Work-Family Conflict and Job- Demand Control in Psychological Adjustment of Lawyers in Private Practice

Abstract

Despite the continuous interest in psychological adjustment of entrepreneurs as important factor in wellbeing and business outcomes, lawyers in private practice especially in Nigeria have not been covered and largely documented in the body of literature that exist. Hence this study that examined the roles played by work-family conflict and job demand control on psychological adjustment among lawyers as entrepreneurs in private practice. It involved a sample of 156 male and female lawyers in Ibadan metropolis. Three hypotheses were tested by using pearson ‘r’ and multiple regression statistics. It was found that work-family conflict was negatively related to psychological adjustment (r = -0.412, P<.01) while job demand control positively correlated with psychological adjustment (r = -0.185, P<.01). Also, work-family conflict and job demand control jointly predicted psychological adjustment (F (2,153) = 20.55, P <.01). Independently, predictions were found for work-family conflict (B=-0.640, t = 5.86, P<.05) and job demand- control (B=-O.077, t=-2.85, P<.05). It was concluded that work-family conflict and job demand-control are important factors in the psychological adjustment of lawyers in private practice. It implies that the variables are deserving of attention in personal development for lawyers as entrepreneurs. More so, attempt at improving their adjustment capacity need to focus on preparing them with coping skills to balance work-family demands and exercise control over their job related activities.