Work Life Balance of Working Mothers: Phenomenological Inquiry of Work and Home Lived Experiences

摘要

Work-life balance is defined as an acceptable level of participation or “fit” between the multiple roles in a person’s life. This study aimed at qualitatively assessing the work-life balance of working mothers. Based on the findings of the study, it was found out thatwork-life balance has been recognized as a critical issue for working mothers at the Bulacan State University. The unsuited difficulties between the work and family roles have been felt by the respondents. The academic pressures of the work environment affected the quality of home life ofthe respondents. Several coping strategies may be employed to address work-life conflicts. Among them were effective time management, proper delegation of responsibilities, creating friendly work environment, sparing time for oneself, and engaging in leisure and relaxation with family. Thereare critical issues in the work place that need to be addressed to attain the desired work-life balance of the working mothers. Developing a functional work-life program would be a strategic move for competitive advantage of the concerned working mothers. The researcher further recommendedthat the concerned state university creates an organizational culture that promotes work-life balance among the administrators. The management needs to implements a functional work-life program that would address the real and perceived overwork and outbalanced pressures of administrators.This would consequently improve the productivity of people in the organization. And lastly, the management and human resource professionals put in place work-life friendly policies and programs that could set the tone for employee engagement.