Comparing Work-Life Balance and Job Satisfaction among Nurses in Government and Private Hospitals in Chennai

By virtue of doing justice with their jobs, healthcare workers typically put aside their personal needs, which makes it challenging especially for women to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Keeping an equilibrium between one's professional and personal goals is a difficult task that requires work-life balance which is intricately entwined in every way. The healthcare industry is growing quickly, and nurses make up a sizable share of the workforce. The job is not easy as it requires many working night shifts, extended work hours, few breaks, and lots of work pressure. However, when provided witha supportive environment at the workplace as well as at home, they can focus well on their duties of serving patients and be more productive resulting in the increase of the quality of patient care. It is therefore needed to discuss strategies by identifying the numerous elements affecting the personal and professional lives of nurses and elevating their work-life balance. The present study aims to understand the factors influencing the work-life balance of nurses. Also, comparing the results between the nurses belonging to the government and private hospitals. It is observed from the data analyzed that the ratio of the Time Spent with Family and Job Satisfaction level is less in the private sector and vice-versa in Government Sector whereas Stress level, Fatigue Level, Organizational and Work-Life Balance Commitment, Unmarried and Divorced percentage of nurses, Financial Rewards and satisfaction with Amenities are found more in private hospitals in comparison to government hospital so it was found that private hospital nurses suffer more in terms of work-life balance as compared to government hospitals in Chennai. However, there are segments that are common in the lives of both Government and Private Hospital Nurses. Both suffer from Stress and Fatigue Levels. Their family life hampers because of night duties and extra working hours. Therefore, appropriate action should be taken by the authorities to help the nurses resolve this issue.