Family-to-work enrichment associations between family meal atmosphere and job satisfaction in dual-earner parents

Abstract

Research on factors related to job satisfaction in parents has mainly focused on work-related variables, paying less attention to family events that may provide parents with resources to invest in the work domain. To contribute to this body of knowledge, this study examined the associations between family meal atmosphere and job satisfaction in dual-earner parents with adolescent children, and tested the mediating role of family-to-work enrichment (FtoWE) between family meal atmosphere and job satisfaction. Questionnaires were administered to 473 different-gender dual-earner parents in Temuco, Chile. Participants answered the Project-EAT Atmosphere of family meals scale, three items that measure FWE from the Work-Home Interaction Survey, and the Overall Job Satisfaction Scale. Analyses were conducted using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model and structural equation modelling. A positive association was found from family meal atmosphere to job satisfaction, directly and via FtoWE in fathers, and only via FtoWE in mothers. No associations were found for these variables between parents, as, one parent’s perception of a pleasant family meal atmosphere is positively associated with their own FtoWE and job satisfaction, but not with those of the other parent. These findings suggest policymakers and organizations to account for workers’ experiences in the family domain to improve satisfaction in the work domain.

Job satisfaction as a mediator between family-to-work conflict and satisfaction with family life: a dyadic analysis in dual-earner parents

“…Studies on family-to-work conflict during the pandemic have negatively associated this conflict with post-traumatic growth (i.e., psychological changes after overcoming a crisis), directly and via a negative association with psychological capital and perceived social support (Lv et al, 2021); and with COVID-19 phobia (Karakose et al, 2021). During this period, women have reported more family-to-work conflict than men (Frank et al, 2021), which is consistent with the evidence that their home-and family-related responsibilities have increased during the pandemic more than for men (Jiménez-Figueroa et al, 2020;Orellana & Orellana, 2020;Schnettler et al, 2022a). Nevertheless, the work-from home conditions can have negative consequences in the workplace for men and women (Frank et al, shown that individuals with personal resources (in their study, communication quality) are more willing to invest these resources in other life roles or domains.…”

“…The OJSS has shown good internal consistency in samples from different countries (Agho et al, 1992;Korff et al, 2017). The Spanish version of the OJSS scale was used, which has been validated and shown good internal consistency in studies with couples in Chile (Schnettler et al, 2020(Schnettler et al, , 2022a.…”

Revisiting the link between domain satisfaction and life satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic: Job-related moderators in triadic analysis in dual-earner parents with adolescent children

“…Traditional gendered socialization in Latin American countries, in keeping with gender role theory, characterizes women as responsible for household and family tasks regardless of their work outside the home ( 59 ), while men's work role outside the home is considered providing for the family ( 24 ). Furthermore, JS has been linked to income ( 33 , 69 , 87 ), and Schnettler et al ( 36 ) suggests that, in Latin American cultures, it is likely that the family's larger income depends more on the man's than the woman's job. These factors help thus explain why mothers' JS does not cross over to fathers' LS.…”

“…Likewise, the association between fathers' JS and mothers' LS, and mothers' SWFoL and fathers' LS, was significant for self-employed fathers, and non-significant for employed fathers. In this sense, self-employed individuals have reported higher levels of LS ( 67 ) and JS ( 68 , 69 ), which are associated with autonomy at work, flexibility, personal responsibility in task completion, safe working conditions and friendly atmosphere at work ( 68 ). Evidence also indicates that self-employed mothers experience greater SWFaL than employed mothers ( 70 ); while self-employed fathers experience greater work-life balance, which has been associated with a higher involvement in food-related tasks that increase both SWFoL and LS in their female partners ( 25 , 61 ).…”

“…Lastly, research has shown that job-related variables are related to life, job, family life and food-related life satisfaction. Self-employed workers have reported higher levels of life ( 67 ), job ( 68 , 69 ), family life ( 70 ) and food-related life satisfaction ( 71 ) than those who are formal employees. Moreover, Loewe et al ( 38 ) have found a positive association between job and life satisfaction, and this relationship is stronger for self-employed workers than for employees.…”