scholarly journals Balancing Work and Family in Canada - An Empirical Examination of Conceptualizations and Measurements

2008 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 433-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annette Tézli ◽  
Anne H. Gauthier

The issue of work and family balance has been on the agenda of many governmental and non-governmental organizations in recent years and has led to the adoption of various policies. However, combining work and family responsibilities remains a challenge for many parents. In this paper, we examine the work-family conflict experienced by Canadian working parents. For the purpose of this paper, work-family conflict is conceptualized as the time-related stress arising from the competing demands of the different roles imposed on working parents. Our objective is three-fold. First, we take a critical look at how time stress has been conceptualized and measured in previous studies. Using data from the 2005 Canadian General Social Survey on time use, we suggest an alternative multi-item scale. Second, we examine the impact of different predictors on parents' time stress, paying special attention to the impact of work-related factors. Finally, we discuss the impact of provincial variations in family policy on parents' time stress. Although Québec has introduced a number of family-oriented policies, we do not find evidence that these policies have resulted in less time stress for working parents in Québec. La balance entre le travail et la famille est un sujet qui a été présent sur l’agenda de plusieurs gouvernements et organisations non-gouvernementales au cours des dernières années et qui a donné lieu à l’adoption de diverses politiques. Cependant, la combinaison des responsabilités reliées au travail et à la famille demeure un défi pour de nombreux parents. Dans ce papier, nous examinons le stress temporel (time stress) vécu par les parents Canadiens qui ont un emploi rémunéré. Notre objectif est triple. Premièrement, nous portons un regard critique sur la façon dont le stress temporel a été conceptualisé et mesuré dans les études antérieures. Sur la base des données de l’enquête canadienne générale sur l’emploi du temps de 2005, nous suggérons une échelle multi-items. Deuxièmement, nous examinons l’impact de différentes variables sur le stress temporel des parents tout en portant une attention toute spéciale sur les variables reliées au travail. Finalement, nous discutons de l’impact des variations provinciales en matière de politique familiale sur le stress temporel des parents. Bien que le Québec ait introduit un nombre de politiques reliées à la famille, nous n’obtenons pas de résultats qui suggèrent que ces politiques ont réduit le stress temporel pour les parents québécois qui ont un emploi.

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.


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.


Author(s):  
Chantal Remery ◽  
Joop Schippers

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.


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.


2001 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret A. Shaffer ◽  
David A. Harrison ◽  
K. Matthew Gilley ◽  
Dora M. Luk

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.


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.


Unity Journal ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 105-115
Author(s):  
Laxmi Bilas Koirala

This study tries to explore and examine the relationships of work-family balance among army officers of the Nepal Army.The objectives of the study is to discover the issues and consequences of the work family confl ict by examining and discussing the impact of time, stress and job satisfaction on work-family relation and to suggest some recommendations to maintain the balance between the two. This study is simply base on desk review of research papers and information on work-family relation of army officers. Unprecedented problems of work family conflict are a common phenomenon within modern organizations. Stress, low performance, absenteeism, quitting from the force and committing suicide are the consequences of the work-family conflict So, the organizations are compelled to manage all causes of conflict before escalating the adverse effects. The study has followed a step-by-step approach to undertake review of the research papers. The results of this study reveal that work-life conflict and stress have a significant positive relationship. The findings of the study will encourage the Nepal Army for further research on work family balance and the additional examination may provide better understanding of truth. It is also hope that the results and recommendations gleaned from this study may assist the Nepal Army in making policies and programs related to work family conflict in future. Should the Nepal Army leadership fail to work proactively to ensure this balance, this may provide ground for a new kind of conflict.


2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 100
Author(s):  
Manxiao Zhou ◽  
Biyan Wen

Hotel industry is a labor-intensive industry for women and the proportion of women in the hotel industry is large while the number of women managers has also increased. However, the traditional gender, social support and work-family conflict and other various factors make the career development of women managers in hotels relatively more resistance. Work-family conflict has significant impacts on both work and family. Therefore, the paper chose the female middle managers in hotels as the research object, and used literature research and questionnaire method to gather data. Then, the reliability of scales was measured by SPSS19.0, and we performed the principal component analysis to measure the reliability of variables.After that, we conducted variance analysis to clarify the different stages of work and family lives as well as different departments whether have different influences on female middle managers. The paper analyzed the objective existence of universality, causes and the effects of work-family conflict for female middle managers in hotels. On this basis, the paper proposed some ways to ease the work-family conflict, such as implementing flexible management to weaken the time conflict, paying attention to females’ demands and take the mission of helping employees to achieve a balance, and designing family supporting programs for female managers to promote female advantages of middle managers, to promote the development of hotel female human resources and alleviate the negative impact of work-family conflict on female managers’ career development.


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