Flexible Work Arrangements: An Evaluation of Job Satisfaction and Work Life Balance of London Luxury Hotel Chefs

by

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER # 1: INTRODUCTION1

1.1Background of the Study1

1.2Problem statement2

1.3Purpose of the Study2

1.4Rationale of the Study3

1.5Research Question3

1.6Definition of Key Terms4

1.7Significance of the Study4

1.8Structure of Thesis5

CHAPTER # 2: LITERATURE REVIEW6

2.1Introduction6

2.2Different Aspect of Work-life Balance6

2.3Occupational Stress in London Luxury Hotel's Chefs7

2.4Research Related to the Holistic Approach to Work-Life Balance7

2.5Concepts of Job Satisfaction8

2.5.1 Factors of Job Satisfaction9

CHAPTER # 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY11

3.1Introduction11

3.2Research Design11

3.3Research instrument11

3.4Population12

3.5Sampling technique12

3.6Sample size12

3.7Data Collection Steps13

3.8Data Analysis14

REFERENCES15

APPENDIX21

Questionnaire21

Cover Letter25

CHAPTER # 1: INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

In the present era the work life balance is regarded as the major topic of concern. Balancing the time, effort, and demands of work with personal, family, domestic, and social responsibilities is challenging and, at times, seems impossible. It is a fact that workplace always dominates over one's personal life and usually in a negative way. In London luxury hotels the chefs have to continually perform multi-task and this creates a great deal of stress that impacts negatively on the chef and on family members. The flexible work arrangements are regarded as the work arrangements in which employees are given scheduling freedom to fulfil their job obligations. The flexible work arrangements provide leniency and flexible working hours which give workers a greater leeway in terms of the time, when they start and end their work.

Currently, the chefs of luxury hotels usually spend most of their time at work (Jennings and McDougald 2007). According to Hsieh and Eggers (2010); the consequences of overworked become the cause of work-life conflict. It is a manner of inter-role conflict whereby the pressures for an individual responsibility from work and life spheres are inharmonious. Jennings and McDougald (2007) stated that there is a need to resolve the issue of work life balance among the chefs as day by day the issue of well-being and work life balance problem arising. The chefs have to put more amounts of time and energy to carry out their jobs. There were a number of chefs who considered the idea of flexible work arrangements is effective for them.

Problem statement

In the luxury hotel industry the flexible work arrangement is not a new problem. In every organization flexible work arrangement have an influential impact on the motivation and productivity of employees. The problem of work life conflict is arises when employees are not satisfied with their job obligations. In order to overcome the issues of employees work life balance there is a need to provide them flexible work arrangements, so that they can effectively manage their job responsibilities and family life. The job responsibilities of luxury hotel industry require greater demand for physical attendance for satisfying the customers' needs (Deery 2008). In addition, inflexible working hours are pushing employee into unsafe way of dealing with stress (Parkes and Lanford 2008). The integration of work life imbalance has resulted in low quality service among chefs of luxury hotels.

There were a number of researchers who have highlighted the importance of flexible work arrangements and its ...