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.     

A two-wave cross-lagged study of business travel,work–family conflict,emotional exhaustion,and psychological health complaints

By using a two-wave panel design, the present study aimed at studying longitudinally the relation between business travel and work–family conflict (WFC) as well as the reciprocal relationships among WFC, emotional exhaustion, and psychological health complaints. The study was conducted in a large Norwegian oil and gas company (n = 1702), and the company’s business travel database was utilized to examine business travel. The results showed a positive cross-lagged relation between business travel and WFC. In addition, WFC predicted emotional exhaustion over time, whereas emotional exhaustion predicted psychological health complaints over time. Reversed influences also existed, supporting our hypotheses on reciprocal relations. The longitudinal design of the current study makes an important contribution to the research on business travel and employees’ psychological health.     

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.     

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.     

Emotional labor and burnout among female teachers: Work–family conflict as mediator

With the increasing number of women in the workforce, there is a need to understand how the interrelationship between emotions and the demands of work and family influence their well‐being. This study examined how emotional labor [surface acting (SA) and deep acting] and work–family conflict contribute to explaining variance in burnout (emotional exhaustion and depersonalization). In a sample of 102 married, female Malay teachers, with at least one child living at home, results showed that SA was positively associated with emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. The results also showed that work–family conflict mediated the relationship between emotional labor and burnout. However, no moderation effect of work–family on the SA–burnout relationship was found. The results are discussed with respect to the general literature on the stress–strain relation and work–family conflict.     

Personal vulnerability and work‐home interaction: The effect of job performance‐based self‐esteem on work/home conflict and facilitation

Innstrand, S. T., Langballe, E. M., Espnes, G. A., Aasland, O. G. & Falkum, E. (2010). Personal vulnerability and work‐home interaction: The effect of job performance‐based self‐esteem on work/home conflict and facilitation. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 51, 480–487. The aim of the present study was to examine the longitudinal relationship between job performance‐based self‐esteem (JPB‐SE) and work‐home interaction (WHI) in terms of the direction of the interaction (work‐to‐home vs. home‐to‐work) and the effect (conflict vs. facilitation). A sample of 3,475 respondents from eight different occupational groups (lawyers, physicians, nurses, teachers, church ministers, bus drivers, and people working in advertising and information technology) supplied data at two points of time with a two‐year time interval. The two‐wave, cross‐lagged structural equations modeling (SEM) analysis demonstrated reciprocal relationships between these variables, i.e., job performance‐based self‐esteem may act as a precursor as well as an outcome of work‐home interaction. The strongest association was between job performance‐based self‐esteem and work‐to‐home conflict. Previous research on work‐home interaction has mainly focused on situational factors. This longitudinal study expands the work‐home literature by demonstrating how individual vulnerability (job performance‐based self‐esteem) contributes to the explanation of work‐home interactions.     

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.     

Developing work–family balance through conflict management*

An often‐neglected perspective is that work–family incompatibilities are not only intrapersonal role conflicts but also typically involve interpersonal conflicts. This study adopts an episodes approach and uses the theory of cooperation and competition to understand the interaction that promotes resolving work–family conflict incidents. Two‐hundred and four Chinese dual‐career parents each described a specific work–family conflict incident and responded to specific questions to code the interaction. Structural equation analyses indicated that cooperative goals facilitated constructive controversy that in turn promoted high quality resolutions, strong relationships, and confidence in the future of their work and family lives.     

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.     

Social and emotional self‐efficacy at work

Research has shown that self‐efficacy is often one of the most important personal resources in the work context. However, because this research has focused on cognitive and task‐oriented self‐efficacy, little is known about social and emotional dimensions of self‐efficacy at work. The main aim of the present study was to investigate social and emotional self‐efficacy dimensions at work and to compare them to a cognitive and task‐oriented dimension. Scales to measure social and emotional self‐efficacy at work were developed and validated and found to be well differentiated from the cognitive task‐oriented occupational self‐efficacy scale. Confirmatory factor analyses of data from 226 Swedish and 591 German employees resulted in four separate but correlated self‐efficacy dimensions: (1) occupational; (2) social; (3) self‐oriented emotional; and (4) other‐oriented emotional. Social self‐efficacy explained additional variance in team climate and emotional self‐efficacy in emotional irritation and emotional exhaustion, over and above effects of occupational self‐efficacy. Men reported higher occupational self‐efficacy, whereas social and emotional self‐efficacy revealed no clear gender differences. The scales have strong psychometric properties in both Swedish and German language versions. The positive association between social self‐efficacy and team climate, and the negative relationships between self‐oriented emotional self‐efficacy and emotional irritation and emotional exhaustion may provide promising tools for practical applications in work settings such as team‐building, staff development, recruitment or other training programs aiming for work place health promotion. The next step will be to study how social and emotional self‐efficacy relate to leadership, well‐being and health over time.     

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.     

Associations between work family conflict,emotional exhaustion,musculoskeletal pain,and gastrointestinal problems in a sample of business travelers

The aim of the study was to examine the associations among work‐family conflict (WFC), emotional exhaustion, musculoskeletal (MS) pain, and gastrointestinal problems on a sample of business travelers (n = 2,093). An additional aim was to examine differences in the mentioned relationships among three traveler groups: commuters, national travelers, and international travelers. The study was conducted in a large Norwegian oil and gas company, and the company's business travel database was utilized to examine business travel. Structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed significant relations between WFC and emotional exhaustion and between emotional exhaustion and health problems. Contrary to the expectations, no direct association was found between WFC and health problems. However, we found that emotional exhaustion mediated the relation between WFC and health outcomes. The results from multi‐group analysis revealed that associations among WFC, emotional exhaustion, and health‐outcomes showed a similar pattern for commuters, national travelers, and international travelers. However, the association between emotional exhaustion and MS pain proved to be significantly stronger for the commuter group compared to the national and international travel groups. Practical implications and the consequences of these findings for future research are discussed.     

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.     

The work–family interface among school psychologists and related school personnel: a test of role conflict and expansionist theories

The purpose was to test of the utility of role conflict and expansionist theories in explaining the work–family interface using psychometrically sound instruments. Participants (n = 74) responded to measures of work–family conflict, work‐related stress, and role quality. In support of the expansionist theory, results indicated that the quality of the life roles was a better predictor of both work–family conflict and work‐related stress than was the number of life roles. For both, results indicated that as quality of the work role increased, work–family conflict and work‐related stress decreased. The implications for the research on the work–family life interface and attracting and retaining the most qualified school psychologists are discussed.     

Family boundary characteristics,work–family conflict and life satisfaction: A moderated mediation model

Although work–family border and boundary theory suggest individuals' boundary characteristics influence their work–family relationship, it is largely unknown how boundary flexibility and permeability mutually influence work–family conflict and subsequent employee outcomes. Moreover, the existing work–family conflict research has been mainly conducted in the United States and other Western countries. To address these gaps in the work–family literature, the present study examines a moderated mediation model regarding how family boundary characteristics may influence individuals' work–family conflict and life satisfaction with a sample of 278 Chinese full‐time employees. Results showed that employees' family flexibility negatively related to their perceived work interference with family (WIF) and family interference with work (FIW), and both these two relationships were augmented by individuals' family permeability. In addition, WIF mediated the relationship between family flexibility and life satisfaction; the indirect effect of family flexibility on life satisfaction via WIF was stronger for individuals with higher family permeability. The theoretical and managerial implications of these findings are discussed.     

Confidence in work‐related goals and feelings of exhaustion during a therapeutic intervention for burnout: A time‐series approach

This study investigated recursive relations between confidence in achieving work‐related goals and work exhaustion among employees who participated in an intervention to reduce their burnout. Thirty‐six employees of age 33–59 years suffering from severe burnout (28 females and 8 males) filled in burnout and well‐being measures before and after a 10‐month therapeutic intervention. They also filled in weekly measures of confidence in work‐related goals (progress and capability) and work exhaustion throughout the intervention, as well as 4 weeks before and 4 weeks afterwards. Intra‐individual variation was modelled using dynamic factor analyses. The results showed that, for most participants, confidence in work‐related goals and work exhaustion during a given week could be predicted from those of the preceding week. Moreover, high self‐esteem predicted low weekly stability in goal confidence, whereas high burnout contributed to high weekly stability in work exhaustion. The intra‐individual stabilities in goal confidence and exhaustion also predicted which of the participants benefited from the intervention in terms of increasing well‐being and decreasing work‐related stress.     

Driving it Home: How Workplace Emotional Labor Harms Employee Home Life

To date, the majority of research on emotional labor has focused on outcomes that occur in the workplace. However, research has yet to consider the possibility that the daily effects of emotional labor spill over to life outside of work, even though a large body of literature examining the spillover from work life to home life indicates that work experiences influence employees after they leave the workplace. Accordingly, we examined the influence of day‐to‐day surface acting on 3 types of theoretically derived stress outcomes experienced at home: emotional exhaustion, work‐to‐family conflict, and insomnia. In an experience sampling field study of 78 bus drivers, we found that daily surface acting was connected to increases in each of the outcomes noted above. Moreover, surface acting had an indirect effect on emotional exhaustion and insomnia via state anxiety.     

Work stress and employee well‐being: The critical role of Zhong‐Yong

In the pursuit of well‐being at work, work stress is always an inescapable challenge. However, existing research shows that the relationships between work stress and employee outcomes are inconsistent, which indicates that the concept of work stress needs further investigation. Moreover, Zhong‐Yong serves as a cognitive strategy to coping with stress as well as being a pivotal life wisdom and practical rationality. Using a questionnaire survey, this study explores the relationship between work stress, employee well‐being, and Zhong‐Yong beliefs. The work stress was classified into challenge‐ and hindrance‐related stress while emotional exhaustion and job satisfaction were used as well‐being indicators. Using a sample of 394 employees from private enterprises in Taiwan as subjects, the results show that (1) hindrance‐related stress is destructive to employee well‐being; (2) challenge‐related stress is positively associated with emotional exhaustion but has no significant relation with job satisfaction; (3) Zhong‐Yong beliefs mitigate the harm from hindrance‐related stress on employee well‐being; and (4) Zhong‐Yong beliefs weaken the negative effects of challenge‐related stress on emotional exhaustion, and transform challenge‐related stress into eustress for job satisfaction.     

Disengagement in work‐role transitions

The present study examines whether disengagement from previous work‐roles positively predicts adaptation to a new work‐role (here, becoming self‐employed) by reducing negative consequences of psychological attachment to these previous roles. Disengagement involves an individual's effort to release attention from thoughts and behaviours related to the previous work‐role. A three‐wave longitudinal study investigated the relationship between psychological attachment (measured as affective commitment) to a prior work‐role, disengagement from the prior work‐role, and adaptation to a new work‐role [pursuit of learning, fit perceptions with self‐employment, task performance over time]. Participants included 131 persons who recently founded a small business. Results indicated that psychological attachment to the past work‐role was negatively related to pursuit of learning and fit with the new work‐role. Disengagement from the past work‐role was positively related to pursuit of learning in the new work‐role, and buffered the negative relationship between psychological attachment and fit as well as task performance.     

Testing an integrated model of the work–family interface in Chinese employees: A longitudinal study

The purpose of this study was to examine an integrated model of the work–family interface (WFI) linking work–family demands (workload and family conflict), resources (supervisory support and family support) and role satisfaction in a Chinese context. The four‐factor structure of WFI comprises direction of influence (work to family vs family to work) and types of effect (work–family conflict vs work–family enrichment). A longitudinal design was used to collect data from 409 Chinese employees at three time points, separating measures of antecedents (T1), WFI (T2) and outcomes (T3) in time. The results based on structural equation modelling (SEM) reveal that: (1) the direction and types of effect were two underlying dimensions of the WFI, supporting the four‐factor structure; (2) demands were more strongly related to conflict, while resources were more strongly related to enrichment; (3) work–family conflict and enrichment were related to role satisfaction, regardless of the direction of influence.