How Work-Life Balance, Job Performance and Ethics Connect : Perspectives of Current and Future Accountants

Prior research has shown that a work environment that facilitates work-life balance not only benefits the personal lives of employees but leads to better job performance and ethical decision-making. Allocation of time between career and personal life is an age-old challenge for working people. Work-life balance refers to the manner in which people distribute time between their jobs and other activities, such as family, personal pursuits, and community involvement. The challenge of attaining work-life balance and keeping money in right perspective is age-old. The wise king of ancient Israel, Solomon, writing about 930 B.C., said, “Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness!” (Ecclesiastes 5:10). About a millennium later, Jesus of Nazareth warned against devoting one’s life to gaining material wealth above all else: “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?” (Mark 8:36). This study compares the work-life balance perspectives of current and future accountants. Three research questions are examined. The first relates to the importance accountants place on work-life balance. The second concerns how work-life balance perspectives of current practitioners compare to future accountants. The third considers how gender differences affect work-life balance perspectives. Data for analysis was obtained via a survey of current accounting practitioners and of future accountants (students near graduation). Findings indicate that both current and future accountants believe that a healthy work-life balance is connected to work satisfaction, work performance, and ethical decision-making