Types of Combined Family-to-Work Conflict and Enrichment and Subjective Health in Spain: A Gender Perspective

Abstract

Family-to-work conflict and enrichment indicate how participation in the family can influence negatively or positively participation at work, respectively. These experiences have been proved to co-occur within individuals at different levels and explain their well-being in a more nuanced way than conflict and enrichment in isolation. This study examines how Spanish women and men experience conflict and enrichment concurrently in different types and the consequences to their subjective health. First, in line with social role theory and the gendered division of household labor, we hypothesized on gender differences in the types of combined conflict and enrichment experiences. Second, incorporating theory on conservation of resources and identity, we hypothesized on the consequences of the specific types of combined conflict and enrichment to subjective health from a gender perspective. Using chi-square test on a sample of 236 women and 165 men, we confirmed that women and men differed in their types of combined conflict and enrichment experience: the beneficial (higher enrichment than conflict) and active types (similar higher conflict and enrichment) were mainly composed of women whereas the passive type (similar lower conflict and enrichment) was mainly composed of men. Using a MANOVA, we confirmed that the types of combined conflict and enrichment explained significant differences in subjective health in a similar way for women and men. Overall the findings debunk the belief that higher participation in family roles interferes with work more negatively among women, or that higher participation in family roles affect their health more negatively than men. We discuss theoretical and practical implications.