No abstract

Flexible work arrangements (FWAs) are often written into company policies to demonstrate organisational sensitivity to potentially difficult interfaces between employees' work and non-work domains. The current research investigated employees' use of FWAs and relationship to work engagement, with turnover intentions and psychological strain also used as criterion variables for comparison purposes. A heterogeneous sample of Australian employees (N = 823) responded to two waves of data collection separated by a 12-month interval. It was expected that supportive aspects of organisational culture would be consistent with increased employee utilisation of FWAs, high work engagement, low turnover and low levels of psychological strain, and the opposite would be found for hindering aspects of organisational culture. It was also expected that supportive organisational culture would demonstrate an enduring effect over time. In general, research findings supported these hypotheses. However, the research also identified a negative relationship between use of FWAs and work engagement over time. This suggests that take-up of FWAs is highly dependent on workplace cultural norms. The implications of these results are discussed. Key points1 An inverse relationship between use of FWAs and work engagement was found in this research. 2 Workplace cultural norms influence the take-up of FWAs. 3 Formal and informal processes within organisations work together and can provide incongruent messages for employees. 4 It is essential that supervisory personnel be informed about beneficial implications of employee use of FWAs.Work-life balance refers to manageability of the different domains of one's life so that they complement rather than compete with each other. Juggling responsibilities to work, family and community, as well as requirements for physical health and psychological wellbeing such as hobbies, exercise and other personal interests can create competing priorities in people's lives (e.g. Brough, O'Driscoll and Kalliath 2005). Unsatisfactory resolution of the tension generated by these competing priorities is referred to as work-life conflict (Carlson, Kacmar and Williams 2000). Work-life conflict is associated with exhaustion and psychological strain (Brough, O'Driscoll and Kalliath 2005) and leads to deleterious health outcomes, absenteeism and turnover (Bolger et al. 1989). Kanter (1977) highlighted the interwoven nature of the different aspects of employees' lives and observed that it was inevitable that emotional states would permeate domain boundaries for better or for worse. Positive emotional states that permeate work and nonwork domains can augment and expand individuals' feelings of well-being and selfefficacy (O'Driscoll and Brough 2010; Thornthwaite 2004) thereby creating an upward spiral of positive affect. According to Carlson et al. (2006) this leads to a sense of mastery, which in turn empowers individuals and benefits organisations (see also, Harter, Schmidt and Hayes 2002). Abbott, De Cieri and Iverson (1998) fou...

The impact of work–family conflict on well-being outcomes is well established, as is the role of social support in buffering perceptions of conflict. What is less well understood is how these relationships vary for different groups of respondents. Using a two-wave longitudinal design with a 12-month time lag and samples of employees (total N = 2183) from Australia, New Zealand, China and Hong Kong, the present research investigated whether the mediating relationships between social support, work–family conflict and well-being outcomes were moderated by gender, geographical region and the presence of dependants in the household. Supervisor support and family support were associated with lower work–family conflict, and hence reduced psychological strain and increased job and family satisfaction, for women and for employees in China and Hong Kong, but not for employees in Australia and New Zealand. However, the presence of dependants was not a significant moderator. Our findings illustrate the importance of exploring gender and national differences in work–family conflict research, particularly the investigation of cross-domain effects.

Although the direct effects of work-family enrichment on satisfaction are well-documented, previous theoretical predictions and empirical findings of the relationship have been inconsistent. Drawing on social cognitive theory, the current research examined how workfamily enrichment contributes to job and family satisfaction by exploring the mediating mechanisms of self-efficacy and work-life balance. This study also empirically validated a new self-efficacy measure using the work-life interface nomological network. A heterogeneous sample of Australian employees (N=234) from four different organisations responded to two waves of data collection separated by a 12-month interval. Using structural equation modelling, the results of the statistical analysis provided preliminary support for the hypothesised chain mediation model and the newly-developed five-item self-efficacy to regulate work and life scale. Specifically, work-to-family enrichment and family-to-work enrichment were positively related to self-efficacy, which in turn had a positive effect on work-life balance. Similarly, work-life balance had a positive impact on job and family satisfaction. Evidence of these relationships over time was demonstrated, thereby emphasising the importance of personcognitive resources (e.g., self-efficacy) in influencing life outcomes. Validation of the selfefficacy scale also demonstrated robust psychometric properties and criterion validity. Implications of these results were subsequently discussed.

The Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model proposes that employee health and performance are dependent upon direct and interacting perceptions of job demands and job resources. The JD-R model has been tested primarily with small, cross-sectional, European samples. The current research extends scholarly discussions by evaluating the full JD-R model for the prediction of psychological strain and work engagement, within a longitudinal research design with samples of Australian and Chinese employees ( N = 9404). Job resources (supervisor support and colleague support) accounted for substantial variance, supporting the motivational hypothesis of the JD-R model. However, minimal evidence was found for the strain hypothesis of the JD-R model. The interactions of job demands and job resources were not evident, with only one from 16 interaction tests demonstrating significance. We discuss explanations for our findings. The implications of testing western-derived organizational behavior theories among employees employed in Asian regions, especially in regard to the increasing ‘westernization’ of many Asian organizations and their employees, are also discussed.