Work–life balance: eastern and western perspectives

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to compare and contrast eastern and western perspectives on work–life balance (WLB). The study is based on (1) literature review; (2) secondary data on working hours and parental leave in different countries; (3) WLB policies and practices of 25 large firms of both western and eastern origins (from their respective websites); (4) WLB ratings across companies (glassdoor.com) and (5) informal semi-structured interviews with HR heads from 50 multinational companies and 50 Indian companies, in both the private and the public sectors, on family-friendly workplaces. Qualitative analysis revealed that in Asian countries gender socialization played a major role in one's perception towards WLB, and coping strategies were also individual driven. While American multinationals focused on flexible working practices, the focus for Indian companies was on employee welfare programmes. On the basis of data provided by glassdoor.com, which compares WLB across companies, it is noted that the American and European companies rank higher than the Indian companies as they pay a lot more attention to it. The study also looks at government policies on working hours and parental leave and concludes that western countries have fewer working hours and more generous parental leave, as compared to their counterparts in Asia.