The Virtual Office Work as a Solution to Work ad Life Imbalances - Literature review Example

The Virtual Office Work as a Solution to Work ad Life Imbalances al Affiliation) Introduction Work life balance in our present society has proven to be very elusive, which has led some commentators comparing it to the myth. It is widely held that, the only way that a person can achieve balance between performing his/her work and having an active social life is through consciously making decisions that facilitate a person to pursue opportunities that are more preferable and within his /her frame of balance. This is in stark contrast to merely following avenues and reacting to emergencies as most people do. By deliberately choosing a path that one feels doesnt infringe too much on his social life, an individual may begin to strike a balance between work and life. However, it should be noted that deliberate decisions are not a guarantee of control over ones life as there remains room for additional reinforcements to strike the elusive work and life balance. Hoffman et., al states that, in the last few years, there have been some new developments regarding work and life balance, which have replaced previous policies that were family-friendly in nature. Many governments, all over the world, have embarked on providing funding to firms so that they can explore the issue of work and life imbalances and try to come up with a solution coupled with legislation (Hoffman, 2011). Virtual Office Work A number of methods have been proposed by stakeholders in the labor industry and one of the forefront approaches that have received massive support base has been the virtual office work. Employers have begun to notice the benefits that are associated with employee work-life balance and the resultant efficiency output levels due to the adoption of this set-up. Organizations have realized that by adopting the virtual office work, the balance is struck between work and life which means that neither the employees personal lives nor their work is adversely affected. According to a number of surveys regarding work and life imbalances, close to two-thirds of the respondents surveyed who were professionals, stated that they had been unable to find a balance between their professional and personal lives adding that they have been forced to make hard decisions due to the absence of a balance between their personal and occupational lives. Examples of virtual worlds. According to Hilbrecht, it has been noted that, personal life and work life are intertwined but independent and when one spends more time in dealing with matters relating to his working lives such as dealing with clients and their needs, his/her personal life suffers. The converse has been found to be true too. In cases where there is an imbalance between the two realms and the person involved is a parent, the children suffer a lot due to the lack of attention in matters relating to the family and if the parent is able to offer the required attention, his/her professional work suffers and it may lead to dismissal which means the standard of living of the family as a whole declines (Hilbrecht, 1997). Just, work-life conflicts occur in instances where the responsibilities, burden and obligations of the family and work roles are incompatible, and the responsibilities of one can make a person neglect the duties of the other life. Johnson is of the opinion that, the virtual office work phenomena is a new development that has become popular in recent times, as many organizations try to reduce stress and anxiety levels among their employees in order to improve their overall efficiency and output. Proponents of the incorporation of the virtual office, point to it as a possible long-term solution to the matter of work-life imbalances and have alluded, in their support of the virtual office, to its flexibility in terms of time. In this set up, an employee can enjoy the benefits of being able to plan and manage their time in accordance with their tailored needs and work schedules (Johnson, 2011). Parkes et,.al is of the opinion that, working at home or another preferred location by an employee, provides them with a sense of comfort in relation to matters such as abstaining from traffic, a stringent work ethic in the office, strict dress code .By working at home a person is able to work at his/her convenience in a workspace of their choice and in their preferred hours, so long as they meet the projected deadlines for the accomplishment of given tasks (Parkes, 2013). According to McInerney, office hours are usually not flexible meaning tasks must be accomplished in a set period of time even if the person required to do so, is not in the right frame of mind in terms of exhaustion. Virtual work on the other hand, provides people with the flexibility to work in periods that they feel more active and comfortable, which primarily affords them the luxury to strike a balance between their work and personal lives (McInerney, 1999). According to Schwingshackl, the adoption of the virtual office also saves money because it does not mandate the presence of a physical location meaning money is not used to hire for office space and other facilities used in an actual office, plus additional costs arising from the transportation of employees to and from work. It is worth noting that, the use of a virtual office does not pollute the environment through littering of paper documents as all communications are conducted through computerized systems (Schwingshackl, 2014). In offices, there have been additional efforts used in order to facilitate a work environment that is friendlier to employees such as providing a variety of refreshments to the employees and allowing them to work in the comfort of their homes. In most cases, employees are assigned work that should be completed in a set period while allowing the work at home employees to manage their personal affairs according to their personal schedules. An example of an office space at home. Paludi implies that, the use of the virtual office requires no need for a physical location as employees have ready access to the office from any geographical location in the globe, which provides them with the benefit and freedom of deciding their ideal workspace. This has the added advantage of reducing the employers responsibility of boosting staff morale since the employees are well motivated in the confines of their homes or their preferred physical locations. The use of a virtual office work environment provides a new platform where if well adopted, can begin to reduce conflict between work and personal life (Paludi, 2007). A study was conducted in 2000 regarding the advantages of working at home and a majority of those interviewed alluded to the following benefits as their chief reasons for pursuing this avenue-quiet environment, self-management, comfort and familiarity, access to their loved ones (especially children) and being able to work undisturbed. According to Troy, those working at home cited that, their flexible working hours allowed them to balance their professional work with their duties at home. House activities such as caring for sick relatives, spouses and children, paying bills and pursuing other income generating avenues such as gardening, were rendered possible; as a result (Troy,2010). It should however be noted that, there are associated disadvantages with working at home such as routine. Even at the comfort of ones home, patterns begin to emerge leading to performance of activities in a regular manner. This is especially true for people who spend long hours using the computer that has been documented to lead to stress and exhaustion. Munn suggests that, since work is conducted in the confines of ones preferred location such as ones own home, they risk being distracted by matters in their personal lives like children crying for attention or favorite shows on the television which may make them neglect their duties. In the long run, if measures are not taken to establish boundaries between personal time and work time, in the context of the virtual work system, then they risk having an imbalanced work and personal life (Munn, 2010). Additional measures Wallace states that, a number of solutions have been propagated to deal with the problem of work and life imbalances, and one of the solutions has been time management. The use of time management has been categorized by analysts as one of the more reliable and efficient solutions to the problem. Application of time management, requires the party to plan his activities and prioritize his/her duties and responsibilities which can aid in the creation of fee time that can be geared towards the performance of other obligations (Wallace, 2004). It is also advisable to spare some time off for the purpose of pursuing leisure activities and hobbies coupled with spending time with family members and friends. By doing so, a person can record lower levels of stress and anxiety. Bredin argues that it is advisable that individuals be assertive in their interactions with other persons so that, and they can refuse to engage in activities that may disrupt their plans (Bredin, 1996). Additionally, it is advisable that people learn to delegate their duties and responsibilities in order to unburden themselves and have some free time to pursue their own interests coupled with making use of an organizations’ flexible working hours in case one is an employee in an organization. Conclusion In order for there to be harmony between work and personal life, a person needs to have a strong supportive support which ideally consists of family members and friends as no one can accomplish the balance on his own. The network of support is essential in order for a person to achieve success at work and in their personal lives as well. References Bredin, A. (1996). The virtual office survival handbook: What telecommuters and entrepreneurs Need to succeed in todays nontraditional workplace. New York: J. Wiley. Hilbrecht, Margo, and Donna S. Lero (1997). "Self- employment and Family Life: Constructing Work–life Balance When Youre ‘always On’." Community, Work & Family: 1-23. Print. Hoffman, Mary, and Renee Cowan (2011). "The Meaning Of Work/Life: A Corporate Ideology Of Work/Life Balance." Communication Quarterly: 227-46. Print. Johnson, N. (2001). Telecommuting and virtual offices issues and opportunities. Hershey, Pa.: Idea Group. McInerney, C. (1999). Providing data, information, and knowledge to the virtual office: Organizational support for remote workers.Washington, DC, USA: Special Libraries Association. Munn, S. L (2010). "Unveiling the Work-Life System: The Influence of Work-Life Balance on Meaningful Work." Advances in Developing Human Resources: 401-17. Print. Paludi, Michele Antoinette (2007). Work, Life, and Family Imbalance How to Level the Playing Field. Westport, Conn.: Praeger. Print. Parkes, Louise P, and Peter H Langford (2013). "Work- Life Balance Or Work-Life Alignment? A Test Of The Importance Of Work-life Balance For Employee Engagement And Intention To Stay In Organisations." Journal of Management & Organization: 267-84. Print. Schwingshackl, Andreas (2014). "The Fallacy of Chasing after Work-Life Balance." Frontiers in Pediatrics. Print. Troy, P. (2010). Flex: The virtual office advantage: 12 principles for a successful virtual office transition. Severna Park, MD: Bay Media. Wallace, P. (2004). The Internet in the workplace: How new technology is transforming work. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Read More