An Analysis of the Indian and Irish IT Work Experience.

Abstract

Purpose: In this study it was shown that work-life balance which is a significant issue among IT professionals in both professional business and academic research differs country wise with the impact it has on individual’s well-being. This research examines the impact of work and life balance of two such countries one being a developed country and the other a developing such that their synergies generate considerable economic impacts from investments in Information Technologies. Methodology: The study has adopted a positivist approach using quantitative research methodology. Different tests such as One-way ANOVA, Two-way ANOVA and Chi-Square have been used for the study. The test analysis is performed using IBM SPSS tool and Microsoft excel. The primary data is obtained from employees working in the IT sector across various organizations and regions of India and Ireland. The research used convenience sampling followed by snowball sampling for the primary data collection. Findings: The findings of this study demonstrated the underlying basis for the differences between the two countries by comparison of their empirical evidences. This was achieved by evaluating the determinants of work-life balance namely, psychological health, physical wellbeing, family wellbeing and organizational initiatives. The findings of this research reflected the inadequate work-life balance arising from high levels of work and family tensions on family satisfaction. The study further established the negative impact of inadequate work-life balance on job satisfaction, social and personal well-being related to elevated levels of family to work conflicts. In differentiation of the economically developing nation and more developed nation, this research showed that IT employees in developing country have poor work-life balance. The implications from the results of demographic comparison of this study show that the underlying basis for this differentiation in impact of the Work-Life Balance (WLB) is due to the differences in cultures, facilitation services, community relations, population, and gender roles. Finally, the relationship of WLB and its determinants demographically, are evidently conclusive. Research Limitations: In this study, findings are representative of the sample population size which might have affected the study outcome. In addition, impact of COVID-19 situation could have influenced the responses in the survey specially for the questions on family well-being. Mixed nationality population might have influenced the results of this study.