Study of two large Indian companies shows critical role of organizations in helping workers to manage work-family-conflict (WFC)
Purpose The authors felt previous research focused on the mental health impacts of WFC, but did not analyse the constructive role organizations can play. This is what they set out to do. Design/methodology/approach The study took place in the service sector. The authors chose a qualitative method and carried out long interviews with 15 employees at the two companies based in New Delhi. The two main questions were: Q1. Please share a situation where you experienced conflict between your work and family roles. What was your experience? Q2. Please share instances of WFC where the organization played a role in helping you resolve the same. Findings It revealed a number of key factors, including effective two-way communication between employees and top management, structural support from the organization and restructuring jobs to prevent overload. Originality/value The authors felt their study was valuable because most previous research focused on the mental health impacts of WFC, but did not analyse the constructive role organizations can play.