Work–life balance: Does leadership matter?

Abstract

PurposeThe extant literature on work–life balance (WLB) has generally overlooked the interrelationship between leadership and WLB. Does leadership have any impact on employees' use of WLB policies and practices? To answer this question, this article considers the social exchange theory as well as transformational and transactional leadership in an investigation of the impact of leadership on WLB.Design/methodology/approachThe study employs qualitative data from 32 semi-structured interviews to achieve the study’s objectives.FindingsThe research reveals that leadership does matter in WLB. The study findings reveal that both the transactional and transformational leadership styles result in the establishment of strong reciprocal relationships between leaders and employees in terms of using WLB policies and practices. Managers only sanction the use of WLB policies and practices only as a reward for excellent performance or when they are completely sure the outcome will favour the organisation. The study concludes that the desire to achieve WLB has often led many employees to go the extra mile in carrying out their work duties, which is rewarded with an approval to use WLB policies and practices. These non-contractual exchanges emphasise reciprocity and are based on trust.Research limitations/implicationsThe extent to which the findings of this research can be generalised is constrained by the size and nature of the research sample.Practical implicationsMany managers are transactional leaders, and they purposefully allow their employees to use WLB policies and practices only as a reward for meeting targets and for excellent performance. This means that employees who fall short of the required targets and expected performance are not permitted to use WLB policies and practices. This finding implies that such employees experience incessant work–family conflict, which may have negative implications for their work engagement, overall well-being and work performance.Originality/valueThis study demonstrates that leadership is relevant to WLB. It shows that transformational leadership is supportive of WLB, as it considers employees' work performance and non-work outcomes. The results and practical implications of this study aids the understanding of the non-contractual exchanges involved in manager–employee relationships, which is crucial for ensuring employees' achievement of WLB and for organisations to achieve their goals.

A balanced work-life relationship helps boost employee performance

“…In the current research note, we would like to recommend 'transformational leadership' to the managers and HR practitioners, as such leadership style is crucial to the design and implementation of WLB-driven policies and practices (Sani and Adisa, 2024). Specifically, managers with transformational leadership style can help their employees to maintain the psychological equilibrium between work and personal life, because such leadership style not only appreciates employees' work performance, but also considers the implications of non-work outcomes on individual performance.…”

“…To enhance the quality and quantity of performance, scholars and managers have proposed a variety of performance enhancements strategies but the actual efficacy of these strategies remain mixed. Inspired by the transformational leadership literature, we have consulted empirical research (Sani and Adisa, 2024), examining whether work-life balance (WLB) helps boost employee performance. In the analysis, we have found that managers' transformational leadership style is crucial in managing employee performance.…”

“…For the same reason, our research note does not follow the orthogonal layout, such as Introduction, Literature Review, Method, Findings and Discussion. Instead, we focus on highlights and findings of three cited journal articles (Itegboje and Chang, 2021;Kuo et al, 2024;Sani and Adisa, 2024) and, more importantly, we are keen to explain how managers may benefit from our viewpoints in their work-life policies and practices. By doing so, we may support personnel managers and HR practitioners in improving the efficacy of their employee management policies.…”

“…Until recently, researchers have found that work-life balance has a potential to stimulate employee performance, drawing the attention of personnel managers and management scholars. For instance, in our latest research project conducted in 2024 (Sani and Adisa, 2024), we analyze whether leadership style generates any impact on employees' use of WLB policies. Interestingly, we have discovered that managers may use transformational-leadership styles to establish strong reciprocal relationships between themselves and employees in terms of using WLB policies and practices.…”

Linking Transformational Leadership and Employee Commitment: Intervening Role of Work-Life Balance and Workplace Social Support

“…has also indicated that work-life balance and job satisfaction positively relate to organizational commitment. Furthermore,Sani & Adisa (2024) discussed the impact of transformational leadership on work-life balance and its influence on employee commitment. H2: Transformational leadership positively influences work-life balance in a family-owned company H3: Work-life balance positively influences employee commitment in a family-owned company H4: Work-life balance is the intervening factor between transformational leadership and employee commitment in a family-owned company Workplace Social Support as a Mediator Research by Xu et al (2022) has shown that transformational leadership is associated with workplace social capital among nurses, highlighting its role in nurturing a supportive work environment.…”