Struggling for balance amid turbulence on international assignments: work–family conflict, support and commitment

2001 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret A. Shaffer ◽  
David A. Harrison ◽  
K. Matthew Gilley ◽  
Dora M. Luk
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Support ◽  
Family Conflict ◽  
Perceived Organizational Support ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
International Assignments ◽  
Work Family Conflict ◽  
Capital Theory ◽  
Intentions To Quit ◽  
Work Family ◽  
The Impact

Using human capital theory, we develop hypotheses about the impact of perceived organizational support and two forms of work–family conflict on the psychological withdrawal of expatriates. We also consider the exacerbating effects of commitment to either domain. To test these hypotheses, we collected multisource data from 324 expatriates in 46 countries. Results indicate that perceived organizational support and the interplay between work and family domains have direct and unique influences on expatriates’ intentions to quit.

The impact of different supports on work-family conflict

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 903-920 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Maria Ferri ◽  
Matteo Pedrini ◽  
Egidio Riva
Keyword(s):  
Family Conflict ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
Hierarchical Regression ◽  
Human Resource Managers ◽  
Work Family Conflict ◽  
Family Responsibilities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Effective Work ◽  
Work Family ◽  
The Impact

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.

scholarly journals Work-Family Conflict in the European Union: The Impact of Organizational and Public Facilities

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (22) ◽  
pp. 4419
Author(s):  
Chantal Remery ◽  
Joop Schippers
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Family Conflict ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Work Family Conflict ◽  
European Working ◽  
Work Family ◽  
The Impact

Today, as an increasing share of women and men is involved in both paid tasks at work and unpaid care tasks for children and other relatives, more people are at risk of work-family conflict, which can be a major threat to well-being and mental, but also physical health. Both organizations and governments invest in arrangements that are meant to support individuals in finding a balance between work and family life. The twofold goal of our article was to establish the level of work-family conflict in the member states of the European Union by gender and to analyze to what extent different arrangements at the organizational level as well the public level help to reduce this. Using the European Working Conditions Survey supplemented with macro-data on work-family facilities and the economic and emancipation climate in a country, we performed multilevel analyses. Our findings show that the intensity of work-family conflict does not vary widely in EU28. In most countries, men experience less work-family conflict than women, although the difference is small. Caring for children and providing informal care increases perceived work-life conflict. The relatively small country differences in work-family conflict show that different combinations of national facilities and organizational arrangements together can have the same impact on individuals; apparently, there are several ways to realize the same goal of work-family conflict reduction.

The Impact of Work/Family Conflict and Workplace Social Support on Mental Distress in Home Health Workers

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 176-182
Author(s):  
Ahyoung Lee ◽  
Yuri Jang
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Organizational Support ◽  
Family Conflict ◽  
Mental Distress ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Home Health ◽  
Work Family Conflict ◽  
Work Family ◽  
Workplace Social Support ◽  
The Impact

The study explored the role of work/family conflict and workplace social support in predicting home health workers’ mental distress using a sample of home health workers in Central Texas ( n = 150). The result of multivariate analysis showed that work/family conflict increased mental distress, while client support and organizational support decreased mental distress. In addition to the direct effects, client support was found to buffer the negative impact of work/family conflict. Findings call attention to the ways to reduce work/family conflict and increase workplace social support in efforts to promote home health workers’ mental well-being.

Perceived organizational support and employee well-being

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 469-484 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mashal Ahmed Wattoo ◽  
Shuming Zhao ◽  
Meng Xi
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Support ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Perceived Organizational Support ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Family Responsibilities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Work Family ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Considering work and family responsibility has become an important issue due to changes in the lives of people, understanding work and family responsibilities is essential for organizations in assisting employees to increase their well-being. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to find the impact of perceived organizational support (POS) on work–family facilitation (WFF) and work–family conflict (WFC) and eventually on employee well-being. Design/methodology/approach A survey questionnaire is administered to 1,340 employees of Chinese enterprises. Structural equation modeling is used to test the model fit. Findings Results of this study indicate a significant positive relationship between POS and WFF and significant negative relation between POS and WFC. Results of this paper also indicate that WFF and WFC partially mediate the relationship between POS and employee well-being. Originality/value Over the past two decades, the extent of research on work–family literature has been increased. Most of the work–family research works have been conducted in the Western countries. Very little is known about whether these results are applicable to Eastern societies. This study is extended to focus on work–family literature by drawing a sample from different regions of China. The findings of this study may provide a good understanding of WFC and WFF for Chinese employees. This study stresses the importance of providing organizational support to increase the well-being of employees.

Family-friendly support programs and work family conflict among Indonesian higher education employees

2015 ◽  
Vol 34 (8) ◽  
pp. 726-741 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tri Wulida Afrianty ◽  
John Burgess ◽  
Theodora Issa
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Family Conflict ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
Support Programs ◽  
Work Family Conflict ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Family Friendly ◽  
Work Family ◽  
The Impact

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.

scholarly journals RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HEALTHY LIFE STYLE AND WORK-RELATED FACTORS AMONG CALL CENTER WORKERS / SKAMBUČIŲ CENTRO DARBUOTOJŲ SVEIKATAI PALANKAUS GYVENIMO BŪDO IR ORGANIZACINIŲ DARBO VEIKSNIŲ RYŠYS

2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 311-319
Author(s):  
Loreta Gustainienė ◽  
Aistė Pranckevičienė ◽  
Vita Briedaitytė
Keyword(s):  
Transformational Leadership ◽  
Organizational Support ◽  
Family Conflict ◽  
Perceived Organizational Support ◽  
Healthy Lifestyle ◽  
Physical Symptoms ◽  
Work Family Conflict ◽  
Decision Latitude ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Work Family

Health-related issues are becoming very popular both in the broad spheres of the society and in organizations. Taking care of employee health helps the employer with maintaining and improving organizational effectiveness. The aim of the study was to identify and assess the relationship between the Five-Factor Wellness Model and work-related factors such as interpersonal conflicts, organizational constraints, workload, work-family conflict, decision latitude, transformational leadership, psychological job characteristics and perceived organizational support. The subjects of the study were 177 employees of a call center. Healthy lifestyle was measured applying a Five-Factor Wellness questionnaire (Myers, Sweeney 2005b). Physical symptoms, interpersonal conflicts, organizational constraints and workload were measured using respective scales designed by Spector and Jex (2007). Decision latitude was measured employing Karasek (1985) questionnaire. Work-family conflict was measured referring to a subscale of negative work-home interaction (Geurts et al. 2005). A transformational leadership style was measured using General Scale of transformational leadership (Carless et al. 2000). Perceived organizational support was measured using a short version of Perceived Organizational Support scale (Eisenberger et al. 1986). Research findings show that healthy lifestyle as measured by the Five-Factor Wellness Model was predicted by lower work-family conflict, whereas physical symptoms - by marked work-family conflict, decision latitude and gender (female). Santrauka Šiuolaikinėse organizacijose ir visuomenėje sveikatai palankaus gyvenimo būdo tema yra dažnai aptariama. Darbuotojų sveikata (sveikatingumu) organizacijos rūpinasi, siekdamos kelti darbuotojų gerovę ir savo organizacijos efektyvumą ir produktyvumą. Tam reikia žinoti, kokie veiksniai organizacijoje skatina ar trukdo sveikatai palankaus gyvenimo būdo realizavimą. Tyrimo tikslas buvo įvertinti ir nustatyti sveikatai palankaus gyvenimo būdo (pagal penkių faktorių sveikatingumo modelį, Myers, Sweeney 2005b) sąsajas su organizaciniais veiksniais: tarpasmeniniais konfliktais, organizaciniais trikdžiais, dideliu darbo krūviu, darbo ir šeimos konfliktu, sprendimų priėmimo laisve, transformaciniu vadovavimu ir suvokiamu organizacijos palaikymu.Tyrime dalyvavo 177 skambučių centro darbuotojai. Sveikatai palankus gyvenimo būdas buvo nustatomas pagal penkių faktorių sveikatingumo klausimyną (Myers, Sweeney 2005b), fiziniai simptomai buvo nustatomi pagal Spector ir Jex (1997) skalę, susidedančią iš 18 simptomų. Tarpasmeniniai konfliktai, organizaciniai trikdžiai, kiekybinis darbo krūvis buvo vertinami pagal atitinkamus kitus Spector ir Jex (1997) klausimynus. Sprendimų laisvei vertinti buvo naudojamas Karasek (1985) klausimynas. Transformaciniam vadovavimo stiliui tirti naudota bendroji transformacinės lyderystės skalė, sudaryta Carless ir bendradarbių (2000). Darbo ir šeimos konfliktams vertinti pasitelkta neigiama darbo ir namų sąveikos subskalė (Geurts et al, 2005). Suvokiamas organizacijos palaikymas buvo vertinamas sutrumpinta suvokiamo organizacijos palaikymo skale (Eisenberger et al. 1986). Gauti rezultatai rodo, kad sveikatai palankų gyvenimo būdą (pagal penkių faktorių sveikatingumo modelį) prognozuoja mažesnis darbo ir šeimos vaidmenų konfliktas bei didesnis darbo krūvis. Fizinę simptomatiką rodo stipresnis darbo ir šeimos vaidmenų konfliktas, didesnis suvokiamas organizacijos palaikymas ir moteriška lytis.

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