Work Context Support and Portuguese Soldiers’ Well-Being: The Mediating Role of Autonomous Motivation

Using self-determination theory ( Deci & Ryan, 2008 Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2008). Self-determination theory: A macrotheory of human motivation, development, and health. Canadian Psychology, 49, 182–185. 10.1037/a0012801[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) as the theoretical framework, we tested a model for this study that considers soldiers’ perceptions of organizational support and leader–member exchange (LMX), work motivation, and well-being at work. The hypothesized model was tested using a representative sample of 1,045 Portuguese soldiers. Results revealed that autonomous work motivation was significantly related to both contextual factors (organizational support and LMX). In addition, autonomous work motivation was positively related to work engagement and negatively related to burnout, and controlled motivation showed the opposite pattern. More interesting, the results showed that autonomous work motivation as a mechanism that helped to explain the relationship between both contextual factors and workplace well-being. The present results underscore the importance of understanding the mechanisms through which higher work engagement and lower burnout take place, eventually leading to appropriate interventions.     

Domain Satisfaction as a Mediator of the Relationship Between Work–Family Spillover and Subjective Well-Being: A Longitudinal Study

Purpose

Despite greater recognition that public and workplace policies are needed to facilitate work–family integration, scarce evidence exists on whether and how work–family spillover relates to future subjective well-being (SWB). Guided by conservation of resources theory and bottom-up theories of SWB (i.e., domain-specific satisfaction serves as a source of overall SWB), we investigated the relationship between work–family spillover and future life satisfaction and the potential mechanisms of the relationship (job and marital satisfaction). The relative contribution of positive and negative work–family spillover to SWB was also examined.

Design/Methodology/Approach

Lagged analyses were conducted on self-reported data from a representative U.S. sample over a 9-year interval (N = 2588).

Findings

Individuals who experienced negative work-to-family spillover were less satisfied with their life at a 9-year follow-up, whereas those who experienced positive family-to-work spillover reported higher life satisfaction at the follow-up. These prospective associations remained significant when considering other established predictors of life satisfaction (baseline life satisfaction, health, gender, income, and personality) and were mediated by job satisfaction and marital satisfaction.

Implications

This study provides empirical evidence for ongoing advocacy for working families, suggesting that policies that facilitate positive family-to-work spillover and minimize negative work-to-family spillover should be regarded as essential to enhance SWB of individuals in our society in the long run.

Originality/Value

This study expands our understanding of the causal relationship between work–family spillover and life satisfaction by considering both positive and negative spillover and demonstrating the mechanisms by which work–family spillover relates to future life satisfaction, even beyond personality, health, and income.

     

The Mediating Roles of Work–Family Conflict and Facilitation in the Relations Between Leisure Experience and Job/Life Satisfaction Among Employees in Shanghai Banking Industry

In this study, we explore whether the relationship between leisure experience and job/life satisfaction is mediated by work–family conflict and facilitation, and how these effect coefficients varied among different demographic groups of gender, marital status as well as parental status. With the survey data from 1706 employees in the Shanghai banking industry, we found work–family conflict and facilitation acted as mediators between leisure experience and job/life satisfaction. In all demographic groups, work–family conflict was negatively related with leisure experience and job/life satisfaction. Conversely, work–family facilitation was positively related with leisure experience and job/life satisfaction. Moreover, we found (1) compared with the case for males, the negative effect coefficient of work–family conflict on job satisfaction was significantly higher in female samples. (2) The positive effect coefficients of leisure experience on work–family facilitation was higher for married couples than for unmarried employees. (3) For employees who had children, the negative effect coefficient of leisure experience on work–family conflict as well as the positive effect coefficient of leisure experience on work–family facilitation were significantly higher than for employees who had no children. The results of this study suggest that employees in the banking industry would experience a lower level of work–family conflict and better maintain work–family facilitation by engaging in leisure pursuits with their family. The limitations of this study were discussed as well.     

Organizational Work-Home Culture and its Relations with the Work–Family Interface and Employees’ Subjective Well-being

Applied Research in Quality of Life - The two studies reported in this paper aimed to present and discuss both the validation of the Work-Home Culture (WHC) scale (Dikkers et al., Work &...     

Intimate Partner Acceptance–Rejection and Subjective Well-Being: What is the Role of Resilience?

The present study investigated: (a) the relationship between perceived intimate partner rejection and subjective well-being and (b) the mediating effect of resilience in the relationship between perceived intimate partner rejection and subjective well-being and (c) the differences between married and unmarried participants regarding their perceived intimate partner rejection. The sample consisted of 316 individuals (50?% males, M _age?=?38.72 years, SD?=?13.07) and data collection was made with self-report questionnaires measuring demographic characteristics, perceived intimate partner rejection, resilience, and subjective well-being. Hierarchical multiple regression showed that participants’ educational status, intimate partner rejection, and resilience predicted subjective well-being. The indirect (mediation) effects were examined using the PROCESS program. Results showed that resilience mediated fully the relationship between perceived intimate partner rejection and subjective well-being in both males and females of our sample. We also found that married participants and married women in particular reported rejection by their partners to a higher extent comparing to unmarried ones. Implications for future research and effective counseling interventions are discussed.     

The Mediating Role of Moral Ownership in the Relationship Between Organizational Support and Employees’ Ethical Behavior: A Study of Higher Education Faculty Members

We examined the mediating role of employee moral ownership in the relationship between employees’ perception of organizational support and their actual ethical behavior. Data were collected from 689 faculty members affiliated with different educational institutions in India. Structural equation modeling analysis showed that perceived organizational support significantly impacts employee ethical behavior. In addition, the results revealed that employee moral ownership mediates the relationship between perceived organizational support and employee ethical behavior. Implications and limitations of the study are discussed.     

Action Regulation at the Work–Family Interface: Nomological Network and Work–Family Consequences

Pursuing personally valued goals in work and family is important for many people, yet research has only partially addressed how individuals can actively manage the work–family interface. We examined the role of action regulation at the work–family interface (AR-WF) as an integrated individual-level approach to attain favorable work–family outcomes through the selection and pursuit of goals at the work–family interface. We investigated the relation of AR-WF to theoretically derived correlates and outcomes in two time-lagged studies with samples from the USA and Germany, based on a newly developed and validated measure to assess AR-WF. Overall, results showed that AR-WF is positively related to dispositional self-regulation, work and family role commitment, work and family goal regulation, and work and family social support. In contrast, AR-WF was largely unrelated to work and family role demands and segmentation or integration boundary enactment. AR-WF further positively related to work and family goal attainment, as well as work–family enrichment beyond related constructs. However, AR-WF was also positively related to increased work-to-family conflict. We discuss how a focus on action regulation can be useful for attaining a better understanding of the active role that people play in managing multiple role demands at the work–family interface.

     

Supervisor Appraisal as the Link Between Family–Work Balance and Contextual Performance

We examined the relationship between subordinates’ family to work balance (conflict and enrichment) and two dimensions of contextual performance (interpersonal facilitation and job dedication) reported by supervisors. Beyond the direct effects, we hypothesized that supervisor’s appraisals of employee conflict and enrichment would influence the supervisor’s contextual performance ratings. Data collected from a matched sample of 156 private sector employees and their supervisors indicated that the supervisor’s performance ratings were impacted by the supervisor’s appraisal of enrichment. However, the supervisor’s appraisal of conflict only mattered for interpersonal facilitation. There was a direct effect of subordinate’s conflict on both dimensions of contextual performance.     

A Meta-Analytic Review of the Consequences Associated with Work–Family Enrichment

Purpose

This study investigated the relationship between work-to-family enrichment (WFE) and family-to-work enrichment (FWE) with work-related, non work-related, and health-related consequences using meta-analysis.

Design/methodology/approach

We conducted a meta-analytic review of 21 studies (54 correlations) for WFE and 25 studies (57 correlations) for FWE.

Findings

We found that both WFE and FWE were positively related to job satisfaction, affective commitment, and family satisfaction but not turnover intentions. WFE was more strongly related to work-related variables, whereas FWE was more strongly related to non work-related variables. We also found that both WFE and FWE were positively related to physical and mental health. Additionally, relationships appear to depend on moderating variables including the proportion of women in the sample as well as the construct label (e.g., enrichment, facilitation, positive spillover).

Implications

Our work indicates that organizations need to consider ways to not only reduce conflict, but also increase enrichment, which will drive many important outcome variables.

Originality/value

This is the first meta-analysis on the positive side of the work–family interface.     

Work–Family Balance, Well-Being, and Organizational Outcomes: Investigating Actual Versus Desired Work/Family Time Discrepancies

Purpose

The purpose of the current study was to describe and test two new correlates of work?Cfamily balance, based on discrepancies between actual and desired hours spent in the work domain (work hour discrepancy, WHD) and family domain (family hour discrepancy, FHD).

Design/Methodology/Approach

Participants were 330 employees of a moderate-sized, southeastern university who responded to a survey sent via e-mail.

Findings

Analyses indicated support for the utility of work and FHD scores for individual and organizational outcomes. Data also indicated FHD predicted work?Cfamily balance, well-being, and intention to leave above and beyond the individual components of actual and desired family hours, whereas WHD did not predict beyond individual components. Work?Cfamily balance mediated relationships between FHD and quality of life, stress, depression, and intention to leave.

Implications

This study provides support for incorporation of discrepancy indices in future work?Cfamily research. FHD predicted outcomes over and above the individual components of actual and desired hours whereas WHD did not, suggesting that compatibility between what an individual desires and experiences in the family domain may have a stronger influence on well-being and organizational outcomes compared to compatibility in the work domain.

Originality/Value

These results are important given past focus on concepts such as work schedule fit (e.g., Moen, It??s about time: couples and careers, 2003), in that we extend past findings by also incorporating fit between values and experiences in the family domain, and linking discrepancies with work?Cfamily balance, well-being, and organizational outcomes.     

Employees’ Work Patterns–Office Type Fit and the Dynamic Relationship Between Flow and Performance

Organizations must improve their employees’ performance in order to compete effectively. Evidence shows that flow experiences enhance performance. However, a dynamic approach to this phenomenon is needed. Furthermore, different work patterns (based on task profiles) can have specific environmental requirements (office types). This research aims to analyze the dynamic relationship between office workers’ flow and in-role and extra-role performance, considering work pattern–office type fit as a predictor of the initial level of each of these three variables. A total of 83 workers participated in this diary study. Results of the latent growth model showed a positive association between: (1) the initial levels of flow and in-role and extra-role performance; and (2) the changes in flow and in-role and extra-role performance. Furthermore, work pattern–office type fit directly influenced workers’ flow. In addition, flow mediated between work pattern–office type fit and in-role performance. Our results show that workspaces that fit employees’ work patterns are more likely to induce flow, which, in turn, will have beneficial consequences for the organization.     

Do Occupational Performance and Social Support Predict Health and Well-Being Among Mothers of Preterm Infants?

Journal of Child and Family Studies - Giving birth to a preterm infant has significant implications on the mother’s life. The purpose of this study was to compare occupational performance...     

Examining the Relationships Between Personality,Coping Strategies,and Work–Family Conflict

Purpose  

The purpose of this study was to examine the processes through which personality characteristics may influence work–family conflict (WFC). Specifically, the mediating effects of selection, optimization, and compensation (SOC) behavioral stress-coping strategies on the relationship between personality characteristics and WFC were tested.     

Can Romantic Relationship Quality Mediate the Relation Between Psychopathy and Subjective Well-Being?

The relations between psychopathy, romantic relationships, and well-being were investigated in 431 undergraduates. For both males and females, various components of romantic relationship quality were positively correlated with subjective well-being (SWB) and negatively correlated with ill-being. However, only for females was overall romantic relationship quality positively correlated with life satisfaction, happiness and positive affect, and negatively correlated with negative affect and depression. High levels of psychopathy were found in 23.1 % of males and 7.4 % of females. Psychopathy accounted for significant variance in overall relationship quality (7.0 %), commitment (14.1 %), satisfaction (9.3 %), romance (10.7 %) and trust (6.4 %) in romantic relationships for males and in overall relationship quality (3.2 %), commitment (5.3 %), and trust (5.9 %) for females. Romantic relationship quality was able to mediate the relations between psychopathy and SWB and this mediation was moderated by gender.     

Testing the Relationship Between Parents’ and Their Children’s Subjective Well-Being

Casas et al. (J Happiness Stud 9(2):197–205, 2008) found no significant relationship between paired answers given by parents and their 12–16-year-old children (N?=?266) for a single-item scale on overall life satisfaction (OLS). However, a significant, but low (.19) parent–child relationship did appear for the PWI multi-item scale. Overall, children reported higher subjective well being than parents. In this article, we present the results obtained from confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), using more scales and a bigger sample (N?=?1,250) of paired parents and children. The study uses three multiple-item scales: the PWI, the SWLS and the BMSLSS, and six single-item scales: the OLS, two items from Russell’s scale on core affects, one on overall happiness, Fordyce’s happiness item and the optional item of the BMSLSS on overall life satisfaction. Separate CFA for each of the 3 multi-item scales showed good fit statistics. In order to check comparability between parents and children, we tested equal loading and intercept constraints. The models with restricted loadings fit only for the PWI and BMSLSS, but none of the models with restricted intercepts fit. Therefore, it was only possible to estimate two factor correlations for parents and their children, both very low (.16 for the PWI, .18 for BMSLSS), and it was not possible to compare factor means. When correlating scores from the 6 single-item scales for parents and children, they were all found to be significant but very low. As regards items from the multiple-item scales for parents and children many correlations are positive and significant, although very low, but others are non significant. The means of some items were substantially higher for children than for parents. For some items, differences were minor, non-significant or even reversed. All of the results suggest that parents’ well-being is very weakly related to their own children’s well-being, in spite of socialization, common material welfare and genetic influences. However, one outstanding result is that in our Catalan sample, parents’ well-being seems to have a greater influence on their female child’s well-being than on their male child’s.     

A Multilevel Examination of the Relationship Between Leader–Member Exchange and Work–Family Outcomes

Purpose

Recent work–family literature has identified leadership as an area for practical research inquiry. The purpose of the present study was to conduct a multilevel analysis that applies leader–member exchange (LMX) and conservation of resources theories as frameworks for optimizing subordinates’ work–family experiences.

Design/Methodology/Approach

Effects of the interaction between individual-level and workgroup-level LMX on work–family outcomes were examined using web-based survey data from 765 information technology workers in 79 workgroups.

Findings

High LMX was linked to reduced work interference with family, perceptions of managerial support, perceived career consequences, and organizational time demands. However, the benefits of high LMX were attenuated in the presence of low workgroup LMX for all outcomes except managerial support.

Implications

Findings suggest that an individual’s work–family experiences are influenced by both self and others’ supervisory relationships and provide further support for the efficacy of multilevel examinations of LMX. Results support LMX theory as a framework for enhancing work–family outcomes. Through individual and group-level LMX, supervisors may foster perceptions that shape work–family micro-climates within the same organization.

Originality/Value

This study focuses on a practical avenue for intervention (i.e., leadership) using a theoretically grounded approach. It uncovers a possible mechanism—high individual and group LMX—through which work–family outcomes can be improved. Additionally, this study answers calls in the work–family literature for research with implications for intervention and employs multilevel modeling.

     

Gender Differences in the Importance of Work and Family Roles: Implications for Work–Family Conflict

In this study we explored between- and within-gender differences in the importance of life roles and their implications for work–family conflict. In earlier research (Cinamon & Rich, 2002) we found 3 profiles of workers who differ in attributions of importance to work and family roles: persons who assigned high importance to both the work role and the family role (“Dual” profile); participants who ascribed high importance to the work role and low importance to the family role (“Work” profile); and participants who attributed high importance to the family role and low importance to the work role (“Family” profile). We used these profiles to clarify the relationship between gender and work–family conflict. Participants were 126 married men and 87 married women who were employed in computer or law firms. Significant between- and within-gender differences were found in the distribution of participants to profiles. Men were equally distributed throughout the profiles, whereas women were underrepresented in the Work category. More women than men fit the Family profile, and more men than women fit the Work profile. No gender differences were found for the Dual profile. Women reported higher parenting and work values than men did. Between-gender differences in work–family conflict were apparent, as were within-gender differences across profiles. Results demonstrate the value of examining both between- and within-gender variation in studies of gender and work–family conflict.     

Assessment of Work–Family Conflict Among Women of the Sandwich Generation

The term sandwich generation refers to the middle-aged generation who are responsible for caring elderly parents and dependent children. This situation is worse in case of working women who have job obligations along with family responsibilities. Therefore, this study is aimed to investigate level of the four-dimensional work–family conflict among working women of the sandwich generation. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 90 Malaysian working women using self-reported data. Multiple-stage simple random sampling was used to recruit women from public service departments of Malaysia. Self-administrated questionnaires were used for data collection. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 21. One-third of our respondents (33.3%) are members of sandwich generation who simultaneously provide care to elderly parents and children. However, 66.7% of women in this study are caregivers for either elderly parent or their children. The results of t-test showed that level of time-based FIW was significantly (t?=?? 2.02, p?<?0.05) higher in sandwich generation members (Mean?=?12.33, SD?=?1.95) compared to women caring for either parent or children (Mean?=?11.25, SD?=?2.58). The results of Multiple linear regression indicated that membership in sandwich generation significantly predict (b?=?0.26, p?<?0.05) FIWt after controlling for the effect of socio-demographic variables. Our findings showed that women who simultaneously take care of both elderly parent and children significantly experience higher level of time-based Family Interference into Work (FIWt). In contrast, membership in sandwich generation was not related to higher level of time-based Work Interference into Family (WIFt).     

Do Orientations to Happiness Mediate the Associations Between Personality Traits and Subjective Well-Being?

Personality traits have frequently been observed to be associated with subjective well-being. It has been suggested that personality traits may lead individuals to experience life in certain ways which, in turn, influences their subjective well-being. However, the exact mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unknown. The present study hypothesized that the ways in which individuals endorse strategies for achieving happiness (i.e., orientations to happiness: through a life of pleasure, through a life of engagement, or through a life of meaning) mediates the associations that personality traits have with subjective well-being (i.e., satisfaction with life, positive affect, and negative affect). Our results indicated that an orientation to meaning in life partially mediated the relationship between extraversion and life satisfaction. In addition, all three orientations to happiness (i.e., pleasure, engagement, and meaning) partially mediated the relationship between extraversion and positive affect. Discussion focuses on the implications of these results for understanding the connection between personality traits and subjective well-being.