Want to balance my work-family life today: work-family balance practices in Pakistan

Abstract

PurposeThe qualitative study was conducted to examine work-family (W-F) balance practices in the collectivist culture of Pakistan. Keeping in view the context of Pakistan, three W-F practices, flexibility, childcare arrangement and social support, were studied by applying the theory of W-F balance.Design/methodology/approachIn total, 16 In-depth interviews from the bank operating in three different cities in Sindh, Pakistan.FindingsData analysis showed that providing economic benefits and short working hours can achieve W-F balance. Nevertheless, the provision of flexibility in terms of short working hours is more important than economic benefits in balancing both domains of life. Secondly, the provision of childcare arrangements helps to balance work and home life. This practice favors females more compared to males. Thirdly, supervisor and co-worker support is most important in creating W-F balance than family support.Research limitations/implicationsIt is crucial to understand the W-F balance practices in developing countries; the bank should encourage policies related to flexibility, childcare arrangement and social support in Pakistan. In addition, banks should take the initiative to develop a way that facilitates the employees' social support, which should consequently help to achieve the W-F balance.Practical implicationsIt is crucial to understand the W-F balance practices in developing countries; the bank should encourage policies related to flexibility, childcare arrangement and social support in Pakistan. Banks should take an initiative to develop a way that facilitates the employees' social support which should consequently help to achieve the W-F balance.Social implicationsThis research has a tremendous impact on society due to current changes in South Asian countries including Pakistan constitute a socio-cultural transition that directly affects working and family life.Originality/valueGiven the importance of W-F balance in recent times, the authors identified and extended the W-F balance practices in the collectivist culture of Pakistan. This study is novel and contributes to the W-F balance literature by considering most primary W-F balance practices that employees require.

Family-supportive supervisor behaviours and family cohesion: the roles of job crafting and passion for work

“…Because of the ongoing juggling of work and family obligations, psychological stress has become more common. Therefore, understanding and fostering positive work-family spillover has become a top priority for business professionals, practitioners and policy makers around the world (Rajadhyaksha, 2020;Syed et al, 2022). Organizations in developed countries are striving to Supervisor behaviours and family cohesion find the procedures or resource-based interventions that might reduce stress related to roles at work and at home and to foster balance between the two domains (Shockley et al, 2017).…”

“…The majority of research on this topic has been conducted in Western countries such as the United Kingdom and France; however, studies on family-friendly policies in Asian countries such as Pakistan may have received less attention (Syed et al, 2022). We believe that our study will fill this gap by examining the application of FSSBs in Pakistani firms, as work-life experiences in Asian countries can differ from those in Western countries due to differences in cultures, values, social structures and human resource (HR) practices.…”

“…Because of the ongoing juggling of work and family obligations, psychological stress has become more common. Therefore, understanding and fostering positive work-family spillover has become a top priority for business professionals, practitioners and policy makers around the world (Rajadhyaksha, 2020; Syed et al. , 2022).…”

“…The majority of research on this topic has been conducted in Western countries such as the United Kingdom and France; however, studies on family-friendly policies in Asian countries such as Pakistan may have received less attention (Syed et al. , 2022).…”