A longitudinal and multi‐source test of the work–family conflict and job satisfaction relationship

Abstract

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.

Demographic Predictors of Work-Family Conflict for Men and Women: The Case of Nigeria

“…In the first part, eleven-item work-family conflict and family-work conflict scale developed with the help of work spillover measures of Grandey, Cordeiro, and Crouter (2005), and Small and Riley (1990) is used. Responses to the six WFC items and the five FWC items were made on a Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).…”

“…Therefore, compared to males, females are more likely to display a negative attitude towards work when their work conflicts with family since they regard work as a threat to their main social role. However, according to gender role theory, when work conflicts with family, such a conflict is unlikely to cause males to change their attitude towards work (Grandey, Cordeiro, & Crouter, 2005;Baral & Bhargava, 2010). Males tend to feel less guilty conscious than females since the conflict they experience does not harm their social identity much, as a result of which their perception of WFC is different from that of females (Burke & El-Kot, 2010;Hassan, Dollard, & Winefield, 2010).…”

Work‐family Conflict and Burnout among Chinese Doctors: The Mediating Role of Psychological Capital

“…WIF is "a form of interrole conflict in which the general demands of, time devoted to and strain created by the job interfere with performing family-related responsibilities," and FIW is "a form of interrole conflict in which the general demands of, time devoted to and strain created by the family interfere with performing work-related responsibilities 8) ". Work-family conflict has been found to be positively associated with turnover 9) , burnout 10) and psychological distress 11) and negatively associated with job satisfaction 12) and life satisfaction 13) . In China, most families are dual career, which means male and female doctors are both involved in work and home responsibilities.…”

Untitled

“…The role theory proposed that people hold multiple roles, in which "work and family roles are the two most important life roles for most people" (Grandey et al, 2005). However, these roles are performed under limited resources and the resources spend for one role (e.g.…”