Advancing work–life supportive contexts for the “haves” and “have nots”: Integrating supervisor training with work–life flexibility to impact exhaustion or engagement

Abstract

Employers face many dilemmas in effectively implementing work–life flexibility to support employees' personal lives. A key issue is that some employees hold jobs with limited opportunities for work–life flexibility, making them susceptible to burnout; yet most employers believe they can do little to mitigate this dynamic. Furthermore, even when employees hold jobs with greater access to work–life flexibility, some do not take advantage of their flexibility to more fully engage in work and/or home roles. These issues are further exacerbated when supervisors are unsure of their role in supporting work–life flexibility. We identify work–life supportive context as a key factor that provides solutions to these dilemmas. Drawing on job demands resources theory, we posit that, when organizations provide work–life supportive training to supervisors, it promotes a work–life supportive context (i.e., signaling that the organization is supportive of employees' managing their work–life interface), which mitigates burnout for those with limited work–life flexibility and promotes engagement in work and home roles for those with greater work–life flexibility. Results from a year‐long randomized field experiment suggest that, in contexts with trained supervisors and lower employee control over work schedules and boundaries (i.e., lower work–life flexibility), emotional exhaustion is reduced. In contexts with trained supervisors and higher employee control over work boundaries (i.e., higher work–life flexibility), family engagement increases. Surprisingly, irrespective of job access to work‐life flexibility, supervisor participation in work–life support training did not enhance employee work engagement. Implications of our findings for fostering work–life supportive contexts are considered.

Feeling Supported as a Remote Worker: The Role of Support from Leaders and Colleagues and Job Satisfaction in Promoting Employees’ Work–Life Balance

“…Future research could explore the ways in which leaders can provide effective support to their remote employees and how these translate into perceived work–life balance outcomes. Another plausible explanation is that employees may require additional resources to feel engaged in their work, thereby enhancing the impact of leadership support practices on their work–life balance [ 64 ].…”

The paradoxical effects of high involvement work practices on employees and service outcomes: a trichromatic perspective

“…This, in turn, depletes their valuable resources and negatively affects their well-being. Employees may experience decreased life satisfaction, hopelessness, emotional exhaustion, and physical strain ( Kossek et al, 2024 ). SS is vital in helping workers manage the increased workload, reducing stress levels, enhancing well-being, and improving performance ( Zhang and Song, 2020 ).…”

The more you connect, the less you connect: An examination of the role of phubbing at home and job crafting in the crossover and spillover effects of work–family spousal support on employee creativity

“…This issue is attenuated by the advance of technology and the invasion of our personal lives with the constant exposure to mobile phones. Building on the latest research by Kossek et al (2024), we recommend close collaboration between HR managers and employees' first-line supervisors to develop a work-family supportive context. One key component of enhanced family engagement is good quality communication and sharing with one's significant other at home (e.g., work-family interpersonal capitalization; Ilies et al, 2017).…”