Organizational Characteristics that Drive Better Work-Life Balance in the Post-Pandemic Teleworking Context: Evidence from the IT Sector in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Work-life balance is a motivational factor which causes employees to work in the organization steadily in each situation. This study is aimed to examine the organizational characteristics that impact the work-life balance of teleworkers in the IT industry of Sri Lanka in the post- pandemic era. A thorough systematic literature review using the PRISMA framework was conducted to identify which characteristics which were influence the work-life balance of teleworkers. Identified most appropriate characteristics were shortlisted by the industry expert. The conceptual framework was developed by using this past literature support, and then the actual characteristics were identified through the data analysis process. For this purpose, the questionnaire targeted employees who were working in the IT sector in Sri Lanka. Samples (n=149) were collected through online questionnaires and then collected samples were subjected to preliminary data analysis using the IBM SPSS tool to clean the data. Then the PLS-SEM method was used to find the relationship between the variables. The study found that strategies are the most significant factor to determine a better work-life balance, though management support, technical support, and organizational culture have relationships between them but that are not significant factors to drive better work-life balance in the post-pandemic era. And the study concluded that if organizations need to more focus on strategies, especially job control, and decision-making strategies then they can maintain a better work-life balance for the IT sector employees in Sri Lanka after the pandemic period.