Preliminary findings from pilot testing

In Lagos, many companies are located in Lagos Island, which is a prosperous and major commercial centre. Accommodation around Lagos Island and its environs is usually expensive and cannot be afforded by many, except top management and expatriates. In reality, the majority of workers live very far from their offices. With most people coming from the same direction towards Lagos Island, coupled with bad roads, traffic jams and congestion are a daily occurrence. Workers therefore have to wake up as early as 3.30am or 4am in order to avoid the traffic (Epie & Ituma, 2014). These workers also have to cope with the same congestion at the close of work on their way home. Some of the working mothers interviewed did not get to sleep earlier than 10pm and they had to wake up early the next day. Commuting time to and from work for the working mothers ranged from 30 minutes to up to four hours. All the working mothers interviewed did not work during the weekends unless they had to.

Standard working hours were usually from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a break of roughly 45 minutes to one hour. In a manufacturing company, the HR Practitioner talked about the company having a flexible resumption time (an employee can start anytime between 7.30 to 9 a.m.). However, in Nigerian organisations, employees usually work full-time. Part-time and other forms of flexible working are uncommon (Mordi et al., 2013). Other emerging

themes during the data analysis include:

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It was considered important for the research study to find out respondents’ perceptions of work-life balance and whether the concept is perceived differently across cultures. The question “what is your own concept of work- life balance?” was asked. Some of the responses included:

“For us, it’s employees having a great family life outside of the workplace.”

(HR Practitioner 1, Manufacturing) Some respondents understood WLB as not living too far from the workplace. One theme was key in working mothers’ definitions of WLB: the ability to optimally juggle work and other commitments with the family/community. In a collectivist society such as Nigeria, where individual interests are expected to be subordinated to that of the community and extended family (Aryee, 2005; Epie & Ituma, 2014; Okonkwo, 2014), “a commitment to your community” might be included in a definition of WLB, unlike in Western countries.

ii. Family-friendly policies

Literature on work-life balance in Europe usually revolves around different forms of flexible working. However, initiatives prevalent within the Nigerian workplaces that were most frequently mentioned when questions around work-life balance were asked include: the provision of staff buses to reduce the stress experienced by employees, the availability of company-funded healthcare schemes (including ante-natal facilities, treatment for sickness,

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annual medical screening and also referrals to external clinics), health talks, the provision of financial and sometimes parental counselling and the provision of recreational facilities within the workplace.

This implies that ways of achieving work-life balance are perceived differently across cultures (Kim & Faerman, 2013). It was also discovered that unlike in developed economies where these initiatives are documented, in Nigeria, the initiatives available within the system are mostly informal and undocumented.

iii. The development of some WLB initiatives

The Nigerian Labour Law 1990 allows women to go on maternity leave six weeks before and six weeks after confinement, with not less than fifty

percent pay8_{. Generally in Nigeria, companies allow three months annual}

leave for pregnant workers with full pay (Epie & Ituma, 2014). Additionally, they can enjoy 3 months flexi-time by closing an hour earlier or resuming an hour later than everybody else, in recognition of the need to provide support for their child. Most mothers, however, want to take their three months very close to their Expected Delivery Date (EDD) in order to spend more time with their baby. According to working mother 6, the six-week rule tends to make workers hesitant in disclosing information by not announcing the birth

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of their child until after delivery, especially when they give birth earlier than their EDD, in order to be entitled to the full three months maternity leave. HR Practitioners interviewed in Multinational companies said their companies go a step further by allowing women to take their annual leave (one month) at full pay in addition to their maternity leave (three months), and that this can be delayed until a time of their choosing.

From the interviews with HR practitioners of various companies, it seems that management is considering the option of providing some work-life balance initiatives in the future. This therefore links to the flexible working options seen in many developed countries. These include the provision of day care centres and telecommuting.

iv. Impediments to work-life balance

As working women around the world strive to successfully negotiate their work and family roles, researchers have identified some barriers to achieving that goal. These barriers might be context-specific (imposed by the challenges present in a particular environment) or because a person belongs to a category of people, for example, families with children (Adenikinju, 2005; Okafor & Amayo, 2006). Some of the impediments discussed by participants during the pilot testing include the challenge of outdated/weak Nigerian labour law, the need to work long hours to signify loyalty/commitment to employers/supervisors (presenteeism) and rural- urban migration (moving from rural areas to Lagos, thereby creating a strain on social amenities/resources leading to traffic jams, erratic power supply and telecommunication systems when demand outstrips supply). HR3 also

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said that associating WLB with women gives it gender ‘colouration’ and since most people in top management are male, WLB tends to be relegated.

v. Personal survival strategies usually devised by parents

Nigerian society is communal and the family (nuclear and extended) tends to have a role to play in household and childcare activities. HR practitioners also attested to this fact and argued that Nigeria has an effective communal social system that takes care of eldercare and childcare arrangements and, as such, providing for specific company policies to cater for these might not be necessary.

On the part of working mothers, some of the strategies employed included the use of school buses, crèches, and the use of a house-keeper. On average, working women in the study spent 3-4 hours doing household chores during the week while some worked up to 12 hours on Saturdays and Sundays. The researcher also wanted to know whether there were specific policies in place to help women function effectively at home and within the workplace. The only policy that was mentioned was maternity leave and company policies did not make any other specific provisions. This suggests that any FWAs offered to working mothers by employers tend to be basic, are mainly individualised and more support is expected to be sought from external sources like close and distant relatives.

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