Fostering Innovation, Integration and Inclusion Through Interdisciplinary Practices in Management Work-Life Balance among Women Employees in Service Sectors in Sangli

Work life balance (WLB) refers to the level of prioritization between personal and professional activities in an individual’s life and the level to which activities related to their job are present in the home. A balanced life is one where we spread our energy and effort – emotional, intellectual, imaginative, spiritual and physical – between key areas of importance. Work-life balance is not mere related to work and life; it is the positive state of mind. Work-life balance, in its broadest sense, is defined as a satisfactory level of involvement or ‘fit’ between the multiple roles in a person’s life (Hudson, 2005). The present study aims at understanding the work-life Balance of women employed in service sectors in Sangli city. The study was conducted on conveniently selected 120 women employees from six service sectors, using a WLB scale consisting of ten statements on a three point scale. The study revealed that the WLB is slightly above average and factors like age, Type of family and experience did not show any significant relationship.

Work-life balance is not mere related to work and life; it is the positive state of mind. Work-life balance, in its broadest sense, is defined as a satisfactory level of involvement or 'fit' between the multiple roles in a person's life (Hudson, 2005).
The present study aims at understanding the work-life Balance of women employed in service sectors in Sangli city. The study was conducted on conveniently selected 120 women employees from six service sectors, using a WLB scale consisting of ten statements on a three point scale. The study revealed that the WLB is slightly above average and factors like age, Type of family and experience did not show any significant relationship.
Work Life-Balance assumes greatest significance when the demands of one's work and the life aspects seem equally critical at the same point in time.
In the present global scenario every business organization tries to maintain specific standards and quality to attain reputation and recognition for their products along with customer satisfaction in terms of quality of services, products, reasonable price and other offers etc.  Santhi and Sunder , 2012). But there are very few studies on Work life Balance particularly among women in service sectors. Women always play multiple roles and have to balance activities both at the work place and home. In view of the above the present paper is an attempt to understand the Work-Life balance among women employees in Service sectors in Sangli city.

Objectives of the study:
The main objectives of the present study are -1. To understand the work life balance of working women in service sector. 2. To study the influence of Age, type of family and experience on work life balance of working women in service sector.

Hypotheses:
Ages, type of family, experience are significantly related with work life balance of women employees. Methodology Research Design -To portray accurately the characteristics of a particular group a descriptive study method was adopted.
Universe & Sampling: The study was conducted among women employees in private service sectors in Sangli city. Women are employed in different private sectors in Sangli city. Since the number of women employees varies in every organization, twenty employees from six organizations were selected by following convenient sampling method.
Hence, the total sample size for the study constituted to 120 women employees.
Data were collected through questionnaire. Work life Balance was assessed on a 3 point scale consisting of never, sometimes, always parameters. The scale uses satisfaction as the primary response format.

Conclusion:
A cursory look at the study shows that most of the women are in the middle productive age group, married and live in joint family.
The work profile of the respondents shows that women are also holding high level of job designation and are working in full time jobs.
The Work life balance shows that mean score is above average showing that their work life is balanced to some extent. However none of the selected independent variables showed any association with Work-Life Balance ie neither their age , type of family or experience influence their Work-Life..
Hence it is clear that the organizations are taking care to balance the work life of the women employees specially. However, the study is conducted among the employees of service sectors in general and no attempt has been made to specifically find out sector wise variations. The researcher feels it is therefore important to conduct more in-depth studies to unveil more deeper facts.

IMPLICATIONS:
More and more Women are stepping outside seeking jobs, and obviously experience conflict and stress as they have to manage family and work simultaneously. The data reveals that the traditional views and stereotypes roles about women are changing and they are able to overcome obstacles as they have projected a strong presence in different organizations. Though the Work life Balance seems to be manageable there is no full fledged programs related to Work-Life Balance strategies like flexi-time and leave benefits, family support and Health programs for employees.