The effects of organizational work-life balance policies on employee engagement
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Date
2015-07-13
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Abstract
Underpinned by the boundary management theory, organisational support theory, role theory and
other related theories, the study proposed and tested a multi-level model that simultaneously
examined the intermediate linkages or mechanisms through which work-life balance (WLB)
impact individual and organisational work-related outcomes. First and underpinned by boundary
management theories, the study examined at the organisational level, collective employee
awareness and usage of organizational WLB policies, as pathways through which the adoption
and implementation of WLB policies influences collective experience of WLB at the
organizational level. Second and, underpinned by organisational support (perceived
organizational support) and social exchange (employee engagement) theories, the study
examined cross level mechanisms through which experienced WLB may influence employee
work-related attitude and behaviour such as cognitive engagement and perceived organisational
support. At the individual level of the model, the study investigated the linkages between job
resources and its potential outcomes such as work-life enrichment, perceived organizational
support and behavioural engagement on the basis of organizational support theory, role and spill-over theories. Propositions made in this study were also tested with multisource data obtained
from junior and senior staff, and managers of 30 organisations from the three major sectors of
the Ghanaian economy. Results of the hierarchical multiple regression (HMR) analysis revealed
that (i) collective employee awareness and usage of WLB policies influenced collective
experience of WLB at the organisational level. Additionally, results of hierarchical linear
modelling (HLM) tests of the cross-level influences on the motivational implications of WLB
revealed that, collective awareness, usage and experience of WLB had positive and significant
influence on perceived organizational support at the individual level. The result also indicates
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that employees‘ collective experience of work-life balance (EWLB) significantly but negatively
moderates the relationship between employee cognitive engagement and perceived
organisational support (POS) such that at low levels of cognitive engagement, high EWLB
influences POS more than low EWLB. Results from HMR analysis of level one hypotheses
revealed that job resources led to work-life enrichment, perceived organizational support and
behavioural engagement among employees. Employees‘ satisfaction with WLB policies partially
mediated the relationship between job resources and employees‘ behavioural engagement, while
traditional gender role partially mediated the relationship between work-life enrichment and
perceived organizational support. Additionally, perceived organisational support had a direct
influence on behavioural engagement. Based on the findings of the study, theoretical and
managerial/practical implications for WLB research are discussed. Limitations related to the
field-nature of the study as well as content areas for future programmatic research aimed at
enhancing the nomological network of WLB and employee engagement are also discussed.
Description
A thesis submitted to the Department of Human Resource and Organizational
Development,
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in partial fulfilment of the
requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy, 2015