What if people’s private life constrained their career decisions? Examining the relationship between home-to-career interference and career satisfaction

Abstract

Purpose Previous research suggests that employees often make family-related career decisions (Greenhaus and Powell, 2012). The authors extend this idea and explore the concept of “home-to-career interference,” defined as the extent to which people perceive that their private life has constrained their career decisions to date. The authors expect that home-to-career interference has a negative impact on employees’ later career satisfaction via career goal self-efficacy and perceived organizational career support. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach The authors collected quantitative data at three points in time, each six months apart in a Belgian telecommunications organization. Using the full information maximum likelihood path analysis approach, the authors performed analyses on a sample of dual-earner employees. Findings The results showed that employees’ home-to-career interference related negatively to their career goal self-efficacy and perceived organizational career support, which were, in turn, positively related to their career satisfaction. Originality/value This study contributes to the work-family literature by introducing the concept of home-to-career interference, by clarifying the mechanisms through which home-to-career interference relates to career satisfaction and by testing these relationships using a three-wave longitudinal design.

Sustainable careers: Towards a conceptual model

“…For instance, for dual earner workers, as in the example of Emma, there are challenges regarding allocating time to commitments at work and at home (Kossek & Greenhaus, 2014). Within dual earner families, the spouse or life partner has been identified as an important stakeholder of the person's career, who both affects and is affected by the latter's career decisions and career management (e.g., Greenhaus & Powell, 2012;Schooreel et al, 2017). Also children, parents,…”

Couples experiencing private life constraints to their career: understanding home-to-career interference from a couple's perspective

“…Although the career penalty risks of family-related work decisions are well established (e.g. Baum, 2002;Judiesch and Luness, 1999;Theunissen et al, 2011), we know little about people's appraisals of such situations (Schooreel et al, 2017). Understanding these appraisals is, however, highly meaningful since it is often the subjective appraisal, rather than the objective situation, that impacts people's experiences, attitudes and behaviors (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984).…”

The Role of Work-Life Balance and Worker Scheduling Flexibility in Predicting Global Comparative Job Satisfaction

“…Home is defined as nonwork involvements such as relationships with family and friends, and community, leisure, or self-development pursuits (Greenhaus & Kossek, 2014). Home-career interference, or the degree to which people view their home responsibilities as a constraint to current or future careers, has been correlated with lowered career goal self-efficacy and career satisfaction (Schooreel, Shockley, & Verbruggen, 2017). Employees who perceived reduced organization support for further training also experienced less career goal self-efficacy and satisfaction due to the belief they were not developing needed skills for advancement.…”

“…Employees want more flexibility and self-report its efficacy (Daniel & Sonnentag, 2016;Matos & Galinsky, 2011;McNall et al, 2010); however, findings have been mixed for some types of scheduling and in some contexts (Facer & Wadsworth, 2008;Higgins et al, 2014;Saltzstein et al, 2001). Additionally, home-career interference negatively impacts career satisfaction and career goal self-efficacy leading to dissatisfaction in both home and work domains (Schooreel et al, 2017). Various forms of work-home enrichment, such as sharing positive work experiences in the home environment (Daniel & Sonnentag, 2016;Ilies et al, 2009;Ilies et al, 2017), and strategies to ameliorate work-home conflict (Kreiner et al, 2009) and manage dual careers (Becker & Moen, 1999) have been helpful in improving WLB.…”