The relationship between job satisfaction and work life balance: a cross sectional study from Türkiye

BACKGROUND: Given that many employees in Türkiye spend the majority of their time in the workplace and work extended hours, the relationship between work-life balance and job satisfaction warrants further in-depth investigation. The aim of the study is to examine the effect of job satisfaction of working individuals on work-life balance in employees. METHOD: This cross-sectional designed study was conducted with 345 participants with an average age of 32.8 ± 10.1. In the study, the Google Form was configured so that participants could not proceed to the next question without answering the previous one. Therefore, there were no unanswered or skipped questions. Work-Life Balance Scale (WLBS) and Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS) was used. Non-parametric tests were employed to compare scale findings among variables: the Mann-Whitney U test for two independent groups and the Kruskal-Wallis test for three or more groups. The relationship between the WLBS, JSS, and demographic variables was examined using non-parametric Spearman correlation analysis. Multivariate linear regression analysis using backward elimination method was applied to find the prediction model for the Work-Life Balance variable. RESULTS: The average WLBS scores of employees in public/government institutions were found to be higher than those of private sector employees (p = 0.014). There was a very weak positive correlation between WLBS and the number of children (r = 0.121, p = 0.025), and between WLBS and monthly income (r = 0.226, p = 0.000). There was a moderately positive correlation between WLBS and JSS (r = 0.433, p = 0.000). The analysis of the independent variables included in the regression model determined that job satisfaction, monthly income, marital status (F(3;336) = 33.793, p < 0.001). According to standardized regression coefficients (Beta), the greatest contribution to the model was made by job satisfaction (0.419), followed by Salary (YTL) (0.155) and marital status (0.104). The established model explains 23.20% of the variation in the job satisfaction. CONCLUSION: The stronger outcomes observed among public sector employees may reflect more stable work conditions, job security, and institutional support. Notably, job satisfaction emerged as the most influential factor, underscoring the central role of meaningful and rewarding work in promoting work-life balance. These findings indicate that work-life balance is influenced more strongly by intrinsic work-related factors, such as job satisfaction, than by external demographic factors like income or family size, underscoring the need to foster positive workplace experiences.