Work-Life Balance and Role Theory in Online Learning Contexts

1 Unit 5 Assignment 1 Department of Business, Capella University BMGT8028 Foundational Research, Scholarly Literature, Theory Management August 12, 2023 Dr. Pamelyn Witteman Work Life Balance, Online Learning, Role Theory

2 Introduction For this assignment, the three subtopics I selected were work-life balance, online learning, and role theory. My latter sub-selection was inspired from work I read in a dissertation by Wendy Finlay which focused on the investigation of work-life balance in female entrepreneurs. By exploring real world experiences of self-employed women, the author developed a theoretical framework based off Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, work- life conflict, work-life integration, role stress and role expansion theory (Finlay, 2008) that I align with from personal experience as a woman who works full time while also being an online graduate student. Search Throughout the research process, some of the key terms I included in my search included but were not limited to: - “work-life balance” + “role theory” + “sustainable work” - “learning” + “role theory” + “digital transformation” - “online learning” + “work-life balance” + “role theory” - “online education” + “balance” + “role expansion” - “remote education” + “work-life balance” + “role expansion” - “remote academia” + “balance” + “role theory” Additional search permutations were input, but the optimum terms returning the highest quality results were of the string “online learning” + “work-life balance” + “role theory.” This output returned the largest number of academic journals, handbooks,

3 eBooks, etc. proving the most contextually relevant to the intersection of work-life balance, online education, and role hypothesis. Theories, Seminal Works, & Research Findings Pertinent Findings Throughout my preliminary research in units 2 - 5, the theories, seminal works, and research that I found most relevant were centered around cultural impacts on distance learning 1 and role expansion theory 2 . Literature Review Outline To outline a literature review from a peer-reviewed journal relevant to the intersection of role theory, work-life balance, & online learning – the study “Gender Egalitarianism and Work-Life Balance for Managers: Multisource Perspectives in 36 Countries” investigated gender differences in multisource ratings of work–life balance, based on self-reports and supervisors' appraisals of 40,921 managers in 36 different countries (Lyness, Judiesch 2014). The study outline structure included but was not limited to: 1. An Introduction to Work life balance 2. Gender Roles, Gender‐Related Cultural Values, and Work–Life Balance 3. Gender Egalitarianism + Gender Differences in Self‐Reported Work–Life Balance 4. Supervisors' Perceptions of Subordinates' Work–Life Balance 5. Method / Participants and Procedures 1 Alalshaikh, S. (2015). CULTURAL IMPACTS ON DISTANCE LEARNING, ONLINE LEARNING STYLES, AND DESIGN 2 Finlay, W. A. (2008). Work-life balance in women entrepreneurs: A phenomenological study (Order No. 3321998).

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4 6. Measures, Control Variables, Analyses, Results 7. Theoretical Contributions 8. Practical Implications 9. Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research 10. Conclusions Leveraging a combination of theoretical ideas from social role theory (Eagly & Wood, 2012), work–life literature, and gender egalitarianism, the study tested gender egalitarianism as a moderator of cross-national variations in these gender differences. “Based on multilevel (HLM) analyses, results (suggested) supervisors' perceptions reflected greater influence of societal gender stereotypes. Supervisors rated women lower in work–life balance than men in low egalitarian countries, but similar to men in high egalitarian countries, and only appraisals of women varied depending on egalitarian context. Country gender egalitarian values explained the majority of variation in supervisors' appraisals of women's work– life balance, whereas women's self-reported balance was linked to objective gender inequalities. Taken together, the findings show that supervisors' perceptions of employees' work–life balance differed by rated gender and country context, with important implications for work–life theory and practical implications for global employers.” (Lyness, Judiesch 2014) Description: Culture & Role Theory

5 To further discuss the subtopic of culture, it is important to converge on a common definition of the word (Syzek, 2023), which can be defined as shared beliefs and values within a group that guide behavior (Kang & Chang, 2016). Taking this into account and applying it to cultural impacts on distance-based education, a 2015 article by Alalshaikh highlighted the multicultural nature of distance learners, emphasizing: “the heightened demand for higher education on a global scale, as well as rapid advancements in telecommunication technologies, have rendered online distance education as having potential for worldwide reach online schools in many countries. Because of this, online educators should design instruction in such a way that people from different cultural backgrounds effectively learn from it.” (Alalshaikh, 2015, p.1.), Another relevant dissertation, Work-life Balance in Women Entrepreneurs (Finlay, 2008) explored real world experiences of self-employed women and developed a theoretical framework “based off Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, work-life conflict and work-life integration, role stress and role expansion theory” (Finlay, 2008, p.vii.). This research was useful for developing a new theoretical framework on work-life balance and online learning by encapsulating key inputs that constitute human need, role strain, and learning challenges. Relevant Seminal Work As a seminal work heavily influencing the research vertical of work-life balance, Maslow's hierarchy of needs can be used to understand the variate needs learners may

6 have, while contextualizing how said needs can be affected by work-life balance and online learning. Furthermore, role stress and role expansion theory can be used to understand unique ways in which people cope with the demands of multiple roles and how their coping strategies can affect work-life balance. Observation & Analysis of Predominate Methodology Across the articles, journals, and books I have researched for the past 5 weeks, the predominant research methodology executed was more exploratory/qualitative versus theory testing e.g., quantitative. One potential contributing factor could be that qualitative research practices (remote subject interviews, e-surveys, etc.) were more accessible in pandemic times in comparison to in person, quantitative practices. Analyzing these methodologies, qualitative mechanisms have nonetheless resulted in comprehensive and substantive findings – many of which returned insights implying the demand for online education is increasing (Alalshaikh, 2015), is appreciated for its "interactivity, multimedia/multilingual integration, and multiplatform capacity in synchronous and/or asynchronous formats all within a ubiquitous learning space" (Gaudelli, 2006, p. 98), supervisor' perceptions of employee work–life balance differed by rated gender and country context (Lyness, Judiesch 2014), and that work-life conflict & integration can be used to understand the unique ways in which work and personal life can conflict, and how these conflicts can best be managed. Summary Knowledge Gaps

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7 While the existing body of research on work-life balance and online academics is undeniably broad, a possible gap in existing knowledge for which a study may make a substantive contribution is that of a new analysis on the post-pandemic effect of how return-to-work initiatives have affected online students in the workforce. As millions of employees have returned to the office, has this action helped or hindered their academic and economic performance? Retrospective Throughout the process of coalescing learnings around the existing literature on work-life balance, online learning, and role theory – my own understanding as a PhD researcher has substantially increased. At the beginning of the term – while I possessed a first-person intuition around the importance of role theory in academic success – I was unable to articulate why a person’s role could be so impactful to their success or failure in academia in a data-driven manner. Today, I have grown as a researcher by understanding that leveraging foundational seminal research such as Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, applying a universal definition (e.g. of culture) when investigating diverse sources, and extrapolating new learnings from a common baseline – formulates data driven research versus anecdotal research. Reflecting on lessons I have learned in conducting literature reviews – the search processes that most enhanced my understanding of the structure of scholarly texts was the process of 1) identifying what type of research I was reviewing (seminal, peer reviewed, published, unpublished), 2) delineating what research methodology was deployed

8 (qualitative versus quantitative), 3) isolating which theories the author(s) were proposing / insights they were attempting to source, and finally 4) identifying if the author(s) addressed gaps in their own work or shared additional suggestions for future academics to leverage. Additionally, several of my classmates contributed to this research process by pointing out concepts I had not previously considered and sharing research findings I had not otherwise discovered myself. I would like to extend my gratitude to everyone within our class who commented on my posts, with specific thanks to Marlo Scott for his point on Maslow's hierarchy of needs correlating to life domain theory and Engines Syzek for his emphasis that a discussion on culture necessitates a common definition of the word culture itself. Appendix 1: Annotated Bibliography Alalshaikh, S. (2015). CULTURAL IMPACTS ON DISTANCE LEARNING, ONLINE

9 LEARNING STYLES, AND DESIGN. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 16(3), 67-75,85. http://library.capella.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F %2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fscholarly-journals%2Fcultural-impacts-on-distance- learning-online%2Fdocview%2F1755539725%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D27965 This article focuses on multicultural nature of distance learners. Due to the growing demand for higher education, online education has the potential to reach students in many countries. As a result, online educators must design instruction in a way that is effective for learners from different cultural backgrounds. This article explores concepts such as the cultural dimension of distance learning, culturally appropriate instructional design, learning as impacted by culture, and the need for multicultural competency training for online educators. Finlay, W. A. (2008). Work-life balance in women entrepreneurs: A phenomenological study (Order No. 3321998). [Doctoral dissertation, University of Phoenix] Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (275544768). http://library.capella.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F %2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fdissertations-theses%2Fwork-life-balance-women- entrepreneurs%2Fdocview%2F275544768%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D27965 This phenomenological study explored the experiences of women entrepreneurs who face the challenge of work-life balance for the purpose of assisting future female entrepreneurs. In-depth interviews with women entrepreneurs in the New York tri-borough area revealed six themes that were used to create a work-life

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10 balance model in which some key constructs were: planning; delegating; effective communication; and relationship building. Lyness, K. S., & Judiesch, M. K. (2014). Gender Egalitarianism and Work-Life Balance for Managers: Multisource Perspectives in 36 Countries. Applied Psychology, 63(1), 96–129. https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.12011 This study examined gender differences in how managers rated their personal work-life balance and how their supervisors rated their work-life balance, across 36 countries. The study was based on the theory that gender roles in society influence how people perceive work-life balance, & found there was more x- national variation in how supervisors rated managers' work-life balance than in how managers rated their own work-life balance. Gaudelli, W. (2006). Convergence of technology and diversity: Experiences of two beginning teachers in web-based distance learning for global/multicultural education. Teacher Education Quarterly, 33(1), 97-116. Gragnano, A., Simbula, S., & Miglioretti, M. (2020). Work–Life Balance: Weighing the Importance of Work–Family and Work–Health Balance. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(3), 907. NCBI. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17030907 This study (involving 318 workers & an online questionnaire) investigated the importance of non-work domains while particularly focusing on health in work- life balance (WLB). The research examined the impact of work-family balance

11 and work-health balance on job satisfaction, before finally exploring how the effects ofwork-family balance and work-health balance on job satisfaction vary according to worker characteristics (e.g. age, gender, parental status, and work ability.) References Alalshaikh, S. (2015). CULTURAL IMPACTS ON DISTANCE LEARNING, ONLINE LEARNING STYLES, AND DESIGN. Quarterly Review of Distance Education,

12 16(3), 67-75,85. http://library.capella.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F %2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fscholarly-journals%2Fcultural-impacts-on-distance- learning-online%2Fdocview%2F1755539725%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D27965 Chris Dede, Arthur Eisenkraft, Kim Frumin, & Alex Hartley. (2016). Teacher Learning in the Digital Age: Online Professional Development in STEM Education. Harvard Education Press. David Grebow, & Stephen J. Gill. (2018). Minds at Work: Managing for Success in the Knowledge Economy. Association for Talent Development. Finlay, W. A. (2008). Work-life balance in women entrepreneurs: A phenomenological study (Order No. 3321998). [Doctoral dissertation, University of Phoenix] Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (275544768). http://library.capella.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F %2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fdissertations-theses%2Fwork-life-balance-women- entrepreneurs%2Fdocview%2F275544768%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D27965 Gaudelli, W. (2006). Convergence of technology and diversity: Experiences of two beginning teachers in web-based distance learning for global/multicultural education. Teacher Education Quarterly, 33(1), 97-116. Greenhaus, Jeffrey & Allen, Tammy. (2011). Work-Family Balance: A Review and Extension of the Literature. Gragnano, A., Simbula, S., & Miglioretti, M. (2020). Work–Life Balance: Weighing the Importance of Work–Family and Work–Health Balance. International Journal of

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13 Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(3), 907. NCBI. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17030907 Hayakawa, S. I. (1979). Language in thought and action (4th ed.). Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. James Rickabaugh. (2016). Tapping the Power of Personalized LearningâÂ€ ̄: A Roadmap for School Leaders. ASCD Kuhn, T. S. (2012). The structure of scientific revolutions (4th ed.). University of Chicago Press. Lyness, K. S., & Judiesch, M. K. (2014). Gender Egalitarianism and Work-Life Balance for Managers: Multisource Perspectives in 36 Countries. Applied Psychology, 63(1), 96–129. https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.12011 M. Cecil Smith, & Thomas Pourchot. (1998). Adult Learning and Developmental Perspectives From Educational Psychology. Routledge. Mukesh Patel, Vasant Honavar, & Karthik Balakrishnan. (2001). Advances in the Evolutionary Synthesis of Intelligent Agents. A Bradford Book

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