International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume V, Issue IV, April 2021 | ISSN 2454–6186

The Impact of Flexible Work Model on Employee’s Work Life Balance in an Emerging Economy

Ibukun Olorunisola Kolawole PhD & Adekunle Emmanuel Ibironke
Department of Industrial Relations & Human Resource Management, Lagos State University, Ojo, Nigeria

Abstract: Work life balance is becoming an important factor in the workforce choice of employer. The employee would like the opportunity to arrange their working time themselves and fit them in flexibility with current circumstance. The paper investigates the impact of flexible work model on the work life balance of workforce in Nigeria. The study draws its samples from a population of workforce within the banking sector. A sample of 50 respondents was selected using purposive sampling. Copies of questionnaires were administered to these respondents from which findings were deduced and analyzed using multiple regression tool of analysis. The study finds out that flexible work model has a significant impact on work life balance in Nigeria. This means that increase in one will lead to increase in the other. The study therefore concludes that employees are emotional being that needs the opportunity to balance their emotional feeling between family and work. The study recommends therefore that social securities that are necessities for human survival and decent living should be provided by the government so that the flexible work model can have a good moral soil to have a positive impact.

Keywords: flexible work model, work life balance, emerging economy

I. INTRODUCTION

The world is experiencing such a global change that is putting every nation on their toes towards development. These global changes have equally necessitated changes in the various industries in emerging economies like Nigeria. Industries are looking for the method of work to meet the current global challenges and increase their profit margin. With this goal in mind the flexible work model is becoming thriving field of study for researchers such as Johnson, 2006, Eleftherios, 2016, Jan, Stephen & Simone, 2013, and Klindzik & Maric, 2017.
The general assumption is that flexible work arrangement enables an organization to adapt it workforce to changes in the working environment which is mainly based on Atkinson’s (1984) flexible firm model. (Jan et al, 2013)
For many employees today both male and female lives are becoming more consumed with a host of family and other personal responsibilities and interests in addition to demands of the workplace (Grantol-Vallore & Donaldson, 2001).There is therefore a perceived imbalance between the demands of current lives and people’s abilities to adequately cope with them and this may lead to an experience of stress (World of Work Report, 2011).