Flexible Work Arrangements and Organizational Support as Pathways to Work-Life Integration for Women Professionals

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31181/sdmap41202755

Keywords:

Flexible work arrangements, Organizational support, Work-life satisfaction, Domestic workload, Job performance, Work-life integration

Abstract

This study focused on work-life integration among women professionals in Kogi State, Nigeria. The study determined the effect of FWA on women's ability to integrate work and family responsibilities, and assessed the effect of organizational support on the work-life satisfaction of women professionals. This study used a descriptive survey research design. The study's participants were women professionals employed in specific fields, including healthcare and education, in Kogi State, Nigeria's urban centres. A sample size of 284 women professionals was targeted. The technique of stratified random sampling was employed. The study summarized demographic data using descriptive statistics, and used regression analysis to analyze the hypotheses. Findings showed that flexible work arrangements significantly and positively affect women's ability to balance work and family responsibilities. Findings further demonstrated that organizational support significantly improves women professionals' work-life satisfaction. The study concludes that women's work-life experiences are greatly and favourably influenced by important aspects of work-life integration, including flexible work arrangements, organizational support, domestic workloads, and spousal or partner support. The study recommended that organizations should implement flexible work policies like remote work, flexible scheduling, and hybrid models to help women balance their roles in the home and at work, and that employers should strengthen their support networks, including counselling, mentorship, and family-friendly policies to improve women's work-life satisfaction. 

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Lekchiri, S., & Eversole, B. A. (2021). Perceived work‐life balance: Exploring the experiences of professional Moroccan women. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 32(1), 35–53. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrdq.21407

Marshall, S. (2023). Work–Life Integration: Women Administrators in Student Affairs and Higher Education Managing Work and Family. In Creating Sustainable Careers in Student Affairs (pp. 277–295). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003443834-18

Susilowati, N. E., Fratiwi, N. J., & Barus, C. S. A. (2024). Balancing Act: Navigating Work and Life-A Compelling Bibliographic Exploration Among Women, But Does Everyone Consider It. Women, Education, and Social Welfare, 1(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.70211/wesw.v1i1.86

Uddin, M. (2021). Addressing work‐life balance challenges of working women during COVID‐19 in Bangladesh. International Social Science Journal, 71(239-240), 7–20. https://doi.org/10.1111/issj.12267

Radcliffe, L., Cassell, C., & Spencer, L. (2023). Work-family habits? Exploring the persistence of traditional work-family decision making in dual-earner couples. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 145, 103914. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2023.103914

Thörel, E., Pauls, N., & Göritz, A. S. (2022). The association of work-related extended availability with recuperation, well-being, life domain balance and work: A meta-analysis. Organizational Psychology Review, 12(4), 387–427. https://doi.org/10.1177/20413866221116309

Champagne, G. (2024). Breaking the Silence of Working Mothers: Gender Inequity, Work-Family Conflict, and the Call for Flexible Work Options in Massachusetts K-12 School District (Doctoral dissertation, Southern New Hampshire University).

Ali, R., Naz, A., & Azhar, M. (2025). Work-life balance, career motivation and women: a systematic literature review and research agenda in the Indian context. Gender in Management: An International Journal, 40(3), 467–504. https://doi.org/10.1108/GM-01-2024-0022

Arora, A. (2025). Cultural and Regional Influences on Women Entrepreneurs: A Study of Work-Life Balance. In Work-Life Balance and Its Effect on Women Entrepreneurs (pp. 367–384). IGI Global Scientific Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4018/979-8-3693-9516-5.ch018

Tahir, R. (2024). Integration of work and life roles: an interpretive study of women entrepreneurs in the United Arab Emirates. Cross Cultural & Strategic Management, 31(2), 309–334. https://doi.org/10.1108/CCSM-06-2023-0104

Bishu, S. G., & Headley, A. M. (2020). Equal employment opportunity: Women bureaucrats in male‐dominated professions. Public Administration Review, 80(6), 1063–1074. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13178

Mousa, M., Boyle, J., Skouteris, H., Mullins, A. K., Currie, G., Riach, K., & Teede, H. J. (2021). Advancing women in healthcare leadership: a systematic review and meta-synthesis of multi-sector evidence on organisational interventions. EClinicalMedicine, 39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2021.101084

Epie, C. (2023). Work-life balance experiences in Nigeria: Institutional and sociocultural perspectives. In Work-life balance in africa: a critical approach (pp. 61–85). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-38008-2_4

Bulog, I., Pepur, S., & Rimac Smiljanić, A. (2022). Women's overload during the pandemic: Unpaid care work, financial well-being, and stress. Management: Journal of Contemporary Management Issues, 27(1), 123–150. https://doi.org/10.30924/mjcmi.27.1.8

Mazaheri, P., Hawk, K. E., Ledermann, E. J., Lozano, K. D. S., & Porter, K. K. (2023). Flexible work arrangements and their impact on women in radiology: RSNA 2021 panel discussion summary sponsored by AAWR and more. Clinical Imaging, 94, 56–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinimag.2022.11.012

Rawat, G. (2025). Balancing work and life: household work, professional career and problems of employed women in Kathmandu (Doctoral dissertation, Central Department of Sociology).

Akanji, B., Mordi, C., & Ajonbadi, H. A. (2024). Confronting social dominance ideology: how professional women manage career stereotypes in male-dominated occupations. Employee Relations: The International Journal, 46(4), 913–933. https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-04-2022-0161

Elinsky, A. K. (2020). More than wives, mothers, and homemakers: a qualitative narrative about how businesswomen experience work-life balance, role congruity and gender discrimination in the workplace (Doctoral dissertation, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology).

Wani, A. K. (2022). Spousal support and working woman’s career progression: a qualitative study of woman academicians in the University of Kashmir. Journal of Global Responsibility, 14(1), 27–45. https://doi.org/10.1108/JGR-05-2021-0050

Dzingwa, N., & Terblanche, N. (2024). Coaching to support work-life balance of women in leadership positions. SA Journal of Human Resource Management, 22, 2509. https://hdl.handle.net/10520/ejc-sajhrm_v22_n1_a2509

Marthalina, M., Joeliaty, J., Yunizar, Y., & Soemaryani, I. (2025). Work-life balance woman working in the government sector. International Journal of Organizational Analysis. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOA-03-2024-4372

Munyeka, W., & Maharaj, A. (2024). Breaking Barriers and Balancing Bytes: Exploring Work-Life Balance among Female ICT Professionals in a South Telecommunications Company-A PhD Thesis Review. Journal of Business and Management Review, 5(3), 234–255. https://doi.org/10.47153/jbmr53.9052024

Amah, O. E., & Ogah, M. (2021). Work-life Integration in Africa. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69113-4

Chauhan, P., & Rai, S. (2024). Conceptualizing work-life integration: A review and research agenda. Asia Pacific Management Review, 29(4), 415–426. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmrv.2024.10.002

Williams, J. C., Berdahl, J. L., & Vandello, J. A. (2016). Beyond work-life “integration”. Annual Review of Psychology, 67(1), 515–539. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-122414-033710

Hariani, M., & Mardikaningsih, R. (2025). Work Schedule Flexibility and Job Satisfaction in a Global Corporate Environment. International Journal of Service Science, Management, Engineering, and Technology, 7(1), 12–16. https://ejournalisse.com/index.php/isse/article/view/143

Uddin, M., Ali, K. B., Khan, M. A., & Ahmad, A. (2023). Supervisory and co-worker support on the work-life balance of working women in the banking sector: A developing country perspective. Journal of Family Studies, 29(1), 306–326. https://doi.org/10.1080/13229400.2021.1922299

Awang, N., & Nadzri, N. R. M. (2023). The implementation of flexible work arrangements (FWAs) and its impact for work-life balance of women’s workforce. I-iECONS e-proceedings, 438–449. https://doi.org/10.33102/iiecons.v10i1.15

Chung, H., & Van der Lippe, T. (2020). Flexible working, work–life balance, and gender equality: Introduction. Social Indicators Research, 151(2), 365–381. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-018-2025-x

Andoh, A. L. F. O. R. D. (2023). Impact of Family-To-Work Conflict on job performance of Career Women (Doctoral dissertation, University of Education Winneba).

Bourezg, M., Khassawneh, O., Singh, S., Mohammad, T., Melhem, M. J., & Darwish, T. K. (2025). Exploring the path to job satisfaction among women in the Middle East: a contextual perspective. Gender in Management: An International Journal, 40(3), 381–406. https://doi.org/10.1108/GM-11-2023-0411

Clar‐Novak, M. (2025). The gendered paradox of individualization in telework: Simultaneously helpful and harmful in the context of parenting. Gender, Work & Organization, 32(1), 330–350. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.13155

Onyeka, N. F. (2022). Exploring Female Perspectives of Work-Life Balance and the Role of Organizational Culture (Doctoral dissertation, Capella University).

Eisenberger, R., Rhoades Shanock, L., & Wen, X. (2020). Perceived organizational support: Why caring about employees counts. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 7(1), 101–124. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-012119-044917

Rashid, M., Aslam, H., Wajid, A., & Naeem, A. (2023). The impact of work-life conflict and dual-career couple on job satisfaction with the moderating role of perceived organizational support. International Journal of Business Reflections, 3(2), 264–294. https://doi.org/10.56249/ijbr.03.01.36

Ma, E., Wu, L., Yang, W., & Xu, S. T. (2021). Hotel work-family support policies and employees' needs, concerns and Challenges—The Case of Working Mothers’ maternity leave experience. Tourism Management, 83, 104216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2020.104216

Neneh, B. N. (2025). Women at Work with the Help of Family: Leveraging Family Resources to Tackle Work‐Family Conflict. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences/Revue Canadienne des Sciences de l'Administration, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1002/cjas.70015

Mussida, C., & Patimo, R. (2021). Women’s family care responsibilities, employment and health: a tale of two countries. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 42(3), 489–507. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-020-09742-4

Aziz, M. (2023). Women's Double Burden in the Family Between Culture and Discrimination. Potret Pemikiran, 27(2), 227–244.

Çoban, S. (2022). Gender and telework: Work and family experiences of teleworking professional, middle‐class, married women with children during the Covid‐19 pandemic in Turkey. Gender, Work & Organization, 29(1), 241–255. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12684

Dunatchik, A., Gerson, K., Glass, J., Jacobs, J. A., & Stritzel, H. (2021). Gender, parenting, and the rise of remote work during the pandemic: Implications for domestic inequality in the United States. Gender & Society, 35(2), 194–205. https://doi.org/10.1177/08912432211001301

Banks, N. (2020). Black women in the United States and unpaid collective work: Theorizing the community as a site of production. The Review of Black Political Economy, 47(4), 343–362. https://doi.org/10.1177/0034644620962811

Singh, P., & Pattanaik, F. (2020). Unfolding unpaid domestic work in India: women’s constraints, choices, and career. Palgrave Communications, 6(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-020-0488-2

Heskiau, R., & McCarthy, J. M. (2021). A work–family enrichment intervention: Transferring resources across life domains. Journal of Applied Psychology, 106(10), 1573. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/apl0000833

Drewelies, J., Schade, H., Hülür, G., Hoppmann, C. A., Ram, N., & Gerstorf, D. (2020). The more we are in control, the merrier? Partner perceived control and negative affect in the daily lives of older couples. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 75(2), 338–348. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gby009

Abouelenin, M. (2021). Gender Inequalities at the Work-Family Interface: Exploring the Role of Women’s Resources and Cultural Norms in Modern-Day Egypt (Doctoral dissertation, Lancaster University).

Boateng, J. A. K. (2020). Challenges of Gendered Journalism: Exploring Work Life Experiences of Ghanaian Female Journalists [JYU Dissertations].

Zinia, J. F. (2024). Bangladeshi Working Mothers’ Work-Life Experience (Master's thesis, The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee).

Aura, N. A. M., & Desiana, P. M. (2023). Flexible Working Arrangements and Work-Family Culture Effects on Job Satisfaction: The Mediation Role of Work-Family Conflicts among Female Employees. Jurnal Manajemen Teori dan Terapan, 16(2), 382–398. https://doi.org/10.20473/jmtt.v16i2.45960

Ghimire, B., Dahal, R. K., & Rai, B. (2023). The attitude of flexible work arrangement on academics' job satisfaction: The emerging market case. Journal of System and Management Sciences, 13(2), 370–383. https://doi.org/10.33168/JSMS.2023.0226

Austin-Egole, I. S., Iheriohanma, E. B., & Nwokorie, C. (2020). Flexible working arrangements and organizational performance: An overview. IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science (IOSR-JHSS), 25(5), 50–59. https://doi.org/10.9790/0837-2505065059

Silalahi, E. N., Narang, R., Rotib, N. S., & Khairal Abdullah, T. M. (2021). The Influence Of Flexible Working Arrangements-Working From Home And Telecommuting On Working Performance, Mediated By Motivation And Work-Life Balance. Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, 12(6), 1–19.

Agrawal, S., & Singh, S. (2022). Predictors of subjective career success amongst women employees: moderating role of perceived organizational support and marital status. Gender in Management: An International Journal, 37(3), 344–359. https://doi.org/10.1108/GM-06-2020-0187

Gordon, J. R., & Hood, E. (2021). Organization-based self-esteem and work-life outcomes. Personnel Review, 50(1), 21–46. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-09-2019-0484

Zhao, X. R., Wang, J., Law, R., & Fan, X. (2020). A Meta-Analytic Model on the Role of Organizational Support in Work-Family Conflict and Employee Satisfaction. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 32, 3767-3786. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-05-2020-0371

Mirbahaeddin, E., & Chreim, S. (2022). A narrative review of factors influencing peer support role implementation in mental health systems: implications for research, policy and practice. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 49(4), 596–612. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-021-01186-8

Petts, R. J., Mize, T. D., & Kaufman, G. (2022). Organizational policies, workplace culture, and perceived job commitment of mothers and fathers who take parental leave. Social Science Research, 103, 102651. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2021.102651

Greenhaus, J. H. & Powell, G. N. (2006). When work and family are allies: A theory of workfamily enrichment. Academy of Management Review, 31(1), 72–92. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2006.19379625

Heskiau, R., & McCarthy, J. M. (2021). A work–family enrichment intervention: Transferring resources across life domains. Journal of Applied Psychology, 106(10), 1573. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/apl0000833

Park, Y., Kim, J., & Lee, H. (2023). The influences of supportive leadership and family social support on female managers’ organizational effectiveness: the mediating effect of positive spillover between work and family. Behavioral Sciences, 13(8), 639. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs13080639

Meliala, Y. H., Eliyana, A., Hamidah, A. D. B., & Habibi, M. B. (2020). The effect of work family conflict on job performance through emotional exhaustion. Systematic Reviews in Pharmacy, 11(10), 459–465. https://doi.org/10.31838/srp.2020.10.69

Safrizal, H. B. A., Eliyana, A., & Febriyanti, K. L. (2020). The Effect of Double Role Conflict (Work Family Conflict) on Female Worker's Performance with Work Stress as the Intervening Variable. Systematic Reviews in Pharmacy, 11(10), 418. https://doi.org/10.31838/srp.2020.10.65

Leung, Y. K., Mukerjee, J., & Thurik, R. (2020). The role of family support in work-family balance and subjective well-being of SME owners. Journal of Small Business Management, 58(1), 130–163. https://doi.org/10.1080/00472778.2019.1659675

Schnettler, B., Concha-Salgado, A., Grunert, K. G., Orellana, L., Saracostti, M., Beroiza, K., ... & Thomas, E. (2025). The Mediating Role of Work–Life Balance Between Perceived Partner Support and Satisfaction with Food-Related Life in Dual-Earning Parents and Their Adolescents. Nutrients, 17(6), 1018. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17061018

Ali, P. A., McGarry, J., & Maqsood, A. (2022). Spousal role expectations and marital conflict: perspectives of men and women. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(9-10), NP7082–NP7108. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260520966667

Published

2026-01-12

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Nafiu, A. T., Lamidi, K. F., & Ogar, G. W. (2026). Flexible Work Arrangements and Organizational Support as Pathways to Work-Life Integration for Women Professionals. Spectrum of Decision Making and Applications, 4(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.31181/sdmap41202755