Comparing marital satisfaction of male and female BPO night shift workers in the Philippines

ABSTRACT

@#<p style="text-align justify;"><strong>BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE:</strong> The study presented and compared the level of marital satisfaction of male and female Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) night shift workers. Prior to this study, there were researches that looked into the effect of night shift or nonstandard work schedule on the workers' marital life. There were also studies that tried to connect shift work to the quality of married life of BPO workers in the Philippines but they were conducted using the perspectives of the wives only. Thus, this study offered a holistic view on marital satisfaction because it took into consideration the views of both husbands and wives.</p><p style="text-align justify;"><strong>METHODS AND RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS:</strong> Sixty-six males and females in Metro Manila were purposefully selected and surveyed, of whom 11 were interviewed face to face. Data from the survey were analyzed using Mann Whitney U Test of Significance. Information from the qualitative interview was used to validate quantitative data.</p><p style="text-align justify;"><strong>RESULTS: </strong>Results showed that male and female BPO night shift workers were satisfied with their marriage. There is no significant difference in the level of marital satisfaction of males and females.</p><p style="text-align justify;"><strong>CONCLUSION:</strong> It is very evident from the study findings that economic and financial capacity affects marital satisfaction. This study can also help practitioners of pre-marital counseling. It was found in the study that compatibility of the couples' expectations in the marriage and with each other influenced marital satisfaction. </p>