The Problem Of Patriarchy In Nigeria

It is common knowledge that Nigerian patriarchal system is essentially one of the major reasons women are subjected to serious work stress as well as work -life imbalance that affects their commitment to work; this in final analysis impinges on the productivity and performance of Nigerian organisations as a consequence (Mordi et al, 2010).

In addition to this standpoint, recently, and given the pressures on women to contribute to sustaining family in terms of financial as well as economic support, women have taken paid employments that have brought conflict in homes as demands of the jobs they do conflict with their family life and vice versa. Then the issue of given the urgency of work-life balance in rethinking the nature of contemporary organizations for better performance and commitment.

In this direction, another reason for this development is the articulation of WLB in view of modern demographic changes that have seen increasing number of women in paid employment in Nigeria since the 1960s as well as in the workplaces, and the implications of dual career families that generates an increasing need for women to balance these two dominant spheres of life. For example, rising living cost is a case in point, and most recently, economic recession has increased the necessity of women contributing towards household responsibilities.

On the part of organisations, family friendly policies/initiatives such as flexible working hours, alternative work arrangement, maternity leave policies/benefits regarding family care responsibilities, employee assistance programmes and compensation packages have now become significant part s of most companies human resource management packages in order to retain commitment, satisfaction and motivation from working mothers (Netemeyer, & McMurrian, 2006).

However, (Guest, 2002) suggested three indicators that may have objectively brought the issue of WLB to the limelight for best practices in organisations in order to maintain a fulfilled life as well as to positively impact organisational commitment , productivity and development. Firstly, he indicated work related factors causing problems of work life imbalance due to the intensity of modern work such as information overload, advances in IT, quest for superior customer service delivery, intensive and extensive labour flexibility or working patterns that put increased pressure of people.

Second, those elements relating to life outside work that might cause work life conflict such as invasiveness of work on private life (e. g. telecommuting), societal affluence, privatization of family life, growth of single parent families, absentee fathers, wealth accumulation and insatiable lure of consumerism , among others . The third factor is the awareness, attitudes and disposition of people to harmonise these imbalances across a variety of life related situations.

1. 2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The study is design to investigate the impact of work life balance on employee commitment with focus on Cadbury Plc Apapa Lagos. Workforce has undergone immense change as a result of worldwide recession. Recent economic downturns and increased competition has put pressure on organisations to perform, and on employees to increase their productivity. Organisations deal with these tough economic times by cutting expenditure, decreasing staff levels and increasing workload for the remaining employees (Connell, & Byrne, 2010). The wellbeing of workers who kept their employment can be negatively affected by job insecurity (Scherer, 2009). Many individuals feel under pressure to work longer hours to keep their jobs (Wayman, 2010), and to meet their family expenses.

This study recognizes that the main causes of poor WLB amongst employees are excessive working hours and a lack of work schedule flexibility. The labour force has experienced a significant increase in female workers and two-income households (Grady et al. , 2008). One of the most common consequences of work-life imbalance is depression resulting in decreased productivity and higher absenteeism (Layous, & Seligman, 2011). Low WLB can also lead to employees experiencing low morale and higher absenteeism (Brought, & Kalliath, 2005), and organisations experiencing higher staff turnover, lower productivity and poorer work quality (Seligman, 2011).

According to Malik, et al. (2010) shows that unbalanced work-family life caused by increased work demands leads to higher levels of stress. Stress caused by higher demands from work results in family-work conflicts and work-family conflicts (Aryee et al. , 2005). This has negative impacts not only on the wellbeing of workers but also on their families (Hochschild, 2007), as it increases anxiety of individuals at work and at home and leads to lower quality relationships with family members (e. g. spouse or children) (Parasuraman & Greenhaus, 2002).

Increased work demands such as overtime and shift work may lead to work-family conflict, which can result in decreased satisfaction with work and with the employer (Paton, Jackson & Johnson, 2003). Therefore, work-related stress has a negative impact on employees, organizations, families and society; Parasuraman & Greenhouse, (2002).

1. 3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The general objective is to investigate the impact of work life balance on employee commitment with focus on Cadbury Plc Apapa Lagos. The specifics objectives are: 1 To examine the relationship between flexible working hours and work life balance on employee commitment

2 To examine the relationship between job satisfaction and work life balance on employee commitment 3 To examine the relationship between stress and work life balance on employee commitment 4 To examine the relationship between family conflict and work life balance on employee commitment

1. 4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1 what is the influence of flexible working hours on work life balance in employee commitment?

2 what is the influence of job satisfaction on work life balance in employee commitment

3 To what extent stress has influence on work life balance in employee commitment?

4 what is the influence of family conflict on work life balance in employee commitment

1. 5 RESAERCH HYPOTHESIS

Hypothesis one H0: There is no significance relationship between flexible working hours and work life balance on employee commitment H1: There is significance relationship between flexible working hours and work life balance on employee commitment Hypothesis two H0: There is no significance relationship between job satisfaction and work life balance on employee commitment H2: There is significance relationship between job satisfaction and work life balance on employee commitment Hypothesis three

H0: There is no significance relationship between stress and work life balance in employee commitment H3: There is significance relationship between stress and work life balance on employee commitment Hypothesis four H0: There is no significance relationship between family conflict and work life balance in employee commitment H4: There is significance relationship between family conflict and work life balance in employee commitment

1. 6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Work life balance has different benefits to the organization as well as to the individual. Organization benefits are increased productivity, commitment and better team work.

Individual benefits have more value, balance in daily life and work and reduce stress. This study proved to be a milestone for the students, researchers and policy makers to properly understand the concepts of employee work satisfaction, WLB and organizational commitment. This study helped the managers of the organizations to understand the importance of effective implementation of work life balance policies. Understanding the relationship between employee job satisfaction, WLB and organizational commitment is beneficial for the managers, researches and also for the students.

1. 7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The scope of study will covered Cadbury Plc Apapa Lagos and also limited among the staff of the company due to limited time, financial constraint, and inadequate research materials.

1. 8 DEFINITION OF TERMS

1 Work-life balance According to Clark, (2009) defines work-life balance as contentment and good functioning at work and at home with negligible role conflicts.

2 Family-work conflict According to Netemeyer, and McMurrian, (2006) define Family-work conflict as “a form of inter role conflict in which general demands of, time devoted to, and strain created by the family interfere with performing work-related responsibilities.

Family-work conflicts is “a form of friction in which role pressures from work and family domains are mutually incompatible in some respects”.

3 Job sharing Job sharing is an arrangement which allows two (or sometimes more) employees to jointly fill one fulltime job, with responsibilities and working time shared or divided between them.

4 Employee commitment According to Schweizer et al. (2012) defines employee commitment as the employees’ decision to stay with a firm regardless of the organizational climate or the change there in.