Work-Life Balance, Family-Friendly Policies and Quality of Work Life Issues: Studying Employers' Perspectives of Working Women in Oman

Family-Friendly Policies (FFPs) aim to help employees manage their family responsibilities, create flexible-work conditions and enable women to perform better on both domestic and work fronts. In comparison to other countries in the Gulf, women in Oman are joining the workforce in large numbers. This trend continues as educational and vocational institutions within the country consistently enroll a higher proportion of women. Currently, women comprise 55% of the total workforce in Oman and contribute significantly in education, health, media, banking and other business sectors. Challenges such as work-life balance (WLB) constrain their Quality of Work Life (QWL). Omani Labor Law (OLL) grants some privileges to working women; however, there is an overgrowing need to address specific issues that women encounter while managing their work and family life. By resorting to in-depth interviews of selected top-level managers from government, public, and private sector organizations, this study aims to secure managers’ perception of WLB and QWL-related issues and also their opinion about offering certain FFP-related benefits to the working women in Oman. The research informs that despite some provisions in the OLL, Oman lacks a clear-cut policy on FFPs. Most of the concessions to women exist with a tacit understanding of ‘give and take’ or sympathy. Notwithstanding, all the employers confirm their adherence to the OLL and are enthusiastic over granting additional benefits, albeit with individual differences in perception. The research recommends some collective efforts on three major fronts. Governmental interventions are needed to direct organizations to classify some jobs as ‘Family Friendly’. Organizations need to observe healthy workplace practices. Families and societies need to exhibit a supportive outlook towards working women in Oman