Major Theories That Helps for Work-life Balance

Motivation is a state of mind, filled with energy and enthusiasm, which drives a person to work in a certain way to achieve desired goals. Motivation is a force that pushes people to work with a high level of commitment and focus, even if things are going against them. Motivation translates into a certain kind of human behavior.  In short, motivation is the driving force behind human actions.
There are many different forces that guide and direct our motivations. It is important to ensure that every team member in an organization is motivated and meets the best project management course bottom line. Various psychologists have studied human behavior and have formalized their findings in the form of various motivational theories. These motivational theories provide insights into the way people behave and what motivates them.  

Motivation theory is a way of looking at the motivation of a person and how this influence their behavior, whether for personal or professional reasons. Its important to every aspect of society but is especially relevant to business and management. Motivation is the key to more profitable employees, as a motivated employee is more productive  

Maslow’s Theory of Hierarchical Needs 

Abraham Maslow postulated that a person will be motivated when all his needs are fulfilled. People do not work for security or money, but they work to contribute and to use their skills. He demonstrated this by creating a pyramid to show how people are motivated and mentioned that ONE CANNOT ASCEND TO THE NEXT LEVEL UNLESS LOWER-LEVEL NEEDS ARE FULFILLED. The lowest level needs in the pyramid are basic needs and unless these lower-level needs are satisfied people do not look at working toward satisfying the upper-level needs. 

• Physiological needs: are basic needs for survival such as air, sleep, food, water, clothing, sex, and shelter. 
• Safety needs: Protection from threats, deprivation, and other dangers (e.g., health, secure employment, and property) 
• Social (belongingness and love) needs: The need for association, affiliation, friendship, and so on. 
• Self-esteem needs:  The need for respect and recognition. 
• Self-actualization needs:  The opportunity for personal development, learning, and fun/creative/challenging work.  Self-actualization is the highest-level need to which a human being can aspire

 

As the term “hierarchy” implies, people tend to seek out their basic needs first  After that, they move to the needs in the next tier until they reach the tip of the pyramid.

In this same paper, however, Maslow clarifies that his hierarchy of needs isn’t quite as sequential as the pyramid framework might lead people to believe. One need doesn’t necessarily have to be fully met before the next one becomes pertinent. These human needs do build on each other, but they’re interdependent and not always consecutive. As he said “No need or drive can be treated as if it were isolated or discrete; every drive is related to the state of satisfaction or dissatisfaction of other drives.”

Herzberg’s Motivation- Hygiene Theory

Frederick Herzberg, a behavioral scientist, created motivation-hygiene in 1959. The theory is a result of his interviews with a group of employees, in which he asked them two simple questions: 

1. Think of a time you felt good about your job. What made you feel that way?
2. Think of a time when you felt bad about your job. What made you feel that way? 

Through those interviews, he realized that there are two mutually exclusive factors that influence employee satisfaction or dissatisfaction – hence, this theory is often called the “two-factor” or “dual-factor” theory. He named the factors.

 

• Hygiene encompasses basic things like working conditions, compensation, supervision, and company policies. When these nuts and bolts are in place, employee satisfaction remains steady – it’s the absence of them that moves the needle. When they’re missing, employee satisfaction decreases. 

• Motivators are things like perks, recognition, and opportunity for advancement. These are the factors that, when present, increase employee motivation, productivity, and commitment.

Herzberg’s theory in practice

Herzberg’s two-factor theory is often described as complementary to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, as both place an emphasis on ensuring an employee’s basic needs – like security, safety, and pay – are being satisfied. 

Maslow’s theory is more descriptive, and gives you a comprehensive understanding of the human needs that drive motivation. Herzberg’s theory focuses specifically on prescriptive takeaways for the workplace, giving managers a simple, two-part framework they can use to confirm the presence of hygiene factors before trying to leverage any motivators

Theory X and Theory Y, Douglas McGregor

Douglas McGregor spent the end of the 1950’s and the early 1960’s working on his motivation theory. Curiously titled Theory X Theory Y, his theory outlines two opposing views on human behavior in the workplace. Each of the viewpoints addresses a different way of meeting each individual’s motivational needs. McGregor believed that a manager’s assumptions about their employees determined their leadership style in the workplace.

The first part of McGregor’s theory is Theory X. Managers have many assumptions about their employees in Theory X

• Workers have little motivation and prefer direction from their superiors.
• Workers need consistent rewards and punishments to ensure their task is completed.
• Workers do not have a desire to grow or achieve personal or professional goals
• Workers dislike their jobs and they are inherently lazy

Many of these assumptions are based on basic physical needs. Businesses who utilize a Theory X approach often have multiple levels of management with a low rate of delegation. Workers are often micromanaged and have very little autonomy in the organization. There is often a central authority base and managers follow an authoritative leadership style

The next part of McGregor’s theory is Theory Y. Managers also have assumptions about their employees in Theory Y:

• Workers are willing to accept challenges and are proud of the work that they do.
• Workers do not need to be micromanaged; they are self-directed.
• Workers are eager to participate in decision-making.
• Workers are happy to contribute and feel internally satisfied.

These assumptions lead to a better managerial approach and this greater satisfaction in the workplace. McGregor encouraged organizations to adopt more of a Theory Y leadership style. It is much more decentralized and requires more participation from the managers, but assumes that workers would also be committed to the long-term goals of the company. He believed that by following Theory Y, supervisors could motivate their workers to achieve their highest potential

Conclusion

Based on the results of the analysis that has been done by researchers about the effect

of work-life balance on productivity with work motivation and affective commitment as

intervening variables, it can be concluded that work-life balance has a positive and sig-

nificant influence. on productivity, work-life balance has a positive and significant effect

on work motivation, work-life balance has a positive and significant effect on affec-

tive commitment, work motivation has a positive and significant effect on productivity,

affective commitment has a negative and insignificant effect on productivity, work-life

balance has a positive and significant effect on productivity with affective commitment

as the intervening variable, work-life balance has a positive 

References

• Adisa, Ajibade, T., Modi, Chima, Osabutey, & L.C, E. (2017). Exploring The Implications Of The Influence Of Organisational Culture On Work-Life Balance Practices: Evidence From NigerianMedical Doctor. Emerald Personnel Review

https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/PR-05-2015-0138/full/html

• Baral, R., & Bhargava, S. (2010). Work‐family enrichment as a mediator between organizational interventions for work‐life balance and job outcomes. Journal Of Managerial Psychology, 25(3), 274-300

https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/02683941011023749/full/html

• Drew, E., & Murtagh, E. (2005). Work/live balance: senior management champions or laggards? Women In Management Review, 20(4), 262-278

https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/09649420510599089/full/html

Frone, M., Russell, M., & Cooper, M. (1992). Antecedents and outcomes of work-family  conflict: Testing a model of the work-family interface. Journal Of Applied Psychology, 77(1), 65-78.

https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037/0021-9010.77.1.65