Work-Family Organizational Support as a Predictor of Work-Family Conflict, Enrichment, and Balance: Crossover and Spillover Effects in Dual-Income Couples.

Alessandro Lo Presti,Monica Molino,Alfonso Landolfi,Chiara Ghislieri,Federica Emanuel

doi:10.5964/ejop.v16i1.1931

Abstract

Dual-income families are challenged by several issues in terms of conciliation between the working environment, the family context and the management of children. This paper, consistently with spillover and crossover hypotheses, aimed at examining the intermediate role of work-family balance, linking on work-family organizational support, work-to-family enrichment and conflict as predictors, and on family-life satisfaction of dual-income families’ both partners as final outcomes. It was expected that work-family organizational support would be related to lower work-to-family conflict and higher enrichment and, through them, with higher work-family balance; moreover, a positive association between work-family balance and family-life satisfaction of both partners was assumed. 390 double-income heterosexual couples participated in our study; 76.2% of the couples were parents. Structural equation modelling results showed that work-family balance was negatively predicted by work-to-family conflict and positively predicted by work-to-family enrichment. Furthermore, work-family organizational support positively predicted work-to-family enrichment, which also mediated its effect on work-family balance. Crossover and spillover effects were also confirmed, given that positive associations between work-family balance and family-life satisfaction of both partners were found. Implications for future research and organizational interventions aimed at both improving work-family balance and promoting greater satisfaction in family life are discussed.

Highlights

Dual-income families are challenged by several issues in terms of conciliation between the working environment, the family context and the management of children
Starting from these considerations and building on the Spillover-Crossover Model (SCM; Bakker & Demerouti, 2013), the present paper aims at examining the intermediate role of work-family balance
This paper addresses four main shortcomings in current literature: a) it examines the role of Work-Family Organizational Support (WFOS) as a job resource that can impact on both work-family conflict and enrichment, b) it disentangles the differential effects of conflict, enrichment, and balance on family-life satisfaction, c) it examines the relationship between work-family balance and family-life satisfaction of both partners of dual-income families and d) it tests the SCM in the Italian context, integrating the concept of work-family balance

Summary

Introduction

Dual-income families are challenged by several issues in terms of conciliation between the working environment, the family context and the management of children. Implications for future research and organizational interventions aimed at both improving work-family balance and promoting greater satisfaction in family life are discussed Despite the persistence of the economic crisis that has severely affected many countries and caused widespread unemployment (Giunchi, Emanuel, Chambel, & Ghislieri, 2016), dual-income families are still common in contemporary Europe (Fahlén, 2015) This is perhaps due to the increased participation of women in the labour market. It can be argued that organizations are nowadays increasingly conscious that fostering employees’ work-family balance may provide benefits As a result, they publicize their change of attitude and practice, applying for rankings and legitimating themselves as work-family friendly organizations to employees, customers and suppliers. This involves offering formal work-family support and promoting a shift in organizational culture and climate, which results in informal work-family support

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion