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Work–family conflict: comparing the experiences of Turkish and native Belgian women
Abstract
While research has focused on a number of dimensions of work–family conflict (WFC), hardly any literature exists that analyses how differences in family systems might help to explain variations in WFC experiences. By employing Reher’s typology of strong and weak family ties to integrate existing research and identify unaddressed features, this study finds that researchers have generally understudied the role of structural family ties on WFC. Qualitative data gathered from interviews with highly educated native Belgian and Turkish immigrant women living in Belgium are used to analyse variation in the WFC experiences and coping strategies of these two groups. The results suggest that a number of interconnected factors related to family systems – including internalisation of gender roles, division of family-related responsibilities, support mechanisms and external pressures from family and society, and socialisation processes of minority women in both family structures – are highly significant in explaining variations in women’s WFC experiences.
... Stresses due to the imbalance between work outside of the home, and commitments to family and vocational pursuits other than in the field of paid work, has only been properly recognized in the past two decades, and indeed feminist critics argue that women are frequently disadvantaged in the workplace because the demands in a largely sexist society, of having to "care for" husband and children-which add to stresses imposed by professional work, such as nursing (Boyar et al. 2007;Cortese et al. 2010;Törnroos et al. 2013;Yılmaz et al. 2017). We chose Hayman's (Hayman 2005(Hayman , 2009 scale as showing good evidence of discriminant validity. ...
This initial report of a longitudinal study of 192 English hospital nurses measured Nursing Values (the 6Cs of nursing); Personality, Self-Esteem and Depression; Burnout Potential; Work-Life Balance Stress; “Hardy Personality”; and Intention to Leave Nursing. Correlational, component, and cluster analysis identified four groups: “The Soldiers” (N = 79), with medium scores on most measures, who bravely “soldier on” in their nursing roles, in the face of numerous financial cuts to the National Health Service, and worsening nurse–patient ratios; “Cheerful Professionals” (N = 54), coping successfully with nursing roles, and a variety of challenges, in upwardly mobile careers; “High Achievers” (N = 39), senior nurses with strong profiles of a “hardy personality”, and commitment to fundamental nursing values; and “Highly Stressed, Potential Leavers” (N = 20), with indicators of significant psychological distress, and difficulty in coping with nursing role challenges. We have initiated a program of co-counselling and social support for this distressed group, by nurses who are coping more successfully with multiple challenges. We discuss the role of nurse educators in fostering nursing values, developing and supporting a “hardy personality” and emotional resilience in recruits to nursing. This study is framed within the disciplinary approach of Critical Realism, which identifies the value basis for research and dialogue in developing strategies for social change. The importance of this research is that: (a) it is part of the new thrust in nursing research, applying Critical Realist theory and methodology to research on nursing stress; (b) it has established, through network sampling, a group of nurses who can be supportive of each other in their stressful careers; (c) it establishes the reliability and potential validity of a measure of core nursing values; (d) it is among the first studies in research on nursing stress, to use the humanizing methodology of moving from data analysis (description of “things”), to describing a typology of nursing stress and career progress (description of individuals).
This study examined the extent to which women's marital responsibilities are affected by their careers in banking and teaching in Benin City, Nigeria. Three research questions were raised, while three hypotheses were stated. According to the first hypothesis, married female bankers and teachers performed their house chores responsibilities significantly differently from one another. The second hypothesis proposes that there is no statistically significant difference in the level of care that married female bankers and teachers provide to their children. The third hypothesis proposed that there was no discernible difference in the number of married female bankers and teachers. The statistical results were tested at the 0.05 level. The study sampled 150 married female bankers in Benin City using the purposive convenient sampling technique. To ensure equal representation, 75 bankers and 75 teachers were selected. The study confirmed that differences existed between married female bankers and teachers in the attention given to their children, in the performance of their domestic chores, and in their companionship with their husbands. Hence, the paper concludes that there was a significant difference in the marital adjustment of female bankers and teachers. By extension, married women in Nigeria adjust differently to their dual roles, irrespective of the nature of their job. Consequently, couples are advised to get rid of illogical or irrational ideas and attitudes and to substitute rational ideas and attitudes so that they can acquire a more rational philosophy of life and marriage. The study contributed to the dearth of studies regarding the various aspects of life of working housewives in Nigeria by providing data to prove certain beliefs that were held about married women in employment.
Reviews
“It is a valuable book of cultural history. It smells like literature and it tastes like Bulgarian socialism.” – Ivan Krastev, Chairman, Centre for Liberal Strategies, Sofia.
“From her silence, my mother made wonderful fried zucchini, baked lamb, banitsa… Everything can be said with a few dishes. Only later did I realize why my mother and grandmother were such good cooks. It wasn't cooking, but storytelling.
Scrapbooks with personal handwritten recipes are sources of these untold stories. With her inventive research, Albena Shkodrova opens for us these small private time capsules of the recent past. All handwritten recipes passing from woman to woman and generation to generation are pages of a hidden and, as it turns out, subversive history of communist Bulgaria. Without them our knowledge for that time would be tasteless and spiceless. While reading Shkodrova's book, you enter again the kitchen of that past, get invited to its table, and forget to leave.
” – Georgi Gospodinov, author of The Physics of Sorrow and Time Shelter.
“This exploration of the “political nature of food” is about storytelling, social ties and book-making as much as cooking. Who would have imagined that “passionate recipe exchange” could be such a powerful force of resistance? Rebellious Cooks and Recipe Writing in Communist Bulgaria is a wonderfully unexpected and engaging insight into the way we struggle to stay human in the face of an oppression.” – Edward Stourton, Writer and Broadcaster at the BBC
This initial report of a longitudinal study of 192 English hospital nurses has measured Nursing Values (the 6Cs of nursing); Personality, Self-Esteem and Depression; Burnout Potential; Work-Life Balance Stress; ‘Hardy Personality’; and Intention to Leave Nursing. Correlational, component and cluster analysis identifies four groups: “The Soldiers” (N = 79) , with medium scores on most measures, who bravely ‘soldier on’ in their nursing roles, in the face of numerous financial cuts to the National Health Service, and worsening nurse-patient ratios; “Cheerful Professionals” (N = 54), coping successfully with nursing roles, and a variety of challenges, in upwardly mobile careers; “High Achievers” (N = 39), senior nurses with strong profiles of a ‘hardy personality’, and commitment to fundamental nursing values; “Highly Stressed, Potential Leavers” (N = 20), with indicators of significant psychological distress, and difficulty in coping with nursing role challenges. We propose a model of co-counselling and social support for this distressed group, by nurses who are coping more successfully with multiple challenges. We discuss the role of nurse educators in fostering nursing values, and developing and supporting ‘hardy personality’ and emotional resilience in recruits to nursing. This study is framed within the disciplinary approach of Critical Realism, which identifies the value basis for research and dialogue in developing strategies for social change.
An examination of the literature on conflict between work and family roles suggests that work-family conflict exists when: (a) time devoted to the requirements of one role makes it difficult to fulfill requirements of another; (b) strain from participation in one role makes it difficult to fulfill requirements of another; and (c) specific behaviors required by one role make it difficult to fulfill the requirements of another. A model of work-family conflict is proposed, and a series of research propositions is presented.
Changing demographic trends occurring in the work and family spheres have made combining work and family responsibilities an increasingly challenging task for employees in virtually every nation. However, previous studies on work-family conflict have focused predominantly on Western and developed nations, with little attention to the experience of work-family conflict across different national contexts. Only recently have studies begun to examine work-family conflict from cross-national perspective. This paper presents a review of cross-national studies on work-family conflict focusing on the influences of cultural, institutional and economic factors. Overall, the review suggests that existing cross-national research on work-family conflict is narrow in scope, with most studies focused mainly on identifying differences in prevalence of the phenomenon across national contexts. The paper outlines agenda for future research to increase understanding of contextual influences on the experience of work-family conflict.
Family systems appear to be an important factor framing people's individual behavior. Thus far, family systems have been primarily addressed on a macro regional level with indirect measures. Revisiting Reher (1998) and the family ties criterion, the main question of this paper is to examine to what extent we perceive family structures differently in Europe by taking direct measures of the structures of people's broader social networks into consideration. Based on the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), we derived two indicators of family regimes based on individual-level data regarding the density of ego social networks: contact frequency and geographic proximity among network members. We aggregated these data and mapped them on the NUTS 2 level regions for various locations in Europe. The results of our analyses exhibit that, based on these two network indicators, significant differences in family structures between European regions exist. These results confirm the classification of strong family Southern and comparatively weaker family Northern European regions to a large extent, though substantial regional differences in and between countries are also revealed. Our findings demonstrate that the classification of European regions largely depends on which indicator of network density we consider. This is particularly obvious in the Eastern European regions where the classification markedly differs according to the type of network indicator. Intriguingly, social networks in Central European regions can be characterized as rather loose, often even looser than the ‘traditional’ weak ties in Scandinavia. Family regimes can, therefore, be regarded as a construct of multiple dimensions of which one dimension may be classified as weak while the other can be strong at the same time.
Please find the full article on the History of the Family website: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1081602X.2014.897246#.VPb5-005Dcs
Maternal gatekeeping is conceptualized within the framework of the social construction of gender and it defined as having three dimensions: mothers' reluctance to relinquish responsibility over family matters by setting rigid standards, external validation of a mothering identity, and differentiated conceptions of family roles. These three conceptual dimensions of gatekeeping are operationalized with modest reliability and tested with a confirmatory factor analysis on a sample of 622 dual-earner mothers. With cluster analyses, 21% of the mothers were classified as gatekeepers. Gatekeepers did 5 more hours of family work per week and had less equal divisions of labor than women classified as collaborators.
This article presents data from a project exploring women's experiences of work and care. It focuses primarily on work–life balance as a problematic concept. Social and economic transformations across advanced post-industrial economies have resulted in concerns about how individuals manage their lives across the two spheres of work and family and achieve a work–life balance. Governments across the European Union have introduced various measures to address how families effectively combine care with paid work. Research within this area has tended to focus on work–life balance as an objective concept, which implies a static and fixed state fulfilled by particular criteria and measured quantitatively. Qualitative research on women's experiences reveals work–life balance as a fluctuating and intangible process. This article highlights the subjective and variable nature of work–life balance and questions taken-for-granted assumptions, exploring problems of definition and the differential coping strategies which women employ when negotiating the boundaries between work and family.
Based on cross-sectional data from the 2008 National Study of the Changing Workforce, this study investigates relationships between gender, age, and work-family conflict across 6 family life stages. Participants were 690 married/partnered employees who worked 35 or more hours a week. Results indicated a small but negative relationship between age and work-family conflict. Work-family conflict was also associated with family stage, with the least amount of conflict occurring during the empty nest stage and the most occurring when the youngest child in the home was 5 years of age or younger. Gender differences were also observed. Specifically, men reported more work interference with family than did women when the youngest child in the home was a teen. Women overall reported more family interference with work than did men. Results concerning age and gender revealed a different pattern demonstrating that family stage is not simply a proxy for age. Age had a main effect on work-to-family conflict that was monotonic in nature and on family to-work conflict that was linear in nature. In conclusion, the results indicate gender, age, and family stage each uniquely relate to work-family conflict. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).
This article describes the theoretical framework and rationale that underlie a large-scale international study of the work-family interface. This research study utilizes a multi-level, theoretically based approach. It is being undertaken by a collaborative, multicultural team composed of indigenous researchers from countries that were selected based on theoretically important dimensions. It consists of three empirical components: (1) qualitative focus groups, (2) a social policy analysis, and (3) a quantitative two-wave survey. Thus the data are both qualitative and quantitative, both emic and etic, and both micro- and macro-level in nature.
This monograph reviews 190 work–family studies published in IO/OB journals from 1980 to 2002. The results of a content analysis are presented which catalog these articles with respect to the study focus, nature and direction of the proposed effects, and predictor, criterion, and mediator variables examined. Then a narrative review of the articles is presented, organized in terms of the following topical areas: (1) work–family conflict, (2) work role stress, (3) work–family assistance, (4) work schedules, (5) job-related relocation, (6) career and job-related outcomes, (7) gender and the relationship between work and family domains, (8) dual-earner couples, and (9) relationships among life domains. The review concludes with a discussion of recurring themes in the literature and the identification of blind spots in the IO/OB perspective on work and family. Specific suggestions for future research are also provided.
It has often been argued that Southern European countries are more familialistic in their culture than Western and Northern European countries. In this paper, we examine this notion by testing the hypothesis that adult children are more responsive to the needs of their elderly parents in countries with more familialistic attitudes. To test this hypothesis, we analyse the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). We focus on three indicators of need: (a) the partner status of the parent, (b) the health status of the parent, and (c) the education of the parent. Using Heckman probit models, we examine the effects of these variables on whether or not the parent receives instrumental support from children, thereby controlling for whether or not children live independently from their parents. We estimate effects of need on support and we compare these effects across 10 European countries, using both graphic devices and a multilevel probit model where individuals are nested in countries. We find significant cross-level interactions of need variables and the degree of familialism in a country. Our analyses, thereby provide more positive evidence for the hypothesis than earlier studies, which have focused largely on comparing aggregate levels of support among countries.
This study explores how the reported use and perceived value of five workplace flexibility options differ by gender and life stage. It also examines the relationship of perceived workplace flexibility, gender, and life stages to family-to-work conflict and stress and burnout. Data are from a multi-company database created by WFD Consulting containing the results of studies conducted in multiple organizations between 1996 and 2006. Results revealed a curvilinear relationship in differences between men and women in the use of workplace flexibility options over the life course. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) revealed that perceived flexibility consistently predicted less family-to-work conflict and less stress and burnout. Gender (being female) was also modestly associated with greater family-to-work conflict and greater stress and burnout. The addition of life stage variables significantly increased the proportion of the variance explained in family-to-work conflict and stress and burnout. The addition of the interaction of life stage and gender significantly increased the proportion of the variance explained in family-to-work conflict but not in stress and burnout. These results support the idea that gender, life stage, and their interactions are important variables in research related to workplace flexibility. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Following Reher's (1998) seminal paper on family ties in western Europe, the perspective that family solidarity patterns are divided between an individualistic north and a famialistic south has dominated the literature. We challenge this view and address the variability in intergenerational family solidarity within and across countries. Using multiple dimensions of intergenerational solidarity drawn from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, we develop a typology of late-life families which is robust across northern, central and southern regions. The four types are : (a) descending familialism : living nearby, frequent contact, endorsement of family obligation norms, and primarily help in kind from parents to children, (b) ascending familialism : living nearby, frequent contact, endorse-ment of family obligation norms, and primarily help in kind from children to parents, (c) supportive-at-distance: not living nearby, frequent contact, refutation of family obligation norms, and primarily financial transfers from parents to adult children, (d) autonomous: not living nearby, little contact, refutation of family obligation norms, and few support exchanges. The four types are common in each European country, though the distributions differ. The findings suggest that scholars should abandon the idea that a particular country can be characterised by a single dominant type of late-life family. Socio-demographic differentials in family type follow predictable patterns, underscoring the validity of the developed typology. KEY WORDS – family typology, intergenerational support, familialism, cross-national differences, Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe.
Given differences in values about work and family time, we hypothesize that Americans will experience greater family demand, which will have greater impact on work-family conflict, whereas the Chinese will experience greater work demand, which will have the greater impact on work-family conflict. The results of a survey of working men and women in the two countries generally supported the hypothesis; however, work demand did not differ significantly between the two countries and did not have a greater effect than family demand on work-family conflict in China.
The aim of this research was to explore relations between work and family demands and resources, work-to-family conflict (WFC), and work and family outcomes in a cross-cultural comparative context involving Taiwanese and British employees. Two-hundred and sixty-four Taiwanese employees and 137 British employees were surveyed using structured questionnaires. For both Taiwanese and British employees, work and family demands were positively related to WFC, whereas work resources were negatively related to WFC. Furthermore, WFC was negatively related to family satisfaction. More importantly, we found that nation moderated relationships between work resources and WFC, WFC and work, and family satisfaction. Specifically, work resources had a stronger protective effect for Taiwanese than British in reducing WFC, whereas WFC had a stronger detrimental effect on role satisfaction for British than Taiwanese. It is recommended that both culture-general and culture-specific effects should be taken into consideration in designing future WFC research and familyfriendly managerial practices. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The overarching purpose of the study was to investigate the role of three types of social support (i.e., spousal, childcare,
and organizational support) in relation to work–family conflict (WFC) in dual-earner families with children ages 0–6 years.
The relationship of WFC to psychological well-being and well-being in the domain of family was explored. Finally, the relationship
of spousal support to psychological well-being and marital satisfaction was examined. A total of 434 participants (237 mothers,
197 fathers) in dual-earner families in Turkey with at least one preschool child participated in the study. The relative impact
of childcare, spousal support, and organizational support on WFC and outcome variables was tested simultaneously for both
men and women through structural equation modeling. Spousal support was related to WFC for women, whereas both spousal and
organizational support were related to WFC for men. WFC had a negative relationship with psychological well-being, marital
satisfaction, and parental role performance for both men and women. Implications of the results in relation to changing gender
roles in a cultural context that is characterized by high collectivism and low gender egalitarianism are discussed.
This paper investigates how differences in national and organisational welfare policies
and in cultural norms on national, organisational, and familial levels influence work�
family reconciliation for mothers. Drawing on case study and interview data gathered
through a large European study of parenthood and organisations, we compare
experiences of transition to motherhood in three organisations in Norway, the UK,
and Portugal. The specific question which is considered in this paper is how mothers
manage the reconciliation of work and family in the period of time following parental
leave. Our case analyses highlight the differences in organisational, national policy, and
family support in the three contexts, and show that having a child is still conceptualised
as a predominantly ‘private problem’ in the UK and Portugal, while it has come closer to
having the status of a ‘public issue’ in Norway.
Ecological theory was used to develop a more expanded conceptualization of the work-family interface and to identify significant correlates of multiple dimensions of work-family spillover. Using data from employed adults participating in the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (N = 1,986), negative spillover from work to family, positive spillover from work to family, negative spillover from family to work, and positive spillover from family to work were found to be distinct work-family experiences. Analyses indicated that work and family factors that facilitated development (e.g., decision latitude, family support) were associated with less negative and more positive spillover between work and family. By contrast, work and family barriers (e.g., job pressure, family disagreements) were associated with more negative spillover and less positive spillover between work and family. In some cases, results differ significantly by gender.
Work-family conflict research has focused almost exclusively on professional, White adults. The goal of this article was to expand the understanding of culture and industry in shaping experiences and consequences of work-family conflict. Using in-depth interview data (n = 26) and structured survey data (n = 200) from immigrant Latinos employed in the poultry processing industry, the authors evaluated predictions drawn from emerging models emphasizing the influence of cultural characteristics such as collectivism and gender ideology on work-family conflict. Results indicated that immigrant Latinos in poultry processing experienced infrequent work-to-family conflict; both the level and the antecedents of work-to-family conflict differed by gender, with physical demands contributing to greater conflict for women but not men. In addition, there was little evidence that work-family conflict was associated with health in this population. These results demonstrate how traditional models of work-family conflict need to be modified to reflect the needs and circumstances of diverse workers in the new global economy.
This chapter provides a review of the cross-cultural literature on the work-family interface. Work-family conflict (WFC) is a common phenomenon of modern life in many countries and cultural contexts. It provides a "cross-cultural," rather than an "international" perspective to explain variations in WFC. The cross-cultural perspective is a subdivision of the international perspective with a specific emphasis on the extent to which and ways in which cultural context influences the observed phenomenon. Here the conceptual model that will guide the review is focused. It discusses the role of culture in understanding the work-family interface and why the study of culture is important. A conceptual model in which culture can be seen both as having a main effect and as being a moderator of work-family conflict is presented. One implication of this model is that culture influences the strength of the relationship among work-family conflict, its antecedents and consequences. It reviews the cross-cultural literature on the work-family interface and also examines the impact of culture on demands and support mechanisms in the work and family domains. Furthermore, it looks at how culture moderates the relationship between work-family conflict, its antecedents, and consequences. It concludes that cultural context influences the ways in which family and work demands are perceived and appraised in different societies.
Purpose
– This study aims to investigate the relationship of work‐family conflict (work‐to‐family conflict and family‐to‐work conflict) with job and family satisfaction among police personnel. Moreover, this study focuses on exploring the moderating effect of social support from co‐workers on the relationship of work‐family conflict dimensions with job and family satisfaction.
Design/methodology/approach
– This study is quantitative in nature. The data for the present study were collected from a total of 148 police personnel based in India.
Findings
– The results of the study indicate that work‐to‐family and family‐to‐work conflict are negatively correlated with job satisfaction. Moreover, social support from co‐workers is observed to significantly moderate the relationship of work‐to‐family and family‐to‐work conflict with family satisfaction.
Research limitations/implications
– The research has a few limitations like cross‐sectional nature of the study, use of self‐reported measures for data collection, and use of homogenous sample in the study.
Practical implications
– This paper provides valuable insights into understanding the work‐family conflict among police personnel. A few measures are suggested that higher authorities in the police department can adopt to minimize the work‐family conflict, which can lead to better work‐life balance among police personnel.
Originality/value
– This study explores the phenomenon of work‐family conflict and its effect on job and family satisfaction among police personnel in India. The Indian police system is unique in many ways; like, police personnel face high political interference in their day‐to‐day functioning, face very high job demands, work and live in unhygienic conditions, and receive very little support from higher authorities. These atypical working and living conditions of police personnel make it interesting and informative to understand their work and family life, and how and to what extent their life is influenced by the support from co‐workers.
Recent work has focused substantially on one subset of dual-earners, the high-powered two-career couple. We use in-depth interviews with more than 100 people in middle-class dual-earner couples in upstate New York to investigate the range of couples' work-family strategies. We find that the majority are not pursuing two high-powered careers but are typically engaged in what we call scaling back—strategies that reduce and restructure the couple's commitment to paid work over the life course, and thereby buffer the family from work encroachments. We identify three separate scaling-back strategies: placing limits; having a one-job, one-career marriage; and trading off. Our findings support and extend other research by documenting how gender and life-course factors shape work-family strategies. Wives disproportionately do the scaling back, although in some couples husbands and wives trade family and career responsibilities over the life course. Those in the early childrearing phase are most apt to scale back, but a significant proportion of couples at other life stages also use these work-family strategies.
This analysis represents an exploratory effort to rethink the phenomenon of family care. Qualitative data from self-report diaries and descriptive family care scenarios highlight behavioral, cognitive, and emotional components of family care and generate researchable questions surrounding the interplay of gender and the expression of care. The data analysis indicates that while family members hold idealized notions of family care, their behaviors and feelings are often at odds with their ideologies. Furthermore, certain expressions of family care appear to be linked to issues of women's family status and power. The study emphasizes the need to conceptualize care multidimensionally in order to avoid the reification of gender and to explore family issues beyond the household.
This article examines gender differences in work-to-home conflict (WHC) and home-to-work conflict (HWC) in 10 European countries and considers to what extent such differences can be linked to the institutional/societal context. This study combines the conventional demand-resource approach and an institutional framework on work–family reconciliation policies and gender norms by using data from the European Social Survey. The analyses reveal that work and home demands affect men's and women's perceived conflict somewhat differently, and that the two conflict dimensions are gender asymmetrical and linked to patterns that result from men's and women's traditional home and work spheres. This cross-country comparative analysis shows greater gender gap in perceived conflict in countries with weaker policy support for work–family reconciliation and more traditional gender norms suggesting that individuals' perceptions of WHC and HWC are institutionally embedded.
This study uses a nationally representative sample (N = 1,761) to investigate how gender differences in negative work-family spillover vary by ethnicity (Black, White, and Hispanic) and parental status. Consistent with the authors’ hypotheses, Hispanics displayed a greater gender disparity in negative family-to-work spillover and negative work-to-family spillover than Blacks and Whites, even when controlling for gender-role attitudes. The authors also found that the relationship between ethnicity and gender on work-family spillover varied by parental status. The authors propose that the observed gender and ethnicity interactions are because of gender role and acculturation differences in the work experiences of Hispanic, Black, and White women.
Much sociological research focuses on employed women's strains in negotiating paid work and family demands. Yet few studies examine women's subjective sense of success in balancing these spheres, especially compared with men. Using a sample of married, employed Americans from the 1996 General Social Survey, we examine feelings about work-family balance, and we find, unexpectedly, that women and men report similar levels of success and kinds of work-family tradeoffs. We find some gender differences, however. For men, imbalance is predicted by longer work hours, wives who work fewer hours, perceived unfairness in sharing housework, marital unhappiness, and tradeoffs made at work for family and at home for work. For women, only marital unhappiness and sacrifices at home are imbalancing, and for women who are employed full-time, young children are.
In recent years, the growing number of multinational companies and a more diversified workforce on both national and international levels has contributed to increased investigation of work and family across cultures (e.g., Eby, Casper, Lockwood, Bordeaux, & Brinley, 2005). The purpose of this study is to further the understanding of individual experiences of work–family conflict across three different countries and cultures (Ukraine, Iran, and the US). One hundred thirty employees from Ukraine, 154 from Iran, and 192 from the US constitute the research sample. The relationship between gender, nationality, and cultural values of horizontal individualism and collectivism measured at the national and individual levels (idiocentrism and allocentrism), with work and family demands and work–family conflict are examined. We found no difference in the amount of conflict experienced across Ukraine, Iran, and the US. This research showed that there is a negative relationship between work-to-family conflict and horizontal allocentrism (collectivism) at work and family. Idiocentric (Individualistic) employees reported less family-to-work conflict at work.
in the Western world it is nor difficult to identify areas where families and family ties are relatively "strong" and others where they are relatively "weak." There are regions where traditionally the family group has had priority over the individual, and others where the opposite has tended to happen, with the individual and individual values having priority over everything else. The geography of these family systems suggests that the center and northern part of Europe, together with North American society, has been characterized by relatively weak family links, and the Mediterranean region by strong family ties. There are indications that these differences have deep historical roots and may well have characterized the European family for centuries. There is little to suggest that they are diminishing today in any fundamental manner. The way in which the relationship between the family group and its members manifests itself has implications for the way society itself functions. Politicians and public planners would do well to consider the nature of existing family systems when designing certain social policies.
The present study extended prior work in the work-family area in three ways. First, it expanded existing work-family frameworks to include a cross-cultural comparison. Participants included working people in the United Staes and in the People's Republic of China. This approach allowed one group or category of people to be distinguished from another, so that potential errors in confounding cultural differences with organizational or personal factors were reduced. Second, this study examined antecedents and outcomes of work-family conflict with special attention to possible buffering effects of two opposite cultural orientations commonly called individualism and collectivism. Schein and Triandis posit that there are variations in the ways separate roles are integrated by individuals in different cultures. Compartmentalization between work and family roles may be most typical of individualistic cultures, whereas in collectivistic cultures, there is more integration of multiple roles played by an individual. Cultures also differ in allocating time and assigning priority between work and family. Following this line of argument, work and family role expectations, as embodied in cultural categories and social norms, are important factors moderating patterns of work-family adjustment and outcomes. Third, this study explored the bidirectional construct of work-family conflict in a cross-cultural context. The distinction between global work-family conflict (GWFC) and two direction-specific measures of work-family interferences (W→F vs. F→W) made it possible to compare how culture may influence the magnitude of work-family role pressures and employees' perceptions of conflict origins and consequences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
explore the complexity of individualism, collectivism, and social organization in Chinese culture / outline a conceptual scheme for classifying component ideas from popular Chinese sayings and proverbs / report on 2 studies [using university students as Ss] of Chinese culture / study 1 classified and statistically analyzed popular Chinese sayings pertaining to the concepts of individualism, collectivism, and social organization, using as analytic tools the conceptual schemes we present in the 1st part of the chapter / study 2 integrated relations among components of [individualism and collectivism], attitudes, and personality variables (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This paper discusses filial norms, personal preferences for care, and policy opinions about the proper role of the family and the welfare state in elder care, by drawing from a comparative study of urban populations in Norway, England, Germany, Spain and Israel. Support for filial norms has a north-south dimension in Europe, and is highest in Spain and Israel and lowest – but still substantial – in Norway, England and Germany. National differences in preferences and policy opinions are more substantial, and more or less congruent with national family and social policy traditions. Filial solidarity is, however, not incompatible with generous welfare state arrangements, nor do filial obligations necessarily imply that the family is seen as the ‘natural’ care provider. In fact, many in the countries with the highest scores for filial responsibility still find the welfare state to be the main source of care provision. Normative familism is correlated with expressed familism in individuals' preferences and in policy opinions, but the correlations are weak, implying that while filial solidarity may be resilient, as circumstances alter its expressions change.
The study examined the impact of work and family role characteristics on work–family conflict, and indicators of psychological well being among self-employed and organizationally employed women and men. Results show that employment type and gender have independent main effects on several of the study variables. Self-employed persons enjoy greater autonomy and schedule flexibility at work, and report higher levels of job involvement and job satisfaction than those employed in organizations. However, they also experience higher levels of work–family conflict, and lower family satisfaction than organizational employees. The findings suggest that there are trade-offs between the costs and benefits of self-employment, and that business ownership is not a panacea for balancing work and family role responsibilties. Directions for future research are discussed. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A study of work interference with family (WIF) among managers is described, contrasting four clusters of countries, one of which is individualistic (Anglo) and three of which are collectivistic (Asia, East Europe, and Latin America). Country cluster (Anglo vs. each of the others) moderated the relation of work demands with strain-based WIF, with the Anglo country cluster having the strongest relationships. Country cluster moderated some of the relationships of strain-based WIF with both job satisfaction and turnover intentions, with Anglos showing the strongest relationships. Cluster differences in domestic help were ruled out as the possible explanation for these moderator results.
In this study we explored between- and within-gender differences in the importance of life roles and their implications for work–family conflict. In earlier research (Cinamon & Rich, 2002) we found 3 profiles of workers who differ in attributions of importance to work and family roles: persons who assigned high importance to both the work role and the family role (Dual profile); participants who ascribed high importance to the work role and low importance to the family role (Work profile); and participants who attributed high importance to the family role and low importance to the work role (Family profile). We used these profiles to clarify the relationship between gender and work–family conflict. Participants were 126 married men and 87 married women who were employed in computer or law firms. Significant between- and within-gender differences were found in the distribution of participants to profiles. Men were equally distributed throughout the profiles, whereas women were underrepresented in the Work category. More women than men fit the Family profile, and more men than women fit the Work profile. No gender differences were found for the Dual profile. Women reported higher parenting and work values than men did. Between-gender differences in work–family conflict were apparent, as were within-gender differences across profiles. Results demonstrate the value of examining both between- and within-gender variation in studies of gender and work–family conflict.
This article examines work to family conflict for Hispanic Business Professionals with varied levels of Hispanic identity.
Based on this study of 971 Hispanics from across the United States, results show that level of Hispanic identity moderates
the relationship between work to family conflict and job satisfaction. The authors posit that identification with a culture
of collectivism may attenuate the negative impact of work to family conflict on job satisfaction, enabling Hispanic professionals
to view work as a way of supporting the family and contributing to the greater good of the groups to which they belong.
Key wordsdiversity–work-family–identity
The present research investigated the conflict that women experience between their home and nonhome roles. All of the women in the sample (N = 115) were married and living with their husbands, had at least one child living at home, and were college students. It was found that women who placed a similar level of importance on work as their husbands experienced less intense conflict than women who differed from their husbands in career orientation. In addition, the number of children at home was positively related to a woman's conflict when her husband was highly work oriented. A woman's use of reactive coping strategies was negatively related to her life satisfaction when her husband was dissatisfied with his own life.
This paper reviews the evidence concerning the relationship between workers' experiences on and off the job. Of particular interest is the debate over two rival hypotheses: the "spillover" hypothesis and the "compensation" hypothesis. The former argues that workers' experiences on the job carry over into the nonwork arena, and possibly vice versa, such that there develops a similarity in the patterning of work and nonwork life. The latter marshals several arguments for a negative association between work and nonwork, for example, the contention that the work situation is likely to be deficient in needfulfillment, at least in some respects, for most workers and that they will compensate for these deficiencies in their choices of leisure and family activities. Data from relevant studies support the notions of spillover and compensation under different conditions but, overall, offer more evidence of spillover than compensation. Support for spillover, for example, is reflected in the positive correlations between general types of activities engaged in at work and corresponding types of activities in nonwork. Support is also shown in the positive correlations between subjective reactions to work and to leisure and family life. The most important exceptions to this pattern of spillover concern physical effort on the job. Workers who expend a relatively great amount of physical effort at work are less involved in nonwork activities and less likely to be physically active away from their jobs. Peer Reviewed http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/67317/2/10.1177_001872678003300203.pdf
Using grounded theory as an example, this paper examines three methodological questions that are generally applicable to all qualitative methods. How should the usual scientific canons be reinterpreted for qualitative research? How should researchers report the procedures and canons used in their research? What evaluative criteria should be used in judging the research products? We propose that the criteria should be adapted to fit the procedures of the method. We demonstrate how this can be done for grounded theory and suggest criteria for evaluating studies following this approach. We argue that other qualitative researchers might be similarly specific about their procedures and evaluative criteria.
PIP
This study examines Indian career women's work and family roles, sources of stress, ways of coping, and well-being in the light of cultural expectations in India and the West. A number of different instruments were included to measure job satisfaction, mental health, job stressors, coping behavior, demographic characteristics, domestic responsibility and satisfaction. Data were collected, using two earner stressor questionnaires (a coping behavior questionnaire and a mental health and job satisfaction questionnaire), from 100 career women in India and 60 in the US (New York) and England. In-depth interviews were conducted with 15 career women in India and 15 women in England. The results showed that women in India had more somatic symptoms than those in the West, who expressed their anxiety directly rather than suppressing it. Fewer women in India than in the West reported that they shared responsibilities for domestic work and child care with their spouses. Major work-family pressures are similar for women in both groups: overload, time pressures, constant fatigue, work interfering with relations with children, and guilt and anxiety over children while at work. Lifestyle differences between women in India and the West nevertheless exist and may impinge in various ways on women's experiences of work and family. Although this study has led to many interesting findings, the results are still inconclusive and should be treated with caution. Due to the small size of the sample, this study needs further broadening, as it should incorporate the experiences of non-Western women, including those living at the junction of two cultures.
The power of the family
- A Alesina
- P Giuliano
Alesina, A., & Giuliano, P. (2010). The power of the family. Journal of Economic Growth, 15, 93-125.
doi:10.1007/s10887-010-9052-z
The province of sociology
- G E Vincent
Vincent, G. E. (1896). The province of sociology. American Journal of Sociology, 1, 473-491. Retrieved
from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2761877
- Szołtysek M.