| dc.description.abstract | Work and personal life commitments cannot be easily separated; the competing priorities
in an employee’s life result in work-life conflict. Organizations all over the world are
adopting work-life balance (WLB) policies in order to accommodate the needs of a
diversified workforce. This study was conducted to examine the effect of WLB policies on
women employee retention at United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in
Somalia. The study objectives sought to establish employees’ awareness of the existence
of WLB policies, identify challenges to the implementation of WLB policies and identify
strategies that can be adopted for successful implementation of WLB Policies in UNDP
Somalia. This study targeted UNDP Somalia offices both in Nairobi and Somalia. A
descriptive survey design was used in this study. A sample of (60) employees was drawn
by stratified random sampling techniques from a sample population of (104) employees on
fixed term and permanent contracts. In addition six key informants were purposively
recruited from staff holding managerial positions and within the human resources unit. The
structured web-based questionnaires and interview schedules were used to collect primary
data. The quantitative data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Scientist
Software (SPSS). Qualitative data derived from the Key informant’s interview was
thematically analysed and merging patterns, trends or strongly held opinions were noted.
The results were presented in the form of tables and charts. The findings of the study
revealed that staff awareness is high especially among employees based in Nairobi. The
study findings also revealed that the most commonly used WLB policies are study leave
and family based policies such as maternity, paternity and child care leave. The main
challenges to implementation and uptake of WLB policies at UNDP Somalia are heavy
workload and negative perceptions. The study identified strategies which UNDP Somalia
can adopt for successful implementation of WLB polices. These include; review workload
and conduct work study, develop a management and human resources monitor and
document usage of WLB policies, enlist management support and goodwill, embrace a
more flexible working schedule, link performance to output and change organizational
culture.
From the findings, it was concluded that employees at UNDP-Somalia were aware of
existence of WLB policies but that there was discrepancy between awareness and usage of
the policies. The needs of both men and women in work-life policies were similar. The
study findings also revealed that for WLB policies to be an effective tool for women
employees’ retention, strategies must be adopted to address the challenges that affect usage
and implementation of the policies. The study recommends that UNDP Somalia needs to
raise awareness of the policies for Somalia based staff, carry out a work-study, redistribute
work-load and outsource non-core functions where possible. Also recommended is that the
WLB policies are regularly review, ensure organization’s culture is supportive of WLB
uptake, streamline the process of request and approval, re-train supervisors and staff and
develop retention strategies that incorporate other factors in consultation with employees
and other UN agencies. | en_US |
