The effects of job demands and low job control on work–family conflict: the role of fairness in decision making and management

Abstract

AbstractThe present study examined whether perceptions of organizational fairness (the procedural and interactional components) were able to diminish the negative effects of high job demands and low job control on the balance between work and family. The study participants were 713 women working in long‐term care for elderly people in Finland. The results showed that high job demands, low job control, and unfair decision making were associated with high levels of time‐based work interference with family (WIF). Perceptions of organizational fairness were found to partially mediate the association between job control and WIF. In addition, fair treatment and management protected against WIF when demands were low but were unable to buffer against the negative effects of high job demands. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.