AN INVESTIGATION OF COMPENSATION EQUITY AND WORK-LIFE BALANCE BY ANALYSING USA BASED SALESPEOPLE

Blake Nielsona, Nicole Flinka, Mikelle Barberi-Weila, Brock Adamsa

aWeber State University, USA, blakenielson@weber.edu

Abstract

The recent world pandemic quickly sent organizations into chaos as they adapted to changing health protocols that instantly interrupted organizational processes and strategy. Employees who never missed a day in the office were now in different roles. New technologies were utilized as salespeople ceased travelling, and the sales processes adapted quickly. Even with these drastic changes, many organizations saw increased production. Now, organizations around the world seek to understand a new work-life balance in a post-pandemic world where employee turnover runs rampant in boundary-spanning job roles, such as salespeople. Work-life balance for salespeople has been a topic of interest for many years because salespeople often have short-term demands and quotas that lead to more pressure than other employment groups. This study helps these efforts by exploring whether compensation equity impacts how salespeople perceive their work-life balance. The results indicate that both hours worked and compensation equity affect how employees perceive their work-life balance, while retirement benefits, health benefits, and total compensation did not have a significant effect on salespersons’ perceived worklife balance.

Keywords: work-life balance, equity theory, salespeople

JEL Classification: M12, M31, J81