THE NIGERIAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY
ISSN: 0331-4111 e-ISSN: 2736-075X
Volume 22, No. 2, November 2024
Pages 15-35
DOI: 10.36108/NJSA/4202.22.0220
Work-Life Balance among Women in the Informal Sector: A Study of Hair Dressers in Abakaliki Metropolis, Ebonyi State, Nigeria
Joshua Onuenyim Nweke, Chisom Success Okike, Chibugo Moses Oketa and Ogbonnaya Jerry Okereke
Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, Nigeria
Abstract
Entrepreneurs are often faced with many challenges world over. One of their greatest challenges is role conflict which has a devastating effect on organisational and family domains. This study underscored work-life balance among women hair dressers in Abakaliki metropolis, Ebonyi State Nigeria. The study was anchored on Border theory by Clerk S. C. Survey design was employed with the use of structured questionnaire. Data were purposively gathered from 384 female participants. Greater number of the participants had their First School Leaving Certificate and Senior Secondary Certificates (81.94%). Majority of the participants (49.17%) were married, while 36.11% were single. Most of them (86.11%) were Christians, while 1.66% was Muslim. Results show that hair dressing is labour intensive (83.33%), working hours in the salon are lengthy and demanding (81.94%) and does not spare one time for family and leisure (87.5%), work domain has significant and negative effect on the performance of women hair dressers (r = -0.424, P-value: 0.000). It is difficult to manage work and family responsibilities (83.33%), multiple work responsibilities contribute to slack in family responsibilities (91.67%), family life does not affect job efficiency (91.67%), family responsibility affect hair dressing business negatively (83.33%). This implies that family domain has significant and negative effect on the performance of women hair dressers (r = – 0.783. P- value: 0.000). The study recommends that the hair dressers should have a work schedule that does not conflict with both their personal and family work domains as this would help to improve their work-life balance.
Keywords: Work-life balance, role conflict, family work domain.