The Work–Family Interface of Service Sector Workers. A Comparison of Work Resources and Professional Status across Five European Countries

Abstract

The present paper examines cross-national differences in the use of work–family resources at the organizational level and the relationships between these resources and work-to-home interference (WHI) and satisfaction with work–family balance (SWFB) among professional and non-professional service sector employees in five Western European countries. Further, it explores cross-national variations in the gap between professionals and non-professionals with respect to both outcome variables. Professional service sector employees were consistently found to experience higher levels of WHI and lower levels of SWFB. The use of organizational work–family resources differed across welfare state regimes and levels of national gender equality. It was highest in Sweden and The Netherlands and lowest in Portugal. A family-supportive supervisor and a family-supportive organizational culture differentially affected WHI of professional and non-professional workers, with a family-supportive supervisor being more beneficial to non-professionals and a family-supportive organizational culture being more beneficial to professional employees. Finally, the gap between professionals and non-professionals was also found to vary across countries for WHI but not for SWFB. It was significantly larger in the United Kingdom and in Sweden than in the other three countries.

Working sick and out of sorts: a cross-cultural approach on presenteeism climate, organizational justice and work–family conflict

“…Casper et al summarized studies of the work-family domain and called for further research on the context of cultural influences (Casper et al, 2014). Other studies have reported differences in WFC and interfaces in countries with higher levels of gender equality (Behan et al, 2014) and differences related to the individualism-collectivism and power distance cultural dimensions (Billing et al, 2014;Stock et al, 2016). Gender equality, individualism and power distance issues have a substantial impact in Latin countries, which tend to have high uncertainty avoidance, focusing on planning and creating stability as a way of dealing with life's uncertainties (Smith & Bond, 1999).…”

“…Casper, Allen, and Poelmans (2014) edited a special issue in the Journal of Applied Psychology on WFC and confirmed the lack of studies on the work-family interface outside North America and suggested a research agenda of culture influences on the work-family domain. Prior studies reported differences in WFC and interfaces in countries with higher levels of gender equality (Behan, Drobnič, & Präg, 2014) and also in individualism-collectivism cultural orientation, as well as in the power distance dimension (Billing et al, 2014). We used a cross-cultural design to compare Latin and two contrasting non-Latin countries that despite the differences share the high collectivism/ family orientation of the Latin countries (Hofstede, Hofstede, & Minkov, 2010).…”

Cross-cultural work and family research: A review of the literature

“…-Level of support provided by the government moderates the relationship between professional status and satisfaction with WF balance, such that the relationship is weaker when level of support is high because: o When the state offers support there is less of a need for organizations to offer support and there is less variability within organizations in the support that is given to those with professional vs. non-professional jobs (Beham et al, 2014). -Level of support provided by the government moderates the relationship between gender and WF conflict, such that women's WF conflict is reduced more than men's because: o When support is high women tend to work more part-time hours.…”

“…Family-related welfare provided by state (4) -Level of support provided by the government moderates the relationship between professional status and WF conflict, such that the relationship is weaker when level of support is high because: o When the state offers support there is less of a need for organizations to offer support and there is less variability within organizations in the support that is given to those with professional vs. non-professional jobs (Beham, Drobnič, & Präg, 2014). -Level of support provided by the government moderates the relationship between professional status and satisfaction with WF balance, such that the relationship is weaker when level of support is high because: o When the state offers support there is less of a need for organizations to offer support and there is less variability within organizations in the support that is given to those with professional vs. non-professional jobs (Beham et al, 2014).…”

Family-Supportive Supervision around the Globe

“…Allen, culture and family-supportive supervision were both related to work-home inter ference in all countries (Beham, Drobnic, & Prag, 2014). FSS has also shown to be negatively related to work-family conflict and positively related to both work-family enrichment and satisfaction with work-family balance in a Slovenian hospital, as well as positively related to work-family enrichment in a Dutch university and work-family balance satisfaction at a Dutch consultancy firm (Den Dulk, Peper, Mrcela, & Ignjatovic, 2016).…”