Linking demands to work-family conflict through boundary strength

2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (8) ◽  
pp. 1327-1342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liliane Furtado ◽  
Filipe Sobral ◽  
Alketa Peci

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose and test a model to examine how the active management of work-family boundary strength acts as behavioral mechanism through which role-based factors – role demands and role identity – influence the conflict experienced by individuals. Design/methodology/approach Three studies were conducted to examine the proposed model. Studies 1 and 2 used an experimental design to test the causal effects of role demands on the strength of work and family boundaries, whereas Study 3 surveyed 389 working professionals to test the interactional and mediating effects of the model variables on inter-role conflict. Findings Results suggest that increasing demands in one domain weaken the boundary strength around the cross-domain to make resource drain possible, which, in turn, increases the conflict experienced in that domain; moreover, results show that work identity reinforces the weakening of the boundary strength at home caused by increasing work demands. Research limitations/implications The study of boundary management decisions as an underlying mechanism through which individuals’ role-based factors affect work-family conflict (WFC) can offer new insights into how to manage increasing work-family responsibilities. Practical implications This study findings can help individuals to cope with role demands and organizations to promote a culture that supports work-family balance. Originality/value This paper advances WFC research by examining alternative mechanisms through which role demands influence WFC. Methodologically, the research improves on past studies by bringing together experimental and correlational designs.

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 903-920 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Maria Ferri ◽  
Matteo Pedrini ◽  
Egidio Riva

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore whether and how the actual use of supports available from the state, organisations and families helps workers reduce perceived work–family conflict (WFC), explored from both works interfering with family (WIF) and family interfering with work (FIW) perspectives. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on a survey of 2,029 employees at six large Italian firms. To test hypotheses, a hierarchical regression analysis was performed. Findings WFC should be explored considering its bi-directionality, as supports have different impacts on WIF and FIW. Workplace instrumental support elicits mixed effects on WFC, whereas workplace emotional support and familiar support reduce both FIW and WIF. Research limitations/implications The study is limited to the Italian national context, and data were collected in a single moment of time, which did not allow for observing changes in employees’ lives. Practical implications Human resource managers, as well as policy makers, will find this study’s results useful in designing effective work–life balance policies and supports, in which attention is devoted mainly to promoting workplace emotional supports and facilitating familiar support. Social implications The study highlights that by reducing pressures from work and family responsibilities that generate WFC conditions, organisational and familiar supports elicit different effects, which should be considered carefully when defining policies and interventions. Originality/value This study is one of the few that compare the role of supports provided by actors in different sectors on FIW and WIF, thereby allowing for an understanding of whether the bi-directionality of the conflicts is a relevant perspective.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth J. Harris ◽  
Ranida B. Harris ◽  
Matthew Valle ◽  
John Carlson ◽  
Dawn S. Carlson ◽  
...  

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to understand the impact of techno-overload and techno-invasion on work and family. Specifically, we focus on intention to turnover in the work domain, work-family conflict in the work-family domain, and family burnout in the family domain. Furthermore, this study examines the moderating role of entitlement, a personality variable, in this process.Design/methodology/approachUsing a sample of 253 people who were using technology to complete their work over two time periods, the relationships were examined using hierarchical moderated regression analysis.FindingsThe results revealed that both techno-overload and techno-invasion were significantly related to greater turnover intentions, higher work-family conflict, and greater family burnout. In addition, entitlement played a moderating role such that those who were higher in entitlement had stronger techno-overload-outcome and technostress invasion-outcome relationships.Practical implicationsThese findings may provide managers key insights to help manage employees, especially those with an inflated sense of entitlement, to mitigate the serious negative outcomes associated with techno-overload and techno-invasion. In particular, both techno- overload and techno-invasion had minimal impact on negative outcomes when employee entitlement was lower. However, when employee entitlement was higher, techno-overload and techno-invasion had considerable negative effects.Originality/valueDue to the ubiquitous nature of information-communication technology (ICT) in organizations today, individuals often experience techno-overload and techno-invasion. This research utilized conservation of resources theory to examine these relationships. This study established the relationships of both techno-overload and techno-invasion with key organizational and family outcomes and points to the critical role of the personality variable, entitlement, in this process. The results provide theoretical and practical advancement in the role of technology with people in organizations today.


2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 51-74
Author(s):  
Kim Hwayeon ◽  
Nam Taewoo

The number of female employees in the Korean workforce has risen. However, the Korean corporate climate, characterized by collectivism, hierarchism, and senior and masculine privilege, leads them to experience worklife conflict and even halt their careers. This climate stems from a social and organizational culture deeply rooted in traditional Confucianism. In Korea, where housework and childcare have long been considered the province of women, female employees find it more difficult to balance office work and family life. The Korean corporate climate welcomes overtime work, and women who work outside the home must juggle this and family responsibilities. We conceptualize behavior such as acquiescing to overtime work as submissive loyalty and elucidate work-family conflict and decreasing job and life satisfaction as consequences thereof. The analysis, based on a structural equation model, revealed that submissive loyalty increases work-family conflict, which decreases job and life satisfaction.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-142
Author(s):  
Abha Bhalla ◽  
Lakhwinder Singh Kang

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the pattern of work-family interface outcomes by empirically testing work-family conflict and facilitation bidirectional dimensions simultaneously in relation to domains-specific (job and family) and domain nonspecific (life) satisfactions. In addition, the indirect effects of work-family interface dimensions on life satisfaction (LS), mediated through both domain-specific satisfactions are also examined to understand which domain satisfaction elicits major impact on LS. Design/methodology/approach Structural equation modeling analysis was conducted on questionnaire data obtained from 212 fulltime journalists working in top ten dailies of Punjab, India. Parallel multiple mediated regression was used to estimate specific indirect effects caused by each of the two parallel mediators (job satisfaction (JS) and family satisfaction (FS)). Findings Results illustrate that both dimensions of work-family conflict strongly decreased satisfaction of an originating domain than satisfaction of the receiving domain while both dimensions of work-family facilitation increased satisfaction of both the domains on equal basis. Results further reveal that the effect of work-family conflict and facilitation dimensions on LS is indirect rather than direct. On comparison of specific indirect effects results demonstrate that only originating domain satisfaction act as a mediator to work-family conflict and LS relationship, while both JS and FS act as mediators to work-family facilitation and LS relationship. Practical implications Media organizations can offer interventions like family friendly policies, overtime pay, more autonomy, work rewards and skill variety, so that employees’ workplace resource reservoir can be strongly built up to meet future work and family demands. In this way, positive intrusion from work-to-family takes place, which leads to more JS and FS and in turn increased overall LS. Originality/value The study removes inconsistency regarding pattern of work-family conflict and facilitation outcomes by testing a comprehensive model that integrates originating domain, receiving-domain and domain-nonspecific outcomes.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 357-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md. Shamsul Arefin ◽  
Md. Shariful Alam ◽  
Nazrul Islam ◽  
Mateusz Molasy

PurposeResearchers have shown increasing interest, in recent times, in organizational politics and how it affects employees and organizations. This paper aims to investigate how perceived organizational politics (POPS) impact employee behaviors such as task performance, organizational citizenship and turnover intention, by affecting work-family conflict.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 287 full-time frontline hotel employees in Bangladesh was collected. A hierarchical regression analysis was applied to test the hypotheses. Data were analyzed using SPSS and AMOS software.FindingsThe results show that work–family conflict plays a mediating role in the indirect effect of POPS on task performance, organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and turnover intention. The findings of the study also suggest that POPS has a positive association with work–family conflict and turnover intention, and negative association with task performance and OCB.Research limitations/implicationsThis study cannot confirm causal inference, which can be the scope for future studies.Practical implicationsManagers may design the work environment in ways that ensure work and family interface and employee retention. Training programs can help employees deal with organizational politics and potential impact on work and nonwork problems. Managers should provide employees with the necessary support to sustain in-role and extra-role behavior in the political environment.Originality/valueTo the best of our knowledge, no prior studies have been carried out with this scope in the South Asian context.


2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 417-440
Author(s):  
Xiaoyu Yu ◽  
Xiaotong Meng ◽  
Gang Cao ◽  
Yingya Jia

Purpose Conflict between work and family is a significant issue for entrepreneurs. The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of entrepreneurial failure on both family–work conflict (FWC) and work–family conflict (WFC) and the moderating role of perceived control of time and organizational slack based on conservation of resources (COR) theory. Design/methodology/approach This study used a questionnaire to explore the relationship between entrepreneurial failure, FWC/WFC, perceived control of time and organizational slack. Data were collected from the Chinese context in 2018 and as a result received 318 valid questionnaires, obtaining a response rate of 63.6 per cent. Findings The study finds that entrepreneurial failure has a significant relationship with FWC but a nonsignificant relationship with WFC and that perceived control of time and organizational slack moderate the relationship between entrepreneurial failure and FWC/WFC. Originality/value This study aligns the field of family–work (work–family) conflict and entrepreneurial failure. It addresses a research gap in the conflict literature by introducing one form of resource loss: entrepreneurial failure as a source of conflict between work and family based on COR theory and the work–home resources model. The study also enriches the literature on the social cost of entrepreneurial failure by exploring the crossover effect of entrepreneurial failure on conflicts in the family domain. Furthermore, the study advances the understanding of managing conflict between work and family after entrepreneurial failure.


2015 ◽  
Vol 34 (8) ◽  
pp. 726-741 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tri Wulida Afrianty ◽  
John Burgess ◽  
Theodora Issa

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of family-friendly programs at the workplace in the Indonesian higher education sector. The focus is the impact that these programs have on employees’ work family conflict. Design/methodology/approach – A survey of academic and non-academic staff from 30 higher education institutions across Indonesia participated in the research. A total of 159 completed questionnaires from 109 academic and 50 from non-academic staff are reported and statistically analysed using SPSS. Findings – Work and family experiences in Indonesia do not positively align with the findings reported in most academic literature pertaining to western societies where the use of family-friendly programs (i.e. flexible work options, specialized leave options and dependent care support) leads to a reduction in employees’ work family conflict. In fact, some of the programs were found to have the opposite effect in the Indonesian context. Research limitations/implications – The design of family-friendly support has to take into account the context in which the policies will operates; these policies are not transferable across countries in terms of their effectiveness. Originality/value – This is one of the first studies that has examined the operation and effectiveness of family-friendly support programs in an Indonesian context.


2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 770-788 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toyin Ajibade Adisa ◽  
Ellis L.C. Osabutey ◽  
Gbolahan Gbadamosi

Purpose – An important theme for a twenty-first century employee is a desire for work and family balance which is devoid of conflict. Drawing on detailed empirical research, the purpose of this paper is to examine the multi-faceted causes and consequences of work-family conflict (WFC) in a non-Western context (Nigeria). Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses qualitative data gleaned from the semi-structured interviews of 88 employees (44 university lecturers and 44 medical doctors) in cities in the six geo-political zones of Nigeria. Findings – The findings showed that work pressure, heavy familial duties, poor infrastructural facilities, and a lack of suitable and practicable work-family balance policies are the main causes of WFC in Nigeria. Juvenile delinquencies, broken marriages/families, and an unhappy workforce are among the grave consequences of WFC among Nigerian employees. Originality/value – This paper suggests that the availability of basic infrastructural facilities, more governmental support, practicable work-family policies, inter alia, will reduce the level of WFC for Nigerian employees and will also results in positive spill-over from the work domain to the family domain and vice-versa.


2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 883-907 ◽  
Author(s):  
Subhash C. Kundu ◽  
Rina S. Phogat ◽  
Saroj Kumar Datta ◽  
Neha Gahlawat

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the effects of various workplace characteristics on work-family conflict among dual-career couples in India. Design/methodology/approach Primary data based on 393 employees belonging to dual-career couples were analyzed. Using multiple regression analysis, the study has attempted to find out the effects of workplace characteristics on work-family conflict in dual-career couples. Findings The findings indicate that not all workplace characteristics effect work-family conflict in dual-career couples. Out of 13 characteristics, 8 workplace characteristics, namely, development and flexibility, co-worker support, supervisory support, job competence, self-employee control, practicing overtime, flexibility and discrimination, are found to have significant effects on work-family conflict in dual-career couples. Research limitations/implications As this study is limited to the dual-career couples employed mainly in organizations operating in India, these results may not be generalized to other areas such as traditional career couples, self-employed member of couples and in other national contexts. Practical implications It would be beneficial for organizations to understand and implicate that adoption of certain workplace characteristics provide appropriate choices, freedom and environment for dual-career employees, which further encourage them to build effective amalgamation of work and family roles suiting their individual circumstances. Originality/value This study is an important and almost first study on dual-career couples in India on such issues. As a very scant number of researches have examined the impact of workplace characteristics on work-family conflict on such extensive basis, it definitely contributes to HR literature.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. e0248109
Author(s):  
Karla Williams ◽  
Dennis Eggett ◽  
Emily Vaterlaus Patten

Healthcare professionals provide paid care at work and potentially have caregiving responsibilities outside of work; work responsibilities in addition to child and/or elder care is considered double- or triple-duty care. Employees may experience conflict and/or enrichment as their work and family responsibilities interface. This study’s purpose is to explore the work and family interface of Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDNs), determine the prevalence of work-family conflict and enrichment, and identify characteristics associated with higher work-family conflict and enrichment scores. A survey instrument assessing caregiving responsibilities and work-family conflict and enrichment was distributed electronically to 4,900 RDNs throughout the United States. Frequencies, means, correlative relationships, and ANCOVA were calculated using SAS software 9.04. Of 1,233 usable responses, nearly two-thirds of RDNs (65.5%) reported providing either double-duty or triple-duty care. About half of RDNs (47.2%) reported work-family conflict and fewer (14.8%) reported family-work conflict. Additionally, most RDNs (79.4%) reported work-family enrichment and even more (85.2%) reported family-work enrichment. Higher work-family conflict scores had correlative relationships with higher levels of burnout, lower life satisfaction, and higher intent to quit. Higher work-family enrichment scores had correlative relationships with lower burnout, higher job satisfaction, higher career satisfaction, higher life satisfaction, and lower intent to quit. Understanding the unpaid caregiving responsibilities of RDNs and the interface of work/family responsibilities may provide insight into career planning for RDNs and guide managers of RDNs in efforts to amplify the contribution of RDNs.


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