Purpose: This paper aims to attempt to explore the nature of relationship between work–life balance and emotional exhaustion experienced by the employed individuals while working from home during the pandemic COVID-19 induced nationwide lockdown in the Indian setting Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected from 180 working professionals in North India who were working from home during the lockdown PROCESS macro developed for SPSS was used to test the hypotheses Findings: Findings depicted that in comparison to men, women felt more emotional exhaustion due to personal life interference in work during work from home period Surprisingly, the relationship between work interference with personal life, and emotional exhaustion did not differ by gender It was found that the participative leadership could contribute to reduction of work interference with personal life, and through such an influence, emotional exhaustion experienced by an employee could be reduced to some extent Originality/value: Many previous studies have explored the nature of the relationship between work–life balance and emotional exhaustion, but rarely any study could cover any Pandemic affected working scenario This study attempted to investigate such a relationship when employees were obligated to mandatorily work from home during the countrywide lockdown © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited

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Challenges for work–life balance during COVID-19 induced nationwide lockdown: exploring gender difference in emotional exhaustion in the Indian setting

The purpose of this study is to develop a customised competency model for a knowledge-based organisation. A competency model is an organisation wide framework and a descriptive tool that identifies the competencies required for effective performance in a specific job, occupation, industry or organisation. It is a quantifiable list of the knowledge, skills and attributes demonstrated through individual behaviour that results in outstanding performance in a specific work context. This study is a strong business case of 52 scientists working in an Indian Government R&D organisation engaged in the development of cutting edge defence technologies. A specific competency model has been developed for the scientists working in the engineering and technology domain. The employees were mapped against the developed competency model for their current vis-a-vis required competencies. The present study contributes to original research by providing a starting point to resolve the entire spectrum of HR activities to enhance organisational effectiveness in an R&D environment. It contributes to practice as the developed model can be applied to similar organisations.

Development of a competency model for enhancing the organisational effectiveness in a knowledge-based organisation

The purpose of this paper is to examine the antecedents (i.e. work‒family culture and decision latitude) and outcome (innovative workplace behavior (IWB)) of work‒family enrichment (WFE). The study also examines the moderated mediation hypothesis between WFE and outcome, considering work‒life balance (WLB) as a mediator and gender role ideology (GRI) as the moderator.,Data for the study were collected through a questionnaire survey from 426 Indian dual working parents, working in various sectors, through purposive sampling technique.,The study found that work‒family culture and decision latitude are positively related to WFE, which, in turn, results in increased IWB, with WLB acting as its mediator. Further, the study also found a moderating effect of GRI between WFE and WLB relationship; more specifically, the relationship between WFE and balance is stronger for egalitarian employees (high GRI).,Using self-reported questionnaire data and a cross-sectional research design is the limitation of this study.,The study examines a relatively less focused phenomenon of work‒life interface, that is WFE in one of the underrepresented contexts like India; further, the study extends the range of antecedents and outcomes of WFE. Additionally, it contributes to understand the enrichment‒balance relationship, whereby it explains the role of GRI in developing a balanced perception.

Direct and indirect effects of work‒family enrichment: role of gender role ideology

Literature shows that women remain underrepresented in management positions in South Africa. While several studies have been conducted on the subject of the causes of underrepresentation of women in such positions, most of these studies tend to ignore the views of males. This article explores the views of educators (both male and female) with regard to the underrepresentation of female educators in management positions at primary schools in the Lulekani Circuit in the Mopani District, Limpopo Province, South Africa. The researchers collected data via semi-structured face-to-face interviews with 20 participants from five primary schools in this circuit. The results revealed that the underrepresentation of female educators in management positions is influenced by many factors. The fact that most, if not all, of these barriers affect women in different countries, cultures, and socio-economic contexts suggest the need for collective efforts to combat them.

Factors contributing to female educators' underrepresentation in school management positions in Lulekani Circuit, Limpopo Province, South Africa

This study aims to examine the relationship between teacher educators’ technostress, work–family conflict, and life satisfaction while working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan. The sample consists of 292 respondents, 151 (51.7%) male and 141 (48.3%) female teacher educators, who participated in this study. Three scales, the Technostress Scale (TS), Work–Family Conflict Scale (WFCS), and the Life-Satisfaction Scale (LS), were administered to determine the impact of demographic variables (i.e., gender, age, qualification) on teachers’ technostress, work–family conflict, and life satisfaction. The findings of the study suggest a positive correlation of technostress with work–family conflict (r = 381) and life satisfaction (r = 0.449). Moreover, gender differences were found in the variables of technostress (t = −3.506, df = 290, p ≤ 0.05), work–family conflict (t = −2.834, df = 290, p ≤ 0.05), and life satisfaction (t = −2.916, df = 290, p ≤ 0.05). The present research is a baseline study within the context of Pakistan to report the findings in terms of educators’ technostress, keeping balance between work and life, and status of life satisfaction as a result of teaching virtually while working from home during the pandemic.

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The Impact of Technostress on Teacher Educators’ Work–Family Conflict and Life Satisfaction While Working Remotely during COVID-19 in Pakistan

Work-life balance is a contemporary issue and is of great interest in studies related to quality of life. This paper aims to examine the key factors affecting work-life balance of Indian dual-career couples working in knowledge-based organisations (KBOs). This is an empirical study that attempts to capture the perception of knowledge professionals towards various constructs of work-life balance. This study supports previous research findings that dual-career couples face the dilemma of work-life balance severely. It is found that the constructs of work-life balance and respondents' satisfaction towards work-life balance is influenced differently by their demographic characteristics. The research came out with profound findings on differences in gender and family structure. The constructs of work-life balance hold a strong influence over the respondents' satisfaction towards work-life balance. Finally, the study throws light on the fact that work-life balance is definitely a determinant of an individual's overall quality of life.

R. Prabhakara Raya

Papers

Dilemma of work-life balance in dual-career couples - a study from the Indian perspective