Work‐life balance in South East Asia: the Indian experience
South Asian Journal of Global Business Research
ISSN: 2045-4457
Article publication date: 2 March 2012
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide an in‐depth country perspective on work‐life balance issues in India.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative approach is used that includes case studies of work‐life interventions offered by a sample of Indian organizations. Primary and secondary data were gathered through interviews with HR managers and from company web sites.
Findings
Commonly offered work‐life interventions by Indian companies address issues of gender equality, flexibility, stress reduction, health awareness and childcare.
Research limitations/implications
Sample of organizations in the study is purposive in nature and HR policies of smaller companies in the informal sector are not included. Future research needs to consider how India's unequal economic development across the organized and unorganized sectors may affect effectiveness of work‐life interventions.
Practical implications
Based on India's socio‐cultural realities additional work‐life interventions are suggested in the areas of elder care, employee training and commuting.
Social implications
Organizational work‐life interventions in India are varied and disparate and have focused mainly on the formal sector. There is no overarching government policy addressing work and family issues across different sectors. Implicit gendering of governmental policies and work‐life initiatives covertly reifies patriarchal structures that make such interventions necessary in the first place.
Originality/value
The paper exclusively brings out connections between India's socio‐economic context and work‐family issues of employees, which no other study has achieved before.
Keywords
Citation
Rajadhyaksha, U. (2012), "Work‐life balance in South East Asia: the Indian experience", South Asian Journal of Global Business Research, Vol. 1 No. 1, pp. 108-127. https://doi.org/10.1108/20454451211207615
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2012, Emerald Group Publishing Limited