Work–life balance: Does leadership matter?
| Date | 10 January 2024 |
| Pages | 269-286 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-03-2023-0145 |
| Published date | 10 January 2024 |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Industrial/labour relations,Employment law |
| Author | Kareem Folohunso Sani,Toyin Ajibade Adisa |
Work–life balance: Does
leadership matter?
Kareem Folohunso Sani and Toyin Ajibade Adisa
Royal Docks School of Business and Law, University of East London, London, UK
Abstract
Purpose –The extant literature on work–life balance (WLB) has generally overlooked the interrelationship
between leadership and WLB. Does leadership have any impact on employees’use of WLB policies and
practices? To answer this question, this article considers the social exchange theory as well as transformational
and transactional leadership in an investigation of the impact of leadership on WLB.
Design/methodology/approach –The study employs qualitative data from 32 semi-structured interviews
to achieve the study’s objectives.
Findings –The researchreveals that leadership doesmatter in WLB. The study findingsreveal that both the
transactionaland transformationalleadershipstyles result in the establishmentof strong reciprocalrelationships
betweenleaders and employees interms of using WLB policies andpractices. Managers onlysanction the use of
WLB policies and practices only as a rewardfor excellent performance or when they arecompletely sure the
outcome will favourthe organisation. The studyconcludes that the desire to achieveWLB has often led many
employeesto go the extra milein carrying out their workduties, which is rewardedwith an approval to use WLB
policies and practices. These non-contractual exchangesemphasise reciprocity and are basedon trust.
Research limitations/implications–The extent to which the findings of this research can be generalised is
constrained by the size and nature of the research sample.
Practical implications –Many managers are transactional leaders, and they purposefully allow their
employees to use WLB policies and practices only as a reward for meeting targets and for excellent
performance. This means that employees who fall short of the required targets and expected performance are
not permitted to use WLB policies and practices. This finding implies that such employees experience incessant
work–family conflict, which may have negative implications for their work engagement, overall well-being and
work performance.
Originality/value –This study demonstrates that leadership is releva nt to WLB. It shows that
transformational leadership is supportive of WLB, as it considers employees’work performance and non-
work outcomes. The results and practical implications of this study aids the understanding of the non-
contractual exchanges involved in manager–employee relationships, which is crucial for ensuring employees’
achievement of WLB and for organisations to achieve their goals.
Keywords Work–life balance, Leadership, Transactional and transformational leadership,
Social exchange theory, Nigeria
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
This study investigates the impact of leadership on work–life balance (WLB). The concepts of
WLB and leadership have not been well aligned in the extant literature, even though both
concepts examine the management of employees (Kossek et al., 2023). In generally, the two
concepts have been widely researched, but independently –they are largely treated as
separate topics. While researchers of leadership focus on work in terms of conceptualising
leadership styles and ignore the influence of the non-work domain on leaders and
subordinates, researchers of WLB have largely overlooked the leadership theory and styles
when studying employees’achievement of WLB. Consequently, scholars and practitioners
are constantly confronted with the challenge of updating knowledge on leadership and WLB
with specific consideration of the impact of leadership on WLB in the context of the changing
nature of employees’work and non-work lives.
Work–life
balance
269
Since submission of this article, the following author(s) have updated their affiliations: Kareem
Folohunso Sani is at the University of Wolverhampton Business School, University of Wolverhampton,
Wolverhampton, UK.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/0142-5455.htm
Received 20 March 2023
Revised 24 July 2023
Accepted 7 December 2023
Employee Relations: The
International Journal
Vol. 46 No. 2, 2024
pp. 269-286
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/ER-03-2023-0145
Leadership studies have traditionally focused on “who leaders are”(traits) and “what
leaders do”(behaviours) (Den Hartog and Koopman, 2001, p. 168), which has led to a
definition of leadership as a pattern of behaviours of an individual who is trying to influence
others (Northouse, 2013). Leaders’behaviours are often channelled towards influencing
subordinates’attitudes and performance in terms of accomplishing tasks (see Dinh et al.,
2014;Lord et al., 2017). However, leadership studies have largely ignored the non-work
domain; in particular, the impact of leaders on employees’non-work lives, which typically
affect work, and the impact of leaders’non-work lives on their own leadership styles and
approaches (Hammond et al., 2017;Kossek et al., 2023).
Conversely, WLB continues to attract attention from people of all walks of life.
It acknowledges that most employees are engaged in multiple roles –they are employees,
friends, spouses, mothers, caregivers and religious and community members (Brough et al.,
2020). All these roles require time and energy to fulfil. Therefore, WLB is the extent to which
employeessatisfactorilyengage in and areequally satisfiedwith their work andnon-work roles
(Adisaet al., 2019;Greenhaus et al., 2003). The key to achievingWLB is a framework ofa rangeof
flexible work arrangements in the form of organisational policies and procedures (Maxwell and
McDougall, 2004). These flexible work arrangements are deliberate organisational practices,
programmesor culturesthat are aimed at reducing work-lifeconflict andenabling employeesto
be more productive at work and more effective in their other non-work roles (Osoian et al., 2011).
Nevertheless, research on WLB ignored the leadership theory and styles, which potentially have
a huge impact on employees’achievement of WLB. Thus, integrating the topics of leadership
and WLB is crucial for addressing an importan t knowledge gap. The overall objective of this
study is to do so by examining the impact of leadership styles on employees’WLB. It uses
transformational and transactional leadership styles to highlight the unique connections
between theliterature on leadership and WLB, andit offers novel insights on both topics. The
article is organised as follows: the next section is a brief discussion on WLB and leadership in the
chosen research context. Thereafter, an outline of the conceptual framework is given, which is
followed by an explanation of the research methodology. The findings and their implications ar e
then presented and discussed. The final section concludes the study with recommended
directionsfor future research and anoutline of the limitations of the study.
Work–life balance in brief
An important aspect of human resource management and employee relations is WLB, a topic
which continues to attract attention and interest from all stakeholders, including employees,
employers, policymakers, academics and trade unions across the globe. This perhaps is due
to employees’need and desire to fulfil their work and non-work obligations. While it is critical
that employees dutifully attend to their work responsibilities, they also have personal
interests, including familial duties, which must be attended to and balanced with work
(Adkins and Premeaux, 2019). Employees’personal interests include but are not limited to
familial duties, education, volunteer work, religious observance, sport, leisure, caregiving
responsibilities and social activities. Even though some paradigms suggest that the work and
non-work domains are separate entities (see Adam, 1995;Edwards and Rothbard, 2000),
Kanter (1977) challenges this notion, arguing that employees’work and non-work domains
are permeable and interconnected. The terms used to articulate WLB and the themes that
underpin conceptualisations thereof vary (Brough et al., 2020). For example, one approach
bases WLB on role conflict and role enrichment (Aryee et al., 2005;Frone, 2003). This
approach defines WLB as an absence of work–family conflict with high levels of work–
family enrichment (Duxbury and Higgins, 2001;O’Driscoll et al., 2006). Other approaches to
WLB focus on the notion of equal distribution of resources to work and non-work roles.
Kirchmeyer (2000) suggests that WLB is achieved when an individual’s time, energy, and
ER
46,2
270
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