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    Investigating the effects of work-life balance initiatives on employee well-being and productivity within project management environment: A case study of World Vision Zambia
    (University of Lusaka, 2025) SIMUBWA, Sydney
    Places of work and the demands they put on employees are in a state of continuous change. This study steps into the pressure cooker context of an organization that is administering donor funded socio-economic development aid to vulnerable children and their families, World Vision Zambia. The context is characterized by strict budgetary demands, high frequency of reporting demands and rising workload in periods when projects are about to close. The study was conducted by mixed methods to investigate effects of the Work Life Balance Initiatives (WLBI) adopted by the organization, particularly motivated by progressive downward adjustments in the scope and monetary value of interventions as the organization faces tighter budgets. Unlike the bulk of existing research, this study considered effects of a broad range of interventions for WLB. Data for the study was obtained by a semi-structured questionnaire that was administered to a countrywide sample of 85 employees of the organization at various levels, using Kobo-Collect. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS while qualitative data was subjected to thematic analysis. Findings of the study confirmed high levels of awareness and accessibility of the WLBI to employees of the organization with 100% of respondents reporting such awareness and that 55.3% of the respondents agreed with the assertion that they felt encouraged by the organization to make use of the various WLBI initiatives while (28.2%) those that strongly agreed suggesting that there is a strong focus on ensuring utility of WLBI in the organization. 56.5 % of the respondents also confirmed positive effects of WLBI on overall employee wellbeing and productivity the test statistic of 53.776 was statistically significant at the 1% level given the p-value of 0.000. However, study participants also noted need for improvement in workload management practices to ensure fair relationships between workload and compensation. They also noted the need for extension of leave days. The study recommends that management in organizations such as World Vision Zambia offer broad based WLBI that meet diverse employee needs but also obtain employee feedback in their design to sustain relevance and achieved desired overall employee wellbeing and productivity outcomes. It adds to the existing literature by demonstrating the value of measures for overall wellbeing of employees as well as importance of workplace policies that reflect the significance of families in lives of employees.