Work Stressors, Work-Family Boundary Ambiguity, and Employee Adjustment

This article contributes to emergent research by examining the linkage between work–family stressors and their effect on work-family satisfaction (WFS) at a metropolitan municipality in South Africa. Extant literature on stress has either not adequately examined the linkage between domain specific stressors and domain specific satisfaction or have suggested models with direct connections. The present study suggests a mediating model and assesses the mediation. Specifically, it claims that sense of coherence (SOC) plays a mediating part in the in the work and family stressors - WFS relationship. This mixed methods research applied a variance-based structural equation modelling (Partial Least Squares) to a sample of 307 professional level employees at a metropolitan municipality in South Africa. The finding supports the importance of SOC and its influence on WFS. Additionally, mediation hypotheses theorise how SOC plays a critical mediating influence in the work-family stressor-WFS relationship. Data analysis suggest that (a) work stressors and WFS interrelated in a manner that SOC fully mediated the effect of work stressors on WFS (b) SOC partially mediated the relationship between family stressors and WFS. The findings have both theoretical and practical implications.

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Who's in Our Family?: An Application of the Theory of Family Boundary Ambiguity to the Experiences of Former Foster Carers

Adoption & Fostering ◽

10.1177/030857590903300107 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 33 (1) ◽

pp. 68-79 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Lorraine Thomson ◽

Morag McArthur

Keyword(s):

Boundary Ambiguity ◽

Family Boundary Ambiguity

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Boundary Ambiguity in Stepfamilies

Journal of Family Issues ◽

10.1177/0192513x04273591 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 26 (7) ◽

pp. 1002-1029 ◽

Cited By ~ 110

Author(s):

Susan D. Stewart

Keyword(s):

Family System ◽

Female Partners ◽

Boundary Ambiguity ◽

The Family ◽

Cohabiting Couples ◽

Minor Children ◽

Nationally Representative ◽

The Relationship ◽

Family Boundary Ambiguity

Family boundary ambiguity refers to a lack of clarity as to who is in and who is out of the family system. Few studies have examined this concept in the stepfamily context, which is problematic because such definitional problems hinder our understanding of close relationships in stepfamilies. Based on a nationally representative sample of first-married, remarried, and cohabiting couples with minor children, this study investigates the prevalence and nature of boundary ambiguity in stepfamilies (families that include children from previous unions) and the relationship between boundary ambiguity and couples’ relationship quality and stability. Results suggest that boundary ambiguity is much more prevalent in stepfamilies than original two-parent families and that boundary ambiguity is associated with the structure of the stepfamily. Boundary ambiguity is negatively associated with the quality of the couple’s relationship and stability of the union, but only from the perspective of wives and female partners.

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