Work-Family Balance and Coping Strategies among Women: Evidence from Commercial Banks in Nigeria

Abstract

Changing family and work structures in Nigeria makes coping with work and family roles a challenging one for women to handle even with organizational interventions. The study specifically examined the determinants of work-family balance experience among women in the banking sector. A review of literature was carried out while the study was anchored on two theoretical platforms: Role Theory and Social Exchange Theory. The research employed both qualitative and quantitative research techniques. Three hypotheses were formulated and tested for the study. The first hypothesis revealed that age of the respondents, children ever born (parity), marital status, staff category and religion are significant determinants of work-family balance. Women with children in parity ratio of 1-2, 3-4 and 5 and above are 1.654, 1.455 and 1.235 times more likely to be unable to balance work-family roles compared to those with zero parity (i.e. the reference category). The third hypothesis estimated significant influence of work status on the work-family balance; this is statistically significant at p-values of 0.005, 0.003, and 0.01 for senior staff, supervisors and junior staff respectively. The study concludes that if work demands become heavy, marital roles cannot be shelved or neglected and tension between the two boundaries will require a compromise. In this instance, women will prefer to stake the job rather than losing their families. The study suggests effective policy intervention from organisation and effective family support from the family-base to reduce the complexities of balancing work and family demands.

Keywords: Work-family conflict, copping strategies, women