WORK-LIFE BALANCE AND EMPLOYEE PRODUCTIVITY
                                                                    ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between work-life balance and employee productivity. It also seeks to find out the work-life balance programmes available in University of Benin, Benin City. The barriers faced by employees in the use of work-life balance programmes as well as the challenges employees faces as a result of imbalance between their work and life is also a focus of this study.
The study used survey research design. The academic as well as non academic staff of University of Benin is the population of the study. The study used convenience and multi-stage sampling technique and arrived at a sample size of 60. Questionnaires were used to gather data from respondents. The data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical method.
The study found that there are a wide variety of work-life balance programmes available in University of Benin and that there is a positive relationship between work-life balance programmes and employee productivity. The study recommended that adequate work-life balance programmes should be put in place in order to improve the productivity of employees and achieve the goals of organizations.
TABLE OF CONTENT
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study    -    -    -    -    -    
1.2 Statement of the Problem     -    -    -    -    -    -
1.3 Research Questions    -    -    -    -    
1.4 Objectives of the Study    -    -    -    -    -
1.5 Hypothesis     -    -    -    -    -    -
1.6 Significance of the Study     -    -    -    -    
1.7 Scope of the Study    -    -    -    -    -    -
1.8 Limitations of the Study    -        
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1    Introduction    -    -    -    -    -    -
2.2    Work-life balance      -    -    -    -
2.2.1 Causes of Work-life Imbalance    -    -    -     -    
2.2.2 Work-life Balance Programmes -    -    -    -    -
2.2.3 Importance of Work-life Balance    -    -    -
2.2.4 Factors Affecting the Implementation of Work-life Balance Programmes-
2.2.5 Barriers to the Use of Work-life Balance Programmes    -    -    
2.2.6 Consequences of Work-life Imbalance        -          -          
2.2.7 Theories of Work-life Balance    -    -    -    -    -    
2.2.8 Theoretical Framework    -    -    -    -    -    -
2.3    Employee Productivity    -    -    -    -    -    -
2.3.1 Measuring Employee Productivity    -    -    -    -
2.4    Work-life Balance and Employee Productivity    -    -    -
2.4.1 Empirical Literature    -    -    -    -    -    
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction    -    -    -    -    -    -    
Research Design    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
Population, Sample and Sampling Technique    -    -
3.4 Operationalization and Measurement of Variables    -    -    -
3.5 Research Instrument    -    -    -    -    -    
3.6 Sources of Data    -    -    -    -    -    -    
3.7 Method of Data Analysis    -    -    -    -        
CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTATION AND ANALYSES OF RESULT
4.1 Introduction    -    -    -    -    -    -    
4.2 Data Analysis        -    -    -    -     -    -    -    
4.2.1 Demographic Variables    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
4.2.2 Work-life balance programmes in UNIBEN`     -    -    
4.2.3 Relationship Between Work-life Balance and Employee Productivity    -        
4.2.4 Barriers Faced by Employees in the Use of Work-life Balance Programmes        
4.2.5 Effects of Work-life Imbalance on employee    -    -    -    
4.3    Discussion of Findings        -    -    -    -    -    -
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Introduction    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    
5.2 Summary of Findings    -    -    -    -    -    -
5.3 Conclusion    -    -    -    -    -    -    -        
5.4 Recommendations    -    -    -    -    -    -    
5.4.1 Policy Recommendations    -    -    -    -    
5.4.2  Future Studies    -    -    -    -    -    -    
          Appendix    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    
LIST OF TABLES
Table 4.1: Respondents’ demographic information    -    -
Table 4.2:    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
Table 4.3: Relationship between work-life balance and employee    -
Table 4.4:    -    -    -    -    -    -    
Table 4.5:    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    
Table 4.6:    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    
Table 4.7    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
    Prior to the Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th century, work and life were closer to each other. In the agrarian societies, work was mostly done by family members. After the Industrial Revolution, work and life were separated due to the movement of work away from the family tothe factories and cities. As a result of this separation, the issue of achieving a balance between work and other aspects of life arose.
In recent years, there has been a lot of debate over the issue of work-life balance and employee productivity. While some people are of the opinion that spending time away from work for personal reasons will be detrimental to the productivity of the employee, others believe that being able to manage one's time and spend it on work and personal life satisfactorily will aid employees to perform better in the work place.
Nowadays, employers demand more from their employees in terms of their time, skill, mental and other efforts expected of the employee on the job. This is so because the increasing rate of globalization, mobilization, new technologies and growing service sector has made competition among firms not only to be on a national level but also on a global level. With this intensive competition, employers need their employees to utilize their capabilities optimally in order to ensure that they have a competitive edge and stay in business as well as to achieve the goals of the organization.
Employees on their part, though they have a responsibility to their employers do not have their lives revolving around their jobs. They do not live in isolation, they have a life outside their jobs. Their personal life also deserves attention from them especially with the increasing participation of women in the labour force and the changes in the demography of the work force. Issues in their personal life includes spending time with their family, they also need time for their religious and spiritual growth. Leisure time is also an important aspect of one's personal life as well as time to check up on health related issues.
These various aspects of the employee's life are just as important as his work, hence there is a need to strike a balance between personal life and work of the employee. This is necessary to avoid conflict between employee's personal life and work; a situation where work issues affect personal life and one's personal life affects his work. It may also lead to stress and stress related issues as well as performance on the part of the employee that falls below optimum value. Hamming and Bauer (2009) investigated and discovered that when work-life imbalance and mental health issues develop in males as well as females, they tend to develop further issues such as negative emotions, depression, low energy, pessimism, fatigue and sleep disorders.
Some authors believe that since work-life balance is an interaction between employee's work and various aspects of his life, there is a need for employers to put in place policies and programmemes that will enhance work-life balance of employees. This will ensure that the employee is fully concentrated on his job; lead to satisfaction with his job and on the long improve his productivity. The balanced work-life score provides an organization with a productive and innovative employee (Greenhaus, 2003), whereas disparity in the work-life balance tends to develop depressed and dissatisfied staff (Kofodimos, 1993).
1.2 Statement of the Research Problem0
Managers often times downplay the importance of work-life balance of their employees, they believe that the more time spent by employees on their jobs, the better it is for the organisation. This may be borne out if ignorance or out of the belief that they will maximize the money spent on salaries when employees work round the clock. This is so in the case of most Nigerian employers whose employees spend at least 10 hours on the job, 6 days a week.
Most employers are not aware of the importance of balance between work and life of their employees, hence they do not place appropriate relevance on the subject. This consequently leads to lack of policies and programmes that improves the work-life balance of their employees. Employers are also not aware of the work-life balance challenges faced by their employees and how these challenges affect their productivity and the overall success of the organisation. Even when these programmes are available in the organization, there are also some barriers that employees face that prevents them from using these available work-life programmes. This study is therefore timely in establishing the various work-life balance programmes available for organizations; the relationship between work-life balance and employee productivity; work-life imbalance challenges as well as the barriers employees face in the use of work-life balance programmes.
1.3 Research Questions
Following from the research problem, the following research questions are relevant:
1.     What are the various work-life balance programmes available in University of Benin?
2. Is there a relationship between work-life balance and employee productivity?
3. What are the barriers faced by employees in the use of work-life balance programmes?
4.     What effect does work-life imbalance have on employees?
1.4 Objectives of the Study
To examine the various work-life balance programmes available in University of Benin.
To ascertain the relationship between work-life balance and employee productivity.  
To find the barriers faced by employees in the use of work-life balance programmes
To identify the effects of work-life imbalance on employees
1.5 Hypothesis
    The study seeks to test the relationship between work-life balance and employee productivity.
HO: There is no relationship between work-life balance and employee productivity.
1.6 Significance of the Study
Basically, the study will provide an insight to employers on how they can manage their employees in order to improve their performance and to see that the organisation is not always better off when employees work round the clock. This study will also help employers save costs associated with work-life imbalance. The costs to organisations for failing to improve work-life balance include: poor performance, absenteeism and sick leave, higher staff turnover, recruitment and training costs (Department of Trade and Industry, 2001).
Employees will also find this study useful as it exposes them to opportunity of achieving balance between their work and personal life which would reduce stress and other health related effects of work-life imbalance and enable them to be satisfied with their work and increase their productivity.
Also, most research that has been carried out on the subject matter has been done outside Nigeria. Hence this study will help to verify if the effects of work-life imbalance and barriers to the use of work-life balance programmes that has been identified by foreign literature are actually experienced by employees in Nigeria, given the difference in culture and attitude towards work.
Society also stand to gain from this study because proper understanding of the concept will enable working-class parents manage their time so as to have enough time to spend with their children in order to inculcate values, ethics and morals in them which will reduce the crime rates and number of juvenile delinquents in the society and the society will be better off.
1.7 Scope of the Study
This study will seek answer the research question stated above on the topic, “Work-life Balance and Employee Productivity”. Since the actual productivity of employees in their various work place is difficult to measure, this study will be limited to the perception of staff of the University of Benin, Ugbowo, Benin City.
1.8 Limitations of the Study
In the course of carrying out this study, the researcher is faced with a number of factors that may affect the accuracy of the work. They include:
The research is based on the perception of workers and this is dependent on what they think, which may not be what actually obtains in the real world. Bias in filling out the questionnaire by respondents can affect the outside of the study.
The sample size may not be large enough to generalise for the entire population.
There is also the inability to select a perfectly random sample. Convenience sampling and multi-stage sampling techniques will be introduced to make up for this imperfection.