Barbara Beham

The moment of truth: Conceptualizing managerial work-life policy allowance decisions

Organizational efforts of adopting, designing, and implementing work–family policies converge into single, discretionary decisions of supervisors whether or not to ‘allow’ these policies to specific employees under their supervision. These decisions are referred to as allowance decisions. In order to close a theoretical gap in current work– family literature, we present an integrated, conceptual model of managerial allowance decisions. We develop propositions regarding factors that influence a supervisor’s allowance decision at three different levels of analysis and behavioural outcomes in employees. Building on organizational justice theory, moderating effects of employees’ fairness perceptions of allowance decisions are discussed. Finally, we outline implications for future research and recommendations for managers in organizations.

Who’s got the balance? A study of satisfaction with the work–family balance among part-time service sector employees in five Western European countries

Working part-time is frequently considered a viable strategy for employees to better combine work and non-work responsibilities. The present study examines differences in satisfaction with work-family balance (SWFB) among professional and non-professional part-time service sector employees in five western European countries. Part-time employees were found to be more SWFB than full-time employees even after taking varying demands and resources into account. However, there are important differences among the part-timers. Employees in marginal part-time employment with considerably reduced working hours were the most satisfied. Professionals were found to profit less from reduced working hours and experienced lower levels of SWFB than non-professionals. No significant differences in SWFB were found between male and female part-time workers.

Work–family conflict and organisational citizenship behaviour: empirical evidence from Spanish employees

Based on conservation of resources theory, this study examines the influence of work-to-family conflict (WFC) and family-to-work conflict (FWC) on three dimensions of organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) among Spanish employees in various industries. Using structural equation modelling, significant negative relationships were found between FWC and OCB directed towards the individual and task citizenship behaviour. No significant relationships were found between WFC and any of the three dimensions of OCB. Multi-group analysis revealed significant gender differences in several relationships.

Measurement Invariance of the Satisfaction With Life Scale Across 26 Countries

The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) is a commonly used life satisfaction scale. Cross-cultural researchers use SWLS to compare mean scores of life satisfaction across countries. Despite the wide use of SWLS in cross-cultural studies, measurement invariance of SWLS has rarely been investigated, and previous studies showed inconsistent findings. Therefore, we examined the measurement invariance of SWLS with samples collected from 26 countries. To test measurement invariance, we utilized three measurement invariance techniques: (a) multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (MG-CFA), (b) multilevel confirmatory factor analysis (ML-CFA), and (c) alignment optimization methods. The three methods demonstrated that configural and metric invariances of life satisfaction held across 26 countries, whereas scalar invariance did not. With partial invariance testing, we identified that the intercepts of Items 2, 4, and 5 were noninvariant. Based on two invariant intercepts, factor means of countries were compared. Chile showed the highest factor mean; Spain and Bulgaria showed the lowest. The findings enhance our understanding of life satisfaction across countries, and they provide researchers and practitioners with practical guidance on how to conduct measurement invariance testing across countries.