Developing a Framework for Work-Life Balance in the Oil Industry

Work-life balance is a term used to define the procedures and processes adopted to achieve a balance between demands of a job and those of life unrelated to the job. This research aims to bring about a deeper, more thorough understanding of key work-life balance concepts and factors at the organizational level in the Oil Industry. Using grounded theory, a conceptual model was developed by extracting 13 experts’ views on the subject matter via semi-structured interviews. Based on Strauss and Corbin’s framework, findings show that in addition to engagement, satisfaction and productive time allocation, which were all obtained from theoretical foundations, the new dimension of accountability, too, comprise the criteria for measuring work-life balance factors in the Iranian oil industry. In addition, according to the context of the study, three categories of factors were recognized: a. causal factors, including work and life independence, organizational climate, geographical conditions, human resource development and job management, b. intervening factors, including gender attitude and supportive attitude in the organization, and c. contextual factors including current rules of the organization, economic factors and lifestyle. Moreover, such strategies as performance management, culture management, manpower maintenance, life skills training and talent development management can lead to outcomes like positive behaviors in the workplace, organizational performance improvement, and organizational commitment.