WORK-LIFE BALANCE: A CASE STUDY ANALYSIS ON GOOGLE AND A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF PRACTICES FOLLOWED IN NORWAY AND INDIA

The concept of work life balance emergedduring the Industrial Revolution. In those daysIndustrialists agreed upon labour union’s demand of‘One day off’. Later on, this is converted into ‘two day off’which is followed in all the western countries. Grady et al(2008) stated that the term’ work-life balance’ is morecomprehensive and includes “family, community,recreation and personal time.”The objectives of the research are to study the impact ofpractices followed in Norway and India on work-lifebalance, to gain insight on Google company’s work-lifebalance practices, to identify and suggest vital work-lifebalance practices that can be applied in Indian context.The research is descriptive in nature. The data has beencollected mainly from secondary sources – researchpapers, annual report of companies (employeeengagement) and articles.The tools used for achieving objectives and analysing arecomparison method, case study analysis and surveymethod. The comparative and case study analysis showsthat the education system, job security, income inequalityare some of the factors which hinder the work-life balancein India. Flexi hours, time for creativity, familyparticipation in workplace boost the enthusiasm andmorale of the employees.The research is based on secondary sources. The primarydata would more effectively convey the problems faced inwork life balance. The work-life balance practicesfollowed by only one company is taken into the study dueto time constraint. The comparative analysis of work-lifebalance practices of big films would give better insightand would help in deriving dynamic solution. The sectorcentred, institution centred or gender centred study willgive broader overview of the work-life balance. Thesearch acts a base for comparative analysis.