Work-life integration, job contentment, employee engagement and its impact on organizational effectiveness: a systematic literature review

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to study the interlink between work-life integration, job contentment and employee engagement. The notion of how far work-life balance (WLB) policies have a throwback on employee engagement has been presented with shreds of evidence of previous studies carried out in the timeline of 2005–2021 in India. The purpose is to bring forward comprehensive studies together, which are available on piecemeal form in the fragmentary form, to draw a firm conclusion about work-life integration policies and their parallelism with job engagement and organizational effectiveness. Furthermore, this study intends to develop a theoretical framework using Dubin’s methodology on organizational effectiveness in relation to work-life integration, job contentment and employee engagement. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on systematic literature review of papers reviewed from across databases of Scopus, Emerald, EBSCO and Google Scholar. The keywords used for the search were WLB, work-life integration, job satisfaction, job contentment and organizational effectiveness and also a combination of these words was used to pull down the relevant papers. A systematic literature review was undertaken on the topics of work-life integration, employee engagement and organizational effectiveness. These articles were then read and scanned with the overview on abstract and further these articles were selected on the basis of relevance to the current study. Those articles which showed interconnectedness between the identified variables of organizational effectiveness in relation to work-life integration, job contentment and employee engagement as antecedents were reviewed and a theoretical framework model is put forth using first part of Dubin’s methodology (1978) for theory building. The posited Model named A4 on organizational effectiveness using deductive approach is built on constructs, interaction, logic and propositions (Whetten, 1989).The theory will be functional in nature. With the given wealth of evidence, the injecting effect of work-life integration on employee engagement and pouring impact on organizational effectiveness becomes more transparent and clear. The authors have proposed a model for better organizational effectiveness through work-life integration policies. Findings One of the essential ingredients for better employee engagement is work-life integration policies, and organizational effectiveness becomes the by-product of the same. Innovative and friendly WLB policies assist employees to be more productive, dedicated and committed, resulting in better employee engagement which in the long run benefits the company in terms of effectiveness. WLB policies help to flatter down the burgeoning impact of complex work life on employee productivity and engagement. This paper concludes on the healing effects of WLB policies on employee engagement and organizational effectiveness and also proposes a model at the end. The posited model presents the antecedents for achieving organizational effectiveness. Research limitations/implications Because the study is conceptual in nature with the proposed model, more empirical-based studies by experts with relevant stakeholders will add more rationalization to the current study. Originality/value Organizational effectiveness is the key to survival in today’s complex and competitive world. The authors investigated how organizational effectiveness can be achieved with WLB policies, which can have a linear impact on employee engagement, and ultimately organizations can bear the flowerings of positive output. This linkage and coupling between WLB policies, job contentment, employee engagement and organizational effectiveness deserve attention which the authors have attempted to explore. The outcome and results of the study will contribute to the existing literature in a more meaningful manner and will assist human resource development and policymakers to achieve organizational goals with driving employees. Managers will gain insight into the identified theoretical framework model for its implementation in organization. Future researchers with empirical studies can test the proposed theory to determine its success at organizational level.

Exploring context-related challenges and adaptive responses while working from home during COVID-19

“…However, integration is a complex construct that includes many dimensions. Thus, the term integration has been used to describe various phenomena by different researchers (Yadav et al. , 2022).…”

“…Good WLI is related to family outcomes as well. Research has documented positive associations between integration and various indicators of well-being, including family satisfaction (Yadav et al. , 2022), marital and children's emotional security (Halrynjo, 2009; Parkin et al ., 2022) and children's healthy development (Halrynjo, 2009).…”

“…It involves the seamless merging of work and non-work domains to enable synergies that aid in achieving balance in both areas (Townsend, 2020). This phenomenon entails the overlapping and interconnection of work and non-work domains that an individual navigates, with the aim of enhancing the compatibility and pursuit of work and non-work goals (Yadav et al. , 2022).…”

“…WLI has been proposed as a more appropriate model to guide future research on work-life balance, mainly since researchers are increasingly interested in how employees manage competing demands at work and home (Mostafa, 2021; Yadav et al. , 2022).…”

Design/Engineering For Production (DEFP) and Shipyard: A Review on the Malaysian Technological Aspects and Practices

“…Employee job satisfaction can sustain and support organizational competitiveness in today's highly competitive global era. Managers need to be aware that creating a satisfied workforce is a recipe for organizational success [101]. In the case of the shipyard industry, employee job satisfaction is a decisive factor for a sustainable and profitable company [96].…”