Extending the demands‐control model: A daily diary study of job characteristics,work‐family conflict and work‐family facilitation

Using personal digital assistants, 91 parents employed in non‐professional occupations were surveyed for 14 consecutive days about their job characteristics and work‐family experiences. We found significant daily variation in work‐to‐family conflict (WFC) and work‐to‐family facilitation (WFF) that was predictable from daily job characteristics. Higher levels of WFC were associated with greater job demands and control at work. Contrary to the demands‐control model ( Karasek, 1979 ), these two job characteristics interacted such that the relationship between demands and WFC was stronger when control was high. We also found that demands were negatively related and control and skill level positively related to WFF. The results suggest ways in which jobs may be redesigned to enhance individuals' work‐family experiences.     

International business travels and the work‐family interface: A longitudinal study

We examined fluctuations in the levels of work‐family conflict (WFC), family‐work conflict (FWC), and burnout during three different stages of international business trips among 66 business travellers. Participants completed questionnaires prior to the trip, during the stay abroad and after the trip. Analysis of variance detected differences in WFC, FWC, and burnout levels among the three stages of the trip, moderated by gender. The relationships of WFC and FWC with burnout were positive, whereas the direction of the relationship was reciprocal. This study advances the work‐family interface theory and research by focusing on both between‐ and within‐individual variations in work‐family attitudes. Thus it captures the dynamic of this phenomenon.     

The moment of truth: Conceptualizing managerial work‐life policy allowance decisions

Organizational efforts of adopting, designing, and implementing work‐family policies converge into single, discretionary decisions of supervisors whether or not to ‘allow’ these policies to specific employees under their supervision. These decisions are referred to as allowance decisions. In order to close a theoretical gap in current work‐family literature, we present an integrated, conceptual model of managerial allowance decisions. We develop propositions regarding factors that influence a supervisor's allowance decision at three different levels of analysis and behavioural outcomes in employees. Building on organizational justice theory, moderating effects of employees' fairness perceptions of allowance decisions are discussed. Finally, we outline implications for future research and recommendations for managers in organizations.     

Work and family domain stressors and support: Within‐ and cross‐domain influences on work–family conflict

The purpose of this study is to examine the within‐ and cross‐domain influences of work and family domain stressors and support on two forms of work–family conflict (i.e. WIF: work interference with family, and FIW: family interference with work). To test our hypotheses, we collected multi‐source data from 248 Hong Kong employees and their spouses. Among the proposed work domain antecedents of WIF, time commitment and work role expectation were significant. Among the proposed family domain antecedents of FIW, parental demands were significant. Direct cross‐domain effects included family role expectation and parental demand on WIF and work role expectation and family‐friendly policies on FIW. Tests of the moderating effects of work and family support resulted in support for both within‐domain and cross‐domain interactions. Implications for researchers and human resource managers are discussed.     

Supplementary Fit,Complementary Fit,and Work‐Related Outcomes: The Role of Self‐Construal

The current research investigated whether employees' self‐construals moderated the effects of supplementary fit and complementary fit on their work‐related outcomes (i.e. affective commitment and citizenship behavior). An organisational sample of 317 Chinese employees provided evidence that the relations between supplementary fit and these two work‐related outcomes were stronger among employees with a higher interdependent self‐construal. Conversely, the relations between complementary fit and work‐related outcomes were stronger among employees with a higher independent self‐construal. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Seeking the perfect balance: Perfectionism and work–family conflict

This study considers the relationship between perfectionism and perceptions of work–family conflict. A situational component to perfectionism was found, with higher standards and a higher perceived discrepancy between standards and performance at home versus at work. Findings suggest perfectionism predicts work–family conflict, beyond the effects of the Big Five, trait affectivity and achievement. Further, findings indicate those with adaptive perfectionism (AP; work and home) tend to have lower strain and time‐based family interfering with work and lower behaviour‐based work interfering with family, compared with maladaptive perfectionists (home) and non‐perfectionists (work and home). Gender differences were found and considered in a more exploratory manner.     

Strengthening parent well‐being at the work—family interface: A German trial on workplace Triple P

This study examines the efficacy of a parenting training (Workplace Triple P (WPTP)) especially designed for the needs of employed parents. The program aims to reduce stress at the work–parenting interface by targeting family risk and protective factors and assisting parents to manage competing work and family demands. Ninety‐seven part‐ and full‐time working parents (74 mothers and 23 fathers; intervention group: n = 42 parents; waitlist‐control group n = 55 parents) from multiple organizations and multiple occupations with children between 2 and 10 years were randomly assigned to an intervention and a waitlist‐control condition. After the training, parents from the intervention condition, compared to those from the waitlist‐control condition, reported a significant reduction in individual and work‐related stress. Additionally, they reported a significant reduction in dysfunctional parenting and significant higher levels of parental and occupational self‐efficacy. Within the intervention condition all effects were maintained at the 3‐ and 6‐month follow‐up examinations. The findings support the notion that WPTP promotes parental well‐being and reduces stress at the work–parenting interface. Given that strengthening parenting skills has the potential to strengthen work, strategies to implement WPTP in organizational resources and community‐based services are discussed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Job demands,work‐family conflict,and emotional exhaustion in police officers: A longitudinal test of competing theories

We propose and test a comprehensive theory designed to explain seemingly contradictory relations between job demands, emotional exhaustion, and work‐family conflict (WFC) reported in the literature. Using job demands‐resources theory, effort‐recovery theory, and personal resources theory we hypothesized that job demands would spillover to emotional exhaustion as mediated by WFC (causality model), and alternatively that job demands would also spillover to WFC as mediated by emotional exhaustion (reverse causal model). Further, we also hypothesized using loss spiral theory that a more comprehensive model representing reciprocal and cross‐linked effects (causal and reverse causal simultaneously) would best fit the data. The hypotheses were tested in a longitudinal study of 257 Australian (Victorian) frontline police officers at two time points approximately 12 months apart. We used structural equation modelling and found in support of the simultaneous reciprocal effects hypothesis, that the more comprehensive model fitted the data better than either the causality or the reverse causal model. Future research should more comprehensively model the important relationships between job demands, emotional exhaustion, and WFC to reflect their complex interplay. Interventions to reduce work demands arising from work pressure and emotional demands are indicated to prevent conflict at home and emotional exhaustion in police officers.     

Balance between volunteer work and family roles: Testing a theoretical model of work‐family conflict in the volunteer emergency services

Trends indicate overall declines in numbers of volunteer emergency service workers and suggest negative organisational factors impacting adversely on volunteers and organisations. Conflict between emergency service work and family is implicated in falling volunteer numbers, and there is thus a need for research on difficulties experienced in balancing volunteer work and family. The current study tested an adaptation of the work‐family conflict (WFC) model originally proposed by Frone, Russell, and Cooper, in a sample of 102 couples in which one partner was an Australian emergency service volunteer. Results supported a model in which volunteer work‐related antecedents, including time invested in on‐call emergency activities and post‐traumatic stress symptoms, had indirect links with outcomes, including volunteer burnout and their partners' support for the volunteer work role, through the effects of WFC. These results add to research using theoretical models of paid work processes to better understand the problems faced by volunteer workers, and identify specific antecedents and outcomes of WFC in the volunteer emergency services. Implications for future research and organisations reliant on volunteer workers are discussed.     

A longitudinal and multi‐source test of the work–family conflict and job satisfaction relationship

Job satisfaction is one of the most frequently studied outcomes in the work–family conflict literature. This study extends the previous research examining the unique effects of work interfering with family (WIF) and family interfering with work (FIW) on job satisfaction by (1) controlling for family, personal, and job characteristics of dual‐earner couples, (2) employing cross‐sectional and longitudinal methods, and (3) predicting job satisfaction with a spousal rating of the target's WIF. Consistent with previous research, WIF was related to job satisfaction cross‐sectionally for men and women, and this effect existed beyond negative mood, job autonomy and monotony, and FIW. When predicting a change in job satisfaction a year later, and when using spouse rating of the target's WIF, WIF was predictive of women's job satisfaction but not men's, which is consistent with gender role theory. The fact that WIF predicted job satisfaction for women beyond affective and job characteristic variables, over time, and with non‐self reported measures, provides more confidence in this directional relationship than could previously be assumed. Societal and managerial implications are discussed.     

A review of professor mommy: finding work–family balance in academia

Rachel Connelly & Kristin Ghodsee. (2011). Professor Mommy: Finding Work–Family Balance in Academia. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group. 232 pages, $25.95 List. ISBN: 978‐1442208582.     

Understanding childcare satisfaction and its effect on workplace outcomes: The convenience factor and the mediating role of work‐family conflict

Building on Hobfoll's (1989, 2001) conservation of resources theory, we posit childcare is an essential resource to working parents. In addition to previously demonstrated childcare satisfaction (CCS) dimensions, we propose and demonstrate empirical support for a convenience dimension of CCS. Satisfaction with caregiver convenience refers to a parent's evaluation of the caregiver's location and availability. We hypothesize that time‐related dimensions of CCS (caregiver dependability and convenience) relate to employee well‐being and withdrawal, because they diminish time‐based family interfering with work (FIW). We also propose quality‐related CCS dimensions (caregiver attentiveness, communication, and cost) relate to psychological well‐being, because they reduce strain‐based FIW. Survey data from a sample of 316 university employees (faculty and staff) who were parents of under school‐age children (infancy through preschool) revealed time‐based FIW as an explanatory mechanism for the relationships between satisfaction with caregiver convenience and both turnover intentions and absenteeism (due to childcare issues). In addition, strain‐based FIW mediated the effects of satisfaction with caregiver attentiveness on well‐being and satisfaction with caregiver cost on well‐being. This study expands previous research on CCS by demonstrating that CCS is related to important work outcomes in part because it reduces time‐ and strain‐based FIW.     

Exploring coping reactions to work‐stress: Application of an appraisal theory

Previous research has focused on influences of coping on emotional and behavioural outcomes. Less is known about why people cope in the way they do. Drawing on an appraisal theory of emotion, it was expected that secondary appraisal components would be related to coping. Information on appraisal components, emotions, and coping in relation to a recent work stressor was provided by 107 female nurses. Appraisals were associated with coping in theoretically interpretable ways (e.g. active coping and behavioural disengagement with optimistic and pessimistic appraisals of problem‐focused coping potential, respectively). The study highlighted emotion theory as useful for exploring possible coping antecedents in a conceptually integrated way.     

Valuing money more than people: The effects of materialism on work–family conflict

Can valuing money and material possessions lead to conflict between work and family? In this paper, we build on Carlson and Kacmar's call for more research on personal values in the context of the work–family interface. In a field study, we examined the relationship between materialism and two components of work–family conflict: work interference with family (WIF) and family interference with work (FIW). Results supported our main hypotheses that materialism is associated with both forms of work–family conflict. Further, work overload mediated the relationship between materialism and WIF, while FIW moderated the association between materialism and work overload, thus supporting a model of mediated moderation. By linking materialism to work–family conflict, this study adds to the growing evidence of the deleterious effects of holding materialistic values.     

There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so: Informational support and cognitive appraisal of the work‐family interface

This paper examines whether cognitive appraisals regarding work‐family role combination can be influenced by providing informational support. We conducted an experiment among female employees with young children working in a financial services organization (N=149). Participants received information communicating either a scarcity or an expansion perspective on human energy, prior to completing a survey. In support of our predictions, results showed that employees appraised the task of combining their work and family roles more positively after exposure to an expansion rather than a scarcity message. This research offers new theoretical insights into the role of cognitive appraisal in work‐family research and offers scope for designing intervention programs that help employees to view role‐combining more positively.     

Cross‐level,three‐way interactions among work‐group climate,gender, and frequency of harassment on morale and withdrawal outcomes of sexual harassment

We examined the effects of gender and work‐groups' perceptions of climate for sexual harassment on the relationship between individuals' sexual harassment experiences and job‐related outcomes (namely, job satisfaction, affective organizational commitment, work withdrawal, and job withdrawal). Drawing from a variety of theories, we proposed that a beneficial climate would buffer men from negative outcomes, but would intensify negative outcomes for women. Significant three‐way interactions were found for job satisfaction, affective organizational commitment, and job withdrawal. Results indicated that beneficial work‐group climate perceptions buffered men from decrements in job satisfaction and work withdrawal, but intensified decrements in all three outcomes for women. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

A closer examination of the patterns when coping with work‐related stress: Implications for measurement

There is no doubt as to the importance of coping as an explanatory construct when exploring the nature of stress. Nevertheless, understanding the ways in which coping strategies are used, in general, and the role and significance of different patterns of coping, in particular, has been somewhat hampered by conventional measurement practices that involve the simple aggregation of coping strategies into mean scores. The aim of the present study was to explore coping patterns in relation to two emotions, anger and anxiety, using the score profiling technique of sequential tree analysis. The coping patterns to emerge reflected the ‘facilitating’, ‘inhibiting’ and ‘fallback’ role that coping strategies play. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for established measurement practices. If we are to better understand the nature of coping then researchers must now be prepared to take the next step forward and investigate coping using more person‐centred, daily process designs.