Work-Life Balance Enhancement: SCAMPER Solutions & Strategies

This report addresses the critical issue of work-life balance and its impact on employee well-being and organizational knowledge. It begins with an introduction highlighting the increasing trend of employees leaving jobs due to work-life imbalance, followed by a literature review that examines the causes of workplace stress, including changing work dynamics, management styles, and lack of employee-friendly policies. The report then applies the SCAMPER technique to derive probable solutions, focusing on strategies like flexible work arrangements, time management, and lifestyle modifications. Recommendations emphasize the importance of organizational policies that support work-life balance, such as flexible hours, childcare facilities, and employee grievance cells. The ultimate goal is to mitigate the negative effects of work-life imbalance and promote a healthier, more productive work environment.

Running head: Organizational Knowledge, Creativity and Innovation
Organizational Knowledge, Creativity and Innovation

Organizational Knowledge, Creativity and Innovation 1
Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................2
Literature Review........................................................................................................................................3
Use of SCAMPER technique to derive probable solutions to promote work-life balance and reduce
pressure on employees.................................................................................................................................5
Recommendations.......................................................................................................................................9
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................11
Referencing...............................................................................................................................................13

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Introduction
“Work-life balance has become the top reason why Singapore employees leave
their jobs”
A news article from Business Insider Singapore says that Singaporeans leave their job because of
the imbalance amongst their professional and personal life. As per the recent survey conducted
by one international specialist recruitment firm almost 1 in every 4 i.e. 25% of Singaporeans
leave their job in search of better balance of work life (Rakin, 2018).
The work life balance can be described as the capability of the employee to maintain a healthy
balance amongst the responsibilities of the job, personal liabilities and family life. In the present
era, there is an increasing conflict in the personal commitments and professional responsibilities
due to increase in the responsibilities at the workplace. Other factor contributing to the difficulty
in accomplishing a work life balance is the fluctuation in the present landscape in which
employees are expected to work. Due to technological advancements and globalization, work is
not restricted to the workplace. The employees are allowed to work from any location through
laptops, tablets and smart phones etc.
They have the accessibility to their emails and assignments which implies that they are
accessible to their clients and managers all the time. It results in the increase of stress and
running of personal life of the employees. The concept of remote working also denotes that the
work week of employees is no longer restricted to 40 hours per week (Wong, Bandar and Saili,
2017).
The consequences of poor work life balance not only influences the employees but also their
companies as well. The stress created by employees can increase the level of their burnout which
results in the lower productivity at the workplace. It is also associated with high possibilities of
health related problems and absenteeism, the cost of which has to be borne by the company.
So, in this article, the various aspects of work life balance and its impact on the employees and
companies followed by a literature review to analyze its causes shall be evaluated. Furthermore,

Organizational Knowledge, Creativity and Innovation 3
scamper technique shall be used to solve the problem and recommendation shall be given on the
basis of technique.

Organizational Knowledge, Creativity and Innovation 4
Literature Review
As per Yadav and Rani (2015) one of the causes of work related problems is changing nature of
work at a faster pace in the present scenario. As a result, the employees are expected to work for
longer time and in the times of recession; they are paid less or fired. The consequences of this
atmosphere include uncertainty, stress and fear amongst the employees. Work place stress is
created when the requirements of the job cannot be contrasted with capacity, resources and
necessities of the employees.
When the morale of employees is low then they feel helpless which in turn will make them
unproductive and incompetent to perform their job responsibilities. Stress is created when they
feel less authorized to do the work .Insufficient job descriptions and unfair labor practices are
also the reasons for imperfect work life balance.
Management style is another common reason for work life stress. When the employees are
excluded from the decision making processes and the workplace has poor communication, the
employees do not feel supported by their colleagues and managers. Additionally, lack of
employee and family friendly policies also lead to increased work life stress which impacts the
performance of the employees (Obiageli, Uzochukwu and Ngozi, 2015).
The mode of assignment of the tasks and their execution also contributes to workplace stress. It
comprises of heavy workload, log hours without any breaks, overlooking the skills and expertise
of the employees and unnecessary routine tasks. When the expectations of the employers are
uncertain and ambiguous, the employees feel too much accountable and hence they are not able
to perform their job appropriately.
As per ILO (2011) the intensity of the problem of work life balance and stress is manifold and
has wider implications. In the present scenario with the change in the demographic profiles of
employees and drastic change in the labor market, households have shifted from the traditional
male breadwinners to the dual earner couples and single parent families. In response to the
changing environment, the organizations are also demanding an increase in the flexibility and
productivity of the employees. As a result, when the individuals strive to maintain work life
balance and satisfy the demands placed by both the aspects, an imbalance is created. It gives

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birth to work life conflict which becomes a source of stress for the employees because of
incompatible pressure from work and family.
So, the intensity of the problem of work life stress is wide and it can take two forms- family to
work conflict and work to family conflict. Work to family conflict can take the form of stress
based, behavior based and time based conflicts.
One of the significant factors is that women face more work life conflicts as they have little time
to spend with their families while men spend too much time at their workplace. There are
number of issues which have widened the intensity of work life imbalance. Poorer mental and
physical health, lesser satisfaction for life , higher emotional exhaustion , less physical exercise ,
poor dietary habits ,fatigue and increased level of stress and depression are some of the
factors which support work life conflicts( Bock,2014).
However, to mitigate the effects of work life imbalance certain strategies have been followed by
employers which include reduction in the working hours with full compensation. In Sweden, the
reduction of the working hours from 8 to 6 hours per day has been implemented which has led to
availability of more time for social activities and leisure time for friends and family.
Apart from this, the concept of adjustable working hours is also introduced in this regard. It
comprises of flexible start and finish timings and a facility for the employees to work for
specified hours on regular basis. So, increase choice and management of their own work by the
employees is advised to mitigate the negative effects of work life imbalance. Some companies
allow part time jobs for their employees but these facilities come with the risk of restricted career
opportunities and increased work pressures for the employees (Kellman, 2015) .
The concept of compressed work weeks with fewer work schedules but longer workdays have
been introduced in this regard. The number of working hours per week remains the same but the
number of working days can be reduced as per the convenience of the employees. It enables
more leaves with less working days but with longer working hours.
The organizational policies regarding work life balance may be customized according to the
needs of the employees. They may be dependent upon cultural and demographic needs of the
employees and the organization. Such practices may comprise of emergency childcare,

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probabilities of teleworking, providing flexible leaves regarding sabbaticals, career breaks and
parental leave (Kato and Kodama ,2015).
Use of SCAMPER technique to derive probable solutions to promote work-life balance and
reduce pressure on employees
SCAMPER technique is one of the successful methods of creative thinking and it is considered
as one of the easiest and direct methods for providing innovative solutions to the problem of
work life imbalance. It forms the basis of the idea that the new propositions are the extended
versions of the old ideas. The name SCAMPER is the abbreviation for seven technique viz.
Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to another use, Eliminate and Reserve. The key words
represent the essential questions which should be addressed in the creative thinking meeting
( Ang and Yuen,2016).
(Source: Designorate, 2018)

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Use of SCAMPER technique for resolving the issue of work life imbalance:
Key words of SCAMPER Technique Interpretation
S = Substitute Use of any process which can be substituted
for the current one in use to speed up the
execution of the tasks such as substituting the
current work structure with flexible hours,
compressed weekends and work from home
facilities(Fayyazi and Aslani,2015).
C=Combine Combination of time consuming activities to
save time. It is specially for female employees
who have to manage amongst the
responsibilities of personal and professional
life (Sahni, 2017).
They can ask their children to join them in
office to do their homework. They can also
discuss their professional problems with them
and it is possible that they might come up with
new and creative solutions to resolve the
problems.
A= Adapt The employees should learn to adapt
themselves to the ever changing work life
environment. They should develop the
emotional flexibility to adjust to the changing

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situations.
In case of any instability at home, they should
avail the facility of work from home and attend
the personal liabilities as well. In the situation
of stable personal life, they can attend their
professional responsibilities (Smith,Roebuck
and Elhaddaoui, 2016).
M= Modify The employees should learn to modify their
lifestyles according to the nature of their work.
It can also help them to manage their
professional life as well. They can order dinner
for themselves or appoint maid for helping
them in doing their household chores.
P=Put to another use The employees can train their subordinates for
doing other tasks as well to make them cross
functional.
They can appoint personal assistant so that
they can be remain free to attend important
tasks in the office( Çelikler and
Harman,2015).
E= Eliminate It is associated with eliminating unwanted
procedures and attitudes from the professional
lifestyle.
The negative and stressful attitude and
unwanted procedures should be eliminated

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from the lifestyle of the employees.
They should take out 30-40 minutes to relax
themselves from the working hours. In this
way, they can rejuvenate from the hectic
schedule.
R= Reverse or Rearrange The present routine should be rearranged or
reversed in such a way so that the employees
can become more family friendly .They should
combine their roles of professional and
personal life.
The organizations are arranging for child care
centers in which the children below the age of
5 can be kept during the working hours of
their mothers. This is a big step by the
organizations which will be of great help to the
female employees (Çeğindir and Cantürk ,
2013) .

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Recommendations
The organizational policies should be formulated and implemented in such a way so that they
provide a mix of the facilities relating to flexible working hours, leave arrangements, emergency
childcare, childcare centers, facilities of work from home etc. to the employees.
In order to mitigate the effects of work life imbalance, the organizations should assess that
compensation and non-monetary benefits are essential to keep the employees motivated and
satisfied. They must assist their employees and be concerned for them by providing them
various roles and work structures according to their personal responsibilities. They must be
focused on providing better services and employee support plans which fulfill their personal
needs as well (Dhas and Karthikeyan, 2015).
An employee grievance cell should be established which assists the employees and resolves their
complaints regarding work place harassment. The companies should educate their employees
about how to create a productive environment for themselves in order to remain stress free. The
organizations should offer family friendly policies to their employees.
Training sessions should be conducted for the employees to help them to retain their creativity
and easier and flexible procedures should be applied to perform the tasks. The organization
should organize workshops, cultural fests, fashion shows and foreign trips for their employees so
that they can relax and spend time with their family and friends (Mousa , 2018).
The organization can conduct events such as swimming and yoga classes for the families of the
employees. It will help them in increasing their satisfactory levels and the family will appreciate
the organization as well. They can conduct work life balancing programs which will help in
decreasing the intensity of absenteeism. They can provide flexible working hours and family
leave policies to the employees which will help in employee retention and increasing their
satisfaction levels.
The commitment of the organization to work life plans of the employees is directly related to
their motivation and productivity. Researches show that employees tend to leave a job in case of
new situation if enough time is not given to them for their personal lives. So the work life plans
for the employees can help the companies in employee retention. It will help them to protect

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from extra loss of organizational knowledge and price paid for employee turnover (Oludayo et
al., 2018).
One of the most effective methods adopted by organizations in this regard is employee helplines
which will help them in providing consultation services to address and resolve personal conflicts
such as issues on parenting, childcare, adoption, education and eldercare.
Form the employee point of view, the facilities regarding the compressed week offs, fully
compensated reduced working hours, flexible working hours comes with a mixture of rewards
and punishments as well. The part time jobs can offer more time for family and friends to the
employees but on the other hand, they are confronted with the disadvantages relating to reduced
salaries and risk of reduced career opportunities.
The flexible working hours or self-roistering permits the employees to schedule their working
hours according to their family and personal needs but on the other hand, their work and
attendance can be less predictable and reliable for the employers. With regards to compressed
working hours, due to more days off and less time spent in transportation, the employees can
better coordinate their personal and professional lives but on the other hand they have to work
for longer hours during their work days which can be chaotic for them to execute sometimes
(Roeder, 2016).