Impact of Work Life Balance on Job Satisfaction with Mediating Relationships of Employee Engagement and Organizational Commitment

Abstract

Work Life Balance and its impact on Job Satisfaction is a burning topic in the field of HRM due to its implications on Human Capital. Defining the ‘right’ balance between “Work” and “Life” is indeed a challenge since it differs according to the person and the context. Similarly, Job Satisfaction is also a highly subjective phenomenon. This research work examines the effect of Work Life Balance on Job Satisfaction with the mediating relationships of Employee Engagement and Organizational Commitment with reference to the non-executive staff of a government bank in Sri Lanka in order to gain insight on designing HR policies in boosting job satisfaction leading to better performance. Primary data was collected from 202 respondents and bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to analyse the responses. The findings indicate a negative and significant relationship between Work Life Balance and Job Satisfaction. It is assumed that it may have occurred due to the prevailing economic condition of the country. Thus, inflation and uncertainties may have pushed the need for other humane work-related conditions to the background. Further, Employee Engagement mediates the relationship between Work Life Balance and Job Satisfaction. A negative and insignificant relationship is depicted between Work Life Balance and Organizational Commitment whereas a positive and significant relationship is depicted between Organizational Commitment and Job Satisfaction. According to the findings, maintaining the favourable Work Life Balance Policies effectively, while enhancing Employee Engagement and Organizational Commitment would help boost Job Satisfaction. Organizations may also take measures to avoid employee burnout in the long run due to work life imbalance and thereby maintain a sustainable level of job satisfaction to reach the expected level of employee performance in business organizations.