Demystifying the life domain in work-life balance: A Malaysian perspective

Abstract

Traditionally, the word 'life' in the concept of work-life balance focuses on family obligations. This conceptual paper sets out to present the notion that "life" goes beyond family responsibilities and is unique to employees of different demographics. Given the impending difference in how "life" is viewed by different groups of employees, this study reviews the literature and argues for the need to distinguish between different dimensions of the non-work domain. The discussion is centered on the transformation taking place within the Malaysian workforce. Recent trends indicate that "life" and "family" are indeed distinct domains. There is a need for organizations to acknowledge this distinction and provide relevant support to attain a balance between work, life, and family. The paper will help strengthen the knowledge about the "life" in the concept of work-life balance and employers better understand the conceptualization of "life" in work-life balance so that they can strategize and enhance employee well-being and eventually gain competitive advantage. Currently, the terms work-life balance and work-family balance are used interchangeably to represent a balance between the family and work domain. This is especially evident in collectivist countries such as Malaysia. However, the emphasis on family without due consideration to the needs of employees with different demographic configurations may result in work-life backlash. Hence, this study argues that the non-work domain is not limited to family obligations and should encompass both family obligations and personal activities. The emphasis on striking a balance between work and family domain should not be done at the expense of the well-being of employees with lesser or no family obligations.

Work-Family Conflict, Marital Satisfaction and Marital Stability among Malaysian Chinese Dual-Earner Couples

“…For example, children of emotionally divorced parents experienced higher level of emotional distress and aggressive behaviours (Hashemi & Homayuni, 2017). Having structural support from workplace such as flexible work schedules and childcare support extended to the private sector (Jayasingam et al, 2021) and encouragement of using such services without experiencing backlash from the organization (Perrigino et al, 2018) might be able to help dual-earner couples to cope better with work-family conflict. Malaysia government has introduced flexible work arrangements such as staggered working hours in the public sector since 2007 but it was not extended to the private sector (Che Shaari & Amirul, 2020).…”

“…There are different domains in our daily life. Work and family are said to be the two most important aspects of one's life (Zainal et al, 2020) and serve as the most appropriate classification of life domains for working parents with children (Jayasingam et al, 2021). Individual's positive and negative experiences at work spill over to marital behaviours at home through psychological availability (Shockley et al, 2017) .…”

“…It was proposed that one of the reasons contributing to family instability following increased female employment is that the roles of women and men in marriage have not changed in a symmetrical way (Oláh et al, 2017). On top of that, it was mentioned that work role has to be understood within a larger societal context as it is interrelated with other life roles (Jayasingam et al, 2021). Work role cannot be fully understood as a standalone construct but with gender roles, cultural background, contextual perceptions, and values (Perrigino et al, 2018).…”

The Changing World: A Literature Review on The Significant Roles of Millennial Women in Malaysia

“…Moreover, the literature was compiled from scholarly journals and seminar proceedings published within the last seven years. The final review included ten articles published between 2014 to 2021 across disciplines, such as human resources, business, marketing, social psychology, sociology, psychology, management, education, family, and women's studies (Ismail & Lu, 2014;PwC, 2015;Abd Majid et al, 2019;Garcia-Alonso et al, 2019;ManpowerGroup, 2020;Singh & Tarofder, 2020;Daud & Wan Hanafi, 2021;Deloitte, 2021;Jayasingam, Lee & Zain, 2021;Rozlana & Subramaniama, 2021). Table 3 demonstrates the literature review matrix for the selected references.…”

An exploration of factors influencing the retention of senior female employees in a financial services organisation

“…Work-life balance as a component of retention may be characterised as an individual's evaluation of how well-balanced their various life roles are (Haar et al, 2014). Most work-life balance literature studies view the aspects of life and family as interchangeable, specifically when considering individuals with caregiving obligations for their dependents (Jayasingam et al, 2021;Özbilgin et al, 2011).…”