An Investigation of Factors Affecting Work Life Balance in Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs): A Case of Management Sciences for Health (MSH)

A Project Report Submitted to the School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for Executive Masters in Organizational Development (EMOD)The general objective of this study was to investigate the factors affecting work life balance in Kenyan NGOs. The study was guided by the following research objectives: To establish the effect of work role on work life balance, to determine the effect of work load on work life balance and to determine the effect of management practices on work life balance. The study adopted a descriptive research design. The population of the study was 36 employees from MSH. A census sampling of 36 employees was done for the study and 30 responded which was a rate of 83.33%. The sampling frame comprised of the management employees and non-management employees. The study implemented primary data collection which was gathered by the use of questionnaires to solicit information from the respondents. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire which was analyzed using SPSS and Excel to obtain descriptive statistics through frequencies, mean, percentages and Pearson correlation tests. Regarding the extent to which work roles affects work life balance in Kenyan NGOs, majority of the respondents agreed that employees felt a sense of pride and fulfillment in their work activities. However, the respondents disagreed that many rules and procedures made work life balance difficult. There was mixed reaction as to whether too many contract renewals for professionals contributed to work life balance. It was also evident that jobs were flexible enough to ensure work life balance. Majority of the respondents were very satisfied with their respective professions and felt there was a strong work life boundary. Most of the respondents also mentioned that their work was not stressful as they also felt that work responsibilities were certain to promote a balanced work life. Regarding the extent to which work load affected work life balance in Kenyan NGOs, half of the respondents felt that workload was not heavy to have work and family balance. Majority also disagreed that workload was emotionally challenging to maintain a work life balance. However, majority of the respondents mentioned that were greater demands placed on employees at work place which affected work life balance. A good number of the respondents felt they were paid fair remuneration for the work they did to be able to promote work life balance. It was evident that employees’ job responsibilities were clear and precise to plan for a balanced work life. Employees also agreed that work procedures and reporting relationships were good for a balanced work life. It was significant to note that clean work conditions promoted work life balance. The respondents felt that too much time was spent at work as opposed to taking care of the family. The study also explored how management practices affected work life balance and majority of the respondents felt that management did not provide feedback to staff concerning work life balance. However, majority felt that management demonstrated an understanding of employee work life balance through family friendly policies. There was an overwhelming agreement that the management provided convenient working hours. The respondents were neutral on whether management provided work life benefits. From the results it was also evident that the management did not provide detailed explanation of work assignments and non-work assignments. Majority of the respondents also felt that there was poor communication by management on issues affecting work life balance even though there was management policy for encouraging work life balance. Majority felt that management appreciated work life balance as they were neutral on administration in implementing work life balance. Finally it was evident that there was no difficulty with colleagues in promoting work life balance. It was reasonable from the research to draw the following recommendations to encourage work life balance; organizations should have clear work role to ensure employees feel sense of pride and fulfillment, flexible work schedules so as to promote work life balance, clear rules and procedures on work life balance. On the other hand, management should respect and implement the laid down policies on work life balance. Employees and management must also ensure that there is strong work life boundary to be able to promote work life balance. Organizations should take into account work load so as to ensure work life balance through placing fewer demands on employees, fair remuneration is a motivator and promotes work life balance, there should be clear and precise job responsibilities and reporting relationship and employees should not spend too much time at work at the expense of taking care of the family. It is recommended that management must constantly provide feedback to staff on benefits of work life balance; they must also provide detailed explanation on work assignments and non-work assignments to employees. Finally there is need to have policies that encourage work life balance and ensure that they are supported through implementation of policies