Determinants of Work-Life Balance: A Cross-Cultural Review of Selected Asian Countries

Abstract

Work-life balance has been recently viewed as one of the critical issues about organisational policies across different cultures and regions. The earlier studies of work-life balance have focused predominantly in the Western and developed nations with slight attention to the experience of work-life balance among Asian countries. Researchers have also paid little attention to examine work-life balance from a cross-cultural perspective, especially in Asian countries. The principal purpose of the present study is to analyse the available literature on the work-life balance among selected Asian countries. The focus of the present study is to identify the determinants of work-life balance and scrutinise the highly significant determinants of work-life balance across different cultures and regions. Based on identified determinants, it will suggest suitable measures to improve the most prevailing determinant of work-life balance among Asian countries. Further, the current study will also identify the current state of work-life balance focusing on theory, logic and methodology. The methods of the study involve secondary data to find out determinants of work-life balance conducted in India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Singapore and China; and it will compare the effectiveness of determinants of work-life balance to these regions. The data will help to describe how employees perceive work-life balance and why they engage in paid work, and what approaches are being adopted by these countries to balance work life in the context of varying economic, political, cultural, social and family conditions. The findings of present research and analyses will provide scholars with a complete understanding of the state of cross-cultural work-life balance and offer recommendations for future research that will undoubtedly facilitate theoretical advancement.

Keywords

• Work-Life Balance, Cross-Culture, Review, Policy, Asia