Impact of Big Five Personality on Work Family Balance among Academics of Selected Public Universities in Western Province, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Area of the Study This study attempts to scrutinize the impact of „big five personality (BFP)‟ on work-family balance (WFB) among academics of selected public universities in the Western Province. Problem of the Study There is an empirical and theoretical gap in the study of the impact of BFP and WFB in the Sri Lankan context. Hence, the research problem of this study is „how big five personality impact on the work-family balance among married management faculty academics of selected public universities in Western Province?‟. Method of the Study The primary data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire consisting of 63 statements with five points Likert Scale from the study population which consisted of married management faculty academics of three public universities in Western Province. Seven hypotheses were formulated in this regard under the deductive approach and the study was conducted using a random sampling technique having the total of the 181 married academics. The SPSS package with the univariate and bivariate analyses were used for the purpose of data analysis. Findings of the Study The results of the study emphasize that there is a positive relationship between the BFP and WFB. It is suggested through the overall results that each of the five factor model dimensions are unique and significant predictors of some form of positive or negative WFB in terms of time, involvement and satisfaction with life. Conclusion of the Study In conclusion, it could be noted that that there is a significant positive relationship between BFP and WFB. The result provides clear evidence that the personality type extraversion, consciousness, openness and agreeableness are able to strike a proper balance between the work and the family. It was also identified that neuroticism causes negative effects on the maintenance of the balance between the work and the family. Hence, it is concluded that the personality type neuroticism is more vulnerable to work family imbalance.