Living to work: a study of the relationship between work-life balance and employee health, productivity, and retention

Abstract

In the United States, modern-day employees struggle to find a balance between time at work and time at home. This imbalance is thought to have detrimental effects on employee health and overall satisfaction. Additionally, these implications can have consequences for employers, who risk higher levels of turnover and lower levels of productivity. This paper, developed from pre-existing research literature and introducing original data, serves to examine the extent of these implications. Specifically, this study seeks to answer three questions: is there a sex differences among work-life balance, what is impact of technology on work-life balance, and what is the relationship between work-life balance and burnout, motivation, and job satisfaction? Using a Qualtrics survey, 200 participants were asked about their perception on the following measures: work-family/family-work conflict, technology assisted supplemental work, technology related pressure at work, employee motivation, job satisfaction, and burnout. This study finds that there was no difference between males and females when it comes to work-life balance. However, it reports that technology has a direct impact on employee burnout, motivation, and job satisfaction. Lastly, a disruption of work-life balance increases burnout and reduces employee motivation and satisfaction. The goal of this research is to ultimately mitigate the problems that may be born from disproportionate work-life balance and add new data to the conversations around technology and gender as it pertains to work-life balance. Keywords: communications, work-life balance, health, burnout, motivation, job satisfaction, technology, productivity, retention