Exploring HR and middle managers' perceptions of work life balance in Lebanese banks -

Abstract

Work-life balance (WLB) is a concept that encompasses various notions. It has been defined differently across time by various authors starting from Zedeck and Mosier (1990), Guest (2002), to Brinley (2005). Obviously good work-life balance practices are an active part of strategic human resource management, for they help in attracting, retaining employees, and increasing their satisfaction and performance. This is especially apparent in the banking industry which globally faces problems with retention of qualified staff. Consequently, line managers and strategic human resource managers have to coordinate the process of policy development and implementation to address such challenges. Hence, the main purpose of this paper is to examine HR and General-middle Managers’ experience of the work life balance linkage in Lebanese Banks, and how they cope and deal with it. By shedding light on the quality of spillover experienced, and the coping mechanisms of managers, recommendations for better work life balance policies can be suggested. 60percent of our sample asserted achieving balance yet that was mostly due to personal effort. Differences between men and women were noted only with regard to pursuit of hobbies. Banks appeared to act in a humane way towards their managers; however, they are still far from reaching the “respect” response whereby an organization acknowledges both work and non-work participation of its employees. All in all, our results fall in line with border theory; however, some minor adjustments are proposed to help flesh out practical recommendations.