Work-family Benefits Research Articles

Explaining job satisfaction through the use of work–familybenefits and their impact on the employee’s family context

PurposeThis study analyses the relationship between the use of work–family benefits and job satisfaction (JS). Furthermore, it proposes that work-to-family conflict (WFC) and work-to-family enrichment (WFE) play a mediating role in this relationship. The purpose of this paper is to address these issues.Design/methodology/approachData are gathered from 1,051 employees of Colombian organisations. Partial least squares path modelling is used.FindingsThe results show that the perception of WFE to a greater extent and the WFC perception, to a lesser extent, are significant mediators in the relationship between the use of benefits and JS.Practical implicationsThis study justifies investments and initiatives on the adoption and promotion of work–family benefits. Moreover, it provides practical clues on how to boost JS: WFC and WFE are variables to be considered.Originality/valueThis study proposes a multiple mediation model to analyse the relationship between the actual use of work–family benefits and JS from a family perspective. It contributes to the literature in examining antecedents of JS, highlighting the role of WFE.

Bargaining for work–family benefits in the UK

Using data from the Labour Research Department's Payline bank of collective agreements, and drawing on case studies of the (male-dominated) rail transport and (female-dominated) food retail sectors, this article analyses agreement on enhanced work–family benefits, focusing on maternity and paternity leave and pay, and Shared Parental Leave (SPL) and pay. The opportunity structure for bargaining, consisting of internal and external factors encouraging or facilitating union engagement with work–family measures, has developed unevenly in the British case, resulting in only a small number of agreements overall. Collectively agreed provision offers significant benefits mainly for maternity leave and pay. The analysis finds evidence of a dynamic of bargaining whereby those organisations with enhanced maternity pay continued to extend provision and to introduce new enhancements for fathers through paternity leave, but also identifies the limits of this dynamic due to complexity of policy design. The article argues that trade unions can coordinate bargaining strategy even in the absence of formal mechanisms for doing so, but that local strategy depends on the external opportunity structure at all levels.

Child Happiness Associated with Paternal Profiles in Parenting Behaviors and Work-Family Balance

In Korea, expectations for paternal roles are changing from strict fathers to intimate fathers as a result of the rise in dual-income families. Maintaining a work-family balance to allow for more involvement in parenting can be difficult for Korean fathers because they tend to be work-oriented. They also typically lack a role model for close father-child relationships due to Korea’s tradition of authoritarian fatherhood. In this study, we identify paternal profiles and what types of fathers are positively associated with child happiness. For this purpose, we investigate (a) the number and characteristics of paternal profiles in parenting behaviors (authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive parenting) and work-family balance (work-family benefits and conflicts); (b) predictors of the profiles, and (c) how the profiles are associated with child happiness. Our sample included 1,159 fathers with children in the 3rd grade from the 10th wave of the Panel Study on Korean Children. The mean age of the fathers was 42.15 years ( SD = 3.88), and the mean length of their marital relationship was about 12.90 years ( M = 154.83 months, SD = 36.98). Using Mplus, we applied latent profile analysis and found three profiles: (1) authoritative fathers with work-family benefits (22.1%); (2) authoritative-permissive fathers with work-family balance (52.9%); and (3) inconsistent fathers with work-family conflicts (25.0%). We also examined predictors of the profiles and child happiness. Health, age, and marital relationship satisfaction were the significant predictors of the profiles. Children of authoritative fathers with work-family benefits showed significantly higher happiness than children of the other paternal types. Our findings provide valuable implications for family practices and government policies regarding the importance of paternal roles on child happiness and the impact of health status, age, and marital relationship satisfaction on fathers’ parenting.

잠재프로파일분석을 활용한 취업모의 양육행동과 일-가족 균형 유형에 따른 아동의 전반적 행복감과 집행기능 곤란

The purpose of this study is to identify (a) the number and characteristics of working mothers’ profiles in parenting behaviors (authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive parenting) and work-family balance (work-family benefits and conflicts), (b) predictors (age, education, health status, household income, and marital relationship satisfaction) of the profiles, and (c) how the maternal profiles are associated with children’s happiness and executive function difficulty. Our sample consisted of 704 working mothers from the 10th wave of the Panel Study on Korean Children. The children of the working mothers were in the 3rd grade of elementary school. Using Mplus, we applied latent profile analysis and identified three profiles: (1) authoritative mothers with work-family benefits (30.1%); (2) authoritative mothers with a high level of control and permission and work-family balance (53.3%); and (3) inconsistent mothers with work-family conflicts (16.6%). Education, health status, and marital relationship satisfaction were the significant antecedents of the profiles. Also, children of the ‘authoritative mothers with work-family benefits’ and ‘authoritative mothers with a high level of control and permission and work-family balance’ showed a significantly higher level of happiness than those of the ‘inconsistent mothers with work-family conflicts’. Our findings provide valuable implications for family policies and practices regarding the impact of education, health status, and marital relationship satisfaction on working mothers’ parenting and the importance of working mothers’ roles on children’s happiness and executive functioning.

Idiosyncratic deals and work‐to‐family conflict and enrichment: The mediating roles of fit perceptions and efficacy beliefs

AbstractIdiosyncratic deals (i‐deals), which involve personalised work arrangements negotiated between employees and their managers, offer a promising approach to accommodating the demands of a diverse workforce. In contrast with the traditional social exchange theory perspective, we integrate the theories of person–environment fit and self‐efficacy to examine the effect of flexibility i‐deals on both work‐to‐family conflict and enrichment. We specifically consider two mediating mechanisms: needs–supplies (N‐S) fit and family‐role efficacy. Results from two Chinese samples reveal that supervisor‐rated flexibility i‐deals relate positively with employees' family‐role efficacy and N‐S fit. These, in turn, relate to work‐to‐family conflict negatively and to work‐to‐family enrichment positively. Monte Carlo bootstrapping analyses confirm the indirect effects of N‐S fit and family‐role efficacy. By using an alternative theoretical perspective, we add to our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the i‐deals effect. This study expands existing i‐deals research to an empirically underrepresented area: work–family enrichment. Our findings also confirm the work–family benefits of i‐deals and strengthen managers' confidence regarding the merits of implementing i‐deals in the workplace.

Decoy effect, anticipated regret, and preferences for work–family benefits

Attracting talent is one of the key challenges for organizations, and offering attractive work–family benefits plays an increasingly important role in succeeding at this challenge. However, behavioural decision theory suggests that when choosing among job offers with different work–family benefits, individuals may fall prey to a decoy effect and this effect may be mediated through anticipated regret. This effect occurs when preferences are influenced by a normatively irrelevant decoy option that is clearly inferior to one of the other options in the choice set, but not the other (i.e., ‘asymmetrically dominated’). Across two studies, we investigated preferences for two important types of work–family benefits: flexible work arrangements (FWA) and dependent care support (DCS). We predicted and found a decoy effect: Preferences for jobs with these benefits were influenced by the presence of a normatively irrelevant decoy option. That is, preferences shifted towards either the FWA option or the DCS option depending on which option the decoy targeted (i.e., the option that asymmetrically dominated the decoy). The effects held over and above variables related to individuals’ work and family situations and values, including role centrality. Moreover, we found that anticipated regret mediated the effect of the decoy option on benefit preferences.Practitioner points Organizations can use decoy options with relatively inferior (i.e., dominated) job benefits as an implicit influence tactic to influence applicants' job preferences. Using this approach is only legitimate if it has a factual basis and recruiters need to take ethical aspects of such practices into consideration. Individuals need to be aware that when normatively irrelevant cues such as decoy options affect their decision‐making process, their choices may be biased. By noticing decoy options and influence attempts of recruiters, individuals can ensure that their choices reflect their values, not contextual factors.

Balancing board? The effects of board independence and capital on firms offering work‐family benefits

While prior research demonstrates the strategic human resource (HR) advantages associated with offering work–family benefits (WFBs), firms continue to be reluctant in providing their employees with these benefits. Drawing on the corporate governance and stakeholder orientation literatures, this study examines the role of board independence and capital for WFBs being offered in publicly‐traded firms. Our results demonstrate that various director independence and capital attributes are related to the firm offering WFBs. Specifically, board directors who are outsiders, women, and holders of additional directorships, with their broad stakeholder orientation, increase the likelihood of WFBs being offered by the firm [Correction added on December 14, 2017, after first online publication: the preceding sentence has been updated to clarify the findings of the study.]. These findings are of importance to HR practitioners considering the influence that corporate boards can have on the firm's use of HR practices, such as WFBs, that affect all employees, not just the executives.

서비스 조직의 사회적 책임으로서, 가족친화제도 유용성 지각의 선행요인과 조직 유효성에 관한 연구

Being considered that Work-Family benefits can possibly improve work-family balance, quality of life, and women resources utilization, the public opinion has been over the debate in modern society. However, previous researches generally focused on application of work-family benefits program, while individual-level factors received relatively less attention in researches, So, I conducted this study to focus on employee’s perceived usefulness of work-family benefits. This research intended to analyze how perceived organizational culture-as one of antecedent factors-influences employee’s perceived usefulness of work-family benefits. It was hypothesized perceived usefulness of work-family benefits has a positive effect on organizational effectiveness such as job satisfaction, organizational commitment and turnover intention. It also intended to prove that the moderating effects of social support in relationship between employee’s perceived usefulness of work-family benefits and organizational effectiveness. In order to prove the hypothesis, a questionnaire survey was conducted with 195 employees. The collected data were analyzed by the SPSS, multiple regression analysis was used for statistical analysis. The results of this study are as follows. The findings showed that adhocracy culture positively affected employee’s perceived usefulness of work-family benefits. In addition, employee’s perceived usefulness of work-family benefits was positively related to job satisfaction, but organizational commitment and turnover intention were not statistically significant. In verification of social support as a moderating variable, supervisor support had the moderating effect between employee’s perceived usefulness of work-family benefits and organizational effectiveness engagement by strengthening the relationship. However, moderating effect of coworker support was not shown in the relationship between employee’s perceived usefulness of Work-Family Benefits and organizational effectiveness.

The Mediating Role of Work-Family Enrichment Between Organizational Intervening and Organizational Citizenship Behavior: (Case Study: Banking Sector)

Work-life balance is a subject that due to changes in the environment, technology, demographics, and changes in individual expectations and demands, has attracted much attention of researchers and business leaders in the world. More recently, we can see that demographic changes in the number of women who work, and increase the number of families in which both women and men work, has created a lot of pressure on both men and women to manage their work and family issues. This study examines the mediating role of work-to–family enrichment between organizational intervening and organizational citizenship behavior variables in branches of Mellat Bank of Iran. This study in terms of objective is an applied research, and in terms of implementation approach is a causal research. Data collection tool in this study is a standard questionnaire with 28 questions. Cronbach's alpha and confirmatory factor analysis was used to determine the reliability and validity of the questionnaire which the amount of alpha obtained for the questionnaire demonstrated good reliability of tools, and values of factor loadings and T statistic obtained show the validity of the questionnaires. 300 questionnaires were collected among bank Mellat staff, and structural equation modeling statistical technique was used for data analysis. The results of study confirmed suggest the impact of organizational intervening variable on organizational citizenship behavior and work-to-family enrichment, but the effect of mediating role of work-to-family enrichment between organizational intervening variable on organizational citizenship behavior was not confirmed. Also, the impact of variables of work-family benefits and policies, work-family culture and management support was approved on organizational citizenship behavior, but the impact of occupational characteristics variable on organizational citizenship behavior was not confirmed. Also, the impact of occupational characteristics, and variable of work-family benefits and policies on work and family enrichment was confirmed. This despite the fact that the impact of work-family culture and management support variables on work-to-family enrichment was not confirmed.

Revisiting the welfare state paradox: A firm-level analysis from Japan

Many cross-national studies of welfare states and gender inequality report adverse effects of work-family policies on women’s labor market outcomes. Countries with generous work-family policies tend to have a lower proportion of women in positions of authority and greater occupational sex segregation than countries without such policies. In order to explain this paradox, scholars have argued that work-family policies may create incentives for employers to exclude women from well-paying jobs. This argument, however, has been left untested due to the absence of firm-level data on promotions. This paper seeks to make both a theoretical and an empirical contribution to this literature. At the theoretical level, we argue that the effect of work-family policies is contingent upon labor market context and organizational practices, which shape employers’ incentives or disincentives to implement work-family policies to more fully utilize female workers. Empirically, we use over-time firm-level data to test how government policy interventions in Japan to increase work-family benefits have affected female promotion rates in private companies. Analyzing changes in women’s promotion rates across 1000 large companies from 1987 to 2009, we find evidence that employers have tended to promote more, not fewer, women subsequent to policy interventions. Additionally, employers who provided more generous work-family benefits promoted more women. Our findings point to the importance of labor market context in structuring employers’ incentives to leverage work-family policy reforms to utilize skilled female labor.

The disadvantage of a sex-segregated labor market: Sex segregation and the availability of work–family benefits

This article explores how the sex composition of occupations affects the availability of work–family benefits. Literature suggests that male-dominated occupations may be unlikely to make work–family benefits available. Consistent with the literature, this article found that male-dominated occupations are not likely to offer parental leave or flexible schedules, especially if they are low-prestige occupations. Surprisingly, however, women in male-dominated occupations were especially likely to have parental leave available. Further, occupations with balanced sex compositions offered men better access to parental leave than those in male-dominated occupations and offered both men and women better access to flexible work schedules compared to sex-segregated occupations. The study suggests that efforts to balance occupational sex compositions may result in better availability of work–family benefits for both men and women. It argues that the unequal distribution of benefits discovered within male-dominated occupations creates barriers for women trying to enter these occupations, reinforcing sex segregation in the labor market.

Does Psychological Contract on Work-family Benefits Improve Employee Commitment?

The purpose of this study is to examine the role of work-family psychological contract fulfillment as a mechanism through which work-family factors affect employees’ organizational commitment. The data for this study were collected from media organization employees in Malaysia using self-administered questionnaires. The results indicate that work-family psychological contract fulfillment correlates significantly with work-family conflict, work-family facilitation and organizational commitment. Work-family psychological contract fulfillment has a mediating effect on the relationships between the work-family factors (work-family facilitation and work-family conflict) and organizational commitment. The results underscore the important role of work-family psychological contract fulfillment in improving organizational commitment. The findings point to the importance of organizations investing in work-family benefits since this investment has the potential of improving organizational commitment of employees. Organizations should plan for interventions that could reduce work-family conflict and enhance work-family facilitation. In future, there is a need for researchers to give more attention to work-family benefits in psychological contract research.

The Role of Work-Family Psychological Contract in the Relationships between Affectivity and Job Satisfaction

In recent years, studies have shown that with the increase in the number of dual-career couples and greater job demand from employers, employees have to deal with work-family role imbalance. Hence, many employees have demanded assistance for non-work or family activities. The absence of a strong legal contract on work-family benefits to help employees deal with work-family role imbalance has resulted in employees relying on psychological agreements or contracts. This paper presents a model that includes personality factors (positive affectivity and negative affectivity) as independent variables, work-family psychological contract as a mediator and job satisfaction as the dependent variable. This model was developed based on the ‘conservation of resources theory’ as well as previous research findings. This model extends the content of psychological contract to include work-family issues by introducing the work-family psychological contract concept and postulates the role of work-family psychological contract as a mediator in the relationships between affectivity and job satisfaction.

Supportive work–family environments: implications for work–family conflict and well-being

Work–family conflict (WFC) remains a growing type of stress and concern for many employees. Recognizing these difficulties, organizations are offering various formal programs (e.g. on-site childcare, flextime, compressed work week, telecommuting and so on.) to help their employees in balancing both work and family life. However, many employees are hesitant to use them due to ‘stigmas’ attached to them. A work environment that is supportive of such programs is likely a contributing factor in the success and effectiveness of these programs. This study tested a model that examines the availability of work–family programs and work–family culture (i.e. in terms of managerial support, organizational demands and career consequences) as predictors of WFC. The model also examined the effects of WFC on individual's well-being (i.e. life satisfaction and work engagement). Data were collected from 112 employees, and the overall fit of the model was good (i.e. the model was reasonably consistent with the data). Results demonstrated that the availability of work–family benefits promoted a supportive work–family culture, which was inversely related to WFC. WFC contributed negatively to both life satisfaction and work engagement. That is, employees who reported more WFC were less satisfied with their life and were less inclined to be engaged at work. Results of the study highlight the importance of inculcating an accommodating work environment, and will be discussed.

Trade union support for fathers' use of work–family benefits – lessons from Sweden

Trade unions have traditionally been male-dominated organizations serving men's interests as family breadwinners, primarily through wage-setting. This study explores whether unions will contest the gendered division of parenting to develop values and practices that support men as caregivers. It takes place in Sweden, where unions are strong and fathers have legislated rights to paid parental leave. A mail survey of local unions revealed that the vast majority of unions did not believe it was important to focus attention on men as family caregivers. Only about one-fourth reported activities to improve men's benefit knowledge; only about one-third reported that they helped to implement parental leave at the workplace and only about one-fourth had negotiated contracts that extended leave benefits for fathers. Unions were more active in supporting men as fathers when they prioritized women's equal employment opportunity and when fathers requested union help. Stronger unions were more likely than others to have won enhanced benefits; contracts tended to increase compensation rather than offer more leave time. Swedish unions are in a strong position to promote, help implement and extend work–family benefits for fathers, dissolving the boundary between work and family spheres, but this potential has not yet been realized.

Work–family policies in Korean organizations: Human resources management and institutional explanations

This study uses a representative sample of 1905 Korean organizations to examine the presence of work–family policies. We derive hypotheses from explanations that animate human resources (HR) management, and develop new institutional ones for predicting the presence of work–family policies in Korea. A logistic regression model is employed to identify predictors of the presence of four types of work–family policies across Korean organizations. This study uses a detailed measurement of HR strategies to examine organizational responsiveness to institutional pressures. In addition, we utilize the characteristics of corporate governance structures to test institutional effects on work–family policies. The findings suggest that the presence of work–family policies across Korean organizations is influenced by both the characteristics of the workforce (a HR management explanation) and the organization's responsiveness to the external environment (an institutional explanation). Notably, organizations in an enterprise run by professional managers are sensitive to emerging social norms, and are more likely to have work–family policies. In addition, organizations exposed to international norms through shareholding linkages are more likely to have work–family policies. Our findings suggest that Korean organizations have provided different work–family benefits in response to different concerns.

Work-Family Psychological Contract, Job Autonomy and Organizational Commitment

Problem statement: With the increase in dual-career couples in the wo rkforce and absence of adequate legal contracts in the form of work-fam ily policies, employees may hold expectations regarding employer's obligation based on what has b een promised by the organization regarding work- family benefits. Employees' expectations of obligat ions from an employer may depend on psychological mechanisms or psychological contracts rather than formalisms arising from laws. Despite the existence of earlier studies on psychol ogical contract, the contract has been studied as a global concept. Approach: This study had applied the global psychological co ntract concept to a more specific concept that was work-family psychological contract. Since earlier studies had established the relationship between psychological contract and organizational commitment as well as the effect of job autonomy on this contract, this study examin ed the mediating role of work-family psychological contract in the relationship between job autonomy and organizational commitment. Using self-administered data were collected from 30 7 employees in media organizations in Malaysia. Results: Results of correlation analyses revealed that job autonomy was correlated to work- family psychological contract and organizational co mmitment and work-family psychological contract was related to organizational commitment. The resul ts also indicated that work-family psychological contract partially mediated the relationship betwee n job autonomy and organizational commitment. Conclusion/Recommendations: Employees with greater freedom to make their own decisions at work would have stronger beliefs that the organization c an fulfill promises regarding work-family benefits and they can in turn be more committed to the orga nization.

The measurement of work–family culture in Spain and some applications to other economies

This investigation adapts the scales assessing work–family culture to consider several characteristics found in Spanish organizations (e.g. extended schedules and a high value attributed to working long hours). Organizational phenomena not included in other scales are integrated into a modified instrument (e.g. managers efforts to inform about the available work–family benefits, being considered more efficient when working many hours). Suggestions on the measurement of these new features in other economies are provided. Two studies are conducted: one to develop the scale and another to validate it. The resulting instrument comprehends three components: managerial support, career consequences and supervisor support.

Management Work—Family Research and Work—Family Fit

In this article, 25 years of organization science research on work—family is summarized, and its implications for building the human, social, and economic elements of family capital in family business are developed. The impact of work—family conflict; sex and gender roles; role enrichment; work—family benefits, programs, and policies; and work, job, and organization redesign are emphasized. A social systems model of environment—environment fit—work—family fit—is developed. Implications for future research and for investing in family capital are discussed.

US family‐leave policy: the legacy of ‘separate spheres’

Family‐leave policy in the USA is essentially regulatory, providing for work–family supports that are unpaid and otherwise relatively limited in substance and scope. Using a path‐dependency informed analysis of policy developments from the 1920s through the 1990s, I argue that these central defining qualities stem from government involvement beginning in the first part of the 20th century in helping the private sector to construct what I theorize was a ‘precursor’ work–family benefits system. During this period, the government was developing a general approach toward the growing numbers of working women that was based largely on traditional ideas (‘separate spheres’) about women's roles. Separate spheres influenced the way that the growing numbers of working women were viewed within the initial work–family benefits system, and I argue that this approach has carried over into the more recent family‐leave policy debates, helping to explain the key features of present‐day policy.