A comparison of types of support for lower-skill workers: Evidence for the importance of family supportive supervisors

The work–family literature to date does not offer a clear picture in terms of the relative importance of different types of supports for balancing work and family demands. Grounded in conservation or resources theory, we develop an integrative model relating multiple forms of social support, both formal (i.e., work–life benefit use) and informal (supervisor work–family support and family support) to work-interference-with-family and family-interference-with-work and task and contextual performance. We chose to focus our study on lower-skill workers because, despite being a relatively large segment of the workforce, these workers are relatively understudied in the work–family literature. Results revealed that supervisor support is a key form of support in this sample. Supervisor support had negative same domain (work-interference-with-family) and cross domain (family-interference-with-work) effects with work–family conflict, as well as positive relationships with task and contextual performance. Family support was negatively related to family-interference-with-work; whereas use of work–life benefits was not significantly related to either form of work–family conflict or any of the performance variables. The implications of our results for conservation of resources theory and practical implications to employers of lower-skill workers are discussed.     

Social support and work–family conflict: A test of an indirect effects model

Most work–family research on social support is based on matching domain relationships, that is, social support in the work domain is related to work interfering with family conflict (WIF) and social support in the family domain is related to family interfering with work conflict (FIW). In this research, based on the conservation of resources (COR) model, we examined the cross domain indirect relationship between social support in the work domain and FIW and the cross domain indirect relationship between social support in the family domain and WIF. We tested this model across three samples in two studies. In Study 1, we examined the cross domain influence of supervisory and spouse support on work–family conflict using two large random samples (N = 1130; N = 2769). In Study 2, we tested an expanded model of social support to include both generic and work–family specific support, and examined the cross domain indirect relationships between these two types of support on work–family conflict using a sample of 435 employees. Specifically, we proposed that social support systems in the work domain such as family friendly organizational policies, family supportive organizational climate, perceived organizational support, and perceived supervisory support will be indirectly and negatively related to FIW via WIF and that spouse/partner support will be indirectly and negatively related to WIF via FIW. Results for Study 1 provided support for the cross domain indirect effects model and results for Study 2 provided support for the cross domain indirect effects for work–family specific social support systems. We discuss implications of these results for the theory and practice of managing work–family conflict.     

Eldercare demands, strain, and work engagement: The moderating role of perceived organizational support

Demographic changes give rise to an increasing number of middle-aged employees providing home-based care to an elderly family member. However, the potentially important role of employees' perceptions of organizational support for eldercare has so far not been investigated. The goal of this study was to examine a stressor–strain–outcome model (Koeske & Koeske, 1993) of eldercare strain as a mediator of the relationship between eldercare demands and caregivers' work engagement. Perceived organizational eldercare support was expected to attenuate the positive relationship between eldercare demands and eldercare strain and to buffer the negative relationship between eldercare strain and work engagement. Results of mediation and moderated mediation analyses with data collected from 147 employees providing eldercare supported the hypotheses. The findings suggest that perceived organizational eldercare support is especially beneficial for employees' work engagement when eldercare demands and strain are high.     

Work–family conflict, perceived supervisor support and organizational commitment among Brazilian professionals

The current study examines a variety of relationships pertaining to work–family conflict among a sample of Brazilian professionals, in order to shed light on work–family issues in this cultural context. Drawing from the cultural values of Brazil and social identity theory, we examine the relationships of two directions of work–family conflict (work interference with family and family interference with work), perceived supervisor support, and sex with affective and continuance organizational commitment. Work interference with family was related to higher continuance commitment and perceived supervisor support was related to higher affective commitment. An interaction between family interference with work and perceived supervisor support predicting continuance commitment revealed a reverse buffering effect such that the relationship was stronger under conditions of high support. Results are discussed within the Brazilian context.     

Antecedents and outcomes of organizational support for development: the critical role of career opportunities

This study examines antecedents and behavioral outcomes of employees' perceptions of organizational support for development. We first propose that employees' past participation in formal developmental activities and experience with developmental relationships positively relate to their perceptions of organizational support for development. We then propose that perceived career opportunity within the organization moderates the relationship between organizational support for development and employee performance and turnover. Using a sample of 264 exempt-level employees and their supervisors, we found that participation in training classes, leader-member exchange, and career mentoring were each positively related to employees' perceptions of organizational support for development. We also found support for the moderator hypotheses. Specifically, development support positively related to job performance, but only when perceived career opportunity within the organization was high. Further, development support was associated with reduced voluntary turnover when perceived career opportunity was high, but it was associated with increased turnover when perceived career opportunity was low. Our study demonstrates that social exchange and career motivation theory work together to explain when and how employees' perceptions of organizational support for development relate to turnover and job performance.     

Supportive supervisors improve employees' daily lives: The role supervisors play in the impact of daily workload on life satisfaction via work–family conflict

This article presents a multilevel approach that uncovers how day-to-day variations in workload influence life satisfaction by creating work–family conflict, as well as the role supportive supervisors play in influencing these daily relationships. In this experience-sampling study, 135 employees responded to 2 daily surveys (one at work and one at home) for 5 days and a one-time post-study survey. With a total of 810 surveys, hierarchical linear modeling revealed that employees' daily perceived workload positively predicted daily work–family conflict, which in turn negatively predicted daily life satisfaction. Importantly, we found support for a cross-level interaction where supervisor work–family specific support (measured once in the post-study survey) negatively moderated the relationship between daily workload and work–family conflict, attesting the importance of supervisory support in reducing daily interference between work and family.     

Working while studying at university: The relationship between work benefits and demands and engagement and well-being

We tested a role-conflict, depletion, and enrichment model, in which work-based benefits (enabling resources, psychological rewards, and psychological involvement) and work-based demands (time-, strain-, and behaviour-based demands, and hours worked) were antecedents to work–university conflict and work–university facilitation, which, in turn, were antecedent to students' academic engagement (dedication and vigour) and well-being (general and context-specific feelings about university). We also tested whether conflict and facilitation acted as mediators in the relationships between benefits and demands and the outcomes of engagement and well-being. The hypotheses were tested using 185 university students (77% female; mean age = 22.7 years) who were working while studying. Work-based benefits (enabling resources, rewards, and involvement) were associated with higher work–university facilitation; more time demands and fewer psychological rewards were associated with more work–university conflict; facilitation was associated with more engagement (dedication) and general well-being; and conflict was associated with more negative feelings towards the university. There were no mediation effects. Working while studying is related to students' engagement and well-being, although modest effects were explained by role-conflict theory.     

Job level, demands, and resources as antecedents of work–family conflict

Although substantial research has examined the conflict that employees experience between their work and family roles, the literature has not investigated the prevalence and antecedents of work–family conflict for individuals who work at different levels of an organization. This study examines differences in work–family conflict (work interference with family and family interference with work) for lower-level and higher-level employees, the factors that might explain these differences, and the differential effect of resources on conflict across job levels. Results indicate that higher-level workers experience greater conflict in both directions than lower-level workers, and that work- and home-based resources are differentially related to the conflict experienced by employees who hold lower-level and higher-level jobs.     

Applying the job demands–resources model to the work–home interface: A study among medical residents and their partners

Work–home interference (WHI) is a prevalent problem because most employees have substantial family responsibilities on top of their work demands. The present study hypothesized that high job demands in combination with low job resources contribute to WHI. The job demands–resources (JD-R) model was used as a theoretical framework. Using a sample of 230 medical residents and their partners, our results show that the combination of high job demands (i.e., work overload, emotional and cognitive demands) and low job resources (i.e., participation in decision making, supervisory coaching, feedback, and opportunities for development) was positively related to partner ratings of the employee's WHI. When job resources were high, most job demands were not related to WHI. These findings show that the JD-R model is a conceptual framework that can be fruitfully applied to the work–family interface, adding to our understanding of which particular job designs facilitate or prevent work–home interference.     

Work–family conflict,social support,and turnover intentions: A longitudinal study

This longitudinal study examined the relative merits of two alternative perspectives on the interplay between work–family conflict, social support, and turnover intentions. According to the cross-domain perspective, family-to-work conflict (FWC) should be more important in predicting increases in turnover intentions than work-to-family conflict (WFC). According to the matching-perspective, however, WFC should be more important in predicting increases in turnover intentions than FWC. We expanded the debate about matching- versus cross-domain relationships by testing whether resources (i.e., social support) should stem from the same domain (i.e., work or family) as the conflict (i.e., matching-principle) or from the other domain (i.e., cross-domain perspective). Additionally, authors hypothesized that changes in WFC and FWC predicted changes in turnover intentions and tested reciprocal relationships between WFC/FWC and turnover intentions. This longitudinal study (5-month time lag) with 665 employees revealed that (increases in) WFC predicted increases in turnover intentions, whereas (increases in) FWC did not. The relationship between WFC and increases in turnover intentions was buffered by work–family specific leader support but not by work–family specific support from family and friends. Further, results revealed reverse relationships such that turnover intentions predicted increases in WFC and FWC. Taken together, the results of this study supported the matching-principle rather than the cross-domain perspective. The reverse relationships found between work–family conflict and turnover intentions challenge the common view that work–family conflict antecedes turnover intentions in a unidirectional way.     

Objective work–nonwork conflict: From incompatible demands to decreased work role performance

Research on work–nonwork conflict (WNC) is based on the assumption that incompatible demands from the work and the nonwork domain hamper role performance. This assumption implies that role demands from both domains interact in predicting role performance, but research has been largely limited to main effects. In this multi-source study, we analyze the incompatibility of demands by testing the interaction of work and nonwork demands on task performance and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). The sample consisted of 61 employees of a German hospital and we used three independent sources of data: self-ratings of work demands, partner-ratings of nonwork demands, and colleague-ratings of performance. Results from hierarchical regression analyses revealed an interaction effect of work and nonwork demands on OCB, but not on task performance. We conclude that people maintain their effort invested in task-related aspects of the job even when conflicts between work and nonwork demands exist, but that they reduce their investment in activities that are perceived as more marginal and extra-role.     

A qualitative examination of the work–family interface: Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder

Within the work–family literature little is known about the work–family challenges and opportunities faced by families that have one or more children with autism spectrum disorder. However, it has been consistently demonstrated that parents of children with autism spectrum disorder are at a higher risk of experiencing a host of negative outcomes. Using a qualitative design, within grounded theory, the present study sheds light on the needs, experiences, and challenges that parents of children with autism spectrum disorder face and also offers insight into ways to expand the scope of work–family research in this area. The present research provides evidence of how the family domain can greatly impact experiences and decisions made in the work domain for families with special needs. The present research adds to the small but growing literature examining the interplay between home and work life for families with special needs and demonstrates that this is an important research domain in need of additional conceptual and empirical consideration.     

Advancing measurement of work and family domain boundary characteristics

Recent research offers promising theoretical frameworks for thinking about the work–family interface in terms of the boundaries individuals develop around work and family. However, measures for important constructs proposed by these theories are needed. Using two independent samples, we report on the refinement of existing boundary flexibility measures. Additionally, inter-domain transitions are introduced as a theoretically sound conceptualization of the frequency with which the work and family domains come in contact. Results from Study 1 further support the existence of two flexibility factors, willingness and ability, for the work and family domains, respectively. Results from Study 2 provide evidence for the nomological network surrounding the flexibility and inter-domain transitions measures in relation to role centrality, perceptions of domain blurring, and family-supportive organizational perceptions. Also, as hypothesized, boundary flexibility predicted inter-domain transitions, and inter-domain transitions predicted work–family conflict, with additional support for several hypothesized mediated effects between these constructs.     

Social influence and perceived organizational support: A social networks analysis

We suggest that employees’ perceptions of organizational support (POS) are not solely a product of independent evaluations of treatment offered by the organization, but are also shaped by the social context. We argue that coworkers will directly (through inquiry via cohesive friendship and advice ties) and indirectly (through monitoring of employees structurally equivalent in advice and friendship networks) affect employees’ perceived organizational support. Network studies in the admissions department of a large public university and a private company specializing in food and animal safety products indicate that employees’ POS are similar to those of coworkers with whom they maintain advice relationships as well as to those who hold structurally equivalent positions in organizational friendship and advice networks. Our work contributes to organizational support theory by developing and testing a theoretical explanation for the relationship between the social context and perceptions of support among employees. Implications for research and practice are offered.     

The Job Demands–Resources model: An analysis of additive and joint effects of demands and resources

The present study investigated the additive, synergistic, and moderating effects of job demands and job resources on well-being (burnout and work engagement) and organizational outcomes, as specified by the Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) model. A survey was conducted among two Chinese samples: 625 blue collar workers and 761 health professionals. A series of multi-group structural equation modeling analyses supported the two processes proposed by the JD-R model: (1) the stress process that originates from job demands and leads, via burnout, to negative organizational outcomes (turnover intention and low organization commitment); and (2) the motivational process that originates from job resources and leads, via work engagement, to positive organizational outcomes. In contrast to moderating effects, synergistic effects of job demands and job resources on burnout and work engagement were found in both samples. However, after controlling for additive effects of job demands and job resources, these synergistic effects largely disappeared. In conclusion, the hypothesized additive effects of the JD-R model were found but the evidence for additional synergistic and moderating effects was weak.     

Supervisor Support for Employee Performance in Australia: Mediating Role of Work‐Life Balance,Job, and Life Attitude

Drawing on the job‐demands resources model, we investigated the relationship between supervisor support and employee performance and the mediating effects of work‐life balance (WLB), job and life satisfaction, and organizational commitment in a sample of 305 financial‐sector employees in Sydney, Australia. Results reveal that supervisor support is positively related to employee performance, WLB, job and life satisfaction, and organizational commitment. In turn, WLB, job and life satisfaction, and organizational commitment are positively linked to employee performance. The findings indicate a significant mediation between supervisor support and employee performance only through WLB and organizational commitment. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.     

Flexing Work Boundaries: The Spillover and Crossover of Workplace Support

Using boundary theory and conservation of resources theory, we examined how job incumbents’ perceptions of supervisor instrumental support and organizational segmentation support influence outcomes for both the incumbent and the spouse. First, we examined how supervisor instrumental support and organizational segmentation support shape incumbents’ perceived ability to flex work boundaries and thus affect their experience of family functioning and their organizational commitment. Second, we examine the effects of supervisor instrumental support and organizational segmentation support on spousal martial satisfaction and the spouse's commitment to the incumbent's employing organization as mediated through boundary flexibility and the spouse's perception of successful boundary management by the incumbent. Using a matched set of 503 subordinates and their spouses, this study found that both supervisor instrumental support and organizational segmentation support contribute to work boundary flexibility. Further, for the incumbent, family functioning and organizational commitment were enhanced through work boundary flexibility, whereas for the spouse, marital satisfaction and commitment to the incumbent's organization were enhanced through both incumbent work boundary flexibility and the spouse's perception of successful boundary management by the incumbent. We discuss the study's implications for theory, research, and practice while suggesting new research directions.     

Perceived organizational support and employees’ well-being: the mediating role of organizational dehumanization

Perceived organizational support (POS) has been found to predict important organizational outcomes such as increasing employees’ well-being. In this research, we examine a new underlying mechanism of the relationship between POS and employees’ well-being, that is, employees’ perceptions that their organization dehumanizes them. This proposition was tested across two studies. Using an experimental design manipulating POS in a laboratory setting, Study 1 indicated that in the high POS condition, the subsequent feelings of being dehumanized by the organization were lower than in the low POS condition. More importantly, organizational dehumanization perceptions were found to mediate the POS condition and satisfaction link. Furthermore, using a sample of 1209 employees, results of Study 2 indicated that organizational dehumanization mediates the relationship between POS and three indicators of employees’ well-being (i.e., job satisfaction, emotional exhaustion, and psychosomatic strains). Implications for research on both organizational support theory and dehumanization theory are discussed.     

Work demands and resources and the work–family interface: Testing a salience model on German service sector employees

The present study tested an extended version of Voydanoff's “differential salience vs. comparable salience model” in a sample of German service workers. Our findings partially support the model in a different national/cultural context but also yielded some divergent findings with respect to within-domain resources and boundary-spanning demands. In line with the theoretical framework, work-to-home interference (WHI) mainly occurred because of high work demands and not because of a lack of work resources. Boundary-spanning resources yielded comparable potential to reduce WHI and enhance work-to-home enrichment (WHE). WHE was expected to more likely occur due to the activation of work resources rather than the absence of work demands. However, control over one's work did not have a significant impact on WHE. In addition and contrary to the theoretical model, boundary-spanning demands were found to be differentially rather than comparably salient to the work–family interface.     

Outcomes of work–life balance on job satisfaction,life satisfaction and mental health: A study across seven cultures

This study investigates the effects of work–life balance (WLB) on several individual outcomes across cultures. Using a sample of 1416 employees from seven distinct populations – Malaysian, Chinese, New Zealand Maori, New Zealand European, Spanish, French, and Italian – SEM analysis showed that WLB was positively related to job and life satisfaction and negatively related to anxiety and depression across the seven cultures. Individualism/collectivism and gender egalitarianism moderated these relationships. High levels of WLB were more positively associated with job and life satisfaction for individuals in individualistic cultures, compared with individuals in collectivistic cultures. High levels of WLB were more positively associated with job and life satisfaction and more negatively associated with anxiety for individuals in gender egalitarian cultures. Overall, we find strong support for WLB being beneficial for employees from various cultures and for culture as a moderator of these relationships.