HOW PEOPLE EXPERIENCE WORK LIFE BALANCE : A QUALITATIVE STUDY WITH THREE INDUSTRIAL SECTOR ORGANIZATIONS

Abstract: A work life imbalance emerges when the boundary between work life and personal life is put at sake. It happens when people bring work with them home, or private problems to work. A work life imbalance can lead to psychological issues such as, stress, anxiety, depression, and physical tiredness. Therefore, the current study asks how people experience work life balance, or the lack thereof, to create an in-depth understanding for the dynamics that creates work life balance and imbalance. Different theoretical models were used to address work life balance: spillover theory, inter-role conflict theory and the job demands-resources model theory. Three industrial organizations within the industrial sector, CarCompany1, CarCompany2, and Global-Tech (pseudonyms) were selected for data collection of a sample size of twelve respondents. A qualitative method of research was used with surveys containing open-ended questions, which were used to collect data.Thematic analysis with a deductive approach was used to analyze data into themes and categories, whereby relations between categories and themes were explored. The study's results show that most people from the selected organizations suffer from work life imbalance due to work. The main causes behind the disruption are long working hours, work pressure, job demands, expectations to take work tasks home, an overachieving organizational culture, and demanding management and supervisors. This resulted in stress, anxiety, physical tiredness, and for some a low self-esteem when employees felt that they never did enough at work, no matter the effort they put in. It is concluded that people currently experience work and family imbalance even in a satisfying occupation, with clear work goals and good social relations at work, because of work overload and job demands.