Work-life balance for white-collar employees : a study applying the capabilities approach in Bangladeshi private banks

Abstract

There is a growing concern for blue-collar workers in Bangladesh, but an absence of focus on white-collar workers, particularly in the private banking sector. With the implementation of working time capability, these workers might attain better work-life balance (WLB). To investigate this issue, a mixed method research design was used. In Phase I, a semi-structured interview was used to define working time capability in the unique context of banking work. In Phase II, a quantitative online survey was used to create a new measure of working time capability and see whether it can predict work outcomes above and beyond currently existing measures of WLB. Mixed method data analysis revealed that employees defined working time capability based on their unique needs. Further, the new measure provides additional power to predict employees’ cynicism, mental health, risks and symptoms, which is captures a core, specific risk associated with banking employees in Bangladesh.