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1 – 10 of over 4000Barbara Beham and Sonja Drobnič
The paper seeks to examine the relationships between various work demands and resources and satisfaction with work‐family balance in a sample of German office workers…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper seeks to examine the relationships between various work demands and resources and satisfaction with work‐family balance in a sample of German office workers. Work‐to‐family conflict is expected to mediate several relationships between dependent and independent variables.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 716 office workers from two service sector organizations in Germany participated in a comprehensive online survey. Hierarchical multivariate regressions were used to test the predicted relationships.
Findings
Perceived high organizational time expectations, psychological job demands and job insecurity were found to be negatively related to employees' satisfaction with work‐family balance. Work‐to‐family conflict partially mediated those relationships. Social support at work and job control revealed positive relationships with satisfaction with work‐family balance, but contrary to predictions this association persisted after controlling for work‐to‐family conflict.
Research limitations/implications
The study used a cross‐sectional design and employees' self reports which may be problematic in drawing causal conclusions.
Originality/value
The majority of studies in work‐family research look at either work‐family conflict, or more recently, at work‐family facilitation/enrichment, but little research has been conducted on employees' overall assessment of satisfaction with work‐family balance. By investigating relationships between various work demands and resources and the mediating role of work‐to‐family conflict in a sample of German office workers, the study extends previous research and contributes to the work‐family literature by clarifying the relationship between work‐to‐family conflict and satisfaction with work‐family balance.
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Min (Maggie) Wan, Yejun Zhang, Margaret A. Shaffer, Mingze Li and Guanglei Zhang
Drawing on job demands-resources theory (Bakker and Demerouti, 2017) and conservation of resources theory (Hobfoll, 1989), this study aims to investigate the roles of work task…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing on job demands-resources theory (Bakker and Demerouti, 2017) and conservation of resources theory (Hobfoll, 1989), this study aims to investigate the roles of work task conflict and coworker support in the experience of daily work-family balance. In particular, this study theorizes work-family balance as a higher-order construct, including both psychological (work-family balance satisfaction) and social (work-family balance effectiveness) dimensions.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors tested the proposed model using daily diary survey data collected from 50 full-time corporate employees across five consecutive workdays in a week. The hypotheses were tested using multilevel modeling analyses.
Findings
Analyses show that work task conflict impedes employees’ work-family balance on a daily basis. Results also support the moderating role of coworker support, such that the negative relationship between work task conflict and work-family balance is weaker when coworker support is high.
Originality/value
This research contributes to the literature by considering work-family balance as a higher-order construct. Further, this research advances theoretical knowledge of the interpersonal predictors of work-family balance. This study also expands previous work by examining the dynamic relationships between interpersonal events and work-family balance.
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Linh-Chi Vo, Mary C. Lavissière and Alexandre Lavissière
This paper contributes to the social pillar of sustainable supply chain management. It does so by investigating how women managers in the maritime sector handle work-family…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper contributes to the social pillar of sustainable supply chain management. It does so by investigating how women managers in the maritime sector handle work-family conflict, thereby acting as institutional entrepreneurs to create a work-family balance logic. The maritime sector is a male-dominated supply chain management environment, which suffers from a talent gap of a lack of women executives. One reason for this problem is work-family balance issues that deter women from staying in the workforce.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors interviewed 35 women working as port managers in different developing countries. The authors analyzed their strategies in coping with the conflict between family and work to create a work-family balance logic.
Findings
The authors found four different types of strategies to handle work-family conflicts. Responses showed that women executives in this sector can be institutional entrepreneurs. Based on the findings, the authors were able to confirm and contribute to the existing model proposed by Silva and Nunes (2021) on sustainable supply chain logic. The authors also provided recommendations for these women as institutional entrepreneurs and for policymakers to retain women talent in the supply chain management.
Research limitations/implications
The research focuses on a specific supply chain management sector, which is the maritime sector. It also relies exclusively on interview data.
Practical implications
The authors propose recommendations to develop a work-family balance logic and retain talented women in the supply chain industry based on monitoring equality and supporting their need for a work-family balance, both in the short and long terms.
Originality/value
The authors interviewed women executives in one of the most male dominated sectors. The authors studied their ability to cope with work-family conflicts and identified four ways to create a work-family balance logic. These findings enabled us to show the contribution and limits of women executives as institutional entrepreneurs for work family balance logics in male dominated sectors.
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Farveh Farivar, Roslyn Cameron and Mohsen Yaghoubi
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between cultural dimensions and the roots of work-family balance issues in a developing non-Western cultural context…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between cultural dimensions and the roots of work-family balance issues in a developing non-Western cultural context. Drawing upon Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, the study suggests national cultural dimensions can shape the roots of work-family balance.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was distributed among employees of 12 companies operating in the health industry. The survey collected both quantitative and qualitative data through two separate approaches: seven-point Likert scales and open-ended questions. The data were analyzed via thematic exploratory analysis and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis.
Findings
The quantitative data confirms the extant literature in relation to the negative effects of moonlighting, economic hardship and the absence of a comprehensive work-family balance strategy on employee work-family balance. The qualitative data proposes a new variable, weak social interaction, which becomes the most important roots of work-family imbalance at both work and family domain.
Practical implications
The present study suggests certain cultural dimensions such as high power distance hinders social interactions in the work and family domains, thereby increasing levels of work conflict, family conflict, and stress. Findings suggest organizations, especially multinationals, need to be cognizant of the role of cultural dimensions on human resource management practices related to work-family balance.
Originality/value
Very little literature addresses the impact of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions on work-family balance issues. The present study has contributed to the existing body of literature by introducing a new variable (weak social interaction) as an antecedent of work-family imbalance. Further, the study is the first in Iran that has collected qualitative data to investigate work-family balance issues.
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Wendy C. Marcinkus, Karen S. Whelan‐Berry and Judith R. Gordon
This paper seeks to examine the relationship of a network of social support for midlife women with their attitudes toward work‐family balance and work outcomes, including job…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to examine the relationship of a network of social support for midlife women with their attitudes toward work‐family balance and work outcomes, including job satisfaction, organisational commitment, and career accomplishment.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 1,089 women between the ages of 35 and 50 across three organizations were surveyed and then 72 of them interviewed.
Findings
Results indicate that the women generally received more personal social support than work‐based social support and more instrumental than expressive support from all sources. Work‐based social support was positively associated with job satisfaction, organisational commitment, and career accomplishment; personal social support was also associated with job satisfaction and organisational commitment. Work‐family balance may partially mediate the relationship between social support and work outcomes.
Originality/value
Much of what is known about work‐life issues centers on the work‐family conflicts of younger women with children. Perceptions are explored of work‐life balance among women at midlife, an understudied population with significant work and personal responsibilities. This study contributes to research by examining the relationships among the full network of social support, work‐family balance, and work‐related outcomes, as well as the nature of this support for working women. The combination of quantitative and qualitative methods provides substantive insights into the complexity of these relationships for women at midlife.
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Lorena Ronda, Andrea Ollo-López and Salomé Goñi-Legaz
This paper aims to establish to what extent family-friendly practices and high-performance work practices are positively related to work–family balance and to identify the role…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to establish to what extent family-friendly practices and high-performance work practices are positively related to work–family balance and to identify the role played by job satisfaction and working hours as mediators of this relationship
Design/methodology/approach
We use data for a representative sample of almost 17,000 employees of dual-earner couples from European countries. To test the mediation mechanism implied by our hypotheses, we follow the procedure outlined in Baron and Kenny (1986). Given the nature of the dependent variables, ordered probit and regression models were estimated in the analysis.
Findings
The results show that, in general, family-friendly practices and high-performance work practices increase work–family balance and that these positive relationships are partially mediated by job satisfaction and working hours. While both family-friendly practices and high-performance work practices increase job satisfaction, only the first increase working hours. Moreover, job satisfaction increases work–family balance, while working hours reduces it. The net effect of these opposing forces on work–family balance is positive.
Research limitations/implications
The use of secondary data posits some constraints, such as the type of measures and the failure to control for a higher number of family-friendly practices and high-performance work practices. Additionally, the non-longitudinal nature of the data set implies that some relationships cannot be considered causal in the intended direction.
Practical implications
Managers should implement family-friendly practices and high-performance work practices, as, in general, they increase work–family balance. A significant portion of this positive effect is channeled through job satisfaction and working hours.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to understanding the relationship between different subsets of human-resources management practices and work–family balance, proposing a model that aims to disentangle the mediating mechanisms through which this relationship occurs.
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Yangyang Fan, Erbolat Tulepbayev, Hyun Jung Lee and Xiaojun Lyu
Work from home has become as regular as the traditional commuting system after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Previous studies have discussed the influence of working at…
Abstract
Purpose
Work from home has become as regular as the traditional commuting system after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Previous studies have discussed the influence of working at home on the work–family interface. However, there is limited understanding of how diverse workforces manage their work–family issues with various family-friendly policies. This study aims to bridge this research gap by examining the collective influence of work conditions and family-friendly policies on work–family balance.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey experiment featuring two working conditions (work from home or commuting) × four family-friendly policies (household subsidy, family-friendly supervisor, financial profit, paid leave vs no policy) was approached based on 703 valid responses in China.
Findings
The results indicate that family-friendly policies are more effective under the work-from-home condition than the commuting condition, household subsidies and financial profits are considered more helpful for work–family balance under the work-from-home condition and employees’ policy preferences depend on personal identity and work conditions, which help them maintain work and family issues concurrently.
Originality/value
This study explores the joint impact of work conditions and family-friendly policies from a situational perspective. This study indicated that professional organizations need to perform delicacy management considering policy preferences. Moreover, changing working arrangements help employees facilitate their work–family balance.
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Monica Forret and Suzanne de Janasz
This study sets out to examine whether protégés have more favorable perceptions of an organization's culture for balancing work and family than non‐protégés.
Abstract
Purpose
This study sets out to examine whether protégés have more favorable perceptions of an organization's culture for balancing work and family than non‐protégés.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were obtained from 418 employees of a major public accounting firm who completed a survey on mentoring and work‐family issues. Correlation analyses, t‐tests, and regressions were performed to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The results strongly support the view that protégés had more favorable perceptions than non‐protégés of the organization's work‐family culture – the degree to which integration of employees' work and family lives is supported. Having a mentor was significantly related to each component of work‐family culture (managerial support, time demands, and career consequences) in the predicted direction.
Research limitations/implications
By focusing on respondents in a single firm, it is impossible to determine whether the findings generalize to individuals in other industries or companies.
Practical implications
To attract and retain employees, organizations have become increasingly concerned about their cultures for balancing work and family. By encouraging mentoring, organizations can transmit the message to their employees of resources and support available to help achieve balance.
Originality/value
Despite strong interest in the fields of mentoring and work‐family balance, few research studies have attempted to link these two domains. This research integrates these areas and demonstrates the important role mentors play in developing perceptions of an organization's culture for work‐family balance.
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Loliya Agbani Akobo and Jim Stewart
The existing gender gap in the workplace, that affects job satisfaction and career advancement of women, creates a need to understand further the causes and effects of the gender…
Abstract
Purpose
The existing gender gap in the workplace, that affects job satisfaction and career advancement of women, creates a need to understand further the causes and effects of the gender gap phenomenon. Although, there are many challenges that affect women’s job satisfaction and advancement in the workplace, this paper aims to investigate work–life balance using multiple theoretical lenses.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted with women from Nigeria and Ghana residing in the UK, they were selected using a purposive sampling method.
Findings
The findings show four main factors that explain the choices these women make in relation to work–family. These are cultural sensitivities, current phase in family and work–life, personality types and other influences such as policies and financial commitment. Results also show how these women make these work–family choices using networks and services.
Practical implications
The paper postulates the need for organisation’s to pay attention to the acculturation and enculturation of these women, which would indicate observing their cultural behaviour’s, values, knowledge and identities to understand how they integrate, assimilate and to also prevent separation and marginalisation. In addition, the use of (internal and external) networks as support systems for these women can create the opportunity for informal learning. Finally, organisation’s should create structure that support workplace learning and should include activities such as decision-making, communication, career advancement planning and flexible work patterns.
Originality/value
This study contributes to theory using multiple theories (work-family, gender inequality and Theories X and Y in explaining the work–family construct of women of African origin in the UK.
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Aqeel Ahmed Soomro, Robert J. Breitenecker and Syed Afzal Moshadi Shah
People in both the developing and developed worlds now face issues like work-to-family and family-to-work conflicts. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to explore the…
Abstract
Purpose
People in both the developing and developed worlds now face issues like work-to-family and family-to-work conflicts. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to explore the relationships between work-life balance, work-family conflict, and family-work conflict and perceived employee performance with job satisfaction serving as a moderating variable.
Design/methodology/approach
The object of this study is a full-time teaching faculty. Responses from 280 young university teaching faculty serving in public-sector universities in Islamabad, Pakistan, were investigated by applying linear regression analysis to test six hypotheses.
Findings
The results show that work-life balance and work-family conflict have a positive effect on employee performance. Job satisfaction has moderating effects on the relationships between work-life balance, work-family conflict, and family-work conflict with perceived employee performance.
Originality/value
The study presents some unique results, which are different from previous studies such as work-family conflict has a positive significant effect on employee performance, family-work conflict has no significant effect on employee performance, and job satisfaction can be a negative moderator between these relations.
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