Abstract
This article develops and tests a theoretical model to find out which factors influence the behaviour of supervisors in terms of promoting a work-family culture. This model explains to what extent the factors studied are relevant to encourage deans to promote this type of culture at Spanish universities. The hypotheses were tested using linear regression analysis. Data were obtained through a questionnaire to deans. The results yield five key factors: (1) the personal work-family conflict of managers; (2) the transformational leadership style of managers; (3) the identification with subordinates in need of work-family cares; (4) the perceived institutional support; and (5) the perceived support from other supervisors in the centre. The findings have practical implications for human resources management (HRM) practices. Human resources management practices such as (a) providing deans and other supervisors with training about the importance of work-family programs; (b) promoting deans’ training in order to develop transformational leadership skills; or (c) increasing institutional support can be useful when implementing a work-family culture in Spanish universities.
Highlights
The increased presence of women in the labour market, as well as the growing number of one-parent families and couples in which both members work, are just some of the factors that have contributed to the increase in the interaction between work and family roles.When one role hinders or is incompatible with the other, spillover theory proposes that the work-family interaction may lead to different forms of conflict: time-based conflict, strain-based conflict and behaviour-based conflict [1]
When carrying out an exploratory principal components factor analysis, three factors turned out to have values higher than one: (1) perception of the benefits related to internal operation, working environment and performance; (2) perception of the benefits related to image; and (3) perception of the benefits related to competitiveness
The independent variables introduced in all regression analyses were as follows: gender, transformational leadership, perceived work-family conflict, perception of the benefits related to internal operation, working environment and performance, perception of the benefits related to image, perception of the benefits related to competitiveness, social identification, perception of institutional support, and perception of support provided by other supervisors
Summary
The increased presence of women in the labour market, as well as the growing number of one-parent families and couples in which both members work, are just some of the factors that have contributed to the increase in the interaction between work and family roles.When one role hinders or is incompatible with the other, spillover theory proposes that the work-family interaction may lead to different forms of conflict: time-based conflict, strain-based conflict and behaviour-based conflict [1]. The adoption of family-friendly programs (FFPs) to assist employees to better manage their work and family responsibilities has been one of the most interesting topics for researchers on the human resource management field during the last years. Empirical studies on the benefits of FFPs do not always concur in their conclusions [3]. Whereas some associate these programs with different beneficial behaviours and outcomes for organisations [4], other studies find no relationship between these factors and even show evidence of a negative relationship in terms of attracting and retaining employees, reducing stress and improving productivity [5]. Conclusions on the relationship between the availability of FFPs and work attitudes and behaviours are ambiguous [6]
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