Work-family conflict in South Asia: the case of Pakistan

Abstract

Financial development in Jordan should be underestimated for two main reasons. First, the total assets of licensed banks constitute about 180 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Second, the country boasts one of the oldest stock markets in the region. The Amman Securities Exchange (ASE) was established in 1978 and its current capitalization is equivalent to about 75 percent of GDP. Given Jordan's socio-economic challenges, and the fact that successive governments have been suffering from large and consistent budget deficits, it does not make economic sense that the ASE has no active secondary bonds market. The issued government securities are sold to all licensed banks. This observation is unfortunate. Avoiding the concentration of financial intermediation in banks makes sense. In addition, whilst a well-developed bond market allows banks to transfer their risk (securitization), such a market makes the conduct of monetary policy more effective and contributes to budgetary discipline by exposing the government to financial discipline. This paper argues for the need for developing a government securities market in Jordan. In addition, the paper examines the already listed shares in terms of their liquidity cost. Based on the empirical results, it is reported that listed shares suffer from high liquidity cost. This finding and its implications are useful in recommending what must be done to develop an active bonds market.

Determinants of Work-Life Balance: A Cross-Cultural Review of Selected Asian Countries

“…The study indicated that long working hours and lack of social support are significantly responsible for the work-life imbalance. In the same vein, the study of Syed, Memon, Goraya, Schalk, & Freese (2016) indicate that Pakistani bank employees work for longer hours, as their working hours are not mentioned in the formal contract and are extended beyond the working hours considered as official banking hours. The reason given for the long working hours is "work overload".…”

Prioritizing Psychosocial Work Environment Factors for Knowledge Workers using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)

“…With seemingly endless instant messages, emails and phone calls which have gone beyond the office hours, it is not surprising that knowledge workers will find difficulty in balancing work-life. In Pakistan, where average 48 working hours a week is a common practice and being responsive to clients at work anytime and any day including weekend and public holidays is required has worsened the scenario for knowledge workers (Soomro, Breitenecker, & Shah, 2018;Syed, Memon, Goraya, Schalk, & Freese, 2016). Within values at work, justice (0.377) is found as a leading factor.…”