Work and Life Balance

The Importance of Work-Life Balance

The ability to balance work and life is crucial for daily tasks. People balance their time between work and family in the right amounts for improved performance. The work-life balance has been impacted by mobile technology since it allows employees who work away from home to stay in touch with their loved ones. The quantity of time available to complete one item at a time and the nature of the activity are the only factors that may be used to allocate time. Both employment and family have an impact on wellbeing. Family provides love, support, and compassion that are unavailable at work. On the other hand, labor is necessary because it is how people make a living. Some people also derive satisfaction from working as opposed to staying idle.

The Impact of Technology on Work-Life Balance

Many working hours in a firm may not necessarily increase productivity. Allocation of less time to work can threaten the attainment of goals and objectives of an organization as well as individual goals. However, efficiency at work can lead to more productivity and accomplishment of purposes even if the time allocation is less than recommended. Choice of work over family is a personal decision. For instance, women are capable of allocating family time and working time equally to maximize on both. Social pressures, peer pressure, and social messaging contribute to making individuals less available to their families, especially after work. The struggle between family and work can, therefore, be intensified by the use of technology, making people less available at home and less productive at work (Dahm et al., 2015).

The Role of Handheld Devices in Work-Life Balance

The handheld devices have made communication more manageable in the contemporary world. The significance and advantage of being connected both applies to work and family. Work environments are associated with job satisfaction, higher motivation, and lower burnout. Connectivity in work and non-work environments has made relationships closer than before. Workers can get connected all the time which increases the ability to get involved and participate in both areas. Smartphones are assets in different organizations and firms. The advancement of technology in the contemporary world has enabled the use of handheld devices to perform financial transactions. The mental capacity of the individuals to make choices determines the productivity at work versus time used to connect to families. The use of technology not only increases productivity but also increases the pace of life. The use of phones at work has increased the real-time communication and feedback between the customers and firms, managers and other employees, and more. Previous communication was ineffective due to the wastage of time in traveling or waiting for emails. Information took long to reach the target audience and similarly, it would take longer to be sent back (Dery et al., 2014).

Managing Connectivity and Disconnection

Connectivity brings the duality of connects and disconnects. The duality shows that a device user makes an intermittent connection with the others and disconnects, reconnect, and so on. Users are capable of connecting and disconnecting at free will to suit the timing and maintain the right amount of connectivity. A connectivity flow enables people to use time sparingly while achieving personal and organizational goals. Switching off has become difficult, and people find themselves doing work when they are supposed to be doing family activities or vice versa. The inability to switch off from work activities brings endless conflict with the work (Dery, Kolb, and Maccormick, 2014).

Work-Family Conflict and Time Allocation

Work to family conflicts vary across work activities in workplaces. Self-regulation works well when individuals allocate time. A conflict between work and family always occurs. Workers often do not meet the demands of families and work at the same time. Many people choose or concentrate on one more than the other. According to researchers Dahm, Glomb, Manchester, and Leroy, found out that many people struggle to meet family demands as they tend to concentrate more on work-related activities (2015). Concentration on the job instead of the family can lead to harmful and destructive outcomes. The conflict has an impact on the way people perform at work and home.

The Impact of Time Allocation on Work-Family Balance

Time allocation is vital to achieving the family and work balance. Inability to allocate time appropriately can lead to individuals running out of time and energy that they require to accomplish tasks. The choice of things to do and things not to do leads to self-gratification. Many tend to choose natural options which may not lead to a psychological toll that makes people not live to expectations of their employers and families. Self-discrepancy can affect time allocation which in turn affects physical, psychological well-being, work satisfaction, and wages. Employees have discrepancies in the difference between how they would want to spend time and how they spend it. The difference between the ’ideal self’ and the ’actual self’ may lead to lower work satisfaction and well-being. The present conflict causes individuals to spend much time doing things that they ought not to do. Employees who have work-to-family strife are not productive in their jobs because they usually find themselves using less time to do more challenging tasks. The longer time spent at work robs individuals of good family time. Time allocation can be done in a way that it does not threaten the attainment of the goals and objectives of both individuals and organizations. Distribution of lesser time at work can result in higher productivity when appropriate strategies and objectives are put in place. Women can balance work and job activities and perform exceptionally well in both (Dahm et al., 2015).

Organizational Implications of Work-Family Conflict

The conflict can lead to organizational implications. People find less complex tasks to be more gratifying. The flexibility of mobile technology has improved the work-life balance of employees. The mobile technology promotes efficiency and convenience at workplaces. People also use the devices at home to do work-related activities which improve the way people handle job activities. The work-to-family conflict may result in unfulfilled life choices. People use relaxation techniques such as taking breaks during working hours. The use of mobile technology enables people to reduce the work-to-family conflict. To ease the conflict, employers tend to mix complex duties with simple ones while incorporating the technology in the accomplishment of the tasks. Complex jobs may also be scheduled in the morning hours to reduce the work-to-family conflict (Dahm et al., 2015).

The Role of Mobile Technology in Work-Life Boundaries

Mobile technologies are pervasive and play a vital role in the contemporary world. The relationship between the ability of users and the capabilities of the devices leads to different usage and influence of different users. The connectedness, mobility, and personalization are used in managing the work-life boundaries. Life boundary management strategies do not fit in a linear segmentation because the boundary management is personalized. Individuals face different situations which force them to act differently. Despite challenges in mobile technology usage, there is speculation that the technology properties endure over time. The technology enables individuals to interact in a manner that they make the affordances useful and possible. The affordances in work-life boundaries may be similar to a different generation. Mobile technologies ease work in different regions and geographical regions (Cousins and Robey, 2015).

Creating a Balance with Mobile Technology

Users can learn to create a balance between work and the other areas. The learning to create balance is as a result of work and non-work related duties and responsibilities that lead to individual welfare. The balance between work and family-related activities can also be created by the use of mobile technology such as email and text messaging. The ability to use the technology can enhance individual productivity if only it is used wisely. For instance, family pressures can use more time which can lead to lower work productivity. A clear line can be drawn through disciplined use of time. One can draw a line between family and work activities by focusing on one at specific times. Communication, when people are away to some extent, has taken away the importance of physical presence, where the modern generation does not meet more often but instead communicates electronically. However, the advantages of technology usage cannot outdo its negative implications in modern technology (Cousins and Robey, 2015).

The Role of Mobile Technology in Policy Development

The knowledge of mobile technology usage is useful because it can be used by policymakers to design policies that will enhance family-work balance while maintaining high productivity. Policymakers have a role in enacting policies that will promote equality in family and work. The article addresses critical issues, including social pressures that surround gender and conflicts that affect society. The analysis of work and family conflict is vital to understanding and strategizing on the right way to utilize time and balance between works.

References

Cousins, K., & Robey, D. (2015). Managing work-life boundaries with mobile technologies. Information Technology & People, 28(1), 34-71.

Dahm, P. C., Glomb, T. M., Manchester, C. F., & Leroy, S. (2015). Work–family conflict and self-discrepant time allocation at work. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(3), 767-792.

Dery, K., Kolb, D., & Maccormick, J. (2014). Working with connective flow: how smartphone use is evolving in practice. European Journal of Information Systems, 23(5), 558-570.