Work Interference With Family Research Articles

Weekly information communication technology availability demand and family experiences in dual‐earner couples: A perspective from the spillover–crossover model

AbstractThe prevalence of information communication technology (ICT) enables employees to conveniently communicate with coworkers and clients regardless of time and place. However, recent studies have revealed a negative side of ICT use, especially its capacity to invade the family domain. This study was developed based on the spillover–crossover model (SCM) to test how ICT availability demand shapes employees' family experiences and how this demand crosses over to spouses. A total of 961 cases nested in 101 dual‐earner couples were collected using a 10‐week experience sampling method. Multilevel structural equation modelling revealed that (1) employees' work interference with family (WIF) mediated the indirect impact of employees' ICT availability demand on their family satisfaction and family undermining; (2) employees' WIF mediated the indirect impact of employees' ICT availability demand on their spouses' family satisfaction and family undermining; and (3) employees' ICT control buffered these two indirect relationships by which employees' ICT availability demand impacted their own and their spouses' family satisfaction and family undermining. This research elaborates on the spillover and crossover process through which ICT availability demand shapes family experience, thus contributing to the literature on ICT availability demand and the SCM.

Work-Family Conflict in Nurses During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses were praised as the main heroes of the fight against the disease, but pandemic conditions affected the balance between their work and family responsibilities. To this end, the present study aimed to explore the incidence of work-family conflict in nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at COVID-19 referral hospitals in Mazandaran Province, Iran, in 2021. The participants were 200 nurses who were selected using convenience and purposive sampling. The data were collected using the Work-Family Conflict Scale (WAFCS), which was distributed and completed online. The collected data were analyzed with SPSS-16 software using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: Most of the participants were working as nurses for an average of seven years and had been caring for COVID-19 patients for at least 4-6 months until the time of data collection. The mean work-family conflict score was 78.80±1.1. The data also showed that the severity of work interference with family (WIF) in both time and strain dimensions (83.81±0.3) was significantly higher than the severity of family interference with work (FIW) (65.90±0.3) in these two dimensions. Conclusion: Nurses faced an imbalance between work and family functions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since nurses are at the forefront of the fight against the pandemic, it is necessary to pay special attention to their working conditions and family life. Moreover, effective and practical solutions should be provided by managers to resolve work-family challenges.

A dual-path model of work-family conflict and hospitality employees’ job and life satisfaction

Work-family conflict (WFC) has been a widespread concern to scholars and practitioners in the hospitality industry. Building on the conservation of resources (COR) theory and using a mixed-method research design, this study explored a two-path model of the impacts of WFC on hospitality employees’ satisfaction in both work and life domains. Study 1 is a field survey of 432 hotel employees; Study 2 is a qualitative research design with interviews collected from 39 informants in China. Our findings suggested that family interfering with work (FIW) was positively relevant to employees’ work-time control but negatively relevant to organizational commitment. Work-time control and organizational commitment mediated the relationship between FIW and job/life satisfaction. However, work interfering with family (WIF) on employee outcome variables was insignificant. The paper highlights the critical implications of FIW to theories and literature related to WFC and resource conservation, as well as practices to enhance employees’ well-being at work and in life domains.

Does work-family conflict mediate the effect of psychological resilience on tour guides’ happiness?

Purpose This paper aims to explore work interfering with family (WIF) and family interfering with work (FIW) as the mediators linking psychological resilience to happiness. Design/methodology/approach Data gathered from tour guides in Türkiye were used to test the aforesaid associations. In this paper, partial least squares structural equation modeling was performed to gauge the direct links and mediating impacts of WIF and FIW simultaneously in the link between psychological resilience and happiness. Findings Psychological resilience exerts a dual influence on WIF and FIW. Simply put, psychologically resilient tour guides balance their work demands with those of the family or vice versa and exhibit low levels of WIF and FIW. As hypothesized, WIF and FIW are the two mediating mechanisms relating psychological resilience to happiness. Practical implications It is important to create a family-supportive atmosphere where tour guides can avail themselves of family-friendly practices (i.e. family leave, flexible work schedules, breaks to be spent with family members after long tours and convenient working hours). Psychologically resilient tour guides, with the abovementioned practices, would experience alleviated conflicts between work and family roles and would therefore have heightened happiness. Originality/value Although the extant literature has presented plenty of empirical studies about the predictors and outcomes of WIF and FIW, evidence about the links of personal resources as third variables to WIF and FIW simultaneously is still scanty. In addition, there is no evidence linking personal resources such as psychological resilience to nonwork outcomes such as happiness through the mediating roles of WIF and FIW. This paper fills in these voids by gauging the links given above using data collected from tour guides, a population that has been subjected to limited inquiry in the WIF and FIW literature.

Reconciling Paid Work and Informal Caregiving Among Older Adults: Implications for Work Interference With Family.

Many older adults who combine paid work and informal caregiving responsibilities are often in work arrangements that differ from their preference. There is reason to believe that such work status incongruence may lead to work interference with family (WIF). In response, many governments have policies that support flexible work arrangements (FWA) to help individuals manage work and family commitments. This paper examines whether work status preferences contribute to WIF for older adults who combine work and care and whether the use of flexible work arrangements moderates this relationship. The study included 610 informal caregivers (aged 55-70 years) in paid employment who participated in either the 2018 or 2020 waves of the New Zealand Health, Work and Retirement study. Using a simple moderation analysis with demographic controls, the effects of work status preferences and FWAs on WIF were estimated. After controlling for confounds, significant main effects were found for both work status preferences and flexible work arrangements on WIF. The moderation analysis revealed that involuntary part-timers using flexible time-off arrangements reported lower levels of WIF. However, other types of flexible work arrangements did not moderate the relationship between work status preferences and WIF. These findings suggest that work status preferences can contribute to WIF, but not all types of flexible work arrangements alleviate it. Policy initiatives designed to reduce WIF for those combining work and care should consider accounting for differences in the work status preferences of older workers.

Work-family conflict, wellbeing and strain: Sex differences and children at home.

The work and family interface elicits work-family conflict (WFC) leading to positive and negative outcomes. Sex is a central element in WFC, with a wealth of studies reporting either sex differences or similarities. The presence of children at home, however, is a rather understudied moderator. This study aimed to contrast whether two main components of WFC, work interference with family (WIF) and family interference with work (FIW) associated differentially with wellbeing and strain depending on sex or children. There were data from 762 Spanish individuals (455 females) in dual-earner families. A structural equation model with four latent variables (WIF, FIW, wellbeing and strain) was contrasted across two moderators, sex and children. Males and females endured a similar association between WIF and FIW with wellbeing and strain compared with workers with children. Childless workers experienced lower associations between FIW with wellbeing and strain compared with workers with children. Children at home rather than sex alone elicit stronger links of WFC with wellbeing and strain. Examining the presence of children at home, including children ages, should be conducted regularly in WFC research.

The impact of work-family conflict and self-efficacy on teachers' organisational citizenship behaviour: does perceived organisational support matter Implications for theory and practice

Organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) of teachers has been found essential for the effective functioning of schools, and teachers' propensity to perform OCB is determined by various individual and organisational characteristics. The present study investigates work interference with family (WIF) and self-efficacy as independent variables, and OCB as dependent variable, while examining the moderating effect of perceived organisational support (POS) on the WIF-OCB relationship. The study model was examined in structural equation modelling using AMOS. Data were collected using self-report questionnaires from 435 teachers in the secondary schools in Sri Lanka. The results revealed that teachers' OCB was not affected by their WIF, and POS had no moderating effect on WIF-OCB relationship. A significant positive relationship was found between teachers' self-efficacy and their OCB. The present study offers practical implications and recommendations for classroom management, school leadership, and policy decisions, and contributes to the growing empirical research on teacher OCB.

Not up to the task: perceptions of women and men with work-family conflicts

ABSTRACT Conversations about work-family conflict are commonplace. However, most of the conversation is based on how individuals can best manage work and family demands. Little is known about how others perceive and react towards individuals who go through this experience. Building on theories of social evaluation and stereotype maintenance, we hypothesized that due to gender stereotypes, which prescribe the ideal woman as highly invested in family and the ideal man as highly invested in work, women who experience work interference with family (WIF) and men who experience family interference with work (FIW) would elicit negative reactions. Results of three experimental studies (N Study1 = 569; N Study2 = 299; N Study3 = 275) and a field study (N = 219) provided only limited evidence for this assumption. However, they consistently showed across all four studies that both men and women who experience FIW were systematically judged and treated less favourably compared to employees with WIF, by observers and their supervisors, on several work-related dimensions (agency, dominance, respect, promotability, work performance, reward allocations). However, they were judged to be the better parents. We discuss the implications of our findings for work-family conflict research.

The impact of work interference with family on depressive symptoms among married working women: A longitudinal panel study.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of work interference with family (WIF) on depressive symptoms among married working women. Data from 2014‒2018 of the Korean Longitudinal Survey of Women and Families were used. Only married women living with their husbands and wage workers were included, whereas those diagnosed with depression at the baseline year and those with missing values were excluded. A total of 1,504 individuals were included as the study population. The impact of WIF on depressive symptoms was analyzed using the generalized estimating equation model with a logit link. After adjusting for all the potential confounding variables, it was found that WIF had an effect on depressive symptoms. Women whose work interfered with their family were 1.58 times more likely to experience depressive symptoms than those who did not experience WIF (95% Confidence interval (CI): 1.30‒1.92). WIF due to irregular working hours had the highest odds ratio for depression (Adjusted odds ratio (OR): 2.01, 95% CI: 1.32‒3.08). Women with WIF were more likely to develop depressive symptoms when they had two or more children (With 2 children, Adjusted OR: 1.69, 95% CI: 1.31‒2.18; With 3 or more children, Adjusted OR: 1.63, 95% CI: 1.07-2.49). Thus, married working women who experienced WIF were found to be at a higher risk of developing depressive symptoms. Therefore, considering how prevailing stereotypes that roles of men and women are separated can harm women's mental health, policy measures should be implemented to ensure women's quality of life based on the work-family balance.

Mea Culpa! The Role of Guilt in the Work-Life Interface and Satisfaction of Women Entrepreneur.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the role of mediator of Guilt (in both directions: Family Interference with Work (FIW) and Work Interference with Family (WIF)) in the relationship between Conflict, Job and Life Satisfaction, also investigating the role of Enrichment as moderator. Using PROCESS Macro, the hypothesized models are tested on a sample of 161 women entrepreneurs. Both the mediating role of guilt and the moderating role of enrichment were analyzed through models of mediation and moderate mediation. Results from the analysis support the hypothesized models. Guilt FIW and Guilt WIF mediate the relationship between work Conflict and Job satisfaction, as well the relationship between Conflict and Life satisfaction, and at the same time, Enrichment moderated the mediating processes by which the Conflict affects Job and Life satisfaction via Guilt FIW and Guilt WIF. This study is one of the few that takes into consideration both Conflict and Enrichment in a sample of women entrepreneurs and examines Guilt, which many times presents itself as an “invisible” factor in studies on the work–family interface.

The dark side of remote working during pandemics: Examining its effects on work-family conflict and workplace wellbeing

While remote working has been applied as an emerging flexible modern work arrangement and as an effective way to maintain social distancing during pandemics, it may result in negative workplace outcomes. Despite the eulogy on remote working, more research is needed to examine its possible negative effects on employees in the workplace. This study aims to fill these gaps by examining the effects of remote working on work-family conflict and workplace wellbeing during pandemics, and how such effects are moderated by employees’ general self-efficacy and job autonomy. Survey data was collected from 399 Chinese employees during COVID-19. The results show that remote working has a positive effect on work-family conflict, which in turn decreases workplace wellbeing. Further analyses show that while the work-family conflict dimension of family interfering with work (FIW) has a negative effect on wellbeing, the effect of the work-family conflict dimension of work interfering with family (WIF) on wellbeing is not significant. Besides, the effect of remote working on FIW is positively moderated by general self-efficacy and job autonomy. Lastly, the effect of remote working differs depending on the extent to which remote working is implemented. Our study contributes to the literature by explaining the negative effect of remote working on workplace wellbeing during pandemics and clarifying its boundary conditions. Our results provide managers useful guidelines regarding how to implement remote working.

Reconciling Work and Family Demands and Related Psychosocial Risk and Support Factors among Working Families: A Finnish National Survey Study.

Working families commonly struggle with reconciling work and family demands. While the Nordic welfare states have been regarded as forerunners in family-friendly policies, worldwide trends threaten work–family reconciliation also in this context. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the associations between family interference with work (FIW)/work interference with family (WIF) and selected psychosocial risk and support factors in the work and family settings of Finnish working families. Data from the Finnish Quality of Work Life Survey 2018 collected by Statistics Finland were utilized to conduct binary logistic regression analyses (N = 1431). Risk factors in the work setting emerged as key covariates as all of them showed statistically significant associations with WIF or both WIF and FIW. Another key finding was that occasional conflicts within the family were beneficial in the context of both WIF and FIW. To conclude, both distinct and mutual psychosocial risk and support factors of FIW and WIF were identified, at the same time as two socio-demographic factors as well as one workplace factor were identified as covariates specifically of FIW. This study showed that work–family reconciliation is a considerable challenge among Finnish working families, and especially to women.

Childhood psychological maltreatment and work-family conflict throughout adulthood: A test of self-concept and social mechanisms.

This study uses a life course stress and attachment framework to examine the relationship between childhood psychological maltreatment and adulthood work interference with family (WIF) and family interference with work (FIW). We analyze longitudinal survey data across 20 years collected in the Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) study (N = 307). We suggest childhood psychological maltreatment is associated with reduced perceptions of control (decreases in mastery, increases in perceived constraints) and social support (reduced supervisor and spouse support), which are then positively associated with WIF and FIW levels and increases over 20 years. Consistent with attachment theory, psychological maltreatment is associated with increased levels of WIF and FIW in adulthood through increased levels of perceived constraints and reduced levels of supervisor and spouse support. Results do not show support for life course stress proliferation ideas that suggest psychological maltreatment should be indirectly associated with escalating WIF and FIW over time. Our study illuminates novel developmental mechanisms that link childhood experiences with chronic WIF and FIW in adulthood. Our findings extend the known implications of psychological maltreatment to managing two central adulthood roles: work and family. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

‘Violating my home boundaries makes me dislike my job’: a multiple mediation model

The purpose of this study is to understand negative outcomes of boundary violation events or interruptions at home in which the work life crosses the home boundaries. In the line of boundary theory and affective events theory, the aim of this study is to analyze the effect of daily events of boundary violations at home on work interference with family (WIF). Moreover, incorporating the ego depletion theory, we study the impact of WIF on an individual’s emotional state (i.e., emotional exhaustion), and the impact of emotional exhaustion on job satisfaction. The data were collected through questionnaires (daily diary method for boundary violations and at one point in time for other variables) from the manufacturing (textile) sector of Pakistan. The results indicate a direct negative effect of average boundary violations at home on job satisfaction and an indirect negative impact through the sequential mediation of WIF and emotional exhaustion. Theoretical and managerial implications are also discussed.

Impact of Social Support on Organizational Citizenship Behaviour: Does Work–Family Conflict Mediate the Relationship?

The study investigates the impact of work social support (WSS) and family social support (FSS) on organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) through both forms of work–family conflict (WFC), namely, work interfering with family (WIF) and family interfering with work (FIW). Analysis has been performed based on 277 responses from employees working in different organizations in the Western region, Saudi Arabia. It uses the SmartPLS 3-based structural equation model. The investigation finds full mediation of both WIF and FIW for WSS–OCB and partial mediation for FSS–OCB relationships. The results demonstrate that support from both family and work domains have a reciprocal relationship, and they play important roles in reducing WFC with their ultimate desirable impact on OCB. The result implies that WSS focussing on WFC is crucial for motivating employees for OCB. Management should create a supportive environment for the employees within the workplace and ensure family-friendly policies, so that, the employees can minimize WFC. The study indicates that family members have a crucial role in reducing the stress associated with the work domain. The study is a pioneering attempt in the context of Saudi Arabia, where the family has a pivotal role in individual decision-making in both familial and professional domains.

Reasons and Realization of Exit Decisions of Women Bank Managers in Bangladesh: A Kaleidoscopic Career Model View

The study aims to identify the reasons why women bank managers leave their jobs as well as their realization after the exit. Based on spillover theory while taking a Kaleido scopic view, the study tried to explore women bank managers’ exit career decisions through a gender lens. Utilizing a qualitative method, first purposive sampling and then snowballing technique were used to identify women bank managers who have quitted from their jobs. They were then interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. Findings show that the participants went through both work interference with family (WIF)and family interference with work(FIW) spillover resulting in work-family conflict (WFC)thus requiring more ‘balancing (B)’ instruments, as the majority of the participants were in their mid-career. However, ‘authenticity (A)’ and ‘challenges (C)’ still lied there with lessen force to impact. Accordingly, two major recommendations came out of the study to retain the talents of women in the workforce: availability of childcare centers and flexible work arrangements. Further study is suggested on both the areas to check the viability and probable execution.

To grandmother's house you go: A cross-lagged test of the association between grandchild care and work-family conflict

This study examines the association between grandchild care—a prevalent form of family support in which a grandparent provides non-custodial care to their grandchildren—and parents' work-family conflict. Drawing from the work-family and intergenerational support literatures, we propose a bidirectional association between grandchild care and parents' work-family conflict and examine parent-grandparent conflict regarding caregiving as a boundary condition. Participants included 347 working parents whose own parents provided grandchild care. Results from a cross-lagged panel model indicated that grandchild care at Time 1 was associated with lower levels of time- and strain-based family-interference-with-work (FIW) one year later. By contrast, Time 1 grandchild care was not associated with Time 2 work-interference-with-family. Contrary to predictions, Time 1 work-family conflict did not predict grandchild care at Time 2. However, caregiving conflict moderated the association between both time- and strain-based FIW at Time 2 and grandchild care at Time 2, such that there was a negative association when caregiving conflict was at average or above-average levels. Interestingly, caregiving conflict at Time 1 was associated with higher levels of FIW at Time 2, and supplemental analyses indicated that both grandchild care and WIF at Time 1 predicted higher levels of caregiving conflict at Time 2. These results support the proposition that family support may reduce FIW and suggest that grandchild care can be a mixed blessing for employees' work-family conflict.

A closer look at how and when family-supportive supervision influence work interference with family: the roles of family-role overload and task crafting

Although family–supportive supervision (FSS) has been identified as one of the most useful social resources for reducing the occurrence of work interference with family (WIF), relatively little is known about the boundary conditions and the underlying mechanisms through which this relationship occurs. Drawing on conservation of resources (COR) theory, we examined how and when FSS relates to WIF in two field studies, focusing on family–role overload as a moderator and employee task crafting as a mediator. Results from Study 1, using multi-wave data from a high-technology firm, showed that family role–overload moderated the relationship between FSS and WIF such that the relationship was stronger for employees with more family role–overload than for those with less family role–overload. Results from Study 2, using multi-wave data from employees working in different industries, revealed that employee task crafting mediated the interactive effect of FSS and family–role overload on WIF. Implications of these findings for research and practice are discussed.

Moderation Effect of Supervisor Support between Flexible Working Arrangement andWork-Family Conflict in Malaysia

There have been major changes in current workforce competitiveness trends. The changes in workforce demographics particularly in the increase of dual-earner families and single-parents have resulted in increased multiple role conflicts. Working couples must cope with the problem of combining work and family responsibilities in their daily life. Many industries adopted the current trend of the flexible working environment into their organizations. This study explores the moderation effect of supervisor support between flexible working arrangements (FWA), the effect on work interference with family conflict (WIF) and family interference with work (FIW). The population for this study primarily focused on the organizations that adopt the flexible working arrangement such as flexible working time, working from home, and compressed work-week practices in Malaysia. The companies selected is based on the listing of global organizations practices FWA mentioned in Talent Corp Malaysia Flexible Working Arrangement collaboration with Malaysian Federation Employer report, 2015. The questionnaires were distributed through the Human Resource Department of each organization. The result demonstrated that there is relationship between FWA and WIF and there was moderation effect of supervisor support (SS) between FWA and WIF. However, the result showed no moderation effect of SS between FWA and FIW. This study supports the idea that supervisor support is a resource that helps employees to manage the occurrence of interference from work to family and to overcoming FIW, supports particularly from family members either siblings, parents and spouse is important. The implication of this study is that, work conflict issue requires the proactive effort and support not only from the organization in terms of supervisor support through FWA but also support within the family circle. Organizations approach in adopting FWA in their attempts to minimize WFC is recommendable but it should be applied across occupation and organizations as one of employee benefits policy.

Flexible Work Arrangements and Work-Family Conflict: A Systematic Literature Review

The spread of the Covid-19 pandemic has essentially led to the closure of many businesses worldwide. With the increasing number of viruses in every part of the world, there is a need for flexible work arrangements to maintain the operations. Somehow, managing workloads using these arrangements have also affected work-family conflict during a pandemic situation. Plus, there is a dearth in the literature of flexible work arrangements in the context of work-family conflict. Thus, the purposes of this review are to investigate how these factors are related to work interference with family (WIF), and family-interference with work (FIW), and its outcomes, such as work-life balance, well-being, mental health, turnover intentions, satisfaction, and others. The reviewed articles were obtained from three main databases; Web of Science, Scopus, and Science Direct from the year 2000 until 2020. Keywords including "flexibility work arrangement," "flexible," "work arrangement," “schedule flexibility,” “work hours,” “schedule,” "work-family conflict,” “family-work conflict,” “work interference with family” and “family interference with work” were managed to identify 31 articles. Also, this systematic review was conducted to collect the findings on the relationship of the above domains, which can be used by businesses to adapt to the new normal. Several recommendations were proposed to conduct further study, especially in research design, method, and measurements.