WORK-LIFE BALANCE AND ADAPTIVE MECHANISM AMONG POSTGRADUATE STUDENT IN UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1  Background of the study

The importance of work-life balance has been gaining ground in recent years to capture a wider range of groups, including undergraduates combining full-time study with part-time employment or post-graduate students combining full-time employment with part-time studies. Finding a balance can be complex and challenging for many individuals and students.The trend of post-graduate students combining work and study is factored in by the increasing costs of living and an increase in tuition fees. Hence, in order to meet the demands of such a level of education, there is a need to juggle studies with work.

A postgraduate is a student who has successfully completed an undergraduate degree-level course at a college or university and is undertaking further study at a more advanced level. A postgraduate student is someone who is enrolled in a postgraduate course, such as a master's or doctorate program, that requires an undergraduate degree as part of the admissions requirements.Some of these students have just completed their service year and are sponsored by their parents, while others are working class, married, and settled, but want to advance their qualifications.Whatever their status, the working class among them face the challenges of balancing work, family, and studies.

Work-life balance among post-graduate students is a newly emerging phenomenon which has received little attention and has potentially significant implications for universities, employers, and students themselves.

Work-life balance implies the ability of an employee to have control over his/her responsibilities between work, family, friends and. Work-life balance assists in the alignment of work roles and family roles, which will bring about organizational efficiency and performance. The significance of adaptation can not be overturned in this relationship because how it translates to business performance is behavioural in nature. The extreme uncertainty and the high personal risk involved practically engage the emotions of the entrepreneur, thus influencing his/her judgments, decision making as well as behaviour.

1.2 Statement of the problem

In the context of the Nigerian working space, work-life imbalances have become the order of the day and have resulted in numerous consequences for organizations, such as low productivity, absenteeism, and lack of concentration during work hours. The challenge for postgraduate students who work and study has been to develop strategies for adapting to a work-life balance by aligning the problems of stress, uncertainty, emergencies, interpersonal relationships, academic tasks, and cultural engagements with work.As a result, striking a balance between work responsibilities, family obligations, and academic obligations has become increasingly important.Therefore, it is upon this premise that this study seeks to examine work-life balance and adaptive mechanisms among postgraduate students.

1.3 Objective of the study

The main focus of this study is to examine work-life balance and adaptive mechanism among postgraduate student. Specifically the study seeks

1. To examine if post graduate student have the challenges managing work and academic task.

2. To determine the extent to which work roles and academic task affect life balance of post graduate students.

3. To examine the adaptive mechanism through which post-graduate students employ to maintain work-life balance.

1.4       Research hypotheses

The research is guided by the following Hypothesis

H01: Post graduate student do not have any challenges in managing  work stress and academic task.

H02: There are no known Adaptive mechanism which post-graduate students can employ to maintain work-life balance.

1.5       Significance of the study

The study will be useful for postgraduate students, employees, business owners, and the general public, especially those in the workforce or entrepreneurs.It will enlighten business owners to the need to review their employee descriptions and likely create a career plan for them, as well as grant their post-graduate students permission to work a few hours during the week to help them meet their academic tasks. The studies will expose employees and entrepreneurs to stress management techniques and adaptive mechanisms that will allow them to maintain a work-life balance.More so, this study will contribute to existing literature, serving as a reference material for both students and academia in related studies and creating opportunities for further studies in related fields.

1.6       Scope of the study

The scope of this study borders on Work-life balance and adaptive mechanism among postgraduate students. The study is however limited to selected post graduate students in University of Lagos (UNILAG) in Lagos State.

1.7       Limitation of the study

The following factors poses to be a limitation during the course of this research

Financial constraint– Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
Time constraint– The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.

1.8       Definition of terms

Work-life balance: work-life balance is the state of equilibrium where a person equally prioritizes the demands of one's career and the demands of one's personal life. Some of the common reasons that lead to a poor work-life balance include: Increased responsibilities at work and working longer hours.

Stress management: Stress management is a wide spectrum of techniques and psychotherapies aimed at controlling a person's level of stress, especially chronic stress, usually for the purpose of and for the motive of improving everyday functioning.

Post graduate Student : A postgraduate is a student who has successfully completed an undergraduate degree level course at a college or university and is undertaking further study at a more advanced level either a master course or doctorate course.