Work-Family Conflict among Iranian Emergency Medical Technicians and Its Relationship with Time Management Skills: A Descriptive Study

Abstract

Background. Work-Family Conflict (WFC) is a form of interrole conflict in which an active participation in occupational activities causes strain and interferes with family roles of workers and vice versa. It is a major source of occupational stress among workers and personnel. Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) are an important part of the healthcare system that respond to emergencies. The EMTs experience high level of job stress, which may affect their ability to perform their family roles, and, on the other hand, actively performing their family responsibilities may interfere with the effective delivery of the already stressful activities at workplace. Objective. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of WFC among Emergency Medical Technicians in Iran and its relationship with time management skills. Methods. This was a descriptive study. In this study, 271 EMTs from the western part of Iran completed the questionnaire for the assessment of WFC. The Carlson Family-Conflict Questionnaire and the “Time Management Behaviors Scale” developed by Macan were used as evaluation instruments. The data were analyzed by SPSS software version 16. Appropriate statistical analysis such as mean and standard deviation, Pearson correlation, and Spearman rank correlation was applied for analyzing the data in SPSS. Results. The majority of the participants reported some degrees of WFC. Statistical analysis showed a significant inverse correlation between total WFC score and total “Time Management Behaviors scale” score (r = −0/381، p<0/0001). In the present study, there was no significant correlation between total WFC score and demographic factors such as educational level, age, sex, marital status, number of family members, need for family member care, and work experience (p>0.05). Conclusions. The findings of this study indicate that time management behaviors and skills can reduce WFC among Emergency Medical Technicians. Therefore, it is recommended that prehospital emergency authorities and policymakers plan and implement measures such as reducing the duration of shift-work schedules, decreasing shift-change restrictions, and organizing regular time management courses. Also, employment of local inhabitants is preferred to geographically distant individuals with similar qualification as this will reduce the distance between home and workplace.

Perceived occupational stressors among emergency medical service providers: a qualitative study

“…Study findings showed that EMS staff experienced different levels of stress due to personal and professional conflicts such as long shifts and work-family problems. In line with this finding, a former study showed that EMS providers and their family members suffered from stress due to work-family conflicts [43]. Another source of occupational stress in the present study was interpersonal conflicts among EMS colleagues and ineffective interpersonal interactions with rescue, relief, and hospital staff.…”

Factors Influencing Work-Family Conflict Among Dual-Career Couples: A Research Framework

“…The results is empirically confirmed by Goudarzi, Sheikhi, and Kheir, (2012) study which showed that time-management was negatively influence on work-family conflict among Iran employees. These findings shared consistent result with other study by Beyramijam, Shahrestanaki, Khankeh, Aminizadeh, Dehghani, and Hossein (2020), that shows an inverse and significant correlation between time-management and work-family conflict experienced by employees. Green and Skinner (2005) explain that individual requires straightening their capability to organize time successfully to accomplish a sufficient balance of work and family.…”

Work-Family Conflict of Emergency Nurses and Its Related Factors: A National Cross-Sectional Survey in China

“…Moreover, a high frequency of night shifts also led to increased workload (33), and irregular working time might lead to sleep disorders simultaneously (28,40), thereby possibly had an impact on private life. Accordingly, it is necessary to ensure adequate emergency nurses (3) and reasonably adjust working time and night shift frequency (10,41).…”

“…Previous studies in many countries confirmed that the prevalence of WFC among nurses was high and mainly at a high level (4)(5)(6)(7). As a consequence of the fast work pace, high pressure, and frequent violence in the emergency department (8,9), the WFC of emergency nurses is more severe than that of nurses in other departments (10).…”