Work Life Balance Policies and Practices: A Case Study of Nigerian Female University Students

Abstract

The significance of work-life balance has increased over time from the traditional focus on mothers with young children in employment to include a greater aspect such as female students in tertiary institutions. The number of female students combining full-time study with part-time employment has increased in recent years attaining this balance can be a complex and challenging task for female students. The purpose of this paper is to examine Nigerian female student’s perception on work life balance. This paper also explores how female students of tertiary institutions balance the competing demands of work, study, and social activities. The paper is based on a mixed method approach utilizing both qualitative and quantitative methods. The results showed that the female students had difficulties when balancing the multiple demands of work, study, and social activities. Adverse effects of this imbalance were found in the form of missed lectures and, increased stress. However, female students indicated the benefit of working such as obtaining relevant skills which improves their CV’s far outweighs the difficulties. The female students recognized that it was not the responsibility of the university to ensure that female students who were engaged in part-time employment were not overly distracted from school work. Although, they indicated that the university should show more concern towards female students financial conditions.

Keywords: work life balance, Nigerian Universities, Nigerian female students.