Work–life balance: how can we help women IT professionals in Morocco?

Abstract

Purpose The present study aims to understand how Moroccan women working in information technology (IT) perceive the roles they fulfill in both their private and professional lives and assess their Work–life balance (WLB). Design/methodology/approach Existing research about WLB in Morocco focuses mainly on the public sector. As the present study is the first of its kind to deal with the private sector and more specifically IT, it is exploratory in nature while adopting a qualitative methodology. Twenty Moroccan women working in IT companies in the city of Casablanca were interviewed. Collected data were analyzed using a content analysis approach. Findings It emerged from the data analysis that adhering to the cultural assumption of being the pillar of the household and to the culture of respondents’ organizations seems to be a key factor in employee WLB. Three main recommendations stemmed from the current research, namely, increased maternity leave duration, workplace nurseries and telework, may help IT female employees improve their WLB and well-being. Research limitations/implications First, the study participants were selected by one individual, which may create a “sampling bias”, where one specific profile of IT specialist could be selected. Second, only IT workers took part in the study and no IT employers were interviewed, which may yield having only “one side of the story”. Practical implications The results that emerged from the current study, particularly the three main recommendations made by the 20 interviewees (increase of maternity leave duration, workplace nurseries and telework) may be used by different IT companies in the hopes of improving female employees’ WLB and well-being. Overall, employers ought to put in place measures and accommodate employees to help them reconcile their work and personal life commitments. Social implications It has been documented that lack of WLB can result in increased stress, deleterious effects on psychological and physical well-being and increased family and marital tensions (Burchell et al., 2001; Lewis and Cooper, 1999; Scase and Scales, 1998). Therefore, various stakeholders, in addition to employers, such as the government and IT employees’ families should work collaboratively to implement meaningful WLB arrangements and, in turn, prevent the negative effects of work–life imbalance through, among others, government policy interventions. Originality/value The present study is the first of its kind that looked into the perception of WLB among Moroccan women operating in the IT industry. It offers valuable insights about how to assist female Moroccan IT workers to reconcile their work and personal life commitments.

Impact of Work-Life Balance, Happiness at Work, on Employee Performance

“…(Lawson et al, 2013;Gupta, 2012) In the context of organizations and people, work life balance has demonstrated its significance since the past decades. Work life balance has indeed been found to be the major factor in the productivity improvement of employees and this has a positive impact on the general performance of organizations (Semlali and Hassi, 2016). An organization needs to implement effective work-life balance policy, that is, a policy that allows employees to remain socially connected with society while cost and turnover are controlled, and productivity improved (Helmle et al, 2014).…”

“…In this regard, balance is achieved when there is harmony between work and life. (Semlali and Hassi, 2016) Since the last decades, the concept of Work-life Balance has been viewed as crucial to both organizations and people, and it has indeed been found to greatly contribute in the improvement of productivity of employees which in turn impacts the performance of organizations in positive manner (Guthrie, 2012). Effective policy of work-life balance embraced by the organization allows the employees to socialize with the community while assuring that cost and turnover are under control and productivity is improved (Helmle et al, 2014).…”

Impacts of Perceived Role Demands on Work-Life Balance and Moderating Effects of Work Ethics: Evidence from Public Sector Professionals in Sri Lanka

“…From the literature review, Sheikh et al (2018) found that work demands and home demands cause significant effects on work-life balance. In the work of Semlali and Hassi, (2016), it was found that balance is achieved when there is harmony between work and life. Aziz and Chang (2013) claimed that work and family demands effect significantly on work-life balance.…”

Untitled

“…As women have to look after their children and at the same time, have to fulfill their domestic responsibilities, it often creates a barrier for their career advancement (Sharma & Parmar, 2016;Cross and Linehan, 2006). Balancing both workplace and family is difficult for women since giving time to kids, spouse and office are their expected social behavior (Semlali, & Hassi, 2016). A study conducted by Goyal (2014) showed that 75% of the female doctors reported that they have less time for their children while 44% of the doctors have given preferences to household work indicating that the importance of household work cannot be underestimated.…”