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CHAPTER 5
MAJOR FINDINGS, SUGGESTIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
5.0 INTRODUCTION:
The previous chapter dealt with the analysis and interpretation of the
collected data. The present chapter deals with the findings of the study based on
the results given in chapter four. This chapter is divided into three sections. The
first section presents the findings of the study. The second section deals with the
suggestions for further research and the third section gives the implications of the
study followed by conclusion.
Section 1
5.1 Findings of the study
As mentioned above, Section 1 deals with the findings of the study.
According to the objectives of the study there were 48 findings. In order to make
it self-explanatory, findings are presented in tabular form. The objectives of the
study, corresponding hypotheses and the related findings are presented in Table
5.1
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Table. 5.1
Findings of the study
S.
No
Objective Hypothesis Findings
1. To examine the influence of
demographic variables on each of
the select socio-psychological
factors of QWL
H1: There is no significant
difference between the
demographic variables and
each of the select socio-
psychological factors of
QWL.
There is no significant
difference between
gender (male and
female) of the
employees and each of
the select socio-
psychological factors
of QWL except for
self concept and
employee perception
about the company.
There is significant
difference between
marital status (married
and unmarried) of the
employees and each of
the select socio-
psychological factors
of QWL except for
employee participation
in non-work related
activities and self
concept.
There is significant
difference between
nature of job
(technical and non-
technical) of the
employees and each of
the select socio-
psychological factors
of QWL except for
work culture,
employee attitude to
job and self concept.
There is significant
difference between
age of the employees
and each of the select
321
S.
No
Objective Hypothesis Findings
socio-psychological
factors of QWL except
for self-concept and
employee perception
about the company
There is significant
difference between
educational
qualification of the
employees and each of
the select socio-
psychological factors
of QWL.
There is significant
difference between
monthly income of the
employees and each of
the select socio-
psychological factors
of QWL except for
employee attitude to
job and employee
perception about the
company.
There is no significant
difference between
total work experiences
of the employees and
each of the select
socio-psychological
factors of QWL except
for leadership styles,
work culture and
employee perception
about the company
There is significant
difference between
work experiences of
the employees in the
current organization
and each of the select
socio-psychological
factors of QWL except
322
S.
No
Objective Hypothesis Findings
for occupational self-
efficacy and self-
concept
2. To examine the influence of
demographic variables on QWL
H2: There is no significant
difference between
demographic variables and
QWL.
There is significant
difference between
gender of the
employees and QWL.
There is no significant
difference between
marital status of the
employees and QWL.
There is no significant
difference between
nature of job of the
employees and QWL.
There is no significant
difference between
age of the employees
and QWL.
There is significant
difference between
educational
qualification of the
employees and QWL.
There is significant
difference between
monthly incomes of
the employees and
QWL.
There is no significant
difference between
total work experiences
of the employees and
QWL.
323
S.
No
Objective Hypothesis Findings
There is no significant
difference between
work experiences of
the employees in the
current organization
and QWL.
3. To examine the influence of
demographic variables on
employee satisfaction.
H3: There is no significant
difference between
demographic variables and
employee satisfaction.
There is no significant
difference between
gender of the
employees and
employee satisfaction.
There is significant
difference between
marital status of the
employees and
employee satisfaction.
There is no significant
difference between
nature of job of the
employees and
employee satisfaction.
There is no significant
difference between
age of the employees
and employee
satisfaction
There is significant
difference between
educational
qualification of the
employees and
employee satisfaction.
There is no significant
difference between
monthly incomes of
the employees and
employee satisfaction
There is no significant
difference between
total work experiences
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S.
No
Objective Hypothesis Findings
of the employees and
employee satisfaction
There is no significant
difference between
work experiences of
the employees in the
current organization
and employee
satisfaction.
4. To examine the influence of
demographic variables on
employee performance
H4: There is no significant
difference between
demographic variables and
employee performance
There is no significant
difference between
gender of the
employees and
employee performance
There is significant
difference between
marital status of the
employees and
employee performance
There is significant
difference between
nature of job of the
employees and
employee
performance.
There is significant
difference between
age of the employees
and employee
performance
There is significant
difference between
educational
qualification of the
employees and
employee
performance.
325
S.
No
Objective Hypothesis Findings
There is no significant
difference between
monthly incomes of
the employees and
employee performance
There is no significant
difference between
total work experiences
of the employees and
employee
performance.
There is significant
difference between
work experiences of
the employees in the
current organization
and employee
performance
5. To find out whether there is any
significant association between
educational qualification and level
of QWL; monthly income and
level of QWL and level of QWL
and level of employee
performance.
H5: There is no significant
association between
educational qualification and
level of QWL; monthly
income and level of QWL
and between level of QWL
and level of employee
performance.
There is significant
association between
educational
qualification of the
employees and level
of QWL.
There is significant
association between
monthly incomes of
the employees and
level of QWL.
There is significant
association between
level of QWL and
level of employee
performance.
6. To find out whether there exists
any significant difference between
the mean ranks towards
perception on each of the select
socio-psychological factors of
QWL.
H6: There is no significant
difference between the mean
ranks of the employees
towards perception on each
of the select socio-
psychological factors of
QWL.
There is significant
difference between
mean ranks of the
employees towards
perception on each of
the select socio-
psychological
variables except for
employee perception
about the company.
326
S.
No
Objective Hypothesis Findings
7. To find out whether there exists
any significant difference between
mean ranks of the employees
towards the perception on
employee performance.
H7: There is no significant
difference between mean
ranks of the employees
towards the perception on
employee performance.
There is significant
difference between
mean ranks of the
employees towards the
perception on
employee
performance.
8. To find out the relationship
between each of the select socio-
psychological factors and QWL;
each of the select socio-
psychological factors of QWL and
employee performance and
between each of the select socio-
psychological factors of QWL and
employee satisfaction.
H8: There is no significant
relationship between each of
the select socio-
psychological factors and
QWL; each of the select
socio-psychological factors
of QWL and employee
performance and between
each of the select socio-
psychological factors of
QWL and employee
satisfaction
There is significant
relationship between
each of the select
socio-psychological
factors and QWL.
There is significant
relationship between
each of the select
socio-psychological
factors of QWL and
employee
performance.
There is significant
relationship between
each of the select
socio-psychological
factors of QWL and
employee satisfaction
except for self efficacy
and self concept.
9. To find out the relationship
between employee performance
and QWL; employee satisfaction
and QWL and between employee
satisfaction and employee
performance.
H9: There is no significant
relationship between
employee performance and
QWL; employee satisfaction
and QWL and between
employee satisfaction and
employee performance.
There is significant
relationship between
employee performance
and QWL
There is significant
relationship between
employee satisfaction
and QWL
There is significant
relationship between
employee satisfaction
and employee
performance.
327
S.
No
Objective Hypothesis Findings
10. To find out the impact of each of
the select socio-psychological
factors on QWL.
There is significant
relationship between
each of the select
socio-psychological
factors and QWL
except for employee
perception about the
company.
11. To find out the impact of each of
the select socio-psychological
factors of QWL on employee
performance
There is significant
relationship between
each of the select
socio-psychological
factors of QWL and
employee
performance.
12. To find out the impact of
employee satisfaction on
employee performance; QWL on
employee performance
There is significant
relationship between
employee satisfaction
and employee
performance
There is significant
relationship between
QWL and employee
performance.
13. To validate the conceptual model
developed by the researcher
through Structural equation
modelling (SEM).
The conceptual model
developed by the
researcher is fit.
Table 5.1 shows that there are thirteen objectives, twelve hypotheses and
there are forty eight findings. Each objective has a corresponding hypothesis and
each finding is shown individually. Thus, there are forty eight findings totally.
Section 2
This section gives some important suggestions for further research which
are discussed below:
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5.2 Suggestions for further research:
1. The present research on quality of work-life reveals that evidence in this
regard is not conclusive and also that the probing is not comprehensive. It
is not possible to list out conclusively the factors that contribute to the
quality of work life of employees. Similarly, it is not possible to establish
the intensity of a particular socio-psychological factor on quality of work-
life of employees. This situation calls for further research in this area.
2. The study was conducted only in the city of Hyderabad. The study can be
extended to other cities as well.
3. The study can be conducted involving a larger sample to get a clearer
picture of the quality of the work-life of employees.
4. Extensive studies may be conducted to find out the kind of leadership
styles which the employees prefer to have from their team leaders and
managers.
Section 3
This section deals with the implications of the present study. The
suggestions given by the researcher for improving the quality of work-life of the
employees working in the BPO companies in Hyderabad is also discussed in this
section.
5.3 Implications of the study:
In the present study it was found that there was no significant difference
between gender and each of the select socio-psychological factors of QWL
except for self concept and employee perception about the company. In other
words, male and female employees have difference of opinion only on the two
factors, namely, self concept and employee perception about the company. The
study reveals that male employees had higher self concept than female
employees. This difference may be due to the traditional upbringing of girls in
Indian families, submissive nature of women and low assertiveness compared to
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males. So in order to raise the self concept of female employees, the women
employees instead of undermining themselves, should realize their potentials and
be aware of their strengths to advance in their career, family and social life. With
respect to employee perception about the company, female employees had better
perception about the company than male employees. This difference may be
because male employees prefer night shifts if they are married and female
employees prefer day shifts due to the family commitments. The inconvenient
working hours lead to many physical, emotional and social problems which give
them low perception about the company. In order to achieve work-life balance,
the male employees should be given counselling to balance their work-life and
family life. The study shows that unmarried employees had more perception on
leadership styles, work culture, employee attitude, occupational self efficacy and
employee perception than married employees. The reason is due to the fact that
unmarried employees remain free from all the other family responsibilities when
compared to married employees. Due to many responsibilities in the family and
also meeting strict deadlines and high performance targets at work, they face lot
of stress which creates imbalance in their work and life. HR department should
take this as a serious concern and help them by introducing stress management
techniques.
Technical employees had high perception on employee participation in
non-work related activities than non-technical staff. Non technical employees
had high perception on leadership styles and occupational self efficacy. The
reason might be due to the monotony and boredom in technical jobs. They need
some relaxation from their routine jobs. The management may organize leisure
activities and encourage their participation in the non-work related activities like
weekend trips, picnics, sports and games, cultural activities etc. to refresh their
mind. This would satisfy their social needs also. Trained counsellors can be
appointed and employees can be encouraged to share their concerns with them
the job related ones as well as the personal and family related. Age group below
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30 years had higher perception on leadership styles, work culture, employee
attitude to job, occupational self-efficacy and employee participation in non-
work related activities. Below 30-years-age category had higher perception on
leadership style of their managers/team leaders compared to other two age
groups. In BPO’s, the team leaders are quite young unlike other industries. The
age difference between team members and leaders is not much and are treated at
par with each other (vide chapter 4 page 23 para 2). The average age of BPO
employees is 24. The young employees in the initial stages of their career remain
so excited and enthusiastic about their job, earning big bucks, do perform
challenging tasks.
The employees in BPOs work 12 hours per day and feel so exhausted at
the end of the day and need diversity in their jobs, so they spend their free time
in meeting friends and like to have some fun activities at the work place. The
other two age groups after working for some years suffer employee burnout and
they intend to switch over to other industries or to some other competitive firms
which pay them better. In case of women employees there is talent leakage in
middle management levels in thirties due to marriage, family, children, relocation
and other personal reasons. Support systems are required for women at work.
The employees who studied up to H.Sc had higher perception on each of the
socio-psychological factors of QWL than the other educational qualifications.
Graduates and post graduates who work in BPOs, particularly in call centres, lose
their morale after the initial euphoria of getting a job is over (vide page 26 para
3). It was also found that employees up to H.Sc category had low perception on
occupational self-efficacy than UG and PG unlike in other factors of QWL.
Employees who have higher educational qualifications naturally have more
confidence to do various tasks (vide page 26 para 3). So the management should
provide career counselling programs and higher education along with the job
which will help them to have a definite career path and better opportunity in their
jobs. Employees with monthly income of less than 10,000 had better perception
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than other income groups with respect to leadership styles, work culture,
occupational self efficacy, employee participation in non-work related activities
and self concept which implies that income does not have much influence on the
perception of the employees on these factors. Below 2 years’ experience category
had better perception than the other two categories on leadership styles, work
culture and employee perception about the company. Below 2 years’ experience
category in the current organization differed with other two categories on
leadership styles, work culture, employee attitude to job, employee participation
in non-work related activities and employee perception about the company.
It is found that male employees have perception on QWL than female
employees. Male employees due to working in night shifts face lot of health
problems. They should be given proper attention and work life balance should be
restored through giving the employee counselling programs to have adequate
sleep and to avoid faulty eating habits, providing nutritious food in the company
cafeteria, providing quality headsets etc. Unmarried employees had better
perception on QWL than married employees. As mentioned earlier, married
employees have additional responsibilities at home. Their responsibilities are
divided into two parts –household activities and the office. They should be given
flexi-time options, proper leave etc. Both technical and non-technical employees
have the same perception on QWL. The work environment, HR policies, rules
and regulations have same impact on technical and non technical employees.
There is no significant difference between age of the employees and QWL. The
present study tells that employees with H.Sc qualification differ with UG, PG
and ‘others’ categories. Employees with less than 10,000 as income employees
differ with other income categories. Employees with less income may not have
job satisfaction as much as the other higher income employees do have. So the
employees with less income should be given more growth opportunities and they
should be given training to improve their performance. Irrespective of
experience, employees share the same feelings with respect to QWL.
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The study also revealed that male and female employees had same
perception on employee satisfaction because male and female receive equal
treatment and there is no work place discrimination based on gender. Unmarried
employees are more satisfied compared to married employees. Management
should take steps to introduce flexitime and opening day care facility for their
children to be taken care of and other benefits for them to be stress free. In order
to make the technical employees happy and more satisfied and they should be
allowed to take part in non-work related activities like frequent get-together
meetings with other departments, company outings and other cultural programs.
The study also tells that there was no significant difference between age of the
employees and employee satisfaction. In BPO’s many youngsters even with a
degree level qualification join this industry which offers them handsome salaries.
So the young employees lead a luxurious life even at their young age when
compared to other industries and derive maximum satisfaction in their jobs. The
employees up to H.Sc category are more satisfied than other categories mainly
because they are earning big sums though they are not well qualified for such
salaries. So to take up challenging tasks they need to be well-qualified.
Employees in BPO industry get lot of benefits apart from their salary. They
should also have proper recognition for their performance. Their personal
identity also should be improved and no longer be treated as low profile jobs.
Experience does not matter to BPO employees as per the study results. There was
no significant difference between work experiences of the employees in the
current organization and employee satisfaction.
Male and female employees have the same opinion with respect to
employee performance. Unmarried employees had better perception on employee
performance. Non-technical employees had better perception on employee
performance than technical employees. Above 45 years of age category had high
perception than the other two age categories. Up to H.Sc category had higher
perception on employee performance than the other educational categories
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because these people with low qualification do fear the financial consequences of
leaving the job and moreover they do not get opportunity to work anywhere else
with their qualification whereas the graduates and post graduates join BPOs to
enhance their skills and move to other industries once they acquire those skills.
Some people join this industry because they do not get job elsewhere even if they
are well qualified so the government should see to it that these qualified people
get right jobs and solve the problems of unemployment totally. Employees need
more recognition for their efforts. Activities, efforts and modest improvements
instead of results should be noted and appreciated. Thus employees need non-
tangible benefits along with tangible benefits to make them more satisfied and
enlightened.
There was significant difference between the mean ranks towards the
perception on leadership style. In information technology and BPO companies,
leadership that usually followed is the assigned leadership. The leader is assigned
the position of a leader who not only acts as a coordinator among team members
but also be familiar with the process and stake holders. So the leaders should be
given training to enhance their competencies as well as team leaders, which will
enable the organization to scale greater heights. Team members may be involved
in decision making to increase the commitment they have in the implementation
of the decisions taken as they will treat it as their own. The personal relationships
between team members can be encouraged through ways, for example, going on
team outings which will lead to coordinate team. The leaders can be encouraged
to give attention to the views of the team members and make themselves
available when they share their problems. For a team to function better, the
leader has to have a good balance of people related and task related skills which
help the team members in achieving the objectives of the organization. In a
recent case study research (2012) on more than 20 client-provider relationships,
it was found that transformational leadership is a key success factor and
transformational leaders improved BPO from bad to good or from good to great.
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Transformational leadership is more effective in getting extra effort, satisfaction,
commitment, and effectiveness of subordinates. The more the transformational
leadership qualities, the more will be the subordinates’ extra effort, commitment,
satisfaction and effectiveness.
There was significant difference between mean ranks of the BPO
employees towards the perception on work culture. The reasons may be due to
MNC culture found in most BPO’s. The MNC culture gives them lot of
advantages like 5 days work culture, flexi time etc. A tiring week’s work ideally
requires 2 days off and the MNC BPO culture offers this. This industry gives
graduates an opportunity to work and they are paid handsomely well. The
college-like atmosphere attracts many young graduates. Various entertainment
facilities, gymnasiums, games facilities etc. make the people work for this
industry. Lot of learning opportunities like basic art of selling, not just selling
products but also the art of selling their skills, are available in BPO’s. Moreover,
BPO’s also have tie-ups with various institutions which give the employees
opportunities to study further. This industry gives opportunity to even a fresher
who can be groomed and mentored to be the managers of tomorrow. A worth-
noticing fact is that the employees in BPO’s keep skipping jobs to get a better
paying job. In doing so they are losing an opportunity to get groomed to become
managers. Employees should realize that there is a whole world of opportunities
for people who stick to one organization. It is just about exploring them.
It was noticed that the statement in employee attitude towards job, “Too
much of work- related stress in this organization leads to burnout” was the
second top most statement among the six statements. This means employees
experience too much of work-related stress in their organization as shown in the
analysis (vide chapter 4 page 47 Table 4.2.4.4). There have been many studies on
the relationship between job stress and job satisfaction and these studies indicate
that job stress and job satisfaction are inversely related (Sullivan and Bhagat,
1992). In a study conducted by Malhotra and Chada (2012) the various reasons
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for stress among the BPO employees were: working environment, improper job
task, work load, salary and employee’s targets. Work environment should be
noise free and ventilated to increase their satisfaction and reduces the chances of
stress among the employees. If the employees are not given proper task as per
their knowledge and experience the employees will be frustrated. The
employee’s targets should be achievable because when the employee feels that he
is not able to achieve the targets he becomes frustrated from that job. Salary also
is an important factor in creating stress. Their study showed that when stress is
increased, their tendency to leave the organization also increases. Due to this
stress, decision making ability also decreases. So in order to combat stress,
employees need muscle relaxation exercises, meditation, time management
techniques, employee assistance programs, and wellness programs called health
promotion programs, focusing on employee’s overall physical and mental health.
There was significant difference between mean ranks towards perception
on occupational self efficacy. According to theory and research self efficacy
makes a difference in how people feel, think and act. In terms of feeling, low
sense of self efficacy is associated with depression, anxiety and helplessness. In
terms of thinking, a strong sense of competence facilitates quality of decision
making and academic achievement. People with high self-efficacy choose to
perform more challenging tasks. They set themselves higher goals and stick to
them. Once an action has been taken, high self efficacious people input more
effort and persist longer than those who are low in self efficacy. Dhar (2005) in
his study says fun positively affects self-efficacy. In a work place where the
atmosphere is light and humorous, they are likely to have more positive feelings.
Extracurricular activities like games and parties also enhance self efficacy. Fun at
the work place provides the ferment of ideas that is necessary for creativity. So
the management should initiate lot of fun activities to increase self efficacy of the
employees in the organization.
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There was significant relationship between employee performance and
QWL. This is because QWL and employee performance often go hand in hand.
The emerging literature that tries to seek the association between QWL and work
performance focused on few important aspects. Among the main focus is the
remuneration aspect which includes salary, salary increment, bonuses,
allowances, pension and medical benefits which serve as best examples that can
motivate employees to give their best for their employer. Studies by Okpara
(2004); Oshagbemi (2000) and Sloane and Williams (1996) highlighted that the
differences in remuneration aspects will suddenly affect the employee’s
satisfaction and work performance. Another notable aspect in the literature
besides remuneration is interpersonal communication aspect, one of the main
factors contributing to work performance. Sabarirajan, et al., (2011) in their
study found that organizational excellence has higher impact on the level of
QWL. They concluded that the performance of the organization can be improved
only when the human resources are satisfied with the quality of work life they
have in the organization and this can be simply enhanced by improving the
existing job environment.
There is significant relationship between QWL and employee satisfaction.
If the company fails to measure and improve employee satisfaction by enhancing
QWL, the organization may have to face increasing turnover, declining
productivity from the remaining employees. The employers should try to address
the turnover and job satisfaction issues. Gaurav (2012) says that in order to
improve QWL and eliminate job stress, employers need to be aware of their
employees’ work load and job demands, examine the employee training,
communication and reward system, co-worker relationship and work
environment. Unclear targets and objectives and poor communication contributes
to dissatisfaction which leads to poor employee work performance.
There is significant relationship between employee satisfaction and
employee performance. The commonly held opinion is that “a satisfied worker is
337
a productive worker”. The term employee satisfaction is used to describe whether
employees are happy and content and get their desires and needs fulfilled at
work. The various factors that contribute to employee satisfaction include
treating employees with respect, providing regular employee recognition,
empowering employees, offering above industry-average benefits and
compensation, providing employees perks etc. Employee satisfaction is essential
to the success of any organization. The main priority for every employer should
be to keep his employees satisfied in their careers. Researchers have discovered
that satisfied employees are more likely to contribute their knowledge (Janz
2003), improve their job performance where as dissatisfied employees hold back
what they know and do not share with others (Eskidsen and Nuzzler , 2000).
Thus if job satisfaction is high, the employees will perform better. On the other
hand, if the job satisfaction is low, there will be problems. Therefore if
organizations can be more concerned about the employee job satisfaction, better
performances can be expected.
It is also found that there is significant relationship between leadership
styles, work culture, self concept and employee performance. In a competitive
business environment, organizations rely upon their leaders to facilitate the
changes and innovations required to maintain competitive advantage. Leaders
have been found to influence followers in many ways, including coordinating,
communicating, training, motivating and rewarding (Yukl, 1989). Effective
leadership is helpful in ensuring organizational performance (Cummings and
Schwab, 1973). Several empirical evidences have demonstrated that leadership
behaviours influence organizational performance that strong leaders outperform
weak leaders, and that transformational leadership generates high performance
than transactional leadership (Burns 1978; Bass 1990; Hater and Bass 1988;
Howell and Avocio 1993). The leaders must have the ability to attract/ influence
their subordinates, be able to set clear standards of performance to their peers and
act as the best role model to their subordinates. Additionally, the subordinates
338
expect that their achievements must also be recognized and rewarded either with
monetary cons (bonus, promotions etc) or with non-monetary terms (eg: best
performer awards etc). In a study by Ojo (2009), the researcher tried to look at
the impact of corporate culture on employee’s job performance of Nigerian
banking industry. The study found that corporate culture is very important in
every organization and it has positive impact on employee job performance.
Every individual has different culture and beliefs and when he joins an
organization that has completely different culture and beliefs from his own, the
employee should be allowed to internalize himself first with the organization
culture and values, whether he can cope with them or not. It is the ability of the
employee to cope with the organization’s culture that will determine how well he
will perform on job. Self-concept is, an idea or set of ideas one has about oneself
(Plucker and Stocking, 2001). Scholars have reasoned that individuals form self-
concept around work (Pierce and Gardner, 2004) before the evidences
demonstrate that it relates to life and workplace success. Promoting high self-
concept is important (Manning, 2007) in organizations. Beheshtifar and Rahimi-
Nezhad, 2012 in their study on self-concept say that influencing the self-concept
of the employees is one way of attracting and retaining them. The researchers say
that self-concept of the employees affect their behaviours, satisfaction, and
achievements. The individual with positive self concept will be able to contribute
to increasing organizational effectiveness, health and productivity.
Finally, the present study had found that the conceptual model developed
by the researcher is fit. The model says that the seven socio-psychological factors
of QWL such as leadership styles, work culture, employee attitude to job,
occupational self efficacy, employee participation in non-work related activities,
self concept and employee perception about the company contribute to QWL
which leads to employee satisfaction and ultimately leads to employee
performance. The study revealed that these socio-psychological factors
contribute to QWL which gives employee satisfaction and finally lead to
339
employee performance. Thus the conceptual model is fit. So the management in
order to improve QWL of employees should take all the above mentioned socio-
psychological factors into consideration to improve their QWL, satisfaction and
performance.
5.4 Suggestions to improve QWL in BPO companies:
1. In order to raise the self concept of female employees, the women
employees instead of undermining themselves they should realize their
potentials and be aware of their strengths and weaknesses to progress in
their career and family life.
2. In order to achieve work-life balance, the male employees who work in
night shifts should be given special training and counselling to balance
their work life and family life. They should be advised to have adequate
sleep and gently instructed to avoid faulty eating habits. They should be
provided with nutritious food in the company cafeteria.
3. Quality headsets should be provided to all the employees
4. HR department should take occupational stress as a serious concern and
help the employees by introducing stress management techniques through
yoga and meditation. Yoga and meditation classes can be conducted in the
company itself. In order to combat stress, employees need muscle
relaxation exercises, meditation, time management techniques, employee
assistance programs, wellness programs called health promotion programs
focusing on employee’s overall physical and mental health.
5. Management should organize leisure activities and encourage employee
participation in these non-work related activities like weekend trips,
picnics, sports and games, cultural activities and competitions to refresh
the employees’ mind and allow them to share their concerns with their co-
workers from other departments. This may satisfy their social and
psychological needs.
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6. Support systems are required for women at work like feeding rooms,
crèche etc.
7. Management should provide career counselling programs and
opportunities for higher education along with the job which will help the
employees to have a definite career path and higher opportunity in their
jobs. This may prevent attrition in the BPO companies.
8. Married employees should be given flexi-time options, proper leave etc.
Management should take steps to introduce day care facility for
employee’s children. Ayahs should be employed to take care of the
children in a hygienic environment. This may keep the employees stress
free.
9. The employees with less income should be given more growth
opportunities and they should be given training to improve their
performance.
10. In order to keep the technical employees happy and more satisfied they
should be allowed to take part in non-work related activities like frequent
get-together meetings with other departments, company outings and other
cultural programs
11. Employees in BPO industry get lot of benefits apart from their salary.
They should also have proper recognition for their performance. Their
personal identity also should be improved and no longer be treated as low
profile jobs
12. Employees need more recognition for their efforts. Activities, efforts and
modest improvements instead of results should be noted and praised
13. The team leaders should be given training to enhance their competencies
which will enable the organization to scale greater heights. Team
members may be involved in decision making to increase the commitment
they have in the implementation of the decisions taken as they will treat it
as their own. The personal relationships between team members can be
encouraged through, for example, going on team outings which will lead
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to coordination in the team. The leaders can be encouraged to give
attention to the views of the team members and make themselves available
when they share their problems. Transformational leadership is more
effective in getting extra effort, satisfaction, commitment, and
effectiveness of subordinates than transactional leadership. The more the
transformational leadership qualities, the more will be the subordinates’
extra effort, commitment, satisfaction and effectiveness.
14. Employees should realize that there is a whole world of opportunities for
people who stick to one organization.
15. Employees should be given proper task according to their skill and
experience. Employee’s targets should be achievable.
16. Management should initiate lot of fun activities to increase self-efficacy of
the employees in the organization
17. Performance of the organization can be improved only when the human
resources are satisfied with their QWL which can be enhanced by
improving the existing job environment.
18. Organizations should be more concerned about the employee job
satisfaction, in order to achieve better employee performance. Job
satisfaction survey may be conducted by the management every now and
then.
19. An employee should be allowed to internalize himself/herself with the
organization’s culture and values to assess whether he/she can cope with
them or not. It is the ability of the employee to cope with the
organization’s culture that will determine how well he will perform the
job.
20. The individual with positive self concept will be able to contribute to
increasing organizational effectiveness, health and productivity.
Influencing the self concept of the employees is one way of attracting and
retaining them.
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21. The management should take all the socio-psychological factors
mentioned in the study into consideration to improve the employee’s
QWL, satisfaction and performance.
While dealing with young professionals, attention should be given to the
following points:
1. Reverse mentoring: The youngsters in the company can mentor the senior
employees since they are more techno-savvy and are blessed with latest
information and training from the institutions they have passed out.
2. Involve Gen Y professionals in the decision making process by allowing
them in the Board room.
3. Give them more challenging responsibilities.
4. Encourage social work and provide opportunities to volunteer for social
causes.
5. Communications among employees in the company should be improved
by promoting social media within the company, which would facilitate
greater connectivity among them.
6. Careers should be customized and investment should be made in the skill
development of the employees.
7. It should be remembered by every manager in the BPO companies that for
a hungry man food is God; but man lives not by bread alone. In other
words, man looks for bread when there is no bread or when the bread is
not adequate.
8. Have faith in the capabilities of youngsters, apply the principle of
“Pygmalion effect” while dealing with young employees.
5.5. CONCLUSION
The study contributes to QWL literature by developing and validating a
model to improve the quality of the work life of employees in the BPO industry.
The findings provide useful information to the policy makers, the IT department
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of Government of India and to all those who are concerned with the life of young
professionals.
In addition to this, the findings of the present investigation can play a
central role as planned change efforts are designed and carried out in the BPO
industry in the country in the recent years. The QWL questionnaire can be used
to obtain continuous feedback from employees regarding the conditions of the
organization. Given such information, the company can decide on new
organizational priorities and drop or improve ineffective programs. For example,
standing in the long queue for lunch compels the employees for fast-food which
is not a good practice from the health point of view. The findings of the study
give quantitative support for the need of flexible work hours, work life balance,
rests in between, providing healthy food instead of fast food, good quality
overhead phones, special consideration for female work force, so that undesirable
work environments may not result.
The results of the analysis of the data indicate that several relationships
exist between leadership style of the managers/team leaders , work culture of the
organization, employee attitude to their job, occupational self efficacy feelings of
the employees, employee participation in non-work related activities, self-
concept , employee perception about their company, quality of their work life,
employee satisfaction and employee performance . It is mainly the leadership
behaviour of the managers/team leaders that shapes the work culture of the
company. Their role is that of leaders where they can be instrumental in releasing
the human potential of the organization. They should realize that their behaviour
can make or mar the team which they lead or the unit which they head. So they
should be democratic in behaviour and the organizational pattern should be
centripetal and not centrifugal. The manager is mainly responsible for creating
good work culture in the department and among the team members. A manager
with high task orientation and congenial relationship with team members creates
open work culture while managers with low task orientation and unfriendly or
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uncongenial relations with team members are responsible for creating closed
work culture in the organization.
Many management theorists believe that manager is a significant agent in
promoting or retarding change and organizational development. He holds a key
position in the improvement of his professional staff. He is the acknowledged
and appointed status leader. Whether the organization becomes a challenging
professional enterprise or a dull and dreary place for employees depends on the
quality of the leadership he/she provides for his employees. The function of the
manager as a leader should be to help the individual employee to obtain self-
actualization and the organization to fulfil its objectives.
The current generation of business leaders must learn to operate without
the might of the hierarchy. BPO’s are generally flat in nature and it is possible to
work without the complexities of typical bureaucratic structure. The might of
authority should be replaced with the ability to build relationships, influence and
work with others, to achieve the goals of the organizations. Influencing others for
the individual and collective betterment is an important leadership skill which the
mangers/team leaders in BPO industry should know and practice.
So measures should be taken to enhance the leadership behaviour of the
managers and the team leaders. This would enhance the morale of all employees
working in the BPO companies of Hyderabad. The first step in this regard is to
give the best professional preparation to all employees during their induction and
training period. A successful leader is one who takes interest in the employees
and in the goal attainment of the organization. But there have never been any
serious attempts in the BPO companies in general for special training of the
managers. Before an employee is appointed as the team leader he/she should
undergo special training in team functioning, conflict management, interpersonal
relationship, coaching and feedback. It should also include courses in group
dynamics, social engineering, leadership behaviour, work environment and
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organizational culture and organizational climate. Further, programs of
study/training should provide extensive opportunities for aspiring mangers to
examine their own leadership behaviour in various situations and explore the
implications indicated by the present study. It is particularly important that the
results of such a self study influence the shape of in-service training program for
managers/team leaders in the BPO industry. It is not enough to send the
managers/team leaders off once or twice a year to leadership training programs.
Meaningful training programs must include extensive practices in improving
leadership and decision making skills of managers. It is crucial that such training
offers a frame-work for administrators to examine consequences of their actions.
In the present liberalized, privatized and globalized economic set up of the
country, increasing number of young professionals are actively seeking greater
job satisfaction, jobs which are in tune with their life styles, like to belong to
cohesive work teams, identify with the organization and need psychological
rewards and career growth. It is essential for the leaders to understand the needs
and motivations of the employees. It is not enough to satisfy the ‘hygiene’ factors
of the work environment, employees need opportunities to take up responsibility,
to grow, to advance, to be recognized for a job well done, and to be proud of
their work (motivators). Managers through their decisions, planning and
discussion with employees, play a significant part in maintaining a desirable
working and learning environment in the organization. By emphasizing more on
‘thrust’ and ‘consideration’, managers can develop a balance between the press
for task achievement and fostering of cordial social relationships with employees.
In the midst of the recent charges of health crisis of young professionals in
the world, the BPO companies have emerged bearing the brunt of critics from
within and sceptics from without. While there are no simple solutions for the
problems that the BPO companies confront, results of the research outlined in
this chapter enable them to understand more completely the parameters of the
work life quality of their employees. So measures should be taken to improve the
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work-life quality of employees working in the BPO companies in Hyderabad
through better leadership and through congenial work culture.
Another point worth mentioning here is that most of the employees in
BPO belongs to Gen Y. They look for a work place that offers them a democratic
style of working, a place where they can experiment with ideas, get timely
coaching and feedback and have their growth plans well-defined. Human
resource management personnel today needs to understand the aspirations of Gen
Y and develop policies and procedures according to their requirements. From
their preference for multi-channel delivery to their demands for ease and
convenience, the needs and behaviours of Gen Y are undeniably influencing the
industry. And while some institutions embrace the opportunities brought about
by this younger generation, others continue to write them off as an irrelevant
segment of the market. (Naidu and Meera, 2011). As Rao (2011) puts it, Gen Y
has often been misunderstood because of lack of information on their aspirations,
changing priorities and lack of real time data which have implications for HR
professionals in their decision making while crafting policies and practices.
While most researches on Gen Y highlights their superior articulation,
confidence and techno-savvy approach, only a few research studies are there
which point to the missing skills in today’s young generation. Today’s graduates
are more qualified than ever before. However, a degree is not enough and the
days of a degree being a passport to employment have long gone. Graduates need
employability skills and researches show that managers see lack of skills in the
current graduates such as self awareness, self management, basic numeracy and
linguistic skills, independent thinking, problem solving, team work,
business/customer awareness, communication, risk awareness and evaluations.
Expectations of young professionals are salary, job status and career progression,
work-life balance, relationship, freedom and independence. In order to improve
retention and encourage more productive working relationships, there is an
urgent need to bridge the gaps between what graduates expect and what
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organizations provide and between what organizations expect and what graduates
could offer. Organizations need to review their recruitment approach and to
match the recruits to the internal culture as well as articulate more clearly on
career development and expectations of the work.
Finally, the researcher leaves a question to be answered by everyone who
is concerned with the physical and mental well-being of the young professionals
of the country: do we live to work or do we work to live?