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The consequences of preferred work schedules on work/family conflict: An empirical study and model extension
Abstract
The demographics of today's workforce are changing at a rapid pace. Organizations are seeing an increase in the number of dual-career families, women entering the labor market, and single-parent households. Such changes have affected both organizations and the employees themselves. Employees are finding the need to manage increasing conflict between family and work roles. In response, some organizations are beginning to offer a variety of alternative work arrangements to enable workers to better balance opposing family and work demands. Organizations, in return, retain a greater number of skilled, quality, workers and obtain a broader pool of applicants. Furthermore, working an alternative, more preferred schedule may also reduce role overload and conflict and lessen excessive job involvement. These variables have been shown to relate to work/family conflict, ultimately affecting job satisfaction, commitment, and the propensity to remain with the organization. The purpose of this dissertation was to expand a model of work/family conflict by studying the effects of preferred versus unpreferred work schedules on work family conflict and the antecedents and outcomes of work/family conflict. Specifically, this study examined whether and how the desire to work a preferred schedule affected the relationship between work based role stressors, job involvement and work/family conflict on one hand, and job satisfaction, job commitment, and the intention to leave on the other, among a group of professional employees. A questionnaire consisting of eight summated scales was distributed to 122 employees of three firms: a computer firm, an electronics firm, and a hospital. Path analysis was used to analyze the results, offering a more robust interpretation of the responses. The results of the path analysis indicated that the desire to work a preferred schedule both directly and indirectly (through role conflict) affected work/family conflict, moderately supporting the extended model. Most respondents indicated that they would prefer a different work schedule to better balance work and family obligations. The work schedule preferred most often by employees was a full-time flexible schedule, four or five days per week. No relationship was found between the desire to work a preferred schedule and role overload, job involvement, or organizational outcomes.
Subject Area
Management|Business administration|Individual & family studies|Labor relations|Sociology
Recommended Citation
Coakley, Lori Ann, "The consequences of preferred work schedules on work/family conflict: An empirical study and model extension" (1994). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI9420612.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI9420612