Family-supportive work environments and psychological strain: A longitudinal test of two theories.

Abstract

Based on the Job Demands-Resources (JDR) model (E. Demerouti, A. B. Bakker, F. Nachreiner, & W. B. Schaufeli, 2001, The job demands-resources model of burnout. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86, 499-512) and Conservation of Resources (COR) theory (S. E. Hobfoll, 2002, Social and psychological resources and adaptation. Review of General Psychology, 6, 307-324), we tested three competing models that predict different directions of causation for relationships over time between family-supportive work environments (FSWE) and psychological strain, with two waves of data from a military sample. Results revealed support for both the JDR and COR theories, first in the static model where FSWE at Time 1 predicted psychological strain at Time 2 and when testing the opposite direction, where psychological strain at Time 1 predicted FSWE at Time 2. For change models, FSWE predicted changes in psychological strain across time, although the reverse causation model was not supported (psychological strain at Time 1 did not predict changes in FSWE). Also, changes in FSWE across time predicted psychological strain at Time 2, whereas changes in psychological strain did not predict FSWE at Time 2. Theoretically, these results are important for the work-family interface in that they demonstrate the application of a systems approach to studying work and family interactions, as support was obtained for both the JDR model with perceptions of FSWE predicting psychological strain (in both the static and change models), and for COR theory where psychological strain predicts FSWE across time.

LMX, Breach Perceptions, Work-Family Conflict, and Well-Being: A Mediational Model

“…It is important to note though that the occurrence of work-to-family conflict has consistently been linked to such diverse well-being outcomes as mood (Williams & Alliger, 1994;Wood, Michaelides, & Totterdell, 2013), domain and life satisfaction (see Allen et al, 2000), depression (Aycan & Eskin, 2005;Frone et al, 1992), physical health (Adams & Jex, 1999;Allen et al, 2000;Frone, Russell, & Barnes, 1996), and affective strain (Lapierre & Allen, 2006; Downloaded by [New York University] at 20:18 05 July 2015 Moreno-Jiménez et al, 2009;Odle-Dusseau et al, 2013). However, these studies capture only pieces of well-being.…”

Impediments to Mental Health Treatment as Predictors of Mental Health Symptoms Following Combat

“…In addition, we assessed the opposite causal direction of mental health symptoms predicting changes in impediments from T1–T2 and T2–T3. This approach toward assessing predictors of change has been recommended by prior researchers (Odle‐Dusseau et al., ; Zapf et al., ). In the analyses, perceived stigma, practical barriers, and negative attitudes were used to index the latent variable of impediments at each period, and PTSD and depression symptoms were used to index the latent variable of mental health symptoms at each period.…”

Clarifying the effect of work hours on health through work–life conflict

“…; Lidwall, Marklund and Voss ; Odle‐Dusseau et al. ). More recently, a large study of 27 European countries observed that poor work–life balance was associated with a significant increase in the risk of poor self‐reported health and well‐being (Lunau et al.…”