Effect of Work Life Conflict on Social Workers vs Teachers

Family name: Mokone

First name: Khotso

Research Problem

According to Gambles et al, (2006), work home life balance is said to be conceptualised by properly prioritising career and social lifestyles. In the United Kingdom, the term work life balance was first introduced during the late 1970’s as a way of describing someone’s balance of lifestyles between work and home or social life. The perception of work life balance has recently become more popular on a global scale due to several of causes. Even though at times, family and work are sometimes viewed as separate domains, whereby an employee’s role alternates between a family;^[1] and an employee, the significance of knowing how the impact of work carries over outside of employee time to one’s social life outside of work is important. Tanvi and Fatima, (2012) suggest that the idea of trying to maintain a balance between work and social time is a result of this idea which is gaining global prominence especially in the current economic climatic conditions where staff turnover is low in most work places. It is in this context that employees are trying to find a balance in service delivery that yields good results whilst avoiding burnout which then leads to either ill health or neglect of familial duties.

According to Cowan & Hoffman, (2007) the issue of work-life balance has in recent years, become a major global area of research. Marisalo (2008 concurs by stating that it is important for employers in this current fiscal climate to get the best work out their employees hence the necessity for employees and employers alike to learn the appropriate work life balance as this will yield positive outcomes for employers in the long run (in Gronewold and Wenzel, 2009) . My aim in wishing to conduct research in this area of work home life balance emanates from my personal experiences of home life conflict experienced during eight year period as a primary school teacher and children and families’ social worker in conjunction with views raised my former colleagues at the time. In addition, I am married to a currently practising secondary mathematics teacher who appears to work all hours of the day during the week, weekends and holidays.

I realised that whilst there is a lot of available literature from many discussions and research already carried out over the years, most of the literature is generic and there is not adequate research literature addressing issues faced mainly by social workers and teachers. In addition, most of the research has been carried out by researchers who have not been physically involved in these fields and therefore at times there is a lack of trust as to what happens to the research material, regardless of being informed and assured that there is confidentiality and data protection applies. Most workers are not really able to air their views openly as most of the research has been in the form of face to face interviews which may bring about barriers when it comes to freely sharing personal information. It is therefore my hope that due to the topic being a little sensitive in times of the current economic climate, everyone wants to hold on to their jobs and therefore will probably not say anything to jeopardise that; especially for social workers who work with very sensitive and emotionally draining societal issues. I feel that I will be able to produce beneficial findings that correspond with how professionals from these careers really feel about the impact of work on their work-social life balance. In addition, this research will give me an opportunity to reflect on the effects my husband’s and my own career has impacted our home lives. The outcome of the research will also be beneficial to former colleagues and hopefully future colleagues as I hope to get reliable feedback and recommendations made accessible to interested parties of how the impact of work home life balance, if any, can be overcome. I hope that the feedback will give insights into how others deal with any impact or conflict. It is also my view that results will not only be beneficial to the employees but to employers as well which will then help find ways to further support their employees to find a work life balance that hopefully leads to a happy workforce that produces exceptional outcomes.

Research Question, Aims and Objectives

Best, (2012) argues that the foundation of research as a whole emanates from having a good and understandable research question that will enable a researcher to find answers. According to McNeill and Chapman, (2005), there is a necessity for a researcher to set out a clear and concisely formulated research question as this will evidently show what the researcher’s intent is and whether there is a viable reason why the research is being undertaken. Therefore, the proposed research seeks to investigate and establish the effect of work family life conflict on social workers in comparison to teachers, both newly qualified and experienced with at least two or more years post qualification inorder to determine whether there is a difference in the experience due to the length of time one has worked. This question will help me respond to the following: (i) Since work home life balance has become an increasingly popular term, why is it that many employees still not sure how to go about achieving this; (ii) What are the reasons why most employees lack confidence to approach their employees or line managers to negotiate flexible working hours or take time in lieu. (iii) The consequences (if any) of asking for flexible working; and whether there is an impact to service provision if employees work from home, take time off, or work flexible working hours. It is common knowledge nowadays that social services and education are experiencing staff shortages, hence most employees would rather struggle and get on with their work rather than lose their jobs. The impact work is having on families is changing over time.

Literature Review

A literature review is defined by Fink, (1998:37) as a “systematic, explicit and reproducible method for identifying evaluating and interpreting the existing body of work produced by researchers” (in Best, 2012:40). Therefore it is important for a researcher to review literature that is already available as this gives a theoretical basis for the research and helps show that a researcher is knowledgeable in their field of research. In addition, it makes the researcher aware what knew knowledge they are adding to the existing pool of knowledge that is already available. White, (2009:7) states that research should not take place in a vacuum and therefore it is imperative for a researcher to know how their “study fits into a broader picture, in terms of previous empirical work, theoretical ideas, and recent policy and practice, as research that is conducted without considering these contexts risks being repetitive, irrelevant or of little value.” Therefore, empirical work that is already available becomes a valuable source of ideas and also guides the researcher on what is already available and known about the said topic.

Bernhardt et al, (2003) state that the 21^st century workplace has been confronted by various economic and staff turnover challenges. Dresser & Hatton, (2003) concur by further suggesting that inorder to succeed against the encountered challenges, employers will need to find solutions that will be in the best interest of both employees and the employer. Lowe, (2007) indicates that most employees are experiencing imbalanced work home life issues and therefore suffer guilt of not properly caring for their families and lack of general social life. Lowe also states that in most families, both parents now have to work so as to make ends meet leaving no time for any family social life. On the hand, employers expectance of performance has gone up whilst workloads have increased over the years. School teachers are finding themselves with larger classes, no teaching assistants to support for the less able pupils (Reference) Social workers on the other hand are also face similar issues; low staff turnovers due to Local Authorities failing to recruit more staff, staff absences due to ill health and high caseloads which can sometimes be extremely demanding and difficult (Voydanoff, 2005).

Theoretical Frameworks

Issues surrounding work life balance of social workers and teachers are worsened by staff shortages in both fields. Both professions are labour intensive areas where staff work long and at times unsocial hours which has an impact mainly on home life. Therefore, the theoretical framework has to look at the research questions inorder to understand the theory behind the problem.

Sampling Strategy and Rationale

Sampling by definition, is a method with which a researcher comes out with a particular or certain number out of a given larger group. Sampling enables the researcher to identify a small number of respondents who are almost likely sure to likely represent the larger group. In this case, the researcher will use convenience sampling so that the sample is a group of social workers who work or live within the researcher’s reach. Because the sample will be responding electronically, results from this group of sample is likely to produce truthful and reliable responses as it was their own choice to respond without any coercion (McNeill and Chapman, 2005). However, the sample still stands a chance of having flaws if respondents answer the questionnaires and surveys for the sake of it.

Research Methodology and Methods

Inorder to begin attempting to answer the proposed research question, it is paramount for the researcher to decide on the methodological approach and methods that will support her in fully responding to the question at hand (McNeill and Chapman, 2005). In order to efficiently and effectively source and collect relevant and useful data the use of qualitative and quantitative information gathering fact sheets will be used in the form of questionnaires and surveys. This will be done both manually by dropping off questionnaires in unaddressed envelopes and online surveys according to the respondents’ choice. Robson, (2011) states that the base of a qualitative research is upon the interpretation of a given social situation and then making sense of it. This study will use a qualitative approach in order to gather empirical evidence that allows respondents to elaborate on their feelings about their work home life. A Qualitative Research is said to be primarily exploratory research used to gain an in-depth understanding of the respondent’s underlying reasons, opinions, and motivations in the responses they give (RCA, 2017)[2]. In addition, qualitative research provides an insight into the problem being researched. According to Hiles et al. (2013), qualitative study designs allow experiences to be described in full detail. Therefore, using qualitative research will enable both social workers and teachers alike to clearly respond to what impact work home balance is having or not having in their lives; including how and what they feel their employers and policy makers ought to change or support them with so as achieve and have the best of both worlds without comprising on their obligations at work and their social lives. Additionally, qualitative research helps in providing insights the problem so that ideas for potential quantitative research. With this said, a quantitative analysis will used to obtain figures can be quantified so that percentages of how employees feel can be analysed and also used to compare the degree of the impact faced by both professions. Therefore, a short survey will be included within the research to gather data which will be used for the quantitative analysis. The survey questionnaires will go hand in hand with the qualitative research questions hence this will be some sort of mixed methods research. For the qualitative data, questionnaires with at least five questions will be given.

Ethical Issues

Best, (2012) states that a good research is “valid, reliable, and gives the reader an honest account of events or issues under investigation” (2012:19). Therefore, it imperative that all research practice shows an awareness of ethical issues hence the necessity to follow the code of ethics. On the hand, Lynoe et al, (1999) suggests that any badly designed research is by definition unethical. Grant and Sugarman, (2004) state there is substantial misperceptions regarding the ethical appropriateness of using incentives in research with human subjects. However they further state that previous work on determining whether incentives are unethical as they may be considered as a form of undue influence or coercive offer upon respondents. They argue that the ethical issue of undue influence is understandable however, not coercion, instead this should be considered as corruption of judgment. However, this study will be done anonymously, by using an unnamed envelope and online questionnaire therefore there will be no coercion from researcher. The reasons for the research will be clearly explained to the respondents and any clarifications required will be done through the respondent’s choice of communication system. Data protection and confidentiality issues will also be clearly explained to the respondents so as to avoid any mistrust between the researcher and the researcher as this is paramount for the sake of this study.

On the other hand, the researcher has been both a teacher and social worker and therefore the recommendations may emanate from personal feelings rather than from the general feeling of respondents and therefore report maybe biased. The researcher is aware that to do so will be unethical therefore will endeavour to remove the self from the study so as to understand the raised issues in their entirety. In addition, the researcher has worked with some of the respondents; therefore there is a chance that the researcher may be able to identify some of the respondents from the responses. However, the researcher will ensure that all responses from the research are kept confidential as by not doing so, the researcher will be breeching the Data Protection Act 1998 and the confidentiality that is a prerequisite for any research with human subject.

RESEARCH LIMITATIONS

The proposed study, like many other studies, has its own limitations. Due to sampling amongst my former colleagues, both in social care and in education, some may not feel comfortable responding to the questionnaires therefore I may end up with an insufficient number or respondents. Financial limitations also may be realised due to the study being self-funded. Essex is a massive County however, the researcher will only mange to work with offices that are convenient to her location which will leave only a few offices that may be accessible to the researcher if necessary. Since respondents are mainly professionals, the researcher hopes that there will be no need for any financial incentives however, if the responding quota is enough, as a thank you, the researcher may have to buy those respondents who do not mind about their anonymity drinks for having taken their limited time from their busy schedules to respond to the surveys. The major limitation of the study is that the study will be confined with a few offices and schools in Essex due limited resources and time constraints. Since there are chances that the research sample may not be large enough, the research will not be relevant to a large part of the UK[3], however, it satisfy the overall research objective.

In conclusion, the researcher hopes that there will be enough respondents as the research responses will hopefully benefit a lot of people within the two chosen professions. The study will be presented in a well organised, structured formatting and appropriate language will be used throughout the report and respondents ‘s opinions will be respected and none of the responses will be tampered with of which to do would be extremely unethical. Findings from respondents will be clearly shown within the study however as previously mentioned, these will be anonymised for confidentiality and data protection purposes. The ethics code of social science research will be adhered to inorder to ensure the validity of the study. Responses from the surveys will be clearly tabulated and labelled for clarity for those who would like to read through the outcomes of the study.

2379 words.

References

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[1] Husband/Wife; Children

[2] Qualitative Research Consultants Association

[3] United Kingdom