Work‐family enrichment as a mediator between organizational interventions for work‐life balance and job outcomes

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the role of work‐family enrichment in the relationships between organizational interventions for work‐life balance (job characteristics, work‐life benefits and policies, supervisor support and work‐family culture) and job outcomes (job satisfaction, affective commitment and organizational citizenship behaviour). It is hypothesized that organizational interventions for work‐life balance will be positively related to job outcomes and work‐to‐family enrichment will mediate these relationships.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 216 managerial employees through a structured questionnaire from four organizations in India representing manufacturing and information technology (IT) sectors. Analysis was done using multiple regressions.FindingsJob characteristics were positively related to all the measures of job outcomes. Supervisor support and work‐family culture were positively related to job satisfaction and affective commitment. No significant association was found between work‐life benefits and policies (WLBPs) and any of the job outcome measures. Job characteristics and supervisor support were positively related to work‐to‐family enrichment. Work‐to‐family enrichment mediated the relationships between job characteristics and all job outcomes and between supervisor support and affective commitment.Research limitations/implicationsThe correlational design prevents conclusions about causality.Practical implicationsThe findings have implications for designing jobs, developing supportive work‐family culture and managing employee work‐family interface for maximizing individual and organizational outcomes.Originality/valueThe study reflected on the work‐family domain relationships in a novel socio‐cultural context and demonstrated the mediating role of work‐family enrichment in the relationships between organizational interventions for work‐life balance and job outcomes.