Assessing the relationship between parental leave policies and job satisfaction: A case study of the banking sector in Ghana
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2018-04
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Abstract
Over the years, international organizations and national governments have recognized the need to protect the rights of workers. Without such protection, workers are at risk of working under poor conditions without policies that cushion them against such risks. The existence of national parental leave policies aimed at supporting working parents is one such protection provided to workers globally. Studies have proved that the provision of such policies increase employee performance, job satisfaction and employee commitment in organizations. As such, the aim of this research was to assess relationship between parental leave policies and job satisfaction in the Ghanaian banking sector. The study analysed the existing national provisions, and assessed the variations between how workers are protected by law, and how they actually benefit in practice. The study used a qualitative research approach that was exploratory and used in-depth interviews to collect data. A sample size of 9 participants diversified through their sex, job role, number of children, size of the organization and whether the organization was state owned or not participated in the study. Conclusively, it was found that while female workers are protected under the national maternity leave policy, there is no national paternity leave policy covering male workers in Ghana. Additionally, having knowledge of what such policies entail was a major determinant of the benefits received. The study also found that there was a need to extend the maternity leave period as the three months provision proved to be insufficient to working mothers. Other elements such as the provision of nurseries at the workplace, flexible work hours and adequate medial cover for employees, as well as having a supportive organizational culture highly contributed to how satisfied the participants felt. As such, this study recommends the provision of these elements in organizations in order to improve employee job satisfaction and commitment.
Description
Thesis submitted to the Department of Business Administration, Ashesi University, in partial fulfillment of Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, April 2018
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Ghana, banking sector, job satisfaction, parental leave policies, employee perfomance, maternity leave, paternity leave