CONTENTS
10 Chapter7-Overall Recommendation/Suggestion 35
11 Conclusion 36
12 Scope for further studies 37
13 Annexure 38
14 Appendix-one 40
15 Bibliography 41
2|Page
PREFACE
Projects are an indispensible part of any kind of formal education. They help us to have a
practical exposure as well as better outlook of the subject, which we are studying in a
professional college like MBA. The students are equipped with strong theoretical knowledge
about the business administration and time tested methods of running a successful business
organisation. To make this theoretical knowledge more efficient, the students are assigned
certain projects in various organisations to get better exposure to working styles in
organization.
I was assigned to do my project in Work Life Balance of employees in Indian Oil Corporation
Limited (Noonmati Refinery).The project commenced from May 28th to 17th July 2011.
In order to make the data and findings easily understandable, efforts have been made to
present the information in a simplified, lucid and organized manner. All the necessary table
and figures have been incorporated. Recommendations have been made on the basis of the
findings herein.
This project has given me immense practical working patterns and the environment for
improving my practical skills.
Date:-
ACKNOLEDGEMENT
Its a great pleasure to present this report of summer training in Indian Oil Corporation
Limited Guwahati in partial fulfilment of MBA Programme under Regional college Of
Management, affiliated to Biju Patnaik University of Technical, Bhubaneswar.
3|Page
At the outset, I would like to express my immense gratitude to my training guide for guiding
me right from the inception till the successful completion of the training.
I am grateful to my departmental guide Mrs Nirmala Dutta for her constant guidance in this
project.
I would specially thank to Ms Ankita Srivastava for her all her support. As I am falling short
of words for expressing my feelings of gratitude towards her for extending their valuable
guidance about the organisation and support for literature, critical reviews of project and the
report and above all the moral support she had provided me with all stages of this training.
I express my sincere thanks to all the respondents who have spared their valuable time and
provided me with the required information in this project.
And finally I am thankful to Regional college of Management and Indian Oil Corporation
Limited Guwahati for giving me opportunity to gain practical knowledge in my area of
specialization.
Date:-
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Project title: A Report on work life balance of employees in Indian Oil Corporation Limited
Guwahati.
Academic Guide: Mrs. Nirmala Dutta. Associate Professor & Head Entrepreneur Cell
Research Methodology :
4|Page
Method of data collection: Primary data were collected by face to face interview with the
help of a well structured schedule and secondary data were collected from books,
magazines/journals, and websites.
CHAPTER 1
Work Life Balance consists of the implementation of working arrangements and policies
which assist workers in combining employment with other aspects of their lives. Employers
can benefit from these policies too as they can help to develop a more committed and
productive workforce.
Increased productivity
Reduced Stress
The study suffered from time constraints as it is completed within the short period of
two months.
The data collected and all the ground work that was felt necessary had to be done by
author itself. Thus huge work force was another constraints in the study
There was dearth of free time in hands of the employees. As such carrying survey and
getting the questionnaire filled correctly on time was challenging.
6|Page
CHAPTER 3
3.1 History
The expression was first used in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s to describe the balance
between an individual's work and personal life. In the United States, this phrase was first used
in 1986.
Over the past twenty-five years, there has been a substantial increase in work which is felt to
be due, in part, by information technology and by an intense, competitive work environment.
Long-term loyalty and a "sense of corporate community" have been eroded by a performance
culture that expects more and more from their employees yet offers little security in return.
Many experts predicted that technology would eliminate most household chores and provide
people with much more time to enjoy leisure activities; but many ignore this option,
encouraged by prevailing consumerist culture and a political agenda that has "elevated the
work ethic to unprecedented heights and thereby reinforced the low value and worth attached
to parenting".
Many Americans are experiencing burnout due to overwork and increased stress. This
condition is seen in nearly all occupations from blue collar workers to upper management.
Over the past decade, a rise in workplace violence, an increase in levels of absenteeism as
well as rising workers compensation claims are all evidence of an unhealthy work life
balance.
Employee assistance professionals say there are many causes for this situation ranging from
personal ambition and the pressure of family obligations to the accelerating pace of
technology. According to a recent study for the Center for Work-Life Policy, 1.7 million
people consider their jobs and their work hours excessive because of globalization.
These difficult and exhausting conditions are having adverse effects. According to the study,
fifty percent of top corporate executives are leaving their current positions. Although sixty-
four percent of workers feel that their work pressures are "self-inflicted", they state that it is
taking a toll on them. The study shows that seventy percent of US respondents and eighty-one
percent of global respondents say their jobs are affecting their health.
Between forty-six and fifty-nine percent of workers feel that stress is affecting their
interpersonal and sexual relationships. Additionally, men feel that there is a certain stigma
associated with saying "I can't do this".
According to a survey conducted by the National Life Insurance Company, four out of ten
employees state that their jobs are "very" or "extremely" stressful. Those in high-stress jobs
are three times more likely than others to suffer from stress-related medical conditions and
are twice as likely to quit. The study states that women, in particular, report stress related to
the conflict between work and family.
7|Page
Similar discrimination is experienced by men who take time off or reduce working hours for
taking care of the family.
For many employees todayboth male and femaletheir lives are becoming more
consumed with a host of family and other personal responsibilities and interests. Therefore, in
an effort to retain employees, it is increasingly important for organizations to recognize this
balance.
According to Kathleen Gerson, Sociologist, young people are searching for new ways to
define care that do not force them to choose between spending time with their children and
earning an income" and are looking for definition of personal identity that do not pit their
own development against creating committed ties to others. Young adults believe that
parents should get involved and support the children both economically and emotionally, as
well as share labor equally. Young people do not believe work-life balance is possible and
think it is dangerous to build a life dependent on another when relationships are
unpredictable. They are looking for partners to share the house work and family work
together. Both men and women believe that women should have jobs before considering
marriage; for better life and to be happy in marriage. They also do not think they were
powerless because they were not economically dependent.
8|Page
An increasing number of young children are being raised by a childcare provider or another
person other than a parent; older children are more likely today to come home to an empty
house and spend time with video games, television and the internet with less guidance to
offset or control the messages coming from these sources.
No one knows how many kids are home after school without an adult, but they know the
number is in the millions. Also, according to a study by the National Institute of Child Health
and Human Development, the more time that children spent in child care, the more likely
their sixth grade teachers were to report behavior problems.The findings are the results of
the largest study of child care and development conducted in various countries; the analysis
tracked 1,364 children from birth.
Mental health is a balancing act that may be affected by four factors: the influence of
unfavorable genes, by wounding trauma, by private pressures and most recently by the stress
of working. Many people expose themselves unsolicited to the so-called job stress, because
the "hard worker" enjoys a very high social recognition. These aspects can be the cause of an
imbalance in the areas of life. But there are also other reasons which can lead to such an
imbalance. Even in the days of illness, the proportion of failures due to mental disorders
increased. Statisticians calculated that 41 million absent days in 2008 went to the account of
these crises, which led to 3.9 billion Euros in lost production costs. For companies it is time
to act and support their employees with a healthy work-life-balance.
Companies have begun to realize how important the work-life balance is to the productivity
and creativity of their employees. Research by Kenexa Research Institute in 2007 shows that
those employees who were more favorable toward their organizations efforts to support
work-life balance also indicated a much lower intent to leave the organization, greater pride
in their organization, a willingness to recommend it as a place to work and higher overall job
satisfaction.
9|Page
Employers can offer a range of different programs and initiatives, such as flexible working
arrangements in the form of part time, casual and telecommuting work. More proactive
employers can provide compulsory leave, strict maximum hours and foster an environment
that encourages employees not to continue working after hours.
"Hardworking, committed are words that we hear every time when we try to understand the
work ethic of Indians. Whilst EU insists on a 40 hour week and the western world moans
about working 50 hours an average Indian works at least 50 hours if not more in a week. We
have culturally been groomed to believe in a days honest work. It is not that we are incapable
of working smart. There are many smart workers who manage their tasks and time efficiently
but they also tend to put in long hours. The question that comes is what does work life
balance mean in an Asian and specifically Indian context?
In India, these days it is very rare to find a house wife or a house husband. When families
have both husband and wife working discussing work life balance discussions from a
womans perspective is not relevant. More and more couples became vocal about sharing the
burden of running a household. Blame it on education, increased awareness.
These are the list of companies who offer better working environment and work life balance
to its employees in India.
Corp
Corporation
CHAPTER 4
Interviews
Observation
Pilot survey: - A pilot survey was done taking 5% of the sample of employees and the
questionnaire was also tested before the final distribution.
4.3 Analysis
Primary data were collected from the employees i.e. the officers and non officers with the
help of a questionnaire. The analysis of primary data with reference and in coherence with the
objective of study is presented under.
Work life balance constitute an important part of a companys Endeavour to look after the
well being and development of its employees in away which will not only help in their career
development but also boost their self esteem. These two will lead to job satisfaction.
Employees who are satisfied with their job are more productive for organization. Proper
employee development methods including proper and timely motivation as well as innovative
programs also minimize the losses which are otherwise incurred by a company due to
attrition and high employee turnover ratio.
Presented below are the results along with figures and graphical representation. The study
was started by analyzing the profile of the respondents which include their departments,
designation grade, age, gender and years in the organization.
CHAPTER 5
The ages of respondents (40) were divided into specific age groups for the ease of analyzing.
These were: - below 30 years, 31-40 years, above 40 years. The figure is as follows:
17 | P a g e
Below 30 13
31-40 10
Above 40 17
NUMBER OF RESPONDENT
18
16
14
12
10 NUMBER OF RESPONDENT
8
6
4
2
0
Below 30 31-40 Above 40
Interpretation
Thus we can see that most of the respondents are in the age group of above 40 followed by
age group below 30.
The education qualification of respondents has been divided into the groups:-graduation, post
graduation and others.
QUALIFICATION NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS
Graduation 25
Post Graduation 10
Others 5
18 | P a g e
NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS
25
20
15 NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS
10
0
Graduation Post Graduation others
Interpretation
The most number of respondents were from graduation group followed by post graduation.
5.3 Experience
It was very important to consider the respondents number of years in the organization as time
factor gives a brief idea about his work life balance and its effectiveness. The numbers were
once again divided into group which are as follows:- 1-5 years,6-10,years,11-15 years,16-20
years,21-25 years, 26-30 years and 31-35 years. The figures are
NUMBER OF YEARS NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS
1-5 2
6-10 7
11-15 8
16-20 3
21-25 11
26-30 9
19 | P a g e
NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS
12
10
6 NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS
0
1-5 6-10 11-15 16-20 21-25 26-30
Interpretation
This table clearly shows that most of the respondents have been working in IOCL for more
than 25 years which is quite a long time span. It shows the respondents are satisfied by
working environment provided by IOCL and its policies.
Question 1.Do you spend more hours than you would like at work
RESPONSE NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS
YES 30
NO 10
20 | P a g e
NUMBER OF RESPONDENT
NO
NUMBER OF RESPONDENT
YES
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Interpretation
From above table we can see that employees have to work more hours than the stipulated
time allotted by the organization. This also shows a kind of imbalance in work life which may
lead to less productivity.
Question 2.Does the organization provide any work life balance Programs?
RESPONSE NUMBER OF RESPONDENT
YES 25
NO 15
21 | P a g e
NUMBER OF RESPONDENT
NO
NUMBER OF RESPONDENT
YES
0 5 10 15 20 25
Interpretation
Here most of the respondents are satisfied with the working environment as well as several
programs related to work life balance supported by the organization but still a group of
fraction are still unsatisfied.
Question 3.Do you get enough sleep, exercise and healthy food?
RESPONSE NUMBER OF RESPONDENT
YES 35
NO 5
22 | P a g e
NUMBER OF RESPONDENT
40
35
30
25
NUMBER OF RESPONDENT
20
15
10
0
Yes No
Interpretation
Although employees are wore working more hours in the organization still have managed to
maintain their day to day activities including health. This shows a positive sign towards the
organization.
Question 4.Do you believe that your superior support for your work life balance?
RESPONSE NUMBER OF RESPONDENT
SOMETIME 20
ALWAYS 15
RARELY 5
23 | P a g e
NUMBER OF RESPONDENT
25
20
15
NUMBER OF RESPONDENT
10
0
sometimes Always Rarely
Interpretation
From the above table we can see that there is still a gap between high level managers, mid
level and low level when it comes for motivation in work life balance. More participation is
required by mid level managers.
Question 5.Do any of the following help in balancing work and family commitment?
know times
them
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Never
Don'tknowsometime
Often
Interpretation
The majority of the employees often spend time in other activities beside work. It helps them
to rejuvenate their minds. Finally they can give their best to the organization leading to
achievement of organizational goal.
CHAPTER 6
6.1 Findings
3. Work life balance policies and practices can help to reduce discrimination, as staff
with caring responsibilities should not be disadvantaged. However there is still a gap
in various level of management when it comes for supporting work life balance.
4. Non Officers are not motivated enough to work harder as they believe that they
have little or no knowledge about work life balance.
5. Many of the employees have to work more than the stipulated time, which reduces
their efficiency.
6. Most of the employees working in IOCL Guwahati get time for performing their co-
curricular activities beside work.
7. People who are having more than 21 years of experience are mostly satisfied with the
working environment provided by IOCL Guwahati as compared other groups.
CHAPTER 7
7.1 RECOMMENDATIONS/SUGGESTIONS
1. Work life balance policy of IOCL-Guwahati Refinery should be more transparent to the
employees of IOCL- Guwahati Refinery.
2. There is a need to clearly communicate the IOCL commitment to work life balance, to
raise awareness and to improve knowledge and understanding of IOCL relevant policies by
making information more accessible to all staff especially for lower level.
3. Line managers have key role to play to ensure the success of work life balance approach. It
is important that their views are sought with regard to work life issues and that they are
encouraged to take ownership of the process. This could be achieved by conducting a series
of focus groups with them that could also serve as a forum for sharing ideas, concerns,
information and good practice on work-life balance.
4. Proper training must be given to employees for improving skill, training & ability to
reduce discontent and unrest. By undergoing training suitable and competent workers can be
reduces stresses leading to a balanced work life.
26 | P a g e
5. As Indian Oil considers its human resource as assets, it should try to support more work
life balance programs for its employees in IOCL Guwahati.
6. Each and every employee should be treated equally and they should feel at home while
working outside their natives.Some cultural programs should be organized so to reduce the
indifferences.
Conclusion
Indian Oil Limited is one of the best fortune 500 companies of India as well as of world.
Among the top best company to work for Indian Oil is the 4th best in the manufacturing sector
and 3rd in terms of work-life balance in the world.
Most of the employees are satisfied, who are working for Indian oil. They are motivated and
work together to achieve companys goal. However some employees are finding it difficult to
maintain a work life balance due to following reasons:
Cultural indifferences
Work load
Earning more money is not enough to live, if an employee cant give time to his/her family.
Flexibility is required in the job if he/she has to give his/her best to the organisation. If an
employee gives his/her best effort to the company then it is the responsibility of the
organisation to provide a better quality of life.
27 | P a g e
The present study revealed that in certain areas, further study can be done in the near future
that will surely help the organization to achieve its goals.
1. How can the grievance of employees about the work life balance are solved.
ANNEXURE
QUESTIONNARIE ON WORK LIFE BALANCE
(Please tick the appropriate boxes)
Native:-
Experience (years):-
28 | P a g e
1. Age:-
2. Educational Qualification:-
4. Do you spend more hours than you would like at work? Yes No
7. Do you spend most of your time doing what is most important to you?
Yes No
Yes No
9. Do you spend as much time as youd like with your loved ones?
Yes No
10. Do you believe that your superior support for your Work life balance?
11. Do any of the following help you balance your work and family commitments?
(Put the symbol tick mark for the appropriate one)
know times
Yes No
13. Do any of the following hinder you balance your work and Life?
(Put the symbol tick mark for the appropriate one)
Yes No
Unhelpful attitude of
superiors
Unhelpful attitude of
colleagues
30 | P a g e
Human Resources
Learning Resources
Process department
TQM department
Corporate communication
31 | P a g e
Mechanical workshop
SRU Block
Material department
Bibliography
2. Ackerman, F., Goodwin, N. R., Dougherty, L., & Gallagher, K. (Eds.). (1998). The
changing nature of work. Washington, D.C.: Island Press.
3. Ackerman, F., Goodwin, N. R., Dougherty, L., & Gallagher, K. (Eds.). (2000). The
political economy of inequality. Washington, D.C.: Island Press.
4. Ackerman, F., Kiron, D., Goodwin, N., Harris, J. M., & Gallagher, K. (Eds.). (1997).
5. Human well-being and economic goals. Washington, D.C.: Island Press.
6. Adler, W. M. (2000). Mollies job: The story of life and work on the global assembly
line. New York: Simon & Schuster.
7. Andrew, E. (1999). Closing the iron cage: The scientific management of work and
leisure. Montreal: Black Rose Books.
8. Applegath, J. (1982). Working free: Practical alternatives to the 9 to 5 job. New
York: Amacom.
9. Aronowitz, S., & DiFazio. W. (1994). The Jobless future: Sci-tech and the dogma of
work. Minneapolis & London: University of Minnesota Press.
10. Ashcraft, K. L., & Mumby, D. K. (2003). Reworking gender: A feminist
communicology of organization. London: Sage.
11. Barbash, J., Lampman, R. J., Levitan, S. A., & Tyler, S. (1983). The work ethic; A
critical analysis. Madison, WI: Industrial Relations Research Associuation.
12. Beck, U. (2000). The brave new world of work. Cambridge, U.K.: Polity Press.
13. www.google.com
14. www.wikipedia.org
32 | P a g e
15. www.iocl.com