scholarly journals The nature of work family conflict: A review and agenda for future research

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Navaneethakrishnan Kengatharan

The main purpose of this research was to identify gaps in the existing literature on work family conflict from the past 30 years, and develop a viable research plan for further research. Research papers from peer-reviewed journals were collected from multiple databases including Proquest, Business Source Premier (EBSCOhost), Expanded Academic (Gale), Emerald, ISI Web Science, the Sloan Work and Family Research Network at Boston College, and Google Scholar. Full text papers published in English in the last three decades were included in this study.  The collected papers were then classified and analysed using thematic content analysis. Factors influencing work family conflict, their consequences and the relevant constructs were systematically identified and summarised. The gaps in the extant literature from the past 30 years were identified and these were subsumed under a regional gap-theoretical cultural perspective, a measurement gap, cross cultural studies, organisational responsiveness, environmental factors and gender role theory. The present study serves as a springboard for future studies and theory building on the interaction between the work and family domains. This research is original in its nature as it has identified major strands of the extant literature on work family conflict and ipso facto it can guide research scholars towards the unknown terrain of the work family sphere. This research urges policy makers, practitioners and members of organisations to digest this knowledge and it aims to make them aware of the overarching area of work and family in the contemporary world.  The major limitation of this study is the Tower of Babel Bias, to wit, research studies not published in English were excluded from this study. 

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (7) ◽  
pp. 113-123
Author(s):  
Suzana Mohd Hanifa ◽  
Zanariah Ismail ◽  
Soadah Ahmad ◽  
Zarinah Arsat

Nursing is a female-dominated profession and is commonly considered as a stressful and challenging job. The nature of the nurses’ work, which is highly demanding, brings about difficulties in balancing work and family life, further resulting in work-family conflict. Apart from workplace stressors, work-family conflict has been identified as one of the factors that can threaten nurses' psychological health. This literature review thus sought to identify the factors associated with nurses’ experience of work-family conflict and its consequences to their psychological health. Accordingly, this literature review found that nurses’ work characteristics, namely, shift work, job demand and individual factors, significantly influence work-family conflict, which may in turn affect their psychological health in several ways. Future research should focus on positive conditions or resource-based perspectives that can help nurses in reducing work-family conflict and enhancing their health and well-being.  


2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 812-829 ◽  
Author(s):  
Su-Ying Pan ◽  
Ying-Jung Yeh

Purpose Work–family research has established the existence of a crossover effect, wherein a given perception is transferable between two intimate persons. However, little research has been done to delineate this crossover process. Therefore, grounded in the conservation of resources theory, the present study aims to examine why and how a supervisor’s work–family conflict (WFC) is related to his or her subordinates’ WFC. The authors focus on three resource-related mechanisms and explore the consequences of subordinates’ WFC. Design/methodology/approach Questionnaire surveys were collected from 180 supervisor–subordinate dyads from five hotels. Mplus was used to test the framework. Findings The results support the notion that supervisor’s negative affect and subordinate’s workload account for the crossover effect of WFC. Moreover, subordinates’ WFC is found to be related to lower job satisfaction and higher turnover intention. Research limitations/implications The current study highlights the downward effect of supervisors’ WFC, a phenomenon that has been understudied in the extant research. Alternative mediators or moderators in the relationship between supervisors’ WFC and subordinates’ WFC can be explored by future research. Practical implications Hotels should help supervisors to effectively manage the work and family dynamic through training and changing the “face time” culture. Originality/value Grounded in the conservation of resources theory, the authors propose a framework that incorporates WFC into the crossover model.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 103
Author(s):  
Cláudia Andrade ◽  
Eva Petiz Lousã

Even though research has been showing that telework, under regular circumstances, could benefit the integration of work and family life, mandatory telework during the COVID-19 lockdown brought additional challenges, with potential to create conflicts between work and family spheres. Using regression analysis, this study examined the contribution of demographic and job-related variables to the prediction of work–family conflict among a sample of 213 workers who were involved in mandatory telework during the first lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The results revealed that role overload, after-hours work-related technology use, and low job autonomy accounted for the prediction of work–family conflict. Support from the supervisors and coworkers did not have an impact in easing the perception of work–family conflict but presented a moderation effect between after-hours work-related technology use and work–family conflict. Implications of the study for management practices related to telework, limitations of the study, and directions for future research are discussed.


2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (8) ◽  
pp. 636-653 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mamoona Rasheed ◽  
Salman Iqbal ◽  
Faisal Mustafa

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the influences of informal organisational and family support on work-family conflict (WFC) and its subsequent impact on turnover intentions among female employees. Design/methodology/approach To evaluate the WFC among female individuals, data were collected through a questionnaire distributed among female employees in the service sector in Lahore, Pakistan, by using convenience-sampling technique. The collected data were analysed through a well-known statistical technique, SEM, using AMOS software. Findings The findings suggest that supports (informal organizational and family) have no impact to resolving the issues of WFC arising because of female members of the family working. Also, it was found that WFC is positively linked to employee turnover intentions. Practical implications By addressing WFC issues, this research has key implication for WFC practically. This study has essential implications for organization, so it can reduce the WFC by creating a supportive environment to create balance amongst work and family life. Specifically, managers need to be aware of the impact that social support and WFC have on turnover intention. Originality/value This study provides the model of WFC that helps in future research. The research also improves past studies’ methodology by testing the direct and mediation impacts between the constructs specifically in female employees. This study is a valuable addition to the existing body of literature.


2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
John W. O’Neill ◽  
Kayla Follmer

Work–family conflict has become a growing area of research in the hospitality field. Research has previously shown that employees who experience conflict between their work and family roles are likely to report negative individual and job-related outcomes. Given the serious outcomes associated with work–family conflict, it is essential for researchers and practitioners to better understand why and when it occurs, as well as to identify possible interventions that may lessen its impact on employees. This systematic review synthesizes and summarizes the extant literature as it relates to work–family conflict. The results from the review provide insight into the well-established antecedents and outcomes of work–family conflict, while also highlighting areas that may require additional attention. The review concludes with a discussion of future research directions that may be used to advance the study of work–family conflict research.


2020 ◽  
pp. 089484532091624
Author(s):  
Jordan M. Dolson ◽  
Eric D. Deemer

Work–family conflict (WFC) is commonly experienced by individuals who have roles in both the work and family domains including graduate students with children and/or dependents. Graduate student-parents have the additional strain of school, which can contribute to school–family conflict (SFC) as well. The purpose of this study was to examine whether burnout mediates the deleterious effects of parent-based discrimination on work- and family-related outcomes. We used a mediation modeling design to test whether the distal effects of such bias occur due to increased levels of burnout. Results indicated that burnout mediated the relationship between perceived discrimination and SFC and WFC. The control variables of gender, number of children, year in academic program, and residency status did not significantly predict burnout, SFC, or WFC. Practical and clinical implications are discussed in addition to suggestions for future research.


2005 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 727-755 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Winslow

Although many observers assume that balancing the often-competing demands of work and family has become increasingly difficult in recent decades, little research has explicitly examined this proposition. This study examines this question by drawing on data from the 1977 Quality of Employment Survey and the 1997 National Study of the Changing Workforce. The author found that work-family conflict has increased during this period, particularly for men. In addition, marital, parental, and spouse’s employment status prove to be consistently important predictors of work-family conflict. Future research focusing on men’s experiences of conflict, examining conflict from the perspective of the family unit, and exploring the effects of workplace policies is suggested.


2021 ◽  
pp. 0192513X2110309
Author(s):  
Kwangman Ko ◽  
Youngin Kang ◽  
Jieun Choi

Given roles and expectations of father involvement in South Korea are in transition from traditional breadwinner to an involved caregiver to children, it is plausible that Korean fathers show diverse involvement behaviors in the contexts of work, family, and parenting. Using a person-centered approach, we explored if there were groupings of Korean fathers who could be identified from their involvement with their children. We also examined if those subgroup memberships were related to various factors in work, family, and parenting domains. With a sample of 212 married working fathers and the 12 items of involvement behaviors, we found four heterogeneous subgroups of people: low-involved, accessibility-focused, involved-but-less-accessible, and highly involved fathers. Significant differences among the four profiles were also found regarding various factors such as job stress, work and family conflict, work schedule, maternal employment, parenting satisfaction, and perceived level of involvement. Suggestions for future research, practitioners, and policymakers were discussed.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanaz Aazami ◽  
Khadijah Shamsuddin ◽  
Syaqirah Akmal

We examined the mediating role of behavioral coping strategies in the association between work-family conflict and psychological distress. In particular, we examined the two directions of work-family conflict, namely, work interference into family and family interference into work. Furthermore, two coping styles in this study were adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 429 Malaysian working women using self-reported data. The results of mediational analysis in the present study showed that adaptive coping strategy does not significantly mediate the effect of work-family conflict on psychological distress. However, maladaptive coping strategies significantly mediate the effect of work-family conflict on psychological distress. These results show that adaptive coping strategies, which aimed to improve the stressful situation, are not effective in managing stressor such as work-family conflict. We found that experiencing interrole conflict steers employees toward frequent use of maladaptive coping strategies which in turn lead to psychological distress. Interventions targeted at improvement of coping skills which are according to individual’s needs and expectation may help working women to balance work and family demands. The important issue is to keep in mind that effective coping strategies are to control the situations not to eliminate work-family conflict.


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.


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