Family Supportive Supervisor Behaviors Research Articles

To act or not to act? How do pregnant employees perform based on family‐supportive supervisor behavior

AbstractFemale employees' experience of pregnancy can have an impact on their work performance and behavior. We investigate the impact of female employees' pregnancy status (whether pregnant or not) on their impression‐management motives (IMM) and their in‐role and extra‐role performance. We also examine the role of family‐supportive supervisor behavior (FSSB) in the relationship between employees' pregnancy status and their IMM. A three‐wave survey of 129 female employees (not pregnant: 74; pregnant: 55) and their direct supervisors in 52 organizations located in Eastern China revealed that female employees' pregnancy status had an indirect effect on their performance through IMM and that FSSB moderates this indirect relationship. Specifically, if female employees are pregnant, they have higher IMM, which is associated with higher performance when FSSB is lower. However, this indirect relationship is not significant for female employees who experience higher levels of FSSB. Both theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Do Family Affairs Matter? Work–Family Conflict and Safety Behavior of Construction Workers

Despite the extensive literature on workplace safety, the effect of work–family conflict on safety behavior has received little attention. This study aims to examine why and how bidirectional work–family conflict—work-to-family conflict (WFC) and family-to-work conflict (FWC)—influences the safety behavior of construction workers. We propose hypotheses on the relationship between work–family conflict and safety behavior, the mediating effect of work engagement, and the moderating effect of family supportive supervisor behavior (FSSB). Data collected from 172 Chinese construction workers were analyzed using structural equation modeling. It was found that WFC had negative effects on safety compliance and safety participation, while FWC was only negatively related to safety participation. Meanwhile, work engagement was found to mediate the relationships between WFC and safety participation and between FWC and safety behavior. Finally, FSSB buffered the negative relationship between WFC and safety participation via work engagement. This study extends understandings of the influence mechanism and governance path of work–family conflict on safety behavior in the construction context and provides implications for improving safety behavior from the perspective of work–family balance.

Family‐supportive supervisor behaviors (FSSB) and work‐family conflict: The role of stereotype content, supervisor gender, and gender role beliefs

Existing research consistently shows that informal workplace support, such as family‐supportive supervisor behaviors (FSSB), are more effective at reducing work–family conflict than formal organizational supports. The purpose of this study is to integrate propositions from the stereotype content model and social role theory to understand how family‐supportive supervision is related to social evaluations of supervisors (i.e., perceptions of supervisor warmth and competence) and identify boundary conditions (i.e., supervisor gender and employee gender role beliefs) to help researchers and practitioners understand how these relationships affect work–family conflict. We test our hypotheses using two studies, one an experimental vignette study and the other a two‐wave survey study of working individuals with family or caregiving responsibilities. Our results suggest that FSSB are importantly related to how employees socially evaluate their supervisors along the dimensions of warmth and competence; supervisor gender moderates the relationship between FSSB and perceived competence (but not warmth); employee gender role beliefs moderates both these relationship (but in a counterintuitive way for supervisor competence); and we find evidence that warmth and competence mediate the effects that FSSB have on work–family conflict. Implications for theory, future research, and practice are discussed.Practitioner points Supervisors and organizations should consider how employee perceptions of supervisor competence and warmth impact employee perceptions of family supportiveness. When enacting family supportive behavior, it is important for supervisors to demonstrate warmth, such as through nonverbal communication and body language. Family‐supportive supervisor behavior (FSSB) interventions should consider manipulating not only dimensions of FSSB, but also behaviors tied to perceptions of competence and warmth.

Family-supportive supervisor behaviors and employee turnover intention in the foodservice industry: does gender matter?

PurposeThe restaurant industry is characterized by long hours, intense job demands and a lack of work-life balance. While a growing body of research has investigated methods for decreasing role conflict-related stress and strain in foodservice and hospitality employees, there is still little understanding of what supervisors can do to decrease work-life-related employee strain. This study aims to investigate how family-supportive supervisor behaviors (FSSB) influence employee emotional exhaustion (EE) and subsequent turnover intentions, as well as the role of gender in moderating these effects.Design/methodology/approachA survey-based design using a national panel of 226 foodservice employees was used to investigate the hypotheses developed in this paper.FindingsResults indicated that FSSB decreased employee EE and subsequent turnover intentions. The authors also found that this relationship was stronger for female employees.Research limitations/implicationsThe study provides insight into the role that employee gender may play in response to the perception of and reactions to FSSB. Women still shoulder a majority of home and non-work caring duties, and therefore, they may be more positively affected when supervisors engage in behaviors that allow for balancing work and non-work demands.Originality/valueThere is little hospitality or foodservice-focused research into the effects of FSSB, and little overall research that investigates the role that gender may play in shaping the beneficial effects of FSSB. Given that women make up a majority of foodservice employees in the USA, yet there is a lack of female representation at higher levels of organizations, the study provides insights into ways in which organizations and supervisors can improve female employees’ working experiences and potentially increase their retention.

Effects of a Total Worker Health® leadership intervention on employee well-being and functional impairment.

Although evidence has been mounting that supervisor support training interventions promote employee job, health, and well-being outcomes, there is little understanding of the mechanisms by which such interventions operate (e.g., Hammer et al., 2022; Inceoglu et al., 2018), nor about the integration of such organizational-level interventions with individual-level interventions (e.g., Lamontagne et al., 2007). Thus, the present study attempts to unpack the mechanisms through which supervisor support training interventions operate. In addition, the present study examines an integrated Total Worker Health® intervention that combines health protection in the form of supervisor support training (i.e., family supportive supervisor behaviors and supervisor support for sleep health) with a health promotion approach in the form of feedback to improve sleep health behaviors. Using a cluster randomized controlled trial drawing on a sample of 704 full-time employees, results demonstrate that the Total Worker Health intervention improves employee job well-being (i.e., increased job satisfaction and reduced turnover intentions), personal well-being (i.e., reduced stress before bedtime), and reduces personal and social functional impairment at 9 months postbaseline through employee reports of supervisors' support for sleep at 4 months postbaseline, but not through family supportive supervisor behaviors. Effects were not found for general stress or occupational functional impairment outcomes. Implications are discussed, including theoretical mechanisms by which leadership interventions affect employees, supervisor training, as well as the role of integrated organizational and individual-level interventions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

How gender matters: A conceptual and process model for family-supportive supervisor behaviors

Work-family management has become a highly salient issue for organizations as the world of work experiences ongoing changes due to globalization, technological advances, and new challenges spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the past decade or so, the concept of family-supportive supervisor behaviors (FSSB) has been recognized by management and organizational science scholars as an important resource for alleviating negative pressures related to work-family management. However, despite evidence suggesting organizations are heavily gendered (i.e., built upon and structured according to assumptions about gender) and that FSSB represent a set of gendered behaviors, the role of gender is largely missing from FSSB theorization. In addition, little is known regarding the antecedents of FSSB and the mechanisms responsible for the enactment or withholding of FSSB by supervisors. To address these gaps, we perform an interdisciplinary theoretical integration to develop a conceptual and process model of gendered antecedents of the FSSB decision-making process. We present theoretically driven propositions regarding how gender-related variables of the supervisory dyad influence both 1) if/how supervisors become aware of an FSSB opportunity, and 2) supervisors' FSSB decisions to enact, withhold, or neglect FSSB. We conclude with practical implications and opportunities for future FSSB research based on implications of our theoretical insights.

The Relationship Between Telework, Job Performance, Work–Life Balance and Family Supportive Supervisor Behaviours in the Context of COVID-19

Telework has become a very popular arrangement that has grown rapidly worldwide, most recently due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is important to deepen our knowledge about the performance of companies and employees in the context of telework because the results of previous studies are contradictory. The present study examines the relationship among telework, job performance, work–life balance (WLB) and family supportive supervisor behaviour (FSSB) in the context of COVID-19. The data ( N = 519), which are collected from large private service companies in Colombia during the COVID-19 pandemic, are analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The results do not indicate a correlation between telework and job performance or WLB in the context of the pandemic. However, positive relationships are found between job performance and both FSSB and WLB, and between FSSB and WLB. The findings help us to understand both the importance of WLB and FSSB for teleworkers and the way these factors impact job performance. The present results could help companies design strategies for the implementation of telework after COVID-19.

Family supportive supervisor behavior and promotive voice: When and why are there gender differences in work–family?

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the differential association of family supportive supervisor behavior on promotive voice under different gender. Further, while employees’ self-concept factors have received considerable attention in the research on the triggering mechanism of employee voice, the authors’ knowledge about how and when family factors affect employee voice remains underdeveloped.Design/methodology/approachAccording to the resource conservation theory and gender role theory, the authors constructed a research model to investigate the influence and boundary of family supportive supervisor behavior on employee promotive voice and tested their research model using a paired data of 332 married employees and their direct supervisors of enterprises in China.FindingsThe findings suggest that family supportive supervisor behavior has a positive effect on employee promotive voice. Family supportive supervisor behavior can strengthen employee promotive voice by improving work-to-family enrichment and reducing work–family conflict, yet no significant mediation effect was found regarding family-to-work enrichment and conflict. Furthermore, family supportive supervisor behavior is more likely to improve female employee work–family enrichment and assuage male employee work–family conflict and thus enhance employee promotive voice.Originality/valueThis study sheds light on the different influential paths of family supportive supervisor behavior on promotive voice of employees of different genders and provides references for enterprises to motivate employees’ promotive voice.

How do family supportive supervisors affect nurses' thriving: A research before and during COVID-19 pandemic

Nurses need psychological resources (supervisor support), as well as formal support from their organizations, which help them combat the demands from work and home and be more thrive at work. Family supportive supervisor behaviors have been demonstrated above and beyond general levels of supervisor support in reducing work–family conflict and improving well-being. In line with this, first aim is to examine the effects of Covid-19 pandemic on nurses' perceived family supportive supervisor behaviors, work-to-family conflict, psychological well-being, and thriving. Second aim is to test the effects of nurses' perceived family supportive supervisor behaviors on their thriving through work-to-family conflict and psychological well-being. This study was designed as cross-sectional and analytical. A total of 511 nurses from Nigeria and Turkey participated in the study. Parametric tests and Structural Equation Analysis were employed to analyze the data. During Covid-19 pandemic, the scores of nurses' perceived family supportive supervisor behaviors and thriving decreased while the scores of their work-to-family conflict increased significantly. Results confirmed the negative effects of Covid-19 pandemic on nurses. Furthermore, results showed that family supportive supervisor behaviors had positive effect on thriving by decreasing work-to-family conflict and increasing psychological well-being. This study is one of the very first study examining the effects of family supportive supervisor behaviors on nurses' work-to-family conflict, psychological well-being and thriving. Results of this study indicate that nurses need family supportive supervisors to be more thrive at work. Therefore, formal family friendly policies and implications improving family supportive supervisor behaviors are recommended in organizations.

Reliability and Validity Study of Family Supportive Supervisor Behavior(FSSB)

현대사회에서 일-가정 균형은 남녀 직장인 모두에게 중요한 이슈 중 하나이며, 특히 젊은 직장인 세대들에게 직장에서 고려하는 중요한 가치로 받아들여지고 있다. 이러한 현실을 반영하여 최근 리더십 연구에서도 전통적인 성과 중심의 리더 행동 외에 일-가정 균형을 반영한 리더 행동에 대한 연구들이 증가하고 있다. 하지만 가정 친화적인 리더 행동에 대한 연구들을 살펴보면, 기존의 가정 친화적 리더 행동 척도는 준거오염과 단일차원에 대한 비판이 있었으며, 최근 이러한 비판점들을 반영하여 다차원 구성개념인 가족 친화적 상사 행동에 대한 척도(FSSB)가 개발되었다. 따라서 본 연구는 국내 재직자들을 대상으로 다차원 구성개념의 가족 친화적 상사행동 척도인 FSSB의 신뢰도와 타당도를 검증하고자 하였으며, 이를 위해 국내 다양한 직군에 재직 중인 277명의 직원을 대상으로 연구를 진행하였다. 타당도 검증을 위한 확인적 요인분석과 경쟁 모형비교 결과, 국내에서 역시 기존 척도인 4요인 모델이 지지되는 것으로 나타났다. 또한, 준거타당도를 확인한 결과 가족 친화적 상사 행동은 직무만족, 조직몰입, 가정만족과 관련성이 있는 것으로 나타났다. 마지막으로 신뢰도 분석 결과 척도의 신뢰도는 양호한 것으로 나타났다. 이러한 결과를 통해 볼 때 국내 리더십 연구에서도 일 가정 영역에서의 리더 행동을 고려한 연구로의 확장과 실무적으로 조직의 일-가정 양립을 위한 시사점을 제공해줄 수 있을 거라 기대한다.

I speak when boss Back up my family: testing the moderated mediation model of family supportive supervisor behavior and employee voice

I speak when boss Back up my family: testing the moderated mediation model of family supportive supervisor behavior and employee voice

Is it my job? Leaders' family-supportive role perceptions

PurposeDespite a burgeoning literature on family-supportive supervisor behaviors (FSSB), it is unclear whether supervisors view these behaviors as in-role or discretionary. We proposed a new cognitive motivational construct, FSSB role perceptions (FSSB-RP; that is the extent to which supervisors perceive FSSB as an expected part of their job) and evaluated it as a mediator of the relationship between supervisors' own work–family experiences and FSSB.Design/methodology/approachWe used an online survey of 245 US based supervisors.FindingsWe find that FSSB role perceptions is a unique but related construct to FSSB, and that approximately half of our sample of 245 supervisors either do not believe that FSSB is a part of their job or are unsure as to whether it is. Path analyses revealed that supervisors' own experiences of work–family conflict and enrichment are related to engaging in FSSB through role perceptions, especially when a reward system is in place that values FSSB.Practical implicationsThese results may influence the design, implementation and dissemination of leader family-supportive training programs.Originality/valueThe factors that drive supervisors to engage in FSSB are relatively unknown, yet this study suggests the novel construct of FSSB role perceptions and supervisors' own work–family experiences are important factors.

Family Supportive Supervisor Behavior and Promotive Voice

While employees’ self-concept factors have received considerable attention in the research on the triggering mechanism of employee voice, our knowledge about how family factors affect employee voice remains underdeveloped. According to the resource conservation theory and gender role theory, we constructed a research model to investigate the influence and boundary of family supportive supervisor behavior on employee promotive voice, and tested our research model using a paired data of 332 married employees and their direct supervisors of enterprises in China. Findings suggest that: (1) Family supportive supervisor behavior has a positive effect on employee promotive voice. (2) Family supportive supervisor behavior can strengthen employee promotive voice by improving work-to-family enrichment and reducing work-family conflict, yet no significant mediation effect was found regarding family-to-work enrichment and conflict. (3) Furthermore, family supportive supervisor behavior is more likely to improve female employee work-family enrichment and assuage male employee work-family conflict, and thus enhance employee promotive voice. These findings have insightful theoretical as well as practical implications for managing employee voice.

Integrating the bright and dark sides of family supportive supervisor behaviors

Family supportive supervisor behaviors (FSSB) aim to influence employees positively, yet scholars know little about how it affects actors themselves. We draw on conservation of resources theory and self-determination theory to develop hypotheses about the effects of FSSB on supervisors. We suggest that although FSSB can cause supervisor’s emotional exhaustion and consequent laissez-faire behaviors, FSSB is also positively associated with supervisor’s perception of prosocial impact, prosocial motivation and sequent servant leadership behaviors. Furthermore, for supervisors who are high in a family harmony climate, engaging in FSSB is associated with reduced emotional exhaustion and an increased perception of prosocial impact.

Cross-Domain Effects of Negative Workplace Gossip on Employee Life Satisfaction

Drawing upon psychological detachment theory, the present study investigates the cross-domain effects of negative workplace gossip on life satisfaction by examining the mediating role of psychological detachment difficulty and the moderating role of family-supportive supervisor behaviours (FSSB). The results from a three-wave field survey of 329 employees in China indicate that perceived negative workplace gossip is positively related to the target employees’ detachment difficulty and that detachment difficulty mediates the relationship between perceived negative workplace gossip and life satisfaction. Moreover, FSSB negatively moderates the relationship between perceived negative workplace gossip and detachment difficulty, such that the relationship is weaker when FSSB is higher. Furthermore, FSSB also negatively moderates the mediating effect of detachment difficulty between perceived negative workplace gossip and life satisfaction, such that the indirect effects are weaker when FSSB is higher. The theoretical and managerial implications of these findings are discussed.

What Leaders Do Matters: Supervisor Support for Recovery and Employee Recovery

Research suggests that leaders play an important role in employees’ recovery from work stress. Very little research to date has examined leader behaviors that promote or inhibit employees’ recovery. This study aims to better understand the nature and impacts of recovery-supportive supervisory behaviors. Specifically, we (1) proposed an expanded conceptualization of supervisor support for recovery, (2) developed and validated a measure consistent with this expanded conceptualization, and (3) examined the effect of supervisor support for recovery on employee recovery. In Study 1, we conducted a qualitative study to identify the dimensional structure of supervisor support for recovery. Based on the qualitative data, we conceptualized it as a multidimensional construct with four dimensions: not communicating about work during nonwork time, not requiring work during nonwork time, modeling recovery, and encouraging recovery. In Studies 2 and 3, we developed and validated a scale to measure supervisor support for recovery. We found that supervisor support for recovery was distinct from other leadership constructs (e.g., perceived supervisor support, family supportive supervisor behaviors, and transformational leadership) and explained additional variances in psychological detachment and burnout above and beyond the three similar leadership constructs. Relative importance analysis suggested that supervisor support for recovery was more important than the other three similar constructs in predicting psychological detachment, but perceived supervisor support was the most important predictor in predicting burnout. Implications for future research are discussed.

The Effects of CEO Original Family Harmony on Firm Product Innovation Performance

In this study, we integrate work-family enrichment theory and upper echelons theory to examine how and when chief executive officers’ (CEOs’) original family has impacts on their firm performance. We argue that CEO original family harmony has an indirect effect on firm product innovation performance through CEO family supportive supervisor behaviors (FSSB) and top management team (TMT) behavioral integration, which operate in sequence. Additionally, we propose that CEO founder status strengthens the effects of CEO original family harmony. Results of data from 125 CEOs and 568 TMT members in various high-technology industries in China indicated that the positive relationship between CEO original family harmony and firm product innovation performance is serially mediated by CEO FSSB and TMT behavioral integration. Moreover, CEO founder status exacerbates the direct effect of CEO original family harmony on CEO FSSB and its indirect effect on firm product innovation performance. The findings provide insightful theoretical contributions, practical implications, and new research directions for understanding CEO family-work spillover and CEO-TMT interface.

Why and When Family-Supportive Supervisor Behaviors Relate to Performance: A COR Perspective

Drawing on Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, this study examined why and when family-supportive supervisor behaviors (FSSB) relate to overall performance (a second order construct comprising task proficiency, task adaptivity, and task proactivity). Specifically, we examined work-family balance effectiveness and sleep quality as serial mediators of, and use of family-supportive paid leave as a boundary condition of, the FSSB-overall performance relationship. Data obtained in Ghana from healthcare employees (n = 481) and their supervisors (n = 117) were used to test our hypotheses. Results of Multilevel Structural Equation Modeling (MSEM) revealed that FSSB related to overall performance through the serial mediation of work-family balance effectiveness and sleep quality. Additionally, use of family-supportive paid leave moderated the FSSB-overall performance relationship such that this relationship was stronger when use of family-supportive paid leave was high rather than low. We interpret these findings as underscoring the generalizability of work-home resource-based theories of the work-family interface in accounting for work-family dynamics as well as contributing to the growing interest in workforce sustainability.

The Impact of Cross-Domain Attention Residue and Buffing Effect of a Family Supportive Supervisor

Research on attention residue, or thoughts about one task persisting while performing another task, has predominantly focused on switching from one work task to another work task and its effect on work performance. We extend this literature by focusing on cross-domain attention residue, switching between work and family tasks while working from home, and examine the impact of cross-domain attention residue on work-family conflict and work and family performance. In addition, we examine whether management practices, specifically family supportive supervisor behaviors, may buffer the negative effects of cross-domain attention residue on work-family conflict and work and family performance. In a sample of 95 working from home matched participant-partner pairs, we tested and found support for our hypotheses. Our study highlights the need to examine the unique challenges that work from home employees face as they juggle work and family tasks, and the role that managers may play in buffering the negative effects of those challenges.

Work-Life Programs and Employment Continuity in a Single Organization: Understanding from Whole-Life Approach to Career Development

This study examines the effect of work-life programs on employment continuity with a mediating role of work-family enrichment in a single organization using a work-family enrichment model. Consistent with the leader–member exchange theory, this study also examines the moderating role of family-supportive supervisor behavior between work-life programs and work-family enrichment. Data was collected from 218 employees working in the financial sector of Pakistan. Using partial least square structural equation modeling, the study findings suggest that work-life programs have no direct effect on employment continuity; however, the results show an indirect effect of work-life programs on employment continuity through the mediating role of work-family enrichment. Although family-supportive supervisor behavior has a significant impact on work-family enrichment, the findings show that it does not moderate the relationship between work-life programs and work-family enrichment. This study indicates to organizations the various work and nonwork factors that an employee considers while making career decisions, thus encouraging organizations to engage in whole-life approach to career development to retain valuable employees.