducing workloads and improve on the quality of supervision priority. This will help to

reduce stress on the employees. The organisation should also come up with intervention and

strategies that will aid in developing the employees. This should incorporate family life

assistance policy. This is whereby it should focus on uplifting the family life of the

employees. The organisation should also come up with thorough workforce strategies. This

will help to cut the rate of employees turnover as it will dig deep on the employees well

being. The task force should help the organisation to have a successful recruitment and

retention policy and above all a clear succession policy.

5.5 Areas of Further Study

It is important to dig further on the cause of low employee morale and investigate whether it

is attributed to the high rate of employee turnover rate in the organisation. Further come up

with short term and long term remedies to the problem.

40

APPENDIX I: REFERENCES

Blair Loy and Wharton, 2004: Organizational commitment and constraints on work-family

policy use: corporate flexibility policies in a global firm.

Bloom, N., Kretschmer, T., and van Reenen, J. (2006): Work life balance, management

practices and productivity. Centre for Economic Performance, London School of

Economics.

Boston College Center for Work and Family (2000): Measuring the impact of workplace

flexibility. Chestnut Hill: Boston College Center for Work and Family.

Burchell, 2006: Work intensification in the UK. In D. Perrons, C. Fagan, L. McDowell, K.

Ray, & K.Ward, K. (Eds.): Gender divisions and working time in the new economy:

Changing patterns of work, care and public policy in Europe and North America.

Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.

Callister, P. (2005): Overworked families? Changes in the paid working hours of families

with young children, 1986 to 2001.

Corporate Leadership Council, 2002: Building the high-performance workforce. A

quantitative analysis of the effectiveness of performance management strategies.

Corporate Leadership Council, 2004: The effort dividend. Driving employee performance

and retention through engagement.

De Cieri, H., Holmes, B., Abbott, J. and Pettit, T. (2002): Work/life balance strategies:

progress and problems in Australian Organizations. .

Department of Labour (2004a): Achieving balanced lives and employment: What New

Zealanders are saying about work-life balance.

Department of Labour (2004b): International literature review on the business case for work-

life balance. Retrieved September 25, 2006, from

http://www.dol.govt/worklife/index.asp

41

Department of Labour (2006): Work-life balance in Kenya. A snapshot of employee and

employer attitudes and experiences

Fried, Mindy, 1998: Taking time. Parental leave policy and corporate culture Temple

University Press, Philadelphia

Galinsky, E and Johnson, A., 1998: Reframing the business case for work-life initiatives.

Families and Work Institute, New York

Guthrie, J. 2001: High involvement work practices, turnover and productivity: evidence

from New Zealand. Academy of Management Journal

Hall, D. and Parker, V., 1993: The role of workplace flexibility in managing diversity.

Organizational Dynamics

Harter, Schmidt and Keys, 2003: Well-being in the workplace and its relationship to business

outcomes. A review of the Gallup studies. In Keyes and Haidt (Eds) Flourishing: the

positive person and the good life.

Hayes, Michael, 2005: Outrageous employee benefits. Practice Management case study:

staff retention. Journal of Accountancy

Hill J. Miller, B. Weiner, S. and Colihan, J 1998: Influences of the virtual office on aspects

of work and work/life balance, Personnel Psychology

42

APPENDIX II: QUESTIONNAIRE ON WORKLIFE BALANCE

Dear Respondents,

This questionnaire is aimed at gathering primary data on the work – life balance and its

effects on employee productivity at Government Press. You are kindly requested to fill in the

questions depending on the instructions given. The information will be treated with utmost

confidentiality and will be used for the purpose of accomplishing my academic goal. You are

advised not to include your name in the questionnaire .Note that your contribution will be

highly appreciated.

PART A: BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Please tick the Most Appropriate Options:-

1. Male [ ] Female [ ]

2. Age Group

Under 30 year [ ] 31 to 40 years [ ] Over 40 years [ ]

3. What is your marital Status?

Married [ ]

Unmarried [ ]

4. How many children do you have?

None [ ] 1 [ ] 2 [ ] 3 [ ] More than 3 [ ]

5. What is the age of your children?

Under 2 years [ ] 2-5 years [ ] 6-10 years [ ] 11-14 years [ ] 15-18 years [ ] Over

18 years [ ]

6. How long have worked in your organization?

1-5 years [ ] 5-10 years [ ] 10-15 years [ ] Over 15years [ ]

43

4. Highest level of education attained

Primary [ ] Secondary [ ] Tertiary [ ] University [ ]

5. Which section do you work for this organization?

Prepress [ ] Press [ ] Post Press

PART B: WORKLIFE BALANCE PRACTICES THAT ARE APPLIED IN

GOVERNMENT PRESS

Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements. Tick in appropriate

box as indicated below [√]

On a scale of 1-5 take the appropriate box on how you strongly agree or disagree with the

statement given:

1- Strongly Agree, 2- Agree, 3- Not sure, 4- Disagree, 5- Strongly Disagree.

(a) Are the following work-life balance practices applied in Government Press

Reno Statement Strongly

Agree

Agree Not sure Disagree Strongly

Disagree

1 Flexible work schedules

time

2 Telecommuting

3 Compressed work weeks

4 Part time Work

5 Job sharing

6 Leave

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7 Further Professional

Training

(b) In Government Press, how has work life balance affected on employee’s

productivity?

Sr.

No

Statement Strongly

Agree


Disagree

1 WLB has reduced

absenteeism and

lateness

2 WLB staff turnover

rates has gone down

3 WLB increased

retention of valuable

employees

4 WLB has increased

employee loyalty and

commitment

5 WLB has improved

organizational

performance

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(c) On implementing work life balance, do you think Government Press will face the

following challenges?

Sr.

No

Statement Strongly

Agree


Disagree

1.

1

Few employees are

aware of WLB

practises in

Government Press.

2.

2

Attitudes and resistance

of supervisors

3.

3

Lack of communication

and Education on WLB

practices

4.

5

Gender perceptions

5.

6

An organisation culture

which emphasizes and

rewards Long hours

and high organisation

commitment

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Please, highlight few areas that technology has impacted on the work-life balance practices?

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PART C: RECOMENDATIONS

(a) What could this organization do to help you balance your work and family life?

………………………………………………………………………………………………….

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MANAGEMENT RESEARCH PROJECT

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