Paper Title
EFFECTS OF WORK-LIFE BALANCE ON THE PERFORMANCE OF FEMALE EMPLOYEES IN THE BANKING SECTOR IN NIGERIA

Abstract
The increase in daily work pressure, lengthy working hours and the quest to meet employers set targets and deliverable leads to poor performances and family disputes, health and emotional challenges. This paper reviewed various aspects of modern theories and researches on work-life balance of female employees in the banking sector in Nigeria. The review is kicked off by reflecting that work-life balance has in recent past become an important topic for research, and after a thorough review of the age-old way of work routine amongst female employees in banking, the concept of work-life balance and the implication thereof against the relationship work life has with the rest of life of the female employees’performances in Nigeria banking employment.The increased work expectancy on today’s employees has triggered lots of clashes between work-life and other arms of human endeavor. This study investigated the relationship between work-life and female employees’ performance in the Nigeria banking sector. In specific terms, the study looked at the effects of hours of work on female employees’ health, family or domestic stress and workload pressure, role conflicts and weighed the flexibility of work schedule on female employee productivity,assessed the influence family demands has on punctuality and commitment to work and overall performance, effects of organizational leave policy and alternative work arrangement on female employee retention in banking industry in Nigeria.The problem that brought about this project research wasidentified by the poor work organizational culture which inhibits numerous kinds of work-life balance practices, high rate of work-life unbalance in the banking industry necessitated by the long time frame between resuming and closing of work by employees (female) which does not permit work flexibility, leisure, ample time for domestic obligations and child care,and job performance. Secondary data on previous researches on relevant theoretical and empirical literatures and reports paper journals were used and reviewed to buttress the discourse and findings show that long hours of work and workload pressure and role conflicts has strong correlation with incessant health challenges of female employees significantly, with positive relationship between flexibility of work and schedule and female employee turnover; so also does family stress significantly affect poor punctuality to work by female employees; thus all these variables have negative remarkable effects on female employee performance. Resultantly, findings are hoped to provide motivation for bank’ management to develop policies and structure work patterns and relationships to positively influence performance and reduce employees work-life clashes. It is recommended that in addition to having policies to guide management and employees particularly the female employees of banks on work-life balance, judicious implementation and monitoring of the laid down policies should be enforced, as well as periodic training and development should be conducted by banks’ management on employee work-life balance, breaks from work, rostering, job sharing, hybrid work plan, online work option, child care support, and flexible work arrangement so that employees can experience a balance on work demands and personal life expectancies in order to improve the performance employees and specifically those of female employees in the banking sector in Nigeria.