Impact of Work-Life Balance on Firm Innovativeness: The Different Strategies Used by Male and Female Bosses

Abstract

The idea of work–family balance has generated considerable interest for researchers who tried to focus mainly on the increased female engagement in the labor market, the rise in dual-income households, as well as the changing nature of organizations, work and the workplace. While some individuals prefer work-life balance (WLB) strategies that set fair and realistic limits between their professional and personal lives, others prefer initiatives that provide harmony between the different aspects of their lives. By surveying both Lebanese male and female employees, this research explored work-life strategies that can be implemented by men and women leaders to balance their work and non-work activities and promote their roles as leaders. In addition, it aims to explore if those work-life strategies enhance organizational performance by means of increased innovativeness, and research and development. The results reveal that there is no significant relationship between employee WLB and organizational performance, indicating that satisfied employees do not necessarily deliver increased or weakened performance. Our results also reveal that supervisor support is positively related to employee WLB. In addition, the study examines the effects of individual coping WLB strategies and organizational provision of WLB policies on employee affective well-being. The results indicate that Lebanese individuals who have positive attitudes and life coping strategies are more capable of achieving overall well-being.