Gender Differences in Perceptions of Resources and Turnover Intentions of Work‐Linked Couples in Masculine Occupations

Abstract

Employees in work-linked marriages have spouses that share the same family and the same workplace and/or occupation. Whereas, in recent years, there has been increasingly more research on dual-career marriages (i.e. both spouses work, but not necessarily at the same workplace and/or occupation), there has been very little research on work-linked marriages. The current study focuses on work resources (i.e. family supportive supervisor behaviour and job control) as key mediating processes that explain the effect of gender on turnover intentions among work-linked employees in masculine occupations (i.e. military). Investigating gender differences is important because, compared with men, women are more likely to be in work-linked marriages and to leave their jobs. Based on role theory and conservation of resource theory, we predicted that gender was related to turnover intentions, and this relationship would be mediated by key explanatory variables (i.e. family supportive supervisor behaviours, job control and psychological distress). Mediation analyses, conducted on a sample of men and women in work-linked marriages (n = 309), provide support for the hypothesized model. These findings offer guidance for understanding gender differences among work-linked employees in masculine occupations, and how these differences can affect important outcomes such as turnover intentions. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Family‐supportive supervisor behaviors: A review and recommendations for research and practice

“…Nine articles examined self-reported psychological health outcomes of FSSB. Research indicates a negative association between FSSB and employee perceptions of stress (i.e., Hammer et al, 2013;Thompson & Prottas, 2006) and military member psychological distress (i.e., Huffman & Olson, 2017). Interestingly, work from Behson (2005) suggests that FSSB explains more variance in employee stress than more structured means of work-family support, including work schedule flexibility and work-family benefits.…”

“…Evaluated antecedents of FSSB have also included demographic characteristics of employees and employee–supervisor dyadic similarities. Regarding demographic characteristics of employees, Huffman and Olson () studied military personnel whose spouse was also enlisted and found that women were less likely to perceive FSSB than were men. Huffman and Olson also found that FSSB, in addition to job control and psychological distress, mediated the relationship between gender and turnover intentions.…”

The mediating role of job stress on the relationship between job satisfaction facets and turnover intention of the construction professionals

“…Emiroğlu et al (2015) also suggest that female employees in the hotel industry of Istanbul have a significantly higher turnover intention than their counterparts. Huffman and Olson (2017) studied the gender differences in perceptions of resources and turnover intentions of work-linked couples in masculine occupations, which is also the case for the construction sector. Their findings suggest that female employees have a higher degree of turnover intention than male employees.…”

Masculinity, femininity, and leadership: Taking a closer look at the alpha female

“…The reluctance and/or lack of women in traditionally “masculine” jobs may also influence our assumptions that human alphas are more likely to be male than female. For example, research that examines women’s experiences in “masculine” jobs, such as in the military has shown that negative consequences can occur for such women for example, less perceived family supportive supervisor behavior, and as such, women are less likely to pursue masculine occupations because they perceive that these job are not open or “available” to them, or that there is an expectation that such jobs are “men only” jobs [119]. Research has also shown that women’s disadvantage is greater at higher organizational levels in corporate law firms, limiting the possibility of internal promotions, though this was not shown to be the case for women who are hired outside an organization [120].…”