Impact of Work Life Balance on the Social Life of Workers Living in Lagos Metropolitan Borders

The need to maintain proper work life balance is becoming increasingly important; it has motivated several academic research efforts. In the quest for Lagos transformation from a mega city to a smart city, work life balance issues as it has to do with housing, work and urban liveability remains a contemporary issue that calls for keen attention. The rate of population increase in Lagos is not commensurate with the availability and development of social infrastructure, which has caused a number of the workers gainfully employed in Lagos to seek such in nearby state - Ogun State, specifically border towns which includes Ota, Ifo, Mowe, Magboro, Ibafo, Agbara etc. Consequently, such employees face job stress and work-life conflict caused by long working hours, unrelenting traffic, early resumption and late closure at work. This research examined the plausible consequence of work life imbalance measured by job stress and work-life conflict on the social life measured by job satisfaction and wellbeing of such people. A sample of 242 respondents was selected for survey using Yaro Yamane random sampling method & Rao Soft sample estimation method. Primary method of data collection was used. A well-structured questionnaire was administered and interviews were conducted while responses were analysed using product moment correlation and linear regression. Results proved that work life balance has profound impacts on the social life of workers in Lagos Metropolitan borders. This paper recommends that individuals should take active roles in ensuring work life balance; organisations must proactively identify and understand demographic & work related factors; create supportive workplace policies; adopt & implement flexible work strategies and assume the responsibility of reducing/eliminating job stress. In addition, Government should intervene and initiate measures to tackle transportation inadequacies with legislations on provision of work life balance incentives for workers.


Introduction
Work life balance is a very germane phenomenon in today's ever demanding work environment as such it remains pertinent to workplace in both private and public sector. It is noticed that employees face heavy work burden and work for long hours; these pose problems and have significant effects on work-life activities as well as demands. Moreover, it goes beyond adjusting between work role and one's personal life to alignment with several goals -social, psychological, economical and mental wellbeing of an individual. Guest (2001) posits that, work life balance is an aggregate of interactions among varying spheres of life like family, leisure, religion etc. The pros and cons of such balance or imbalance affect the employee and employer as well as multiple levels of the society. For the employee, its consequences can have a negative impact on work and life satisfaction, mental health, physical health and on individual performance in organization. While for the employer, it can constrain performance of the individual employee and consequently affects organisational targets and goals.
Lagos in the world has peculiarities with respect to work and life for example persistent traffic; perpetual noisy atmosphere; limited transport infrastructure; huge concentration of industries among others. Nevertheless, it has achieved great strides in the pursuit of transformation from mega to smart city -worthy of notice is the presence of seamless and ubiquitous connectivity, security; use of advanced energy, sensors and measurements (for monitoring pollution, weather, rainfall, flood, vehicle traffic etc.). The government has invested in human & social capital and transport for management of resources and improving quality of life through fostering an innovative economy; development of urban infrastructure -transport, energy & utilities; environmental protection campaigns and good governance; in all, use of ICT (electronic and digital technologies) to transform life and working environments within the state.
There are several national studies that examined work life balance as social determinant of health and wellness notably in the United States, United Kingdom and European Union. To understand and explain the cause of imbalance between work and other life domains, previous enquiries have investigated a wide range of factors -most notably, stern traffic, adverse psychosocial working conditions, such as job stress, effort to reward imbalance and job insecurity. Based on accumulated evidences gathered, an unfavourable work life balance is conceived as a jobrelated stressor such as elevated blood pressure, heart rate, cortisol levels, musculoskeletal conditions, mental ill health, cardiovascular disease and obesity (Lunau et al., 2014).
The importance of work-life balance, whether implicit or explicit, to the organisations and employees cannot be overemphasised as it impacts overall organisation performance in the long run. Work-life balance contexts vary by demographics, gender roles, socio-economic and workplace characteristics. The purpose of this study is to empirically examine the impact of work life balance measured by job stress and work-life conflict on the social life measured by job satisfaction and wellbeing of workers in Lagos Metropolitan Borders.

Literature Review
Clark (2002) defined work life balance as "satisfaction and good functioning at work and at home with a minimum of role conflict". If more hours were subtracted from home hours keeping the work intensity high, the imbalance may produce fatigue, anxiety and other physiological impact that could have a negative effect on family domain of life. The focus on both the work and family sphere is essential for everyone; any competing demands usually lead to conflict; as a result, wellbeing is demeaned (Clark, 2000& Frone, 2000. Delecta, (2011) suggested that work life balance entails the ability to satisfy three basic domains of life i.e. work, family and personal. While, Armstrong (2005) opines that work-life balance policies define how the organization gives room for greater flexibility in employee working patterns so that they can balance what they do at work with the responsibilities and individual interests. Flexible work policies such as flexible hours, compressed working week, term-time working contracts, www.acdmhr.theiaer.org working at home, special leave for parents, career breaks and various kinds of child care can be developed and implemented.

Work-Life Conflict and Job Satisfaction
Work-life conflict usually occurs when experiences at work interfere with family and social life such as being a spouse, parent or with other religious and leisure activities and/or when demands from work and life are mutually incompatible to some degree. Ashtankar (2016) asserted that workfamily conflict occurs when demands from one's role affect the ability to meet the demands associated with another role in different dimensions (time-based, strain-based or behaviour-based conflict). On the other hand, family-to-work conflict occurs when experiences in the family interfere with work life primary responsibility for children, elder care responsibilities; interpersonal conflict within the family unit, unsupportive family members amongst others . Greater flexibility and integration between work and family life domains can result in lower work-family conflict. Previous researches argued that job satisfaction is vital to achieve a great balance between family life and work life (Ahmed, Khalid, Ammar & Shah, 2017;Pahi, Shah, Ahmed & Umrani, 2016;Clark, 2000).
Malgorzata (2013) exposited that job satisfaction refers to a sense of achievement and income stability conceived through both intrinsic factors such as education, job meaningfulness, job expectations and family demands; and work-related factors such as job security, skill variety etc. Job satisfaction basically refers to the attitudes and feelings individuals hold about their job either positive or favorable attitudes. An undesirable increase in work demands such as overtime, more work shifts etc. may lead to work-family conflict inducing decrease in satisfaction with work and with the employer (Paton, Jackson & Johnson, 2003). When employees experience higher level of work-family conflict they tend to be less satisfied with their jobs; less productive and less committed to the organization (Sangakala, Ahmed & Pahi, 2016;Frye andBreaugh 2004 &Malgorzata, 2013).

Job Stress and Employee Wellbeing
Effective management in work-life balance help to reduce, get rid of and control stress. Job stress is one of the huge challenges confronted amongst modern-day workforce and employers due to the threat and constraints it poses to organizational performance. Job stress is deepening across the world, predominantly across western and developed world. Some statistics from across the world revealed that: "An important job stressor is the amount of time a person spends at work. Evidences imply that working for long hours may damage personal health, threaten safety and increase stress. 11% of employees in the OECD work 50 hours or more per week. Overall, more men work very long hours; the percentage of male employees working very long hours across OECD countries is over 15%, compared with about 6% for women" (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Better Life Index, 2019). Evidences also proved that the most strenuous jobs is such that esteem exuberant job conditions and pressures, little opportunity to exert individual choice or self-control, and where there is limited support from others-organization, managers, society etc. (Semmer, 2007).
According to Robbins and Sanghi (2006), job stress is "a dynamic condition in which an individual is confronted with an opportunity, constraints, or demand related to what he or she desires and for which the outcome is perceived to be both uncertain and important". Shields (2006) suggested that "various sources of work stress do not occur in isolation but indeed interact with each other." Some common job/work-related stress factors include family problems, mental illness, parental/elderly care issues, childcare issues, financial issues, legal issues, losses (life or property), health concerns, work-family imbalance, time and change management issues. Most job stress factors are attributable to issues across survival, environment, fatigue, tensions, marital relationships etc. www.acdmhr.theiaer.org Wellbeing is a crucial component that is associated with happiness, quality, satisfaction, vitality, optimism, passion, and self-actualisation in livelihood (Seligman, 2002). "Wellbeing is the attainment of an emotional, intellectual, physical, spiritual and social dimension that expands one's potential to live and work effectively and to make a significant contribution to society" (Corbin & Lindsey, 1994). Wellbeing can be evaluated by subjective judgements/prejudice as it relates to life satisfaction, or psychological health e.g. perceived stress (Grzywacz, Almeida & McDonald, 2002). Besides, objective/rational measures of physical health e.g. heart ailments can be employed (Malgorzata, 2013). Job related stress prevalently has adverse impacts on employees, organisations, families and society. It has been found to be associated with respective wellness complaints that include self-described physical health or depression that are predominant in the society.

Theoretical Review
A number of theories have been postulated in extant literature on the concept of Work Life Balance. They include spill-over theory, pleasure plain theory and action regulation theory. This paper is grounded on 'spill-over theory' by Guest (2002). This theory established that the conditions under which spill-over between the work system and the family/life system occurs can either positive or negative. Moreover, if work and family interplay are rigidly structured in time and space, then spill over in time, energy and behaviour is most likely negative. This apparent lack of flexibility inhibits individuals' ability to integrate work and family/life responsibilities with regard to time and space. Eliminating the overlaps/conflicts between work and life is positive and consequential to achieving healthy work-life balance. According to Guest (2002), the determinants of work life balance are found in work & home demands, culture, orientation (i.e. the extent to which work (or home) is a core to life interest), personality, energy, personal control and coping, gender and age, life and career stage. Feelings, emotions, attitudes and behaviours generated in one domain can be transferred or 'spilled over' into the other domain (Rothbard & Dumas, 2006& Grzywacz & Marks, 2000.

Research Methodology
This research design adopted was survey research. It was carried out as an empirical study to assess the impact of work-life balance on social life of workers. A survey was conducted at border towns in Ogun State which includes Ota, Ifo, Mowe, Magboro, Ibafo, and Agbara. The respondents who are workers in the study areas were purposively randomly selected in order to accomplish the objectives of the study. Primary method of data collection was used to collect necessary data that was used for the analysis of this study through a field survey of agro businesses with the aid of purposive well-structured questionnaires designed using five (5) point Likert's scale, as well as through an in-depth personal interview guided by the questions raised in the questionnaire which proved to be most effective due to the fact that most respondents could not fill in their responses and/or due to time constraints. The population of the study constitutes 750 workers derived from quota of 125 workers in each of the study area. From the population, a sample of 260 respondents was selected for survey using Rao Soft random sampling estimation method. Response rate was 93% (242 workers) and responses were analyzed using product moment correlation and linear regression on SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) version 20. Each of the dependent and independent variables of the research construct were measured by two (2) items each validated by different authors found in extant literature. The content validity of the survey questionnaire was done. Pre-test was also conducted through a pilot study carried out to test the research instrument's validity.

Results
Linear Regression analysis and product moment correlation were used to test the research hypotheses; as well analyse the dependent and independent variables. Subsequently, test of www.acdmhr.theiaer.org normality and collinearity were carried out. The results from various tests are revealed in subsections below.

Respondents Profile:
Gender: From the above table, 143 were males while 99 of the respondents were females, with 54.1% and 45.9% respectively. The research study has most of its respondents being males. By implication, male workers are more than female workers; nevertheless, amidst role differences both gender crucially need to deal with work life balance.
Marital Status: From the above table, 60 (23.1%) were single, 153 (63.2%) were married and 29 (13.7%) chose others (Divorced/Widow). The research study has most of its respondents being married. By implication, most workers have families to cater for; moreover, work life balance demands differ among them.
Age: From the above table, 54 (21.5%) fall between 21 -30 years, 84 (34.0%) were between 31 -39 years, 76 (31.2%) were between 40 -49 years and 30 (12.3%) were between 50 years and above. The research study has most of its respondents between the ages of 40-49. By implication, most of the workers are between the ages of 31-39 years and can be said to be very experienced in their midcareer.
Business/Economic Sector: From the above   Table above shows the degree of association (relationship) between work life conflict and job satisfaction. The result implies that a negative and high degree of relationship exists between on the work life conflict and job satisfaction since Pearson correlation coefficient is -0.666. Also the correlation co efficient test value 0.000 is less than 0.01 (Sig. level). Hence, it implies that as work life conflict increases job satisfaction will decrease.  Table above explains the degree of association (relationship) between job stress and employee wellbeing. The result implies that a negative and high degree of relationship exists between job stress and employee wellbeing since Pearson correlation coefficient is -0.622. Also the correlation co efficient test value 0.000 is less than 0.01 (Sig. level). Hence, it implies that as job stress increases employee wellbeing will decrease. The table above shows the test of hypotheses using regression analysis. The values of Beta coefficient, T statistics, Significance level and Result for each of the variables were shown. The results show that the two hypotheses were accepted.
Hypothesis 1: There is a negative and significant relationship between work life conflict and job satisfaction among workers living in Lagos metropolitan borders.
From the results presented in the table 4, Beta value is -.594, T statistics is 11.188, and P value is .000 less than significance level 0.05. Hence, there is a negative and significant relationship between work life conflict and job satisfaction among workers living in Lagos metropolitan borders.
Hypothesis 2: There is a negative and significant relationship between job stress and employee wellbeing among workers living in Lagos metropolitan borders. www.acdmhr.theiaer.org From the results presented in the table 4, Beta value is -.651, T statistics is 12.572, and P value is .000 less than significance level 0.05. Hence, there is a negative and significant relationship between job stress and employee wellbeing among workers living in Lagos metropolitan borders.

Test of Normality
A normal curve was drawn to test for normality of the dependent variable coefficient which is represented by job satisfaction and employee wellbeing. Fig 1 & 2 presents a normal curve of workers social life co-efficient scores. From the figures below, the scores are reasonably normally distributed, with most scores occurring in the centre, tapering out towards the extremes.
Hence the p-values and b-coefficient for the t-tests are said to be valid.

Test of Collinearity
Collinearity exists between two independent variables when correlation test show that they are highly correlated (that is r = .7 and above). Tabachnick and Fidell (2001) suggested that you 'think www.acdmhr.theiaer.org ACDMHR 2019, Vol. 1, No. 2 57 carefully before including two variables with a bivariate correlation of 0.7 or more in the same analyses. When they are highly correlated, there is a need to consider omitting one of the variables. The bivariate correlation between the variables from the table below is 0.23**. Therefore, all the variables are retained.

Summary
The results presented and discussed in the previous section show that there is a significant negative, linear and high degree of relationship between work life conflict and job satisfaction. This implies that high work life conflict result to low job satisfaction among workers. This finding is consistent with studies by Ashtankar (2016) and Mmakwe, Kido & Ukoha (2018).
Also, there is a significant negative, linear and high degree of relationship between job stress and employee wellbeing. It implies that workers that experience immense job stress have poor wellbeing. This finding is in consonance with studies by Ashtankar (2016) and Raj & Dev (2017).

Conclusion
This paper concludes that work life balance has profound impacts on the social life of workers in Lagos Metropolitan borders. To be specific, issues or consequences of work life imbalance often results to job dissatisfaction and poor employee wellbeing. Workers living in Lagos Metropolitan borders are significantly confronted by difficulties transportation issues, the highway road networks that lead to their place of work in Lagos are in a bad state whilst under rehabilitation. These challenges induce several distresses that affect the survival, psychological state and working conditions of such workers.
Essentially, the established impact of work life conflict and job stress on social life of workers by and large is premised on psychological conception they hold about their jobs as it relates to intrinsic factors -job expectations and family needs; and job-related factors such as job security, mental health, parental/elderly care issues, childcare issues, loss of life or property etc. Moreover, they assess their wellbeing and job satisfaction based on prejudice/subjective opinions like happiness, quality, satisfaction, vitality, and self-actualisation as well as mental & health related issues.

Recommendations
Based on the findings exposited above, the study recommendations are as follows: Individuals should proactively prioritise their health (physical, emotional & mental) in order to have good social life. They need to set bounds and bearable work hours; master organizational/employer policies like leaves, vacations and time schedule. In the same vein, they should communicate matters when they arise as well as pursue attainable goals within the bounds of their demands, resources and barriers.
Managers should be aware about stress due to communication/interpersonal relationship problems, workers'-physical and mental health concerns, family issues, grief and loss to mention a www.acdmhr.theiaer.org few in the workplace; and address them properly to improve workers wellbeing. Basically, organisations should assume the responsibility of reducing/eliminating job stress.
Organisations must proactively identify and understand demographic and work related factors like age, marital status, gender, work hours/time schedules etc. that cause work life imbalances for crafting policies to curb absenteeism, lateness and turnover rates as well as improve workers loyalty, commitment and job satisfaction. Such supportive workplace policies like flexible work schedules/arrangements, maternal leaves, part time work, telecommuting, family friendly policies etc. In exchange for being crucial assets to organisations, their social life needs to be assured. Organisations should also adopt and implement flexible work strategies like unlimited vacations, output/performance-only workplace, remote workforce and distributed teams, time agnostic work, shared team jobs etc. to boost workers' productivity as well build trust & respect towards addressing the shortcomings of the traditional work place schedule. The use of technological innovations like smartphones, video chats, Stack, emails etc. make those strategies possible. In addition, proper urban mapping and design by estate agents and developers, building houses for staff to work, partnerships with co-operative societies to fund building & constructions are factors that can alleviate the challenges of work life imbalance.
Government should intervene and initiate proactive measures to tackle transportation inadequacies by fixing roads, rail lines, train systems, water ways and metros. Legislations on provision of work life balance incentives for workers should be established and implemented by the government as part of its obligations to cater for the welfare of its citizens. In addition, public health promotion campaigns and policies should be initiated to educate and enlighten workers on positive health attitudes/practices and stress management guidelines.