No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
Examining the Aftermath of Work-Family Conflict Episodes: Internal Attributions, Self-Conscious Emotions, Family Engagement, and Well-Being
Abstract
Little empirical research exists on attributions that people make regarding work-family conflict that they experience. Our study used attribution theory to examine the aftermath of work-family conflict episodes. We used a diary method in which respondents reported their daily encounters with work-family conflict, attributions they made about its causes, feelings of guilt and shame they experienced, and their levels of daily family engagement and well-being after work. Based on Ilies et al. (2012) we hypothesized that internal attributions of work-family conflict would be associated with feelings of guilt and shame, and that these emotions would in turn be differentially associated with daily after-work outcomes. We also hypothesized that the degree to which individuals were satisfied with the resolution of their work-family conflict would moderate the relationship between internal attribution and guilt/shame. Results largely supported our hypotheses, with guilt demonstrating a positive link to family engagement while shame showed a negative association. We also found that shame, but not guilt, was negatively associated with daily well-being. One's level of satisfaction with the resolution of work-family conflict emerged as a key variable as well. Lastly, we discuss the theoretical and practical ramifications of our findings.
Objetivo: Conhecer e analisar as relações existentes entre o workaholism, o engajamento e a autoconsciência. Método: Revisão integrativa de literatura, que teve como pergunta de pesquisa: “Qual é a relação existente entre o workaholism e o engajamento com a autoconsciência? Como estratégia de busca foi utilizado os descritores workaholism, engagement e self-consciousness, utilizando sempre o conector booleano AND entre eles. O site de buscas utilizado foi o Google Acadêmico, e a pesquisa foi realizada entre os meses de abril a junho de 2023. Resultados: Foram selecionados quatro artigos empíricos, publicados entre os anos de 2003 e 2022. Admitiu-se a avaliação da autoconsciência em paralelo variáveis workaholism e engajamento. Conclusão: a autoconsciência é um construto pouco estudado em associação com as variáveis bem-estar no trabalho, o engajamento e o workaholism. O equilíbrio das relações entre o trabalho e a vida familiar são essenciais ao ser humano, e foi observado que os níveis de autoconsciência são fundamentais nesse contexto.
The present study explored the bidirectional and reciprocal nature of work-family guilt by testing a non-recursive model that treats work-family guilt as the mediator connecting the work-family interface. The sample was composed of 627 Chinese employees. The findings confirmed the reciprocal nature of work-family guilt (work-to-family and family-to-work guilt), which indicated that employees would not only have one form of guilt in the work-family interface. In addition, the findings revealed that time spent on work/family domains is indirectly related to work-family guilt via the increased work-family conflict and that there was a positive relationship between work-to-family guilt and work performance. As the first study investigating the bidirectional nature of work-family guilt, this study has refined and enriched our understanding of work-family guilt as well as contributed to future work-family interface, emotion, and performance studies.
A comprehensive review of the outcomes associated with work-to-family conflict was conducted and effect sizes were estimated. A typology was presented that grouped outcomes into 3 categories: work related, nonwork related, and stress related. Issues concerning the measurement of work–family conflict were also discussed. The results demonstrate the widespread and serious consequences associated with work-to-family conflict. On the basis of the results of the review, an agenda for future research was provided.
This review examines the relationship among work–family (w-f) conflict, policies, and job and life satisfaction. The meta-analytic results show that regardless of the type of measure used (bidirectional w-f conflict, work to family, family to work), a consistent negative relationship exists among all forms of w-f conflict and job–life satisfaction. This relationship was slightly less strong for family to work conflict. Although confidence intervals overlap, the relationship between job–life satisfaction and w-f conflict may be stronger for women than men. Future research should strive for greater consistency and construct development of measures, examination of how sample composition influences findings, and increased integration of human resources policy and role conflict perspectives, including whether a positive relationship between w-f policies and satisfaction is mediated by w-f conflict.
A sizable body of research has established work-family conflict and its nomological network. Despite decades of research, we have yet to form a precise understanding of what happens when a conflict arises. The current research addresses this question using a growth modeling, episodic approach. We use stressor-strain and allostatic load theories to examine changes in daily patterns of psychological (fatigue, negative affect) and physiological (heart rate, blood pressure) strains that occur during and after a work-family conflict episode. We found some evidence for acute changes in psychological strain during and after work-to-family conflict episodes. Daily family-to-work conflict was associated with mixed reactions. State fatigue and heart rate decreased at the time of a family-to-work conflict, although state negative affect increased at the time of family-to-work conflict, and state fatigue increased more rapidly throughout the day after the second time family-to-work conflict was experienced. Additionally, we found evidence that state negative affect increases throughout the day as work-to-family conflict episodes accumulate. Daily family-to-work conflict accumulation was also associated with decreased fatigue, increased state negative affect, and increased systolic blood pressure. Lagged analyses showed some evidence that negative mood predicts work-family conflict occurrence within the next few hours. Implications for the theoretical relationship between work-family conflict and strain are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
The person-environment fit framework has been increasingly used as a theoretical foundation for work-family research. As this use has grown, several gaps and opportunities regarding its application to this literature have emerged. The present paper draws on attribution theory to build a conceptual model that explains the cognitive processes through which work-family human resource practices are linked to person-environment work-family fit perceptions. We distinguish between employee attributions of work-family practices to an environmental source and attributions about that source's intent in adopting the practice. We argue that these attributions play a critical part in determining the supplies available to an employee to segment or integrate work and family domains. We further link these attributions to attitudes and behaviors targeted at specific environmental levels (i.e., the organization and supervisor) through work-family fit mechanisms. Finally, we explain how our model helps to explain inconsistent research findings and can inform future research drawing on work-family fit frameworks.
In the present study we aimed to investigate the role of social support, particularly emotional support, on work-family conflict (WFC) and employment-related guilt among employed mothers. Achieving an optimal work-family balance is difficult, especially for employed mothers with young children. Previous research has found support to be a key factor in helping to alleviate conflict. However, determining which types of support are most beneficial is an important issue to be investigated. Using path analysis, we examined the effect of three sources of social support—emotional spousal support, emotional supervisory support, and instrumental spousal support—on WFC and employment-related guilt. Voluntary domestic support, paid domestic support, and number of children were control variables. Data were collected from 201 employed Turkish mothers who have at least one child below the age of 10. Participants were between 25 and 47 years-old (M = 33.6, SD = 4.4). Spousal and supervisory emotional support were significant predictors of WFC for employed mothers. Moreover, supervisory support was a significant predictor of employment-related guilt. Implications of the results are discussed with reference to cultural context, and recommendations are provided for professionals in the field.
link https://rdcu.be/bstZX
The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of information and communication technology (ICT) use for employees by exploring affective ICT events and their relation to employee recovery. We conducted two daily diary studies with knowledge workers in Germany. In study 1 (N = 153), we followed a qualitative approach by developing a taxonomy of negative and positive ICT events at work and at home. We found 11 negative (e.g., multichannel use, work e-mails in the evening) and 10 positive ICT event clusters (e.g., utilizing idle times, availability at home). In study 2 (N = 154), we examined how the occurrence of ICT-related events in the evening is related to detachment from work and sleep quality using a multilevel design. Study 2 provided a differentiated picture of relationships between evening ICT events and recovery. Overall, results indicate that work-related ICT events in the evening—even in cases where they are appraised as positive—are detrimental for employee recovery. Our study contributes to the refinement of the operationalization of ICT use for future analyses of ICT impacts and sheds light on the differential effects of specific types of ICT events. ICT use conceptualized as the occurrence of affective events helps to advance our understanding of the diversity of ICT-related experiences. The negative effects of handling work e-mails at home imply that organizations should engage in optimizing their “e-mail culture.”
The transition to parenthood is a watershed moment for most parents, introducing the possibility of intra-individual and interpersonal growth or decline. Given the increasing number of dual-earner couples in the United States, new parents’ attitudes towards employment (as well as the ways in which they balance employment and personal demands) may have an impact on their overall well-being. Based on anecdotal accounts, guilt about the conflict between employment and family (termed work-family guilt) appears particularly pervasive among U.S. mothers of young children; specifically, mothers, but not fathers, express high levels of a subtype of work-family guilt, that pertains to the negative impact their work has on their families (termed work-interfering-with-family guilt). However, little research within psychology has explicitly examined this phenomenon, and to our knowledge, no quantitative study has investigated gender differences in work-family guilt among U.S. parents of young children. In a cross-sectional, correlational study involving 255 parents of toddlers from the greater Southern California area, we coded parents’ narrative responses to a series of open-ended questions regarding employment and family for the presence of work-family guilt and work-interfering-with-family guilt (in the form of guilt about the negative impact of employment on children). Mothers had significantly higher work-family guilt and work-interfering-with-family guilt relative to fathers. We discuss our findings in terms of theory on gender roles, as well as the questions they generate for future areas of investigation.
This study tests a central theoretical assumption of stress process and job strain models, namely that increases in employees’ control and support at work should promote well-being. To do so, we use a group-randomized field trial with longitudinal data from 867 information technology (IT) workers to investigate the well-being effects of STAR, an organizational intervention designed to promote greater employee control over work time and greater supervisor support for workers’ personal lives. We also offer a unique analysis of an unexpected field effect—a company merger—among workers surveyed earlier versus later in the study period, before or after the merger announcement. We find few STAR effects for the latter group, but over 12 months, STAR reduced burnout, perceived stress, and psychological distress, and increased job satisfaction, for the early survey group. STAR effects are partially mediated by increases in schedule control and declines in family-to-work conflict and burnout (an outcome and mediator) by six months. Moderating effects show that STAR benefits women in reducing psychological distress and perceived stress, and increases non-supervisory employees’ job satisfaction. This study demonstrates, with a rigorous design, that organizational-level initiatives can promote employee well-being.
Following proposals regarding the criteria for differentiating emotions, the current investigation examined whether the antecedents and facial expressions of embarrassment, shame, and guilt are distinct. In Study 1, participants wrote down events that had caused them to feel embarrassment, shame, and guilt. Coding of these events revealed that embarrassment was associated with transgressions of conventions that govern public interactions, shame with the failure to meet important personal standards, and guilt with actions that harm others or violate duties. Study 2 determined whether these three emotions are distinct in another domain of emotion-namely, facial expression. Observers were presented with slides of 14 different facial expressions, including those of embarrassment, shame, and candidates of guilt (self-contempt, sympathy, and pain). Observers accurately identified the expressions of embarrassment and shame, but did not reliably label any expression as guilt.
The AAA model is presented as an integrative conceptualization of workplace stress that combines
research from multiple models and theories to account for the numerous complexities that
employees experience when cognitively evaluating organizational demands. The proposed model
examines the effects of employees’ organizational stressors on the cognitive appraisal process and
describes how employees’ emotions and self-regulation affect individual coping behaviors, adaptation,
and learning from stressful experiences. Practitioner applications, theoretical contributions,
and directions for future research are presented.
The goal of this study is to develop a theoretical framework in order to illuminate the cues involved in real life work-family conflict resolution within dual-earner couples. We draw on episodic and longitudinal data from qualitative diaries kept for a one-month period by both members of 24 dual-earner couples (48 participants) with child dependants, as well as from introductory and subsequent in-depth qualitative interviews with the couples, both together and apart. Two distinct types of work-family decision making: a) anchoring decisions and b) daily decisions were revealed, each of which were differentially impacted by enabling and constraining cues, considerations of fairness and equity, and beliefs, values and preferences. The findings suggest that the decision-making process engaged in by couples in incidents of work-family conflict does not progress in a logical sequence, but instead involves numerous complex negotiations and interactions. A decision-making framework encapsulating these findings is reported, highlighting the cues considered when making both types of work-family conflict decisions, and the relationships between them.
Taking a resource-based self-regulation perspective, this study examined afternoon emotional exhaustion as a mediator linking the within-person relations between morning work-family conflict and later employee displaced aggression in the work and family domains. In addition, it examined resource-related contextual factors as moderators of these relations. The theoretical model was tested using daily diary data from 125 employees. Data were collected at 4 time points during each workday for 3 consecutive weeks. Multilevel modeling analysis showed that morning family-to-work conflict was positively related to afternoon emotional exhaustion, which in turn predicted displaced aggression toward supervisors and coworkers in the afternoon and displaced aggression toward family members in the evening. In addition, morning workplace interpersonal conflict exacerbated the impact of morning work-to-family conflict on afternoon emotional exhaustion, whereas perceived managerial family support alleviated the impact of morning family-to-work conflict on afternoon emotional exhaustion. These findings indicate the importance of adopting a self-regulation perspective to understand work-family conflict at work and its consequences (i.e., displaced aggression) in both work and family domains. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).
While diary studies have gained in popularity, the validity of the measures utilized in such studies remains an underresearched issue. This study examines the factor structure of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) on both between-person (trait) and within-person (state) levels. A multilevel confirmatory factor analysis was performed to confirm that the between-level factor structure also operates on the within-level. Data from 271 employees who filled in a state version of the UWES on five consecutive days were used to perform the analysis. Results showed that the UWES can be used to measure both trait and state work engagement. The three-factor multilevel model appeared to best fit the data. Implications for future research on engagement are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
In the present study, we examine competing predictions of stress reaction models and adaptation theories regarding the longitudinal relationship between work-family conflict and subjective well-being. Based on data from 432 participants over 3 time points with 2 lags of varying lengths (i.e., 1 month, 6 months), our findings suggest that in the short term, consistent with prior theory and research, work-family conflict is associated with poorer subjective well-being. Counter to traditional work-family predictions but consistent with adaptation theories, after accounting for concurrent levels of work-family conflict as well as past levels of subjective well-being, past exposure to work-family conflict was associated with higher levels of subjective well-being over time. Moreover, evidence was found for reverse causation in that greater subjective well-being at 1 point in time was associated with reduced work-family conflict at a subsequent point in time. Finally, the pattern of results did not vary as a function of using different temporal lags. We discuss the theoretical, research, and practical implications of our findings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).
In this article we present the development and validation of two new measures of psychological well-being: Comprehensive Inventory of Thriving (CIT) and Brief Inventory of Thriving (BIT). These measures were developed with two specific goals in mind: (1) to measure a broad range of psychological well-being constructs and represent a holistic view of positive functioning; and (2) to predict important health outcomes and are useful for researchers and health practitioners. CIT includes 18 subscales with 54 items in total, covering a broad range of well-being components. BIT has 10 items in total and can serve as an indicator of psychological well-being and a brief screening tool of mental health. The new measures were evaluated in five samples of a total of 3,191 U.S. participants with diverse demographics. CIT and BIT had excellent psychometric properties and exhibited convergent validity with existing measures of psychological well-being and discriminant validity with measures of ill-being. Both measures contributed over and above existing measures of psychology well-being in predicting a variety of health outcomes, including self-reported and objective health status, physical functioning, and health behaviors. In addition, we showed the relative importance of thriving compared to ill-being for health outcomes and the benefits of assessing individuals’ positive functioning beyond ill-being. Potential uses of the new measures are discussed.
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.
In this review, the authors differentiate work—family (WF) research that conceptualizes and measures conflict as a consolidated level versus as a conflict event or episode. They critique the “levels” literature in the areas of conflict, enrichment, and balance. They next review the WF “episodes” literature for the first time. They then introduce a framework that clarifies definitional inconsistencies and integrates the key constructs in the WF literature in a new way. This framework proposes that an employee’s mental conceptualizations relevant to WF roles can be discrepant with actual role enactment or with another mental conceptualization. These discrepancies form one’s level of WF balance or imbalance. The authors recommend that researchers adopt WF balance as the central levels construct, which changes primarily through the occurrence of WF conflict episodes and WF enrichment episodes. They finally discuss research and practical implications of this framework.
We investigated how people manage boundaries to negotiate the demands between work and home life. We discovered and classified four types of boundary work tactics (behavioral, temporal, physical, and communicative) that individuals utilized to help create their ideal level and style of work-home segmentation or integration. We also found important differences between the generalized state of work-home conflict and "boundary violations," which we define as behaviors, events, or episodes that either breach or neglect the desired work-home boundary. We present a model based on two qualitative studies that demonstrates how boundary work tactics reduce the negative effects of work-home challenges. "Balance" between work and home lives is a much sought after but rarely claimed state of being. Work-family researchers have successfully encour- aged organizations, families, and individuals to recognize the importance of tending to their needs for balance. Over 30 years ago, Kanter (1977) spoke of the "myth of separate worlds" and called atten- tion to the reality that work and home are inexora- bly linked. Yet, she argued, organizations are often structured in such a way that their leadership for- gets or ignores employees' outside lives. Although organizational leaders and managers generally tend more to employees' nonwork needs than they did when Kanter wrote her landmark work, struggles to balance work and home demands are still common-
Research focused on the work–family interface has explored many antecedents and consequences of work–family conflict (WFC) but has neglected to address cognitive reactions following conflict events. The purpose of this investigation is to explore one such reaction: attribution. Attributions of responsibility for conflict events are assessed with a focus on providing descriptive information about attributions and exploring correlates of attributions. Results indicate that attributions to external sources are much more frequent than internal attributions and that the work role is more frequently viewed as being responsible for conflict than the family role. In addition, results show that attributions are linked to characteristics of the conflict event, as well as anger and frustration following the conflict event.
The problem and the solution. Employers who are interested in reducing employee conflict between work and family may develop work—life initiatives to help them better manage their work—family stress. In this article, the authors examine ways in which human resources development (HRD) professionals could enhance the effectiveness of their work—life policies and programs by assessing the extent of employees' work—family demands, the availability of needed resources, and the effectiveness of adaptive strategies and tactics that employees could use at home, at work, and in the community to fulfill their work and family responsibilities. Examples of demands, resources, and strategies are drawn from the Nurturing Families Study. Practical suggestions for HRD practice are discussed.
Work–family conflict may give rise to different emotional reactions, depending on the causal attributions people make for the experience of work–family conflict. These emotional reactions, in turn, may result in specific behavioral reactions, that may either be adaptive or maladaptive in nature. In this essay, we advance this thesis using attribution theory and theory of emotions that specifies different behavioral outcomes associated with different attribution-induced negative emotions. We develop a model of causal attributions for work–family conflict that includes differentiated emotional reactions (e.g., guilt and shame) and both adaptive (e.g., job crafting, self-development) and maladaptive (e.g., withdrawal, aggression, turnover) behavioral outcomes of work–family conflict. We conclude the article with directions for future research, guided by the proposed model.
Although attribution theory continues to be a fertile area of social psychological research, much of the extant literature has suffered from questionable measurement of the constructs of interest. This is especially true in the case of assigning causal attributions placement in theorized dimensional space. Russell's (1982) Causal Dimension Scale represented an important development toward more precise measurement of causal dimensions; however, it has been criticized on a number of fronts. The present report presents the rationale for and initial psychometric properties of a revised version of the scale, the CDSII. Employing data from four studies, a confirmatory factor analysis is reported examining the goodness of fit of the hypothesized four factor oblique structure to the data. The results are discussed in terms of possible applications of the CDSII and the need for further validity testing.
We argue that although attributional processes appear to affect virtually all goal and reward oriented behavior in organizations, they have not received adequate attention in the organizational sciences. In this Incubator, we encourage scholars to unlock the potential of attribution theory to develop more complete explanations of organizational behavior. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Despite its theoretical and practical importance, behavioral consequences of work-family conflict that reside in the family domain rarely have been examined. Based on two studies, the current research investigated the relationship of work-interference-with-family (WIF) with parent-child interactive behavior (i.e., educational, recreational, and passive activities) using survey data from employed parents. Furthermore, the moderating role of trait guilt on the focal relationships was examined. Results were generally consistent across the two studies and supported the hypotheses: both time- and strain-based WIF were negatively associated with educational and recreational activities; trait guilt moderated these relationships such that the relationships were weaker for parents higher on trait guilt than for those lower on trait guilt. By examining a family domain behavioral outcome of WIF and the constructive rather than dysfunctional role of guilt, the current research makes an important and novel contribution to the literature.
We examine the controversial practice of using parcels of items as manifest variables in structural equation modeling (SEM) procedures. After detailing arguments pro and con, we conclude that the unconsidered use of parcels is never warranted, while, at the same time, the considered use of parcels cannot be dismissed out of hand. In large part, the decision to parcel or not depends on one's philosophical stance regard- ing scientific inquiry (e.g., empiricist vs. pragmatist) and the substantive goal of a study (e.g., to understand the structure of a set of items or to examine the nature of a set of constructs). Prior to creating parcels, however, we recommend strongly that in- vestigators acquire a thorough understanding of the nature and dimensionality of the items to be parceled. With this knowledge in hand, various techniques for creating parcels can be utilized to minimize potential pitfalls and to optimize the measure- ment structure of constructs in SEM procedures. A number of parceling techniques are described, noting their strengths and weaknesses.
Researchers report on a 3-sample study that developed and validated short, self-report scales of work–family conflict (WFC) and family–work conflict (FWC). Using conceptualizations consistent with the current literature, the researchers offer content domains and definitions of the constructs. Advocated procedures were used to develop the scales and test dimensionality and internal consistency. Estimates of construct validity are presented by relating the scales to 16 other on- and off-job constructs. Mean-level difference tests between WFC and FWC also provide evidence of validity.
This study investigated the effect of work–family conflict on the emotions of guilt and hostility, and the implications of work–family conflict and these emotions for job satisfaction and marital satisfaction. Using experience-sampling methodology, data were collected from a sample of 75 individuals over a period of 2 weeks (producing 625 data points). Results revealed that within individuals, family-to-work conflict experienced at work, and work-to-family conflict experienced at home, were positively associated with guilt and hostility at work and at home, respectively. In addition, state hostility mediated the negative effect of work-to-family conflict at home on daily marital satisfaction. Finally, cross-level interaction effects were observed such that work–family conflict more strongly affected the emotions of those scoring high on trait guilt and trait hostility.
When data are collected via anonymous Internet surveys, particularly under conditions of obligatory participation (such as with student samples), data quality can be a concern. However, little guidance exists in the published literature regarding techniques for detecting careless responses. Previously several potential approaches have been suggested for identifying careless respondents via indices computed from the data, yet almost no prior work has examined the relationships among these indicators or the types of data patterns identified by each. In 2 studies, we examined several methods for identifying careless responses, including (a) special items designed to detect careless response, (b) response consistency indices formed from responses to typical survey items, (c) multivariate outlier analysis, (d) response time, and (e) self-reported diligence. Results indicated that there are two distinct patterns of careless response (random and nonrandom) and that different indices are needed to identify these different response patterns. We also found that approximately 10%-12% of undergraduates completing a lengthy survey for course credit were identified as careless responders. In Study 2, we simulated data with known random response patterns to determine the efficacy of several indicators of careless response. We found that the nature of the data strongly influenced the efficacy of the indices to identify careless responses. Recommendations include using identified rather than anonymous responses, incorporating instructed response items before data collection, as well as computing consistency indices and multivariate outlier analysis to ensure high-quality data. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).
Drawing on a conceptual model integrating research on training, work–family interventions, and social support, we conducted a quasi-experimental field study to assess the impact of a supervisor training and self-monitoring intervention designed to increase supervisors' use of family-supportive supervisor behaviors. Pre- and postintervention surveys were completed, 9 months apart, by 239 employees at 6 intervention (N = 117) and 6 control (N = 122) grocery store sites. Thirty-nine supervisors in the 6 intervention sites received the training consisting of 1 hr of self-paced computer-based training, 1 hr of face-to-face group training, followed by instructions for behavioral self-monitoring (recording the frequency of supportive behaviors) to facilitate on-the-job transfer. Results demonstrated a disordinal interaction for the effect of training and family-to-work conflict on employee job satisfaction, turnover intentions, and physical health. In particular, for these outcomes, positive training effects were observed for employees with high family-to-work conflict, whereas negative training effects were observed for employees with low family-to-work conflict. These moderation effects were mediated by the interactive effect of training and family-to-work conflict on employee perceptions of family-supportive supervisor behaviors. Implications of our findings for future work–family intervention development and evaluation are discussed.
This review examines the role that trait-based and state-based affect plays in understanding the intersection of work and family life. We start with the definition of key terms and concepts. This is followed by a historical overview of the two bodies of scholarship that are the focus of this review, the work-family interface and affect. Next, we provide a review and synthesis of 79 empirical studies examining affect in relation to work-family interaction, organized around three perspectives: the dispositional perspective, the state-based specific affective reactions perspective, and the state-based global affective reactions perspective. A methodological critique of these studies follows, providing a springboard for the discussion of recommended methodologies and data analytic approaches, along with directions for future research.
Individual differences in proneness to shame and proneness to guilt are thought to play an important role in the development of both adaptive and maladaptive interpersonal and intrapersonal processes. But little empirical research has addressed these issues, largely because no reliable, valid measure has been available to researchers interested in differentiating proneness to shame from proneness to guilt. The Self-Conscious Affect and Attribution Inventory (SCAAI) was developed to assess characteristic affective, cognitive, and behavioral responses associated with shame and guilt among a young adult population. The SCAAI also includes indices of externalization of cause or blame, detachment/unconcern, pride in self, and pride in behavior. Data from 3 independent studies of college students and 1 study of noncollege adults provide support for the reliability of the main SCAAI subscales. Moreover, the pattern of relations among the SCAAI subscales and the relation of SCAAI subscales to 2 extant measures of shame and guilt support the validity of this new measure. The SCAAI appears to provide related but functionally distinct indices of proneness to shame and guilt in a way that these previous measures have not.
Proposes a theory of motivation and emotion in which causal ascriptions play a key role. Evidence is presented indicating that in achievement-related contexts there are a few dominant causal perceptions, and it is suggested that the perceived causes of success and failure share the 3 common properties of locus, stability, and controllability, with intentionality and globality as other possible causal structures. The perceived stability of causes influences changes in expectancy of success; all 3 dimensions of causality affect a variety of common emotional experiences, including anger, gratitude, guilt, hopelessness, pity, pride, and shame. Expectancy and affect, in turn, are presumed to guide motivated behavior. The theory therefore relates the structure of thinking to the dynamics of feeling and action. Analysis of a created motivational episode involving achievement strivings is offered, and numerous empirical observations are examined from this theoretical position. The strength of the empirical evidence and the capability of this theory to address prevalent human emotions are stressed, and examples of research on parole decisions, smoking cessation, and helping behavior are presented to illustrate the generalizability of the theory beyond the achievement-related theoretical focus. (3½ p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Multiple sets of empirical research findings on guilt are reviewed to evaluate the view that guilt should be understood as an essentially social phenomenon that happens between people as much as it happens inside them. Guilt appears to arise from interpersonal transactions (including transgressions and positive inequities) and to vary significantly with the interpersonal context. In particular, guilt patterns appear to be strongest, most common, and most consistent in the context of communal relationships, which are characterized by expectations of mutual concern. Guilt serves various relationship-enhancing functions, including motivating people to treat partners well and avoid transgressions, minimizing inequities and enabling less powerful partners to get their way, and redistributing emotional distress.
The article presents a theoretical framework for studying emotion-personality relations and an empirical study of the stability of 88 normal middle-class mothers' emotion experiences and their relations to personality during the 3 years after childbirth. Ss completed the Differential Emotions Scale (DES), Eysenck's Personality Questionnaire, Jackson's Personality Research Form, and Zuckerman's Sensation Seeking Scale. The DES demonstrated stability over 3 years. There was individual stability despite changes in group means during the postpartum period. Positive emotionality, as well as the discrete emotions of interest, enjoyment, and shyness, predicted Extraversion. Negative emotionality and the discrete negative emotions were significant predictors of Neuroticism. Positive emotionality was inversely related to Neuroticism. There were expectable correlations among specific emotions and primary traits of personality.
This study examined the relation between work-family conflict and several types of psychiatric disorders: mood, anxiety, substance dependence, and substance abuse. Survey data were obtained from a representative national sample of 2,700 employed adults who were either married or the parent of a child 18 years old or younger. Hierarchical logistic regression analyses revealed that both work-to-family and family-to-work conflict were positively related to having a mood, anxiety, and substance dependence disorder. Depending on the type of work-family conflict and type of disorder, employees who reported experiencing work-family conflict often were 1.99-29.66 times more likely than were employees who reported no work-family conflict to experience a clinically significant mental health problem. No support was found for gender differences.
Many employees commonly deal with situations where their work and family lives are in conflict. Yet, scholarly understanding of how these episodic experiences influence employees’ cognitions (i.e., attributions) and emotions is still limited. Further, the emergent line of work-family research on attributions tends to adopt a variable-centric approach by investigating the effects of attributional dimensions in isolation, thus precluding a holistic view of how individuals form profiles of attributions in response to work-family conflict episodes. To advance the work-family literature, we employed an experience sampling design across 12 days to investigate profiles of attributions and the resultant discrete negative emotions (e.g., guilt, shame, regret, anger, frustration resentment) associated with work-family conflict in full-time employees with children. Multilevel latent profile analysis (MLPA) results revealed meaningfully different profiles of attributions that tended to occur in reaction to conflicts between work and family, with these profiles differing based upon direction of the conflict episode (i.e., work-interfering-with-family [WIF] versus family-interfering-with-work [FIW]). Further, these attributional profiles, especially those associated with FIW episodes, differentially related to distinct negative emotions. Overall, our findings contribute to a nuanced understanding of profiles of attributions following work-family conflict episodes, with critical implications for affective well-being.
Individuals with higher work-to-family conflict (WTFC) in general are more likely to report poorer physical and mental health. Less research, however, has examined the daily implications of WTFC, such as whether individuals’ reactions to minor WTFC day-to-day (e.g. missing family dinner due to work obligation) are associated with health outcomes. We examined whether affective reactivity to daily WTFC was associated with poorer sleep, health behaviours, and mental health in a sample who may be particularly vulnerable to daily WTFC. Employed parents in the IT industry with adolescent-aged children (N = 118, Mage = 45.01, 44.07% female) reported daily WTFC and negative affect on 8 consecutive days, in addition to completing a survey that assessed sleep, health behaviours (smoking, drinking, exercise, fast food consumption), and psychological distress. Multilevel modelling outputted individual reactivity slopes by regressing daily negative affect on the day’s WTFC. Results of general linear models indicated that affective reactivity to WTFC was associated with poorer sleep quality and higher levels of psychological distress – even when controlling for average daily negative affect on non-WTFC days. Individual differences in reactivity to daily WTFC have implications for health. Interventions aimed to reduce daily WTFC and reactivity to it are needed.
This article explores work–family interface and the use of mobile technologies (MTs) among male lawyers in Quebec (French Canada) and Finland – two civil law contexts with reputations for legislation friendly toward work–family balance. Drawing on 34 interviews with male lawyers and combining two theoretical lenses, shifting ideals of fatherhood and work–family boundary theory, our study shows how men’s preferences for work–family boundary management relate to diversifying models of fatherhood and family. In Finland, male lawyers more readily embrace family responsibilities and they strive to set firm boundaries to curtail work spilling over into family life. Yet, the cultural and professional norm of men as breadwinners remains strong, especially for Canadian male lawyers whose spouses more often assume primary responsibility for childcare. Our study offers qualitative markers of boundary management styles and strategies (spatial, temporal, and psychological) of male professionals – as struggling segmentors, struggling integrators, and integrators. We observe that senior male lawyers, living in more traditional family models, frequently model integrating behaviours, such as around-the-clock availability via MTs. This modeling establishes expectations of what represents a committed professional worthy of promotion. These practices play an important role in sustaining and reproducing gender inequalities in organisations that employ professionals.
Working mothers often experience guilt when balancing work and family responsibilities. We examined consequences of work-family guilt with an interview study (N = 28) and daily diary study (N = 123). The interview study revealed that as a result of work-family guilt, parents tended to either reappraise the situation (e.g., emphasizing financial importance of work) or compensate for their guilt by adapting their parenting, adapting their work, and by sacrificing their leisure. Consistently, the diary study (where mothers completed online daily questionnaires over 8 consecutive days) revealed that higher work-family guilt was related to more traditional gender behaviors in mothers. Specifically, mothers (a) thought more about reducing their working hours, (b) reduced the time they planned for themselves, and (c) planned to reserve more time and energy for their children in the future although no changes in actual parenting behaviors were observed. Moreover, the diary study demonstrated that work-family guilt is associated with lower well-being for mothers. Together, these studies illuminate how work-family guilt may motivate mothers to comply with gender norms in which they prioritize caregiving tasks over their work.
To clarify how work and non-work role conflicts are processed and produce psychological change, we propose an integrative theory of work-family conflict (WFC) episode processing. We clarify ambiguities around the meaning of WFC, overcome questionable research assumptions, make testable counter-normative predictions, reconcile “levels” and “episodes” WFC conceptions, and explain how WFC can even have a net positive effect for the person. In the model, a trigger event causes a perceived WF role incompatibility and a negative change in core affect, prompting either a scripted response or controlled sensemaking. In the latter, cognitive appraisals and secondary affect ensue, causing a choice of a coping/resolution response. Responses are reinforced/punished, and possibly, consciously evaluated. Episodes end with the potential storage of outputs in long-term memory. State inputs to an episode condition processing and memory storage. Stored episode outputs can thereafter become inputs to future episodes and/or cause longer-term change in role performance, satisfaction, and well-being. After describing these processes, we suggest new directions for WFC research and practice.
We test whether work-to-family guilt mediates the relationship between work-to-family conflict and job satisfaction, and extend the contingent perspective of source attribution by exploring the moderating roles of segmentation preference and family collectivism orientation. Using a scenario experiment in Study 1 (N = 66), we found evidence supporting the mediating role of work-to-family guilt. In Study 2, we tested a moderated mediation model. Using survey data collected from Chinese bank employees and their spouses (N = 145), we found that the positive relationship between a person’s work-to-family conflict rated by his or her spouse and the person’s work-to-family guilt was stronger when the person preferred to segment work from family. We also found that the negative relationship between work-to-family guilt and job satisfaction was stronger for people with high levels of family collectivism orientation. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
The paradigm of work–family conflict is challenged by the fluid realities of the actual world. Through an innovative phenomenographic study of women's understanding of their lives, we show that the social imaginary of work–family conflict assumes that vulnerability is a constitutive reality for women. Consequently, with respect to the perspectives through which women are invited to make sense of their lives, the metaphor of conflict enforces a worldview based on traditional gender roles. Organisational policies that rely heavily on a social imaginary of work–family conflict may prove ineffective. On one hand, they ignore the diversity of morphologies and vocabularies used by women today to understand themselves in relation to their family and workplace. On the other, work–family conflict arises as a product of policy measures and bureaucratic practices rather than as an experiential reality. Policy statements on work–family conflict have a performative character: they communicate a message about women's social status and identity. Therefore, effective organisational policies should integrate vocabularies and assumptions that make women aware of themselves in a confident manner by relying on social imaginaries that encourage agency and empowered participation in the world.
We examine the trade-offs associated with using Amazon.com's Mechanical Turk (MTurk) interface for subject recruitment. We first describe MTurk and its promise as a vehicle for performing low-cost and easy-to-field experiments. We then assess the internal and external validity of experiments performed using MTurk, employing a framework that can be used to evaluate other subject pools. We first investigate the characteristics of samples drawn from the MTurk population. We show that respondents recruited in this manner are often more representative of the U.S. population than in-person convenience samples-the modal sample in published experimental political science-but less representative than subjects in Internet-based panels or national probability samples. Finally, we replicate important published experimental work using MTurk samples. © The Author 2012. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Political Methodology. All rights reserved.
This study investigated how 22 female parents in dual-career families view several elements of their professional and maternal roles and compared the effectiveness of two strategies for dealing with conflict between these roles. As predicted, role conflict is experienced when the various role elements are perceived as nearly equal in importance. Contrary to expectations, subjects using a role redefinition strategy did not differ from subjects using a role expansion strategy in self-reports of role conflict and coping effectiveness. These results are explained in terms of internal guilt from perceived neglect of the maternal role. The implications of these findings for professionals working with dual-career couples or teaching in this area are discussed and a four-step model to assist women in dual-career families in dealing with their role conflict is presented.
Abstract This research differentiates shame and guilt as distinct emotional reactions that parents in the United States can have for their children's misdeeds. In Study 1, when 93 parents wrote about their child's worst transgression, their ratings of perceived public exposure and threat to their self-image predicted shame, whereas the degree to which they felt a lack of control over their child and believed the act harmed others predicted guilt. In Study 2, when 123 mothers rated their reactions to an imagined wrongdoing, the presence of a critical observer tended to elevate shame but not guilt. Across both studies, guilt predicted adaptive parenting responses, whereas, shame predicted maladaptive responses. The discussion emphasizes the implications that self-conscious emotions have for family dynamics.
Examined gender differences in morality from a Freudian perspective. We summarized evidence from several literatures refuting Freud's notion that women have a weaker, less internalized sense of morality than men because of defects in the formation of the superego. Empirical studies (of children, adolescents, and adults), however, indicate that females experiences more, not less, shame and guilt in response to failures and transgressions. Moreover, research shows that females are more empathetic than males, whereas males engage in more aggressive, antisocial behavior. Women do not appear to have a quantitatively inferior, underdeveloped level of morality. The data favor the feminine superego--albeit with generally modest effect sizes. We also considered the possibility of gender differences in the qualitative nature of superego. Do men and women process moral issues from the same perspective, using similar principles? Like Freud, many psychologists working from a Kohlbergian perspective have assumed a higher level of moral reasoning among men. Empirical evidence does not support this assumption. We discussed more recent theory and research suggesting that women tend to reason from an ethic-of-care perspective, whereas men are inclined to reason from a justice perspective. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
What Are Self-conscious Emotions?Some General Development ConsiderationsSelf-conscious Emotions Are Interpersonal, TooShame and GuiltEmbarrassmentPrideReferences
Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk) is a relatively new website that contains the major elements required to conduct research: an integrated participant compensation system; a large participant pool; and a streamlined process of study design, participant recruitment, and data collection. In this article, we describe and evaluate the potential contributions of MTurk to psychology and other social sciences. Findings indicate that (a) MTurk participants are slightly more demographically diverse than are standard Internet samples and are significantly more diverse than typical American college samples; (b) participation is affected by compensation rate and task length, but participants can still be recruited rapidly and inexpensively; (c) realistic compensation rates do not affect data quality; and (d) the data obtained are at least as reliable as those obtained via traditional methods. Overall, MTurk can be used to obtain high-quality data inexpensively and rapidly.
© The Author(s) 2011.
Scholars have not fully theorized the multifaceted, interdependent dimensions within the work-family "black box." Taking an ecology of the life course approach, we theorize common work-family and adequacy constructs as capturing different components of employees' cognitive appraisals of fit between their demands and resources at the interface between home and work. Employees' appraisals of their work-family linkages and of their relative resource adequacy are not made independently but, rather, co-occur as identifiable constellations of fit. The life course approach hypothesizes that shifts in objective demands/ resources at work and at home over the life course result in employees experiencing cycles of control, that is, corresponding shifts in their cognitive assessments of fit. We further theorize patterned appraisals of fit are key mediators between objective work-family conditions and employees' health, well-being and strategic adaptations. As a case example, we examine whether employees' assessments on ten dimensions cluster together as patterned fit constellations, using data from a middle-class sample of 753 employees working at Best Buy's corporate headquarters. We find no single linear construct of fit that captures the complexity within the work-family black box. Instead, respondents experience six distinctive constellations of fit: one optimal, two poor, and three moderate fit constellations.
This article discusses the structure and content of the phenomenon of guilt based on the experience of 13 working mothers. Using a phenomenological approach, the researcher has analyzed the women's descriptions of guilt situations and presents the constituent component of the guilt phenomenon. The most salient feature of these women's descriptions of guilt is their strong, repetitive, everyday character. The phenomenon of guilt contains a general feeling of responsibility especially towards the children. Feelings of guilt arise when the women interprets a situation in terms of failure in responsibility. The sense of failure in responsibility arise in situations when she lacks real control over the demands made on her from different spheres of life or in situations where she exhibits an assertive behavior where she puts the responsibility for herself and her own needs foremost. The phenomenon of guilt contains certain elements of shame, aggression and vagueness in communication.