Importance Of Work Life Balance

Importance Of Work Life Balance It`s the idea that a persons life outside of work is as important as their working life`s and that the time a person spends working should be balanced by time spent doing things such as spending time with friends and family, keeping fit, doing hobbies, traveling etc. Work life balance is the state of equilibrium between an individuals work and personal life. Work life balance is achieved when an individual combination of work, family commitments and his personal life in an effective and efficiently way. If a worker is spending more time on work, he earned money but he unable to give quality time to his family and would also be neglected from his community. If a worker is working too little work, then he could not be able to provide his family a decent standard of living. A single individual work-life balance varies overtime. Work life balance for an individual worker is different from a single parent or a parent with school going children. Importance of work-life balance: The idea of WLB does bring attention to the fact that being a salve is detrimental to a persons physical and mental well-being; socializing, physical activity, and being with friends and family are all activities that contribute to being happier and healthier. Adopting WLB practices, the organization can also give a sense of social responsibility that organization is not only concerned with the profits earning activities but they are also concerned with the non-business activities like taking care of families of the workers. MERITS Spent more time with family. Healthier life Productivity increased Clear thinking. Better judgments. Enjoyment of work. Better social relationships. Broader perspective. Less stress DEMERITS Slower career advancement. Lower financial rewards. Moving out of the mainstream. Reduction in responsibility How important for employees and employers: All around the world, many companies realized that there is a connection between the work life balance and the impact it may have on their business. Much business believed on the theory that their employers must devote their work time to their work alone. Employees were not allowed to leave the work due to unexpected emergencies because many employers believed that their employees were hired only for work. As the world is changing, many employers become more flexible to balance the life situation with their employees. The most common problem for the employees is that they worked too much. They spent many hours in the office to complete their activities. For this reason a negative atmosphere may be created in the company. To combat that negative atmosphere or attitude there are many employers who are beginning to educate themselves and their employees on work-life balance. Employees who manage to balance their work with their life activity are more likely to be happy. This increased happiness can create positive work environments. Employers know that friendly work environments mean better results and better results often translate into profits. Developing Work-life balance is not only beneficial to employers. Employees, their family and friends can all from benefit from a positive work-life balance. Once a balance between life and work has been established a working parent may be able to spend more time with family. Benefit not Just for Those with Families: Many organization brought work-life balance in the workplace considering the families of employees, but work-life balance is not just for individuals with family. It is true that the employees who benefit the most from a work life balance policy are those with families; however, others do as well. When work-life balance incorporated in to the business structure it must applies to all employees not certain one. This means that everyone, including unmarried individuals or those without children, can reap the benefits of WLB. Many employers offer work alternatives to their employees to create positive work environment. All of these alternatives are likely to decrease the amount of time that an employee has to spend in the workplace when they already have prior engagements. Some of the alternatives are flexible hours, working at home, or job sharing. There are many individual who have multiple hobbies. A hobby is an activity to participate during your free time. Some of the activities are stamp collecting, photography, writing, reading story books, playing sports and other outdoor activities. Since work-life balance reduces the amount of time you are giving to your job, so an employee can utilize his/her time for doing such activity. There are many individuals who (when not working) volunteer in or around their local community. Volunteering is most commonly done at not profit charities, play groups, schools, and homeless shelters. Having a healthy balance between work and life is what enables many employees to volunteer during their traditional work hours. Impact of working long hours: Working eight hours is considered to be as the standard time for employees in many areas of the world. But an employee often works for more than eight hours a day because employer requires it. Regardless of the reason for doing so; it has been proven that long hours can have a negative impact on an employee and their family. Some health issues are associated with working long hours. Stress is more likely to occur when you are working long hours more than the standard. It has been known a sleep deprivation that is cause by stress. Individuals who suffer from a lack of sleep and a large amount of stress are likely to have a weak immune system. In order to prevent from these employees need to get a proper amount of rest and relaxation. The most important affects of working long hours is the amount of time you spend with your family. Your relationship with your family is depending of how much time you spend with them. It is not uncommon for tension to be present in a household where one or more of the home occupants are working long hours. Stress is more likely to occur when a household hold more than one duty and give extra time to her outside work. When an employee has regularly been putting in long hours at their workplace it is often difficult to stop. It is not uncommon for a worker to fear asking their employer for a reduction in hours in fear of losting their job. So If a job was accepted on the terms that workdays would be longer than most traditional ones it may be difficult for you to find a solution to your long lasting hours. If you agreed to the work arrangement your only alternative may be finding an organization that values the balance between working and life. How work-life balance should be implemented in the workplace: Earning profits is not the only goal that the organization is looking for. Nowadays getting employees loyalty is another important challenge that organization want to achieve to success in the business. In order to do that employer should satisfy their employees. This satisfaction is most often obtained by coming to the realization that all employees have a life outside of work that is just as important, if less, than their career. Pleasing every employee is a difficult task but most of the successful organization accomplished that task by incorporating work-life balance into their organization. One research indicated that employees are satisfied when the policies of work life balance are in accordance to their needs. Some of the individuals needs are sick leaves, lunch breaks, vacations leaves, pleasant amount of time with family and friends etc. Therefore there is a need for the organizations to develop a work-life policy that respects customer, individual and organizational needs. Same set of WLB facilities available at the organizations will help the management of the organizations to retain their employees with higher satisfaction levels. One important fact that organization should clearly defined the concept of work life balance to the employees so that they can balance their life. Some major policies of WLB all over the world: Long hours and overworked employees is the main problem in the organization. So in order to prevent that there are certain policies (flexible work practice) developed by the organization:- Hiring two employees to fill one job; this practices known as job sharing. Job sharing means works by dividing work time vacations, benefits, and pay between two workers. It is now becoming standard practice for an employer to offer their employees flexible hours. Working hours are predetermined during the hiring process and employees are allowed to pick hours that they work each week. Working at home is another alternative work arrangement that enables more employees to be at home with their family. Provided medical leave programs to employees. This program enables the employee to take time off from work if they or one of their family members becomes injured or ill. Provided vacation leaves for some period of time if employees feel that they are not giving proper time to their families. For parents the most popular way that work-life balance is brought into the workplace is through onsite childcare. It is located at the same building which allows parents to visit whenever they want to. Provide part time work arrangement for those who want to work for fewer hours. Affects of flexible work practice: Studies have indicated that introducing flexible work practices has a number of advantages for employers, such as an improved ability to attract existing employees as well as people not currently in the workforce. Research has shown the provision of flexible work practices (that help workers achieve work-life balance) positively impact Recruitment and selection Reduced stress and working environment Job satisfaction employee morale Labour turnover Motivation and productivity Absenteeism Return on training investment and staff loyalty Finding organization that values Work-Life Balance: There are number of things that an employee must take into account before seeking an organization where he wants to work. Employee should determine before joining the organization that whether they value the work-life balance or not. The two most common ways to gather information on a particular organization is before you being the application process or during the interview. While interviewing there are many individual who may ask an employer if they believe in the balance of work and life. This is a best way to get an answer to your questions, but it should also work to your demerits. Some employers, especially those who have not adopted the popular WLB theory, are likely to feel that you will not be a good job candidate. If you really want to know about the employer feeling on work-life balance then asks him directly in the middle or end of the interview. This shall make it appear as if that is not the only reason why you are seeking employment with them. In addition, to sharing t he same values, most of companies want to hear that you have faith in their products being sold or services being offered. To determine if a company you are interested in applying to shares this concept you can ask about family medical leave, job sharing, alternative work arrangements, and onsite childcare. Each features are typically found in a workplace that values life and family just as much as it does work. LITERATURE REVIEW: Employee work satisfaction and work life balance in Pakistani perspective As the wave of globalization captured the Pakistani markets the job became more demanding and the working hours also increases. The fast pace economical development in the country has demanded more efforts from its employees. Now organizations in Pakistan are paying off good salary packages, compensation and benefits but the nature of the work is more demanding. The work related stress, work pressure, long working hours leads to job dissatisfaction which is one of the main hinder in the factors related to work/family interferences The researchers made their efforts to highlight the issues of job satisfaction and work life balance in one of the developing countries, Pakistan. From the Pakistan perspective the researchers identified that the employee is said to be satisfied from his/her work when he/she feels comfort while working in the organization. Whereas work life balance means that an employee is comfortably accomplishing his/her work and non work responsibilities. Nadeem and Abbas (2009) tested a relationship of work life conflict and job satisfaction in a sample of Pakistani employees and revealed a negative relationship of the variables and suggested that the supportive management can be a medicine to minimize the conflict and enhance satisfaction among employees. However, the correlation of workload is positive and insignificant which shows that workload does not affect the job satisfaction of the employees in Pakistan. One of the researchers while examining the impact of rewards and recognition on job satisfaction and motivation of in a sample of Pakistani sample employees defines employee work satisfaction (job satisfaction) as a pleasurable positive emotional state as a result of work appraisal from ones job experiences (Gruneberg, 1979; Danish Usman, 2010). Malik, Zaheer, Khan and Ahmad, (2010) examined a relationship of work life balance/ work life conflict and job satisfaction in a sample of MBBS doctors in Pakistan and revealed no significant effect of work life balance on job satisfaction. Another research (ijcrb.webs.com) examines the relationship of employee work satisfaction and work life balance practices in Pakistan. A sample of 450 are gathered via stratified sampling from the two big organization operating in Pakistan i.e Pakistan telecommunication limited (PTCL) and Habib bank limited (HBL) . The results of this study show no significant difference with respect to employee work satisfaction and work life balance at all the management levels .Moreover, the result of regression analysis poses a strong positive relationship between the variables which means employee satisfaction has a strong impact on work life balance. The data which collected in this study clearly indicated that HBL provide more work-life facilities than the PTCL by ensuring better education facilities, child facilities, social support, flexi time facilities and more sick and education leaves. It means that HBL has the policies related to their people that support the concept of work-life balanc e. After going through several studies it is obvious that the term work life balance has been defined in different by different authors. Survey: We conduct a survey of Pakistan Steel Mills to identify that whether organization has HR policies in respect of work life balance and whether it is rightly implemented in the workplace. We taken interview of Mr. Iftikahr A. Barakzai , General Manager (MTC and human recourse department) and ask questions about HR polices related to work life balance that exist in Pak Steel Mills. We also distribute questionnaire to 40 employees of different department. HR Polices in respect of WLB: Weekly hours: No employee shall be allowed or required to work in a mills for more than forty-five hours in any week. Provided that an employee worker in mills engaged in work which for technical reasons must be continuous throughout the day may work for forty-eight hours in any week. Weekly holiday: No employee worker shall be allowed or required to work in a mills on a Saturday and Sunday. Compensatory holidays: Every employee should be allowed for a compensatory holidays, If worker works on Saturday and Sunday. Daily hours: Technical worker shall not be allowed or required to work in a mills for more than 12 hours in any day. Non-technical worker shall not be allowed or required to work in a mills for more than 9 hours in any day. Intervals for rest: The periods of work of employee workers in mills during each day shall be fixed either Each non-technical worker gets 45 min. launch and namaz break and two 15 min. tea break. Each technical worker gets two 45 min. launch and namaz break and two 15 min. tea break. Annual holidays: Every worker who has completed a period of twelve months continuous service in mills shall be allowed, during the subsequent period of twelve months holidays for a period of thirty three consecutive days, inclusive of the day or days, if any, on which he is entitled to a holiday. Casual leave: Every employee shall be entitled to casual leave with full pay for twenty days in a year. Sick leave: Every employee shall be entitled to ten days sick leave on pay in a year. Gazetted holidays: Every employee should get leave of 14 aug, 23 march, 25dec, 1 may, 9 nov, 11 sep, 5 feb. Festival Holidays: Every employee shall be allowed holidays with pay on all days declared by the federal Government to be festival holidays, e.g. (EID-UL-AZHA). Transportation facility: All employees shall be facilitating with free transportation. Health programs: Each worker can get free medical facilities and also for his or her family. Questionnaire: We distribute questionnaire to 40 employees to different department to determine the work life balance affect on employee satisfaction. Our findings are; Apply Correlation: Interpretation: After applying correlation analysis in spss and considering work life balance as our objective variable we determined that there is no significant relation between Work-life balance and job satisfaction, working hours working days. It means that job satisfaction have no affect on the work life balance. Conclusion: The results of the current study are based on the sample of 40 employees of different department of Pakistan steel mills. The result shows no significant relation are found in employee job satisfaction and work life balance. The study that we conducted in steel mills also determine that organization has certain policies which support individual to balance their life but there is no separate policy related to work life balance that exist in the organization and it is not properly defined to the employees. So there is needed to develop the concept of separate work life balance policies that will help the organization to retain the employees within the organization with higher job satisfaction level. The studies conducted so far in Pakistani organizational environment are unable to highlight the work life balance and work life balance practices in concrete terms except for some big organization like unilever,PG who has a separate well defined policies related to work life balance. So there is needed to make this concept clearly examine its effect on other human and organizational factors.

Challenges of the 21st Century and Pakistan

CHALLENGES OF THE 21ST CENTURY AND PAKISTAN Dancing around the fire is not the solution to any problem. One should try to see beneath the surface in order to grasp an idea about the basic issue. Despite a stream of stung words and announcements made by the previous governments of Pakistan, there is a woeful neglect in accepting the challenges of the present millennium rather the situation has taken a quantum leap for the worse. On the other hand there are the most exciting times in the perspective of progress ever observed in the recorded history of mankind.All countries of the world are making the progress in almost all aspects of life. These countries are working hard to face the challenges of 21st century. The world in which we are living has become the world of information and technology. The old concept of ruling the world with power has completely changed by the disintegration of soviet union in the last decade of the previous century. The progress speeds of many countries are remarkable. China got independence two years after Pakistan but it has increased its speed of development up to a great extent.Today china is enjoying the status of world’s second fastest growing economy post Mayo, china has established an all time global record in doubling its per capita income between 1977 and 1987. According to a world Bank purchasing power parity (ppp) china has a GDP of just under $3. 0 trillions which is second largest after united states of America. If one accepts the projections of a Rand study of 1995 china will become world’s largest economy by 2010 with GDP of $11. 3 trillions. China has managed to get a complete control over the markets of many countries.Its trade abilities have captured a great foreign exchange reserve. Now china has entered in the making of such a car which may be considered very well prepared country to face the challenging environment of new millennium. It can also be said that today no effort to regulate global trade c an be succeeded if china is not part of decreased exchange risk premium in interest rates and has increased investment demands. The echo of single currency swept across the world with free trade zones. Due to this wonderful success of Euro, many countries have inspired nd they also started their ball rolling in the same direction. In Holland the Dutch people have innovated such a food for the cattle which helps the cattle to grow at a very fast rate. The cattle is very important for Holland as it enjoys a great position in the export of best quality milk, butter and meat. This earns a great amount of foreign exchange for Holland. The Dutch people have also worked successfully on a particular television which also provides all the facilities of a computer as well.These examples show that the Dutch people are very well prepared to face the challenges of the present millennium. The world has become a global village. The distances have been reduced up to an appreciable extent. In Americ a the people have started a new practice. The high officials do not go to the offices. They control majority of their official matters through computers. This helps them a lot in saving their precious times which they would have wasted in travelling. The countries like Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam are working very hard.This hard work has enabled them to face the challenges of current millennium in a very dignified way. These countries have made development up to this extent that it has become a far cry for Pakistan to assimilate whit their stands. Korea has also attained a significant position in the exporters of cars and other vehicles. In 1960’s Malaysian economy was very poor but through hard work they have strengthened their economy up to a great extent. The Malayan television and other electronic instruments have really captured the markets of many countries.These countries have achieved this position of stabilization through their appropriate economic strategie s, good educational policies, sprit of patriotism and excellent foreign policies. The rate of progress in order to face the challenges of new century is also very high in India as compared to Pakistan. The Indian people have really done wonders in the field of information technology. The Indian software engineers have achieved remarkable successes. They have made exceptional innovations in this field. Indian government has provided all the possible support to their people.They have established a silicon Valley in Madras for this purpose. Through the export of software programs India is earning a great deal of foreign exchange which has played a vital role in reducing the economic distress in India. The Indian economy has become very strong. India has also been benefited from the female employment ratio in the country. The women are also working with the men in almost all the professions. The world has made progress in many fields at a massive rate. In the above mentioned facts and d evelopment made by the various countries, it can he easily analyzed that where do Pakistan stand?How Pakistan has prepared itself to face the challenges of the newly started millennium? Some efforts were also made in Pakistan to made some progress in the last decade of the previous century but those could not become result oriented due to self-centered access and sift handed complements from the advisors of the rules. The continuous change in the leadership of the country proved very harmful for the growth in all the fields. In the beginning of 1990’s the government of Nawaz Sharif took some steps in order to improve the infra structure of the country.He established the Motorway project in collaboration with the Daewoo company in order to improve the means of communication. He also facilitated the people of Narwhal with a new telephone exchange He also tried to introduce a self employment scheme in the form of â€Å"Yellow cab† in which the taxi cars were provided to t he educated youngsters on very easy and affordable installments. The purpose was to enhance the employment ratio in the country but this scheme also met the failure because many of his party members utilized this scheme for their own benefit. In 1930 when Mrs.Benazir Bhutto got the rule, she started a welfare program me for general masses under the name of peoples programmed which act rally proved worthless for the people as many politicians started personal aggrandizement through this programmed. They got heavy funds which were never used for the welfare of the people. They got heavy funds which were never used for the welfare of the people. Similar nothing valuable could be done in the next turn of Nawaz Sharif. The rolling substitution of governments in the last decade proved as main obstacle in the way of progress of our country.In 1999 during the argil episode Pakistan clearly witnessed that no country was ready to support it Even our closest friend china refused to helps . Thi s shows the failure of foreign policy. So Pakistan needs to reform its foreign policy on the following three grounds i. e. power, wealth and status. Power means the capacity of Islamabad to influence the policies of super powers towards Pakistan. Wealth means to increase the foreign exchange reserves of Pakistan . For this purpose the exports should be increased by raising the standards of our products. Status means to get a prestigious position for people of Pakistan in the world.One more important sector which needs a great attention is the infra structure. The unemployment has increased by leaps and bounds. It should be considered very seriously . The deserving and educated candidates don’t get the proper jobs. Instead of deserving candidate don’t get the proper jobs. Instead of deserving candidates there is often a square peg in the round hole which frustrates the deserving youngsters. This frustration gives rise to the crime rate in the country. So the merit syste m should be improved. So far all the efforts to stabilize the economy and infrastructure have proved to flog a dead horse.Pakistan also needs to improve the health facilities. The efforts made in this regard are not more than a drop in the ocean. So conclude in this way that in spite of all those obstacles and slow growth rate of progress. One may hope that the time will be changed. According to the policies made by the Musharraf government it can be considered that now the time is not far when Pakistan will bear the palm. Now the time has come that if we want Pakistan to rise up to that extent which was dreamt by Quaid-e AZ am, then every Pakistani will have to work up to his entire ability and diligence.

Define the 4th 5th 6th and 14th Amendments Essay

The Constitution is the highest law in the United States. All other laws come from the Constitution and Amendments. It rules how the government should work. It creates the Presidency, Congress, and the Supreme Court. Each state also has a constitution. The constitutions of the states are their highest law for that state — but the United States Constitution is higher. The Constitution can be changed, and it’s changed by an â€Å"amendment.† Among the amendments is a list of the rights of the people. It is illegal for the government to violate those rights. As of 2006, there are 27 amendments. Not all of them involve rights, but many do. The first ten amendments are special. They are called the Bill of Rights. An outline of the 4th, 5th, 6,th and 14th Amendments of the Constitution are as follows.The 4th Amendment, prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures and requires a warrant to be issued by a judge. The ultimate goal of this provision is to protect peopleâ⠂¬â„¢s right to privacy and freedom from arbitrary governmental intrusions. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated. But no Warrant, but upon probable cause. The 5th Amendment, protects you from being held for committing a crime unless you have been indicted correctly by the police. Also that the state have to respect your legal rights. Double Jeopardy is also described as you can not be tried for the same crime twice, unless it’s a mistrial or hung Jury. The most well known right of the 5th Amendment is your Miranda Rights; right against compelled self-incrimination. Also you can not be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against yourself. A person who is â€Å"in custody† must be given the Miranda warning to protect his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. However, the second part of the Miranda warning protects a suspect’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel. The Miranda warning is read as follows: You hav e the right to remain silent. If you do say anything, it can be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to have a lawyer present during any questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you if you so desire. The 6th Amendment, of the Unites States Constitution of the Bill of Rights guarantees a citizen a speedy trial, a fair jury, an attorney if the accused person wants one, and the chance to confront the witnesses who is accusing the defendant of a crime, meaning he or she can see who is making accusations. Also the accused has the right to force anyone to come to their trial that they believe can help their case. The 14th Amendment was one of America’s three Reconstruction Amendments. Adopted on July 9, 1868, the 14th Amendment was aimed at protecting the citizenship rights and equal protection of all Americans but primarily former slaves. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Fun Facts About Thresher Sharks

Are you ready to learn a few thresher shark facts? There are several to share about this popular type of shark. The most notable feature of the thresher shark is the long, whip-like upper lobe of their tail, which is known as the caudal fin. In total, there are three species of thresher sharks: The common thresher (Alopias vulpinus), pelagic thresher (Alopias pelagicus) and the bigeye thresher (Alopias superciliosus). What a Thresher Shark Looks Like Thresher sharks have big eyes, a small mouth, large pectoral fins, first dorsal fin, and pelvic fins. They have a small second dorsal fin (near their tail) and anal fins. Their most noticeable characteristic, as noted above, is that the top lobe of their tail is unusually long and whip-like. This tail may be used to herd and stun small fish, upon which it preys. Depending on the species, thresher sharks may be gray, blue, brown, or purplish. They have light gray to white coloring below their pectoral fins. They can grow to a maximum of about 20 feet in length. These sharks are sometimes seen jumping out of the water and are sometimes confused with other marine mammals. Classifying the Thresher Shark Here is how the thresher shark is scientifically classified: Kingdom: AnimaliaPhylum: ChordataClass: ChondrichthyesSubclass: ElasmobranchiiOrder: LamniformesFamily: AlopiidaeGenus: AlopiasSpecies: vulpinus, pelagicus or superciliosus More Thresher Shark Facts A few more fun facts about thresher sharks include the following: Thresher sharks are widely distributed across the worlds temperate and subtropical oceans.Thresher sharks eat schooling fish, cephalopods, and sometimes crabs and shrimp.Thresher sharks reproduce each year and are ovoviviparous, meaning that eggs develop inside the mothers body, but the young are not attached by a placenta. The embryos feed on eggs in the uterus. After nine months of gestation, females give birth to two to seven live young who are three to five feet long at birth.According to the International Shark Attack File, thresher sharks are not commonly involved in shark attacks.NOAA estimates that populations of Pacific thresher sharks are above target levels, but lists the status of common threshers in the Atlantic as unknown.Thresher sharks may be caught as bycatch and hunted recreationally.According to the Florida Museum of Natural History, thresher shark meat and fins are valuable, their skin can be made into leather and the oil in their liver can be used for vitamins. Sources Compagno, Leonard J. V, Marc Dando, and Sarah L. Fowler.  Sharks of the World. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press, 2006.World Register of Marine Species. Thresher Shark Species List. 2011.