The Relation of Career Adaptability to Work–Family Experience and Personal Growth Initiative Among Taiwanese Working Parents

This study aimed to explore the effect of career adaptability on 598 working parents in Taiwan. The results showed that career adaptability served an important role in moderating and mediating the effects between work–family conflict, work–family strength, and personal growth initiative.     

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.     

Family-Friendly Policies,Supervisor Support,Work–Family Conflict,Family–Work Conflict,and Satisfaction: A Test of a Conceptual Model

The present study tests a model of antecedents (i.e., the use of family-friendly policies, supervisor support, number of hours worked, having childcare responsibility) and consequences (i.e., job and family satisfaction) of work–family conflict and family–work conflict. As hypothesized, we found that the use of family-friendly policies, hours worked per week, and supervisor support were predictive of work–family conflict. In addition, as predicted, childcare responsibility and supervisor support were found to be related to family–work conflict. Work–family conflict was found to be related to both job and family satisfaction. Our research extends previous research in a number of ways. We believe that a particular strength of our study is it incorporated data gathered at different points in time and from more than one source.     

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.     

The Work–Home Interface: Linking Work‐Related Wellbeing and Volunteer Work

An abundance of research shows the benefits of participation in volunteer work for individuals, employers and the society as a whole. However, relatively little is known about the precursors of volunteer work. In this study, we aim to fill this gap by investigating to what extent work‐related well‐being can function as a driver of volunteer work. Moreover, building on the Conservations of Resources Theory (Hobfoll, 1989 , 2011 ), we propose that the relationship between work‐related well‐being (burnout and engagement) and volunteer work is mediated by the work–home interface (work–home enrichment and work–home conflict). This hypothesis was tested in a large Swiss sample (N = 1947). Consistent with our expectations, structural equation analyses revealed an indirect relationship between (i) work engagement and volunteer work via work–home enrichment and (ii) between burnout and volunteer work via work–home conflict. In conclusion, it seems that well‐being at work indeed functions as a precursor for volunteer work because of the consequences it has for the work–family interface. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Supervisor Support and Organizational Commitment: The Role of Work–Family Conflict,Job Satisfaction,and Work–Life Balance

Building on conservation of resources theory and social exchange theory, the author examined the relationship between supervisor support and organizational commitment through work–family conflict, work–life balance, and the job satisfaction of employees working in the financial sector in Australia. The study comprised 305 employees recruited through an online survey. Results indicate that supervisor support is negatively related to work–family conflict. In turn, work–life balance and job satisfaction are negatively linked to work–family conflict. The results further show that both work–life balance and job satisfaction are positively related to organizational commitment. Theoretical and practical implications, as well as limitations, are discussed.     

A Resource Pathway to Action Against Discrimination: How Burnout and Work–Family Balance Form Obstacles to Action

Why is it difficult for targets to act out against individual experiences of discrimination? Whereas prior research focuses on normative concerns or failure to perceive discrimination as determinants of (lack of) action, we hypothesize that perceiving frequent discrimination at work undermines the potential to act out against discrimination because it depletes one's resources. We study a sample that is underrepresented in research on discrimination, yet forms a large percentage of the working population: parents experiencing disadvantage in a working context. We measured self‐reported disadvantage because of parenthood, action against disadvantage, levels of burnout and work‐home self‐efficacy. Results reveal that perceptions of discrimination are related to lower levels of action. Importantly, lack of resources could explain this effect: we found simultaneous (and separate) mediation of the exhaustion (but not distancing) burnout subscale as well as separate mediation of work–home self‐efficacy. The implications of these results and the importance of studying potential resources in relation to action against discrimination are discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The role of work–family role integration in a job demands–resources model among Chinese secondary school teachers

The current study examines an integrative demands–resources model of the work–family interface in a sample of 259 Chinese secondary school teachers. Participants completed questionnaires relating to job demands, job resources, work‐to‐family conflict, work‐to‐family enrichment, work–family role integration (WFRI) and burnout scale. Results show that: (i) job demands were strongly and positively associated with work‐to‐family conflict, which further led to an increase in burnout; job resources were strongly and positively associated with work‐to‐family enrichment, and consequently to a decrease in burnout. Job demands also had a significant direct impact on burnout; (ii) a newly proposed construct, WFRI, was found to partially mediate the relationship between job demands and work‐to‐family conflict, as well as between job resources and work‐to‐family enrichment. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed, and future research directions are provided.     

An Investigation of the Variables That Influence Female Counselors' Work–Family Conflict

This study investigated the relationship between female counselors' work–family conflict and their demographic, occupational, and family characteristics. Female counselors' engagement in work and family and the conflict that results were assessed in 2 directions: work interfering with family (WIF) and family interfering with work (FIW). Autonomy and hours spent at work significantly contributed to counselors' WIF scores. Autonomy; age of the youngest child; care of elderly, ill, or special needs family members; and support contributed to counselors' FIW scores.     

A bright side of sadness: The depolarizing role of sadness in intergroup conflicts

Intractable conflicts constitute violent and threatening environments that lead to intense emotions and polarized attitudes. Sadness is one emotion frequently elicited by the price of such conflicts. This investigation characterized the effects of sadness on conflict‐related information processing and attitudes in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Findings from four experimental studies suggest that both incidental and integral sadness can induce a depolarization of political attitudes. In Study 1 (N = 163), sadness reduced the effect of political ideology on conflict‐related decisions. Sadness reduced the effect of political ideology on in‐group bias in resource allocation in Studies 2 (N = 213) and 4 (N = 274), willingness to negotiate in Studies 1 and 3 (N = 174), and openness to information supporting the out‐group's perspective (Study 4). Overall, in addition to its more negative implications, these results suggest that sadness (compared to both the non‐emotional and anger conditions) may have a bright side, since it may induce depolarization of political attitudes in intractable conflicts.