A QUANTITATIVE APPROACH TO THE WORK LIFE BALANCE OF WORKING MOTHERS IN PAKISTAN.

Abstract

Working mothers have been facilitated in organizations over a period of while, around the globe, but not yet discussed or researched well in the context of Pakistan. This issue is merely highlighted and resolved from the management side. This thesis investigates the effect of compressed work scheduling, childcare support and leave policies on the work-life balance of a working mother. The theory which supported this idea was Social Exchange theory which states that the positive/negative behavior practices from anyone in the organization gives back similar behavior in employee-supervisor /management relationship. The sample comprises 540 mother employees from Karachi. Online and printed both survey questionnaires were used for data collection. Direct effects results showed a significant relation between compressed work scheduling, leave policies and work-life balance, and an insignificant relation between childcare support and work-life balance. Results of the study propose that organizations can reap benefits from compressed work scheduling plans and better organizational leave policies. This study suggests that organizations should provide enhanced support, restructure the policies according to different needs and instigate adaptable work-life balance policies.