A balanced work-life relationship helps boost employee performance

The current Perspective is written for personnel managers and MBA students, aiming to raise the awareness of work-life balance importance in the employee management policies. In the intersection of work and personal life, the work-life balance is the equilibrium between the two; more specifically, work-life balance explains the relationship and interaction between individual job and their private life. In the Perspective, we first introduce the concept and characteristics of work-life balance through relevant literature. We then argue the significance of incorporating work-life balance into employee management practices, as the concept of work-life balance helps managers appreciate individual differences and develop more human-oriented awareness in management. We encourage managers to adopt transformational leadership in their management, in which the concept of work-life balance should be embedded in the design and implementation of employee management policies. By giving more autonomy to the employees through the work-life balance policies and practices, employees are more likely to appreciate the work and make more contribution accordingly. Practitioner points are also recommended

Employment Discrimination against Indigenous People with Tribal Marks in Nigeria: The Painful face of Stigma

Drawing from in-depth qualitative interviews (N=32), this article examines the impact of indigenous tribal marks on employment chances in southwest Nigeria. It employs indigenous standpoint theory to frame the argument around what constitutes stigma and in what context. The results of our thematic analysis indicate that tribally marked job applicants and employees face significant social rejection, stigmatization, and discrimination, and can suffer from severe mental illnesses and even suicidal ideation. We explain how these tribally marked individuals navigate the changing contours of tradition and modernity in Nigeria. Tribal marks, although once largely perceived as signals of beauty and high social status, are now increasingly viewed as a significant liability in the labor market. This paper makes a unique and original contribution to the study of stigma and employment discrimination by eschewing the prevailing Western ethnocentrism in the extant research and instead placing the indigenous standpoint at center stage

Work-family balance: a case analysis of coping strategies adopted by Nigerian and British working mothers

Purpose – Given the reality that working mothers experience difficulties in achieving work-family balance as a result of the social restrictions that arise from parenting combined with career goals, this article explores the various coping strategies that are employed by working mothers in the cities of London (UK) and Lagos (Nigeria). Methodology – Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 72 mothers who worked in banks in London (UK) and Lagos (Nigeria). Thematic analysis and investigator triangulation are used. Findings – The findings reveal various coping strategies that are used by working mothers in the cities of Lagos and London. The article also unearths the efficiency and the shortcomings of the use of au pairs among British working mothers and the similarities and disparities of such use compared to the traditional use of housemaids in Nigeria. Originality/value – This article contributes to existing work-family balance literature by exploring coping strategies of working mothers as a result of socio-cultural and institutional differences in the UK and Nigeria

Stigma Hurts: Exploring Employer and Employee Perceptions of Tattoos and Body Piercings in Nigeria

Purpose – This study draws on social stigma and prejudice to examine the perceptions and beliefs of managers and employees regarding visible tattoos and body piercings, as well as the impact they have on potential employment and human resource management in the global South, using Nigeria as the research context. Design/methodology/approach – The study uses a qualitative research approach, drawing on data from forty-three semi-structured interviews with managers and employees in Nigeria. Findings – Contrary to the popular opinion that tattoos and body piercings are becoming more accepted and mainstream in society, this study finds that some Nigerian employers and employees may stigmatise and discriminate against people with visible tattoos and body piercings. The findings of this study suggest that beliefs about tattoos are predicated on ideologies as well as religious and sociocultural values, which then influence corporate values. Practical Implications – Religious and sociocultural preconceptions about people with visible tattoos and body piercings have negative implications for the recruitment and employment of such people and could prevent organisations from hiring and keeping talented employees. This implies that talented employees might experience prejudice at job interviews, preventing them from gaining employment. Furthermore, stigmatising and discriminating against people with visible tattoos and body piercings may lead to the termination of employment of talented employees, which could negatively affect organisational productivity and growth. Originality/value – This study provides an insight into employment relations with regards to tattoos and body piercings in Nigeria. It also makes some contributions to the social psychology of workplace prejudice and highlights the reasons for the stigma and prejudice against individuals with visible tattoos and body piercings

Understanding the causes and consequences of work-family conflict: an exploratory study of Nigerian employees

Purpose - An important theme for a 21st century employee is a desire for work and family balance which is devoid of conflict. Drawing on detailed empirical research, this article examines the multi-faceted causes and consequences of work-family conflict in a non-western context (Nigeria). Methodology - The paper uses qualitative data gleaned from the semi-structured interviews of 88 employees (44 university lecturers and 44 medical doctors) in cities in the six geo-political zones of Nigeria. Findings – The findings showed that work pressure, heavy familial duties, poor infrastructural facilities, and a lack of suitable and practicable work-family balance policies are the main causes of work-family conflict in Nigeria. Juvenile delinquencies, broken marriages/families, and an unhappy workforce are among the grave consequences of work-family conflict among Nigerian employees. Originality/value – This article suggests that the availability of basic infrastructural facilities, more governmental support, practicable work-family policies, inter alia, will reduce the level of work-family conflict for Nigerian employees and will also results in positive spill-over from the work domain to the family domain and vice-versa

Exploring the implications of the influence of organisational culture on work-life balance practices: evidence from Nigerian medical doctors

Purpose - Whilst significant evidence of western work-life balance (WLB) challenges exists, studies that explore Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are scarce. This article explores how organisational culture in Nigerian medical organisations influences doctors’ WLB and examines the implications of supportive and unsupportive cultures on doctors’ WLB. Methodology - The paper uses qualitative data gleaned from semi-structured interviews of 60 medical doctors across the six geo-political zones of Nigeria in order to elicit WLB challenges within the context of organisational culture. Findings - The findings show that organisational culture strongly influences employees’ abilities to use WLB policies. Unsupportive culture resulting from a lack of support from managers, supervisors, and colleagues together with long working hours influenced by shift-work patterns, a required physical presence in the workplace, and organisational time expectations exacerbate the challenges that Nigerian medical doctors face in coping with work demands and non-work related responsibilities. Our findings emphasise how ICT and institutions also influence WLB. Originality/value – The paper addresses the under-researched SSA context of WLB and emphasises how human resource management policies and practices are influenced by the complex interaction of organisational, cultural, and institutional settings

A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Link Between Professional Culture and Organisational Culture

Purpose – Despite the fundamental role of culture in an organisational setting, little is known of how organisational culture can be sometime determined/influenced by professional culture, particularly in the global south. Using Nigeria as a research focus, this article uses critical discuss analysis to examine the link between professional and organisational culture. Design/Methodology/Approach – This study uses qualitative research approach to establish the significance of professional culture as a determinant of organisational culture among healthcare organisations. Findings – We found that the medical profession, in Nigeria, is replete with professional duties and responsibilities, such as professional values and beliefs, professional rules and regulations, professional ethics, eagerness to fulfil the Hippocratic Oath, professional language, professional symbols, medicine codes of practice, and societal expectations, all of which conflate to form medical professionals’ values, beliefs, assumptions, and the shared perceptions and practices upon which the medical professional culture is strongly built. Thus, making the medical professional culture stronger and more dominant over the healthcare organisational culture. Research Limitations/Implications – The extent to which the findings of this research can be generalised is constrained by the limited and selected sample of the research. Practical Implications – The primacy of professional culture over organisational culture may have dysfunctional consequences for HRM, as medical practitioners are obliged to stick to medical professional culture over human resources practices. Hence, human resources departments may struggle to cope with the behavioural issues that arise due to the dominant position taken by the medical practitioners. This is because the cultural system (professional culture), which is the configuration of beliefs, perceived values, code of ethics, practices, etc. shared by medical doctors, subverts the operating system. Therefore, in the case of healthcare organisations, HRM should support and enhance the cultural system (the medical professional culture) by offering compatible operating strategies and practices. Originality/Value – This article provides valuable insights into the link between professional culture and organisational culture. It also enriches debates on organisational culture and professional culture. We therefore contend that a strong professional culture can overwhelm and eventually become an organisational culture

The Work-Family Balance of British Working Women During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Purpose – The COVID-19 pandemic has affected women in unique gender-specific ways, particularly their traditional status as home managers. This study draws on role theory to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women’s work-family balance during the lockdown. Design/methodology/approach – The current COVID-19 pandemic, which has altered the ways in which we live and work, requires specific methodological tools to be understood. We therefore opted for a interpretive-constructivist and constructivist-phenomenologist approach. The dataset thus comprises of semi-structured interviews with twenty-six working women in the UK. Findings – The findings illustrate how the COVID-19 lockdown has intensified British women’s domestic workload and has thus caused unbridled role conflict, which has further been exacerbated by structural and interactional roles undertaken by women especially during the lockdown. Remote working has contributed to women’s role congestion and role conflict and poses severe challenges to role differentiation. Furthermore, we found that the lockdown has facilitated the rediscovery of family values and closeness, which is connected to the decline in juvenile delinquency and low crime rate that has resulted from the lockdown. Originality/value – Through the lens of the role theory, this study concludes that the cohabitation of work and family duties within the domestic space undermines the ability to achieve work-family balance and role differentiation due to the occurrence of inter-role conflicts. This study enriches our understanding of the effect of remote working on female employees’ work-family balance during the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic lockdown

What happened to the border? The role of mobile information technology devices on employees' work-life balance

Purpose: Mobile information technology devices (MITDs) are of special interest for researchers who seek to understand the role of these devices on employees’ work-life balance (WLB). This study examines the role of MITDs on employees’ WLB. Design/methodology/approach: This article uses semi-structured interviews to investigate the role of MITDs on employees’ WLB. Findings: The findings underscore the important role of MITDs in terms of the attainment of flexibility (how, where, and when work is done), which is significant for achieving WLB. However, the use of MITDs has blurred the division between work and non-work domains. This has inadvertently lengthened employees’ working hours, has affected their family relationships, and affected their general health and wellbeing. The evidence suggests that MITDs have the potential to improve WLB but could also lead to work-life conflict if not properly managed. Originality/value: The study calls for a re-examination of WLB policies and practices, specifically border theory, in order to ensure that MITDs can enhance productivity without inadvertently resulting in poor WLB

Assessment of the Knowledge of Community Pharmacists Regarding Common Phytopharmaceuticals Sold in South Western Nigeria

Purpose: The study was carried out to assess the knowledge of community pharmacists who sell herbal/phytopharmaceutical formulations in pharmacy retail outlets. Method: Questionnaires were administered to the pharmacists to gather information on phytopharmaceuticals regarding their use, side effects, potential drug-herb interactions and contraindications of the phytopharmaceuticals sold in their retail outlets. Opinions on regulation, safety and efficacy of herbal remedies were also obtained. Descriptive statistical tests and median scores were used to evaluate the distribution of responses, opinions and perception of the pharmacists on their level of knowledge of the phytopharmaceuticals, and effects of demographic data on the pharmacists' knowledge of the herbal remedies. Results: The study revealed that 31 (62%) sold imported herbal remedies and nutritional supplements. Seventy-two (72) % had received no postgraduate training on herbal medications. Most of the community pharmacists agreed that they did not possess adequate knowledge of potential interaction profiles and side effects of the herbal remedies sold. The training in pharmacy schools on herbal drugs and sale of phytopharmaceuticals in their outlets also had no influence (p>0.05) on desired knowledge. Community pharmacists with less than 10 years of experience in the practice however possessed better knowledge than pharmacists with more than ten years of professional practice (p=0.05) Conclusions: There was gross inadequacy in the pharmacists' knowledge of the phytopharmaceuticals sold in pharmacies indicating an urgent need for intensive training in order to render better services to their clients. Keywords: Community Pharmacists, Herbal formulations/Phytopharmaceuticals, Knowledge base, Pharmacology> Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research Vol. 5 (2) 2006: pp. 619-62