ABSTRACT
This study investigated the impact of differing work-life balances
on marriage stability among married couples in Eti-Osa Local Government Area of
Lagos state. The population for this study comprise all the married men and
women in Eti-Osa Local government of Lagos State. The
study adopted descriptive survey research design. A sample of 200married men and women were
randomly selected from five
Local Community Development Area in Eti-Osa Local government in Lagos State. 200 married men and women formed the sample while simple random
sampling technique was used to select married men and women from five Local
Community Development Area (Ikoyi-Obalende LCDA,
Eti-Osa East LCDA, Eti-Osa West LCDA
and Iru - Victoria Island LCDA) in Eti-Osa Local government in Lagos State from
its five Local development Area. A self-developed questionnaire of 40 items was
used to collect information from respondents after its validity and reliability
(r=0.741) were determined. Six hypotheses were tested in the study while Chi-square
and Independent t-test statistical tools were used for hypotheses testing at
0.05 levels of significance. The study revealed the following results:
there is significant impact of
differing work -life balances on marriage stability, children welfare, career
growth and personal health. Also, there is no significant gender difference in
the differing work life balances and marriage stability among married couples. In
the light of the study`s results, the researchers presented a number of
recommendations and proposals the most important of which are: there is the need for reorientation of couples on the essence of family
values. Work may leave you but your spouse and family remain. When work
frustrates, spouse and family are the succor. Married people should work in
employments that have flexible work schedules and predictable working hours.
Employers (Organizations) should have a policy on work life balance and pursue
work life balance initiatives that leave flexibility to achieve evenness.
Government should mandate the employers to have a policy on work life balance
to enable employees live a balanced life. The uncertain economic environment
has placed tremendous personal and workplace pressure on employees. The rate of
job loss and reduction in disposable income due to outrageous inflation is not
helping matter either. Employers should provide a right mix of benefits that
are highly valued by the workforce while in engagement and while on exit.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title i
Certification ii
Dedication iii
Acknowledgements iv
Abstract v
Table of
Contents vi
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the study 1
1.2 Statement of the problem 6
1.3 Purpose of the study 7
1.4 Research Questions 7
1.5 Research Hypotheses 8
1.6 Significance of the study 8
1.7 Scope of the Study 9
1.8 Operational Definition of Terms 9
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0 Introduction 11
2.1 Concept of
Marriage 11
2.2 Concept of marriage stability 14
2.3
Concept of Work 19
2.4
Concept
of Work-Life Balance 22
2.5 Differing Work -Life Balance: Causative Factors 26
2.6
Work -Life Balance and Career Growth. 27
2.7 Work
-Life Balances and Personal Health 29
2.8 Differing Work Life Balances and Marriage
Stability. 34
2.9
Work
Life Balance and Children Welfare. 38
2.10 Gender Differences on Work Life Balance 42
2.11
Summary
of Review 45
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
3.0 Introduction 47
3.1
Research Design 47
3.2
Area of the Study 48
3.3
Population of the Study 48
3.4
Sample and Sampling Technique 49
3.5
Research Instrument 49
3.6
Scoring of the instrument 49
3.7
Validity of the Instrument 50
3.8
Reliability of the Instrument 50
3.9 Procedure
for Data Collection 51
3.10 Method
of Data Analysis 52
CHAPTER
FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
4.0 Introduction 53
4.1 Presentation
of Demographic Data 53
4.2
Testing of Hypotheses 55
4.3 Summary of Findings 59
4.4 Discussion
of Findings 59
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY,
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1
Summary 65
5.2 Conclusion 66
5.3 Counselling
Implications 67
5.4 Recommendations 68
5.5 Suggestions
for further Studies 69
References 70
Appendix 75
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Background
to the study
Marriage is a basic institution in every
society. In every complete society governed by law, marriage exists as a public
legal and not merely a private romantic declaration or religious rite. Hilliard
(2007) submits that marriage is a social union or legal contract between people
that creates kinship. It is the recognized social institution, not only for
establishing and maintaining the family, but also for creating and sustaining
the ties of kinship.As life-long agreement between the couples, marriage is
supposed to be a sacred and permanent contract which is assumed to outlive the
couples. However, there are diverse issues of conflict that are impacting on
marriages in this modern time. Example of such issues isdiffering work-life
balances.Differing work life balances amongst married couples have resulted in
the neglect of children welfare, separation or even divorce.
The term “work-life balance” could be defined
as a state of equilibrium in which the demands of a person's job and personal/marital/family
life are equal (Clark, 2000). It isthe relationship between the amount of time
and effort that someone gives to work and the amount that they give to other aspects of life, such as their family.A balance between work and life is
supposed to exist when there is a proper functioning at work and at home with a
minimum of role conflict (Guest &Sturges, 2004). Therefore, the
incompatibility between the demands from the work and non-work domain gives
rise to conflict and consequently, people experience a lack of work-life
balance.Differing work life balance is also a situation where husband and wife
have different work-life schedules; as such, throwing the married and family
life into disequilibrium.
Work-life
balance initiatives are a global phenomenon. Alvesson (2002) states that women who
work carry a double load as employees and housewives. They are super moms
playing varied roles and reconciling between tradition and modernity while men
who work have a burden of raising a fulfilled family and having a good report
card for professional responsibilities and advancement. Also rigidity in the working hours,
especially, leads to all kinds
of problems (Hill, 2005). Working long hours can lead to stress or mental ill
health (Fritschi,
Morrison, Payne, Wall & Whaley, 2005). Findings have shown that this is more
aggravated where the worker has other responsibilities beyond work (Malgorzata,
2013).
Responsibilities beyond work naturally
include such non work commitments as child care, elder care and, in certain
respect, social commitments requiringtime and energy of the individual.
In Nigeria, for instance, the strict
adherence to work schedule has been identified as the cause of secondary
manifestations of work-life conflict such as increasing medical problems -diabetes,
hypertension, aches and pains; increasing psychological or attitudinal
problems; absenteeism; lateness; interpersonal problems; comportment – language
and dress (Laoye, 2014). All these negative manifestations of work-life
conflict have direct impact on the performance and productivity of the
individual. Reducing these negative effects should therefore be of paramount
importance to any organization.
Individuals
play multiple roles in their lives. An employee can be a father, husband,
brother, uncle, nephew, son and in-law at home, while he could also be a boss,
employee, subordinate, professional peer and employer at work. Within his
immediate society, he is a neighbor, community leader and/or a leader or member
of a social club among others. All these roles have significant influence on
the personality of the employee and whether collectively or individually, they
all have serious implications for his health, temperament at home and work and
ultimately on his overall performance in both spheres. These divergent role
demands however could be broadly categorized into two: work roles and
personal-life roles. Eventually, the two categories of roles exert pressure on
the individual as each role imposes demands that require time, energy and
commitment to fulfill. Where the cumulative demands of these work and non-work
roles become incompatible, that is, when participation in one role is made more
difficult by participating in the other role, work-life conflict sets in.
A differing work-life balance is a frequently
observed phenomenon around the world. It is often a function of couple’s
financial and career goals, the amount of gratification experienced at work, the
energy levels, willingness to forego a high level of involvement in some
aspects of marital life etc. Married couples strivefor more monetary security
and tend to increase the amount of work by working overtime orhaving two or
more jobs. Nonetheless, they wish to spend a sufficient amount of time
withtheir families, as well as dedicate time to various interests and hobbies.
However this seems to be gradually problematic. With this respect, differing
work life balance between married couples, where it is not well managed has
negatively affected many marriages.
Other areas where work life balance affectsis
Personal Health. i.e. the general condition of a person in all aspects. It is
also a level of functional and/or metabolic efficiency of an individual.The
United Nations' World Health Organization defines health as "a state of
complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of
disease or infirmity." Health is
the general condition of the body or mind with reference to soundness and
vigor, while, Wellness is the quality or state of being healthy in body
and mind, especially as the result of deliberate effort. And mental health is a
term used to describe either a level of cognitive or emotional wellbeing or an
absence of a mental disorder.
Health Education Services believes that optimal overall wellness in all aspects
of life- emotional, intellectual, social, spiritual, and physical- is key to success
in college and beyond.
Sultana& Watts (2013)
describe career as a general work description that often includes vocation,
professions and even occupation. It is a sequence of occupations, jobs, and
positions occupied throughout a person’s working life. (Martin,2006). One
cannot divorce career growth from career development. There is a major
distinction between the two. In fact, career growth depends on career
development. Growth is an organization's ladder or, career lattice. While a
ladder displays only vertical movement between jobs, a career lattice, by contrast,
contains both vertical and lateral movement between jobs and may reflect more
closely the career paths of the individual in the modern work environment.
Career development, on the other hand, includes things employees do to enhance
or develop their career; building successful working relationships with their
managers and developing a well-mapped career path, including short-term
objectives that serve as milestones. For those who have been employed in their
professional field for some time, the organization needs to keep them from
getting stuck in a rut. Sponsoring formal training tuition that advances them
in their field of expertise and such things as conferences, webinars and online
lectures, and opportunities for professional networking that can be part of
their career development and enhancement.
As suggested by Martin, (2006),employees can improve their perceived
career success by balancing long and short –term goals, improving their
competence, and communicating openly with their managers. There are four
factors as revealed by Sultana &Watts (2013) which have predictive potential
on managers’ career success. These are: individual – related factors,
organizational- related factors, managerial competencies- related factors, and
the person-environment fit factor. (Marshall & Scott-Ladd, 2004) emphasise
that participative decision making contributes to performance effectiveness and
leads to greater gains in the workplace whereas, as reflected by researcher (Ballout,
2008), the individual- specific variables will be more likely to predict family
– to - work conflict and perceived career success, while work-specific
variables will be more likely to predict work- to - family conflict and career
success. The employees and employers have to identify appropriate strategies
for balancing work and non-work domains in such a way that employees strive to
perform work and family roles successfully, and employers ensure that employees
have the necessary infrastructure and tailored-made family supportive programs
to encourage them to achieve dual- success: success in family relationships and
success in careers. Today‘s working men seek the dual objective of maintaining
a successful career while being involved in their children‘s lives (Ballout, 2008).
However in contradiction (Barnett &Hyde, 2001) found that women who had
multiple life roles were less depressed and had higher self-esteem than women
who had fewer life roles.
Work-life balance is not gender-specific. According to the Center for American
Progress, 90 percent of working mothers and 95 percent of working fathers
report work-family conflict (Heather & Joan, 2010). However, because of the social norms surrounding each gender role, and how the
organization views its ideal worker, men and women handle the work-life balance
differently. Organisations play a large part in how their employees deal with
work-life balance. Some companies have taken proactive measures in providing
programs and initiatives to help their employees cope with work-life balance. At
the top of the organizational hierarchy, the majority of individuals are males,
and assumptions can be made regarding their lack of personal experience with
the direct and indirect effects of work-family balance(Heather & Joan, 2010); for one, they may be unmarried and have no thought as to
what "normal" family responsibilities entail. On the other hand, the
high-level manager may be married, but his wife, due to the demands of the husband’s position, has
remained at home, tending solely to the house and children. Ironically, these
are the individuals creating and reforming workplace policies (Heather&
Joan, 2010).
1.2 Statement
of the problem
Increasing rate of divorce, resulting in
cases of single parenthood impacts on marriage stability in modern African
society. Marriage instability has made us to currently witness the invasion of
many areas of human activity by a radical individualism; economic life,
excessive competition etc. This has resulted in marriages characterized by
individualism and excessive competition between spouses. This individualism
certainly does not encourage generous, faithful and permanent self-giving. It
also cuts across every race, economic status, educational or social status,
even religious status. The endemic nature of the factors that impede marriage
stability made it alarming especially in Africa where marriage is religiously
adored (Ojo, 2014).Over the last decade differing work life balance has become
a significant issue for married couples. Work and personal life are mutually
dependent and play an integral part in an individual's life as well as in
marriage. Work-life balance has been a major cause of marital instability while
causes range from health-work conflict, family-work conflict and personal
development-work conflict to mention but a few. In a national study on work
life conflicts in Nigeria in 2002, one in four Nigerians reported that their
work responsibilities interfered with the ability to fulfill their
responsibilities at home(Ojo, 2014). Family care commitment and work
intensification are the two major sources of work life conflicts (Alvesson,
2002). Those who are young and single tend to have less work life conflict
issues compared with those who are married and have family responsibilities
(Alvesson, 2002). Marriage stability is without doubt the desire of all in the
society. No one gets married only to experience instability in the marriage.
Marital instability erodes the mental and
physical well-being of workers; affects the quality of their personal
relationship outside of work, and increases costs to businesses. This has been
a source of concern to families, government, non-governmental organizations and
society at large.This study therefore, investigates the impact of differing work-life
balances and marriage stability among married couples in Eti-Osa Local
Government of Lagos State.
1.3
Purpose
of the study:
The purpose of this study is to investigate
the impact of differing work-life balance on marriage stability among couples
in Eti-Osa Local Government Area, Lagos State.
The
specific objectives hence are:
1.
To determine the impact of differing work
life balances on marriage stability.
2.
To examine the impact of differing work life
balances on children welfare.
3.
To ascertain the influence of differing work
life balances on career growth.
4.
To determine the impact of differing work
life balances on individual’s health
5.
To determine the gender difference in
differing work life balances among married couples.
1.4
Research
Questions
This
research is designed to answer the following questions:
1.
What
is the impact of differing work life balances on marriage stability?
2.
What is the impact of differingwork-life balances on children welfare?
3.
What
is the influence of differing work life balances on career growth?
4.
What
is the impact of differing work life balances on personal health?
5.
What is the gender difference in differing
work life balances among married couples?
1.5
Research
Hypotheses
The
following research hypotheses will serve as a guide to the study:
1.
There
is no significant impact of differing work -life balances on marriage stability
among married couples.
2.
There
is no significant impactof differing work life balances on children welfare.
3.
There is no significant influence of
differing work life balances on career growth.
4.
There
is no significant impact of differing work life balanceson personalhealth.
5.
There
is no significant gender difference in the differing work life
balances among married couples.
1.6
Significance
of the Study
The study will help the couples to understand
the impact of differing work- life balances on stability of their marriages.
Marriage counselors, Lagos State Government Citizens’ Mediation Centre alsowill
benefit in that they will improve their methods of dealing with troubled
married couples. The study will also benefit academics in providing literature
for further study on the contemporary topic of work life balances. Judges will
gain better insight to aid in the administration of justice to affected couples,
and for the judiciary for the promulgation of marital and family laws. Also employers of labour will see the need in
introducing flexible working hours. The government will see the need to pass flexible
labour laws. Marriage registries can also benefit for the purpose of counseling
would be couples.
Finally, for the priest in worship centers,
they will benefit in using it to counsel new couples and troubled couples also.
1.7
Scope
of the study
The
study will cover the impact of differing work life balances on marriage
stability among married couples in Eti-Osa Local Government Area of LagosState.
A group of couples randomly selected across gender, number of years in
marriage, religions and locations will be used in this research.
1.8 Operational
Definition of Terms
Marriage: is considered to
represent a lifelong commitment by two people to each other and it is signified
by a contract sanctioned by the state (and for many people, by God).
Work: is defined as the carrying out of tasks,
which involves the expenditure of mental and physical effort and its objective,
is the production of goods and services that cater to human needs.
Work life balance:Work-life
balance has been defined as “a satisfying, healthy, and productive life that
includes work, play, and love.
Work-life
conflict:
This means the competing demands of work and personal life outside work on the
individual.
Work-family conflict:
(WFC) is defined as discord that arises when the time devoted to or time spent
fulfilling professional responsibilities interferes with or limits the amount
of time available to perform family-related responsibilities
Work/family: competing demands between work and family
specific roles
Stability: The state of being stable.
Stead fastness; constancy, as of character or purpose
Marriage Stability:The
state or quality of a marriage being stable, balance or healthy.
Child welfare:
is a term that is often used to refer to the child welfare system.
Specifically, it is most often used to describe the government response to
child maltreatment.
Marital Satisfaction:
is the degree to which an individual’s needs, expectations, and desires are
being satisfied in their marriage.
Personal health:
is the general condition of a person in all aspects. It is also a level of
functional and/or metabolic efficiency of an individual.
Career growth: the
ability to learn new skills and put them to work.
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