Work flexibility-ability and work–family conflict: the joint role of willingness and worry

Abstract

Purpose

This study introduced a focus on work flexibility-worry and intended to test whether work flexibility-worry would weaken the strengthening power of work flexibility-willingness on the relationship between work flexibility-ability and work–family conflict from the perspective of person–situation interaction.

Design/methodology/approach

Participants were 924 employees recruited by the snowballing technique. They completed questionnaires about demographics and work flexibility. Multivariate stepwise regression was used to analyze the collected data.

Findings

Results showed that work flexibility-ability can reduce work-to-family conflict. However, this effect is most pronounced only among individuals with a high work flexibility-willingness who simultaneously experience low work flexibility-worry.

Practical implications

For organizations that want to provide work flexibility benefits to employees, they should not only pay attention to employees' personal preference for work flexibility but also create a climate in which all employees are allowed to use the flexibility supply without criticism from coworkers and without impacting organizational evaluations, which can benefit employees' functioning in both their work and family roles.

Originality/value

This study clarified the joint role of willingness and worry in predicting the extent to which work flexibility-ability reduces work–family conflict, which helps organizations to better understand the conditions under which work flexibility can better reduce work–family conflict.

Citation

Li, W., Tang, H., Ma, H., Zhang, J. and Zhang, N. (2021), "Work flexibility-ability and work–family conflict: the joint role of willingness and worry", Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 36 No. 8, pp. 606-619. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMP-08-2020-0458