The Path to Wellbeing: The Role of Work-Family Conflict, Family-Work Conflict and Psychological Strain

Authors: Thomas Kalliath, Parveen Kalliath, Christopher C. A. Chan, Geetha Thachil

Abstract:

Although considerable amount of research has attested to the link between work-to-family conflict (WFC) and family-to-work conflict (FWC) and psychological strain and wellbeing, there is a paucity of research investigating the phenomenon in the context of social workers. Moreover, very little is known about the impact of WFC and FWC in developing countries. The present study investigated the mediating effect of psychological strain on the relationship between WFC and FWC with wellbeing of social workers in India. Our findings show that WFC and FWC are influential antecedents of wellbeing; their influence is both direct on psychological strain, and indirect on wellbeing transmitted through psychological strain. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Keywords: Family-to-work conflict, psychological strain, wellbeing, work-to-family conflict.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1087049

References:

[1] S. Cartwright, and C. L. Cooper, The Oxford handbook of organisational wellbeing. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.
[2] T. Kalliath, and P. Kalliath, “Changing work environments and employee wellbeing: An introduction.International Journal of Manpower”, 33, 7,729-737, 2012.
[3] E.E. Kossek, T. Kalliath, and P. Kalliath, P, “Achieving employee wellbeing in a changing work environment: An expert commentary on current scholarship”, International Journal of Manpower, 33, 7, 738 - 753, 2012.
[4] S. A. Y. Poelmans, T. Kalliath, and P. Brough, “Achieving work-life balance: Current theoretical and practical issues”,Journal of Management and Organisation, Vol 14/3, 227-238, 2008.
[5] M. Westman,, P. Brough, and T. Kalliath, “Expert commentary on work–life balance and crossover of emotions and experiences: Theoretical and practice advancements”, Journal of Organisational Behaviour, 30,587-595. 2009.
[6] F. T. Amstad, L. L. Meier, U. Fasel, A. Elfering, and N. K. Semme, “A meta-analysis of work–family conflict and various outcomes with a special emphasis on cross-domain versus matching-domain relations”, Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 16, 2, 151–169, 2011.
[7] E. E. Kossek, S. Pichler, T. Bodner, and L. Hammer,“Workplace social support and work-family conflict: A meta-analysis clarifying the influence of general and work-family specific supervisor and organizational support”, Personnel Psychology. 64: 289-313, 2011.
[8] Z. Aycan, “Cross-cultural perspectives in work-family conflict. In K. Korabik, D. S. Lero, & D. L. Whitehead (Eds.) Handbook of Work- Family Conflict (pp.353-371, 2008). London, Academic Press.
[9] S. Collins, and B. Parry-Jones, “Stress: The perceptions of social work lecturers in Britain”, British Journal of Social Work, 30(6), 769–794, 2000.
[10] B. Lonne, “Social workers and human service Practitioners”, In M. Dollard, A. Winefield, & H.Winefield (Eds.), Occupational stress in the service professions (pp. 281–309, 2003). London: Taylor and Francis.
[11] P. Kalliath, M. Hughes, and P. Newcombe, “When work and family are in conflict: Impact on psychological strain experienced by social workers in Australia. Australian Social Work, 65(3), 355-371, 2012.
[12] M. Aziz, “Role stress among women in the Indian information technology sector”. Women in Management Review, 19, 7, 356-363, 2004.
[13] M. Das, “Work-family conflict of Indian women entrepreneurs: A preliminary report”, New England Journal of Entrepreneurship, 2, 39-46, 1999.
[14] N. M. Noor, “Work-family conflict, work and family role resilience and women’s well-being”. The Journal of Social Psychology, 144, 4, 389- 405, 2004.
[15] P. Kalliath, and T. Kalliath, “Work-Family conflict and coping: A qualitative investigation ofcouples from four occupational groups in India”, In Menon, S.T. (Ed), Competing values in an uncertain environment: managing the paradox, pp. 550-558, 2010. Department of Management and Marketing, Louisiana State University.
[16] P. Voydanoff, “Linkages between the work-family interface and work, family, and individual outcomes: an integrative model”,Journal of Family Issues, 23(1), 138-164, 2002.
[17] U. Bronfenbrenner, “Toward an experimentalecology of human development”, American Psychologist, 32(7), 513-531, 1977.
[18] P. Voyandoff, “The effects of work demands and resources on work-tofamily conflict and facilitation”, Journal of Marriage and Family, 66, 398-412, 2004.
[19] P. Voydanoff, Work, family, and communities: Exploring Interconnections. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2007.
[20] J. Greenhaus, and N. Beutell, N. (1985). “Sources of Conflict between work and family roles”, Academy of Management Review, 10(1), 76– 88, 1985.
[21] E. J. Grant-Vallone, and S. I. Donaldson, “Consequences of work-family conflict on employee wellbeing over time. Work & Stress, 15, 3, 214- 226, 2001.
[22] M.P. O’Driscoll, P. Brough, and T. Kalliath,“ Work/family conflict, well-being,satisfaction and socialsupport: A longitudinal study in New Zealand”, Equal Opportunities International, 23 (1/2), 36-56, 2004.
[23] C. L. Scheck, A. J. Kinicki, and J. A. Davy, J. A, “Testing the mediating processes between work stressors and subjective well-being. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 50,96-123, 1997.
[24] D. S. Carlson, K. M. Kacmar, and L. J. Williams,“Construction and initial validation of a multi-dimensional measure of work-family conflict”, Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 56, 249-276, 2000.
[25] D. Goldberg, and P. Williams, A user’s guide to the General Health Questionnaire. Windsor: NFER-Nelson, 1991.
[26] W. Y. Ip, and C. R. Martin, “Psychometric properties of the 12 item General health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) in Chinese women during pregnancy and in postnatal period”, Psychology, Health, and Medicine, 11, 60-69, 2006.
[27] S. Vanheule, and S. Bogaerts, “The factorial structure of the GHQ-12. Stress and Health, 21,217-222, 2005.
[28] T. Kalliath, M. O’Driscoll, and P. Brough, “Confirmatory factor analysis of the General Health Questionnaire-12”, Stress & Health, 20, 1, 11-20, 2004.
[29] P. Warr, “The measurement of wellbeing and other aspects of mental health”, Journal of Occupational Psychology, 63, 193-210, 1990.
[30] J. F. Jr. Hair, W. C. Black, B, J., Babin, and R. E. Anderson, Multivariate data analysis, 7th edn., Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2010.
[31] S. M. Crampton, and J. A. Wagner, “Percept-percept inflation in micro organizational research: an investigation of prevalence and effect”, Journal of Applied Psychology, 79,67-76, 1994.
[32] X. Zhao, J. G., Lynch, and Q. Chen, Q, “Reconsidering Baron and Kenny: Myths and truths about mediation analysis. Journal of Consumer Research, 37, 197-206, 2010.
[33] B. M. Bryne, Structural equation modeling with AMOS: Concepts, applications, and Programming, 2nd edn.,New York, NY: Routledge, 2010.
[34] K. J. Preacher, and A. F. Hayes, “Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models”, Behavior Research Methods, 40, 879-891, 2008.
[35] E. Demerouti, and R. Cropanzano, “From thought to action: Employee work engagement and job performance”, In A.B. Bakker & M. P. Leiter (Eds.), Work engagement: A handbook of essential theory and research (pp. 147–163,2010). New York, NY: Psychology Press.
[36] P. Brough, M. O’Driscoll, T. Kalliath, C. Cooper, and S. Poelmans, Workplace psychological health: Current research and practice. Edward Elgar, U.K, 2009.
[37] W. Pavot, and E. Diener, “The subjective evaluation of wellbeing in adulthood: Findings and implications”, Ageing Internation, 29, 113-135, 2004.
[38] J. Storey, and J. Billingham, “Occupational stress and social work”, Social Work Education, 20(6), 659-670, 2001.
[39] T. D. Allen, D.E. L. Herbst, C. S. Bruck, and M. Sutton,“Consequences associated with work-to-family conflict: A review and agenda for future research”, Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 5, 278-308, 2000.
[40] L. J. Cronbach, “Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests”, Psychometrika, 16(3), 297–334, 1951.