Work-life balance is the most debated topic, not only in the corporate circles, but also in the academic field. The executives, teachers, managers, decision makers and boardroom ladies and gentlemen are all trying to figure out how to fix this increasingly disproportionate work-life balance situation. While some argue that work is the killer, some others say that there is not much to life than work. Teaching work is a noble and an extraordinarily complex activity involving a range of skills, perceptions, attitudes, knowledge and sensitivity. Unique characteristics of the teaching profession occupy a special position in the work-family conflict. The fact that teachers' work extend beyond the worksite and requires them to expend much effort at home, raises questions regarding teachers' responses to work-family conflict.
Work and family have been seen as competing claims on an employee's time and energy. Taking a child to the doctor during the work day, for instance, or leaving work early to train for an upcoming marathon, or to deal with an elderly family member, is perceived as reducing the time available for work and creating a source of conflict. It is perceived that family and other personal life activities are an impediment to effectiveness at work and vice versa. In 1960, sociologist William J Goode formed his hypothesis, which proposed that people have fixed pools of physical and psychological resources at their disposal. This viewpoint often uses the metaphor of a pie, whose slices represent an individual's resources. If one or more slices are taken away for activities and obligations outside work, fewer resources are available for work. |
