Work-Life Imbalance, Its Reasons and Outcomes

Topic: Work-Life Balance Words: 899 Pages: 4

Description of Topic and Research Questions

Topic Description

The topic I would like to research is the life-work balance. In the modern world, this issue is becoming more and more actual. People spend a lot of time commuting to work. Sometimes, they work long hours or have an unsociable work schedule. Due to these circumstances, health problems such as depression or anxiety or even more serious ones may appear. Most of all, however, family life is hurt. Parents are not able to spend enough time with their children. Working students do not have enough possibilities to visit their parents and have some rest. Everyone suffers when work occupies too much time. Therefore, I believe that the question of the proper balance between work and personal life should be investigated thoroughly, and the ways of reaching harmony between these two significant components of any person’s existence should be reached.

Research Questions

What are the major reasons why people cannot reach a balance between work and personal life?
What are the possible ways of finding the life-work balance?
What kinds of specialists tend to achieve life-work balance worst of all?
How can technology promote reaching life-work balance?
What are the most dangerous outcomes of not achieving the life-work balance and how should people avoid these adverse effects?

Purpose of Research

The purpose of the research is to raise people’s awareness of the issue and inform them about the seriousness of its negative consequences. The topic is crucial since more and more employees and managers suffer from insufficient life-work balance (Todd & Binns, 2013). I have seen the impact of the insufficient work-life balance in my family. My father had to combine several jobs, and he was practically never at home. As a result, my mother got frustrated frequently, since neither she nor the children received enough attention from him. I want people to understand how important it is to set the priorities and adjust every aspect of life so that there would be harmony in the family.

Preliminary Research

Article 1

Koubova, V., & Buchko, A. A. (2013). Life-work balance: Emotional intelligence as a crucial component of achieving both personal life and work performance. Management Research Review, 36(7), 700-719.

The major argument of the article is that there is a close connection between emotional intelligence and life-work balance. As Koubova and Buchko (2013) mention, personal experiences enhance the growth of emotional intelligence that, in turn, promotes life-work balance. The key subtopics of the article are the impact of emotions on the personal life and the impact of work on private life. The major examples suggested by the authors reflect how people’s achievements or failures in personal life influence their accomplishments at work, and how professional success or deficiency may impact one’s relationships with family members (Koubova & Buchko, 2013). The authors identify several dimensions of emotional intelligence: perceiving emotions, using them, understanding, and managing emotions. The authors conclude that it is quite possible to reach a balance between personal life and work with the help of emotional intelligence.

Article 2

Munn, S. L. (2013). Unveiling the work-life system: The influence of work-life balance on meaningful work. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 15(4), 401-417.

The main argument of the article is that in the investigation of work-life balance, the actors such as people, companies, and governments are considered separately (Munn, 2013). Meanwhile, as the author emphasizes, all of these components should be studied in a close association to provide the fullest scope of the problem. Munn (2013) discusses the following subtopics in her research:

the work-life system;
work-life and work-family balance;
an altering workforce: linking work-life balance with substantial work;
an introductory analysis of meaningful work and work-life balance.

The major examples suggested in the article are concerned with demonstrating the mutual impact of life and work on the successful functioning of each of them. Munn (2013) concludes that reaching a balance between the various demands of family, community, personal needs, and work is a crucial issue not only for employees but also the employers and even professionals in the sphere of human resource management.

Project’s Audience

The primary audience of my research is represented by adults at the age of 30-50 who are actively working and have children. These people’s needs, motivations, and influences are connected with the aim of keeping healthy relationships within the family while simultaneously earning enough money to provide their children with everything they require. I would like the audience to know that the insufficient balance between work and life may lead to more than fatigue and stress. I want people to understand that their relationships with the closest ones may suffer if they fail to set the priorities correctly. To appeal to the audience, I will start the paper with statistical data concerning how many people feel uneasy and trapped when they fail to find a balance between their personal and professional life, and how many relationships have been broken due to this issue. Then, I will discuss the main causes of the problem along with the ways of eliminating them.

A Narrowed Focus of Research

A unique angle of my research will be investigating the impact of emotional intelligence on reaching the life-work balance. A preliminary thesis of research is, “Promotion of emotional intelligence promotes people’s life-work balance and enables them to live a full life.”

References

Munn, S. L. (2013). Unveiling the work-life system: The influence of work-life balance on meaningful work. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 15(4), 401-417.

Todd, P., & Binns, J. (2013). Work-life balance: Is it now a problem for management? Gender, Work, and Organization, 20(3), 219-231.