Julie Holliday Wayne

Considering the Role of Personality in the Work-Family Experience: Relationships of the Big Five to Work-Family Conflict and Facilitation.

Using a national, random sample (N ¼ 2130), we investigated the relationship between each of the Big Five personality traits and conflict and facilitation between work and family roles. Extraversion was related to greater facilitation between roles but was not related to conflict, whereas neuroticism was related to greater conflict but only weakly related to facilitation. Conscientiousness was related to less conflict, presumably reflecting efficient time use and organizational skills. In general, conflict was negatively related to work–family outcomes (e.g., lower job and family effort and satisfaction) whereas facilitation was positively related to the same outcomes. Conflict and facilitation were shown, however, to be orthogonal rather than opposite constructs. Implications for work–family theory, for the understanding of personality traits, and for enhanced responsibilities of organizations are discussed. 2003 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.

A multi‐level perspective on the synergies between work and family

In this paper we lay the conceptual foundation for work-family facilitation. Work-family facilitation is a process representing the synergies between the domains of work and family. We formally define facilitation as the extent to which an individuals engagement in one social system, such as work or family, contributes to growth in another social system. We develop the process through which facilitation occurs, provide a model and case studies of this process, and delineate additional theoretical and empirical research necessary to understand work-family facilitation so that it can be managed and cultivated within organizations.

Family-supportive organization perceptions and organizational commitment: the mediating role of work-family conflict and enrichment and partner attitudes.

The present study aims to explain the processes through which family-supportive organizational perceptions (FSOP) relate to employee affective commitment. We suggest multiple mechanisms through which this relationship transpires-(a) the focal employees experience of work-to-family conflict and enrichment and (b) the attitudes of the employees spouse/partner. Hypotheses are tested with data from 408 couples. Results suggest that employee FSOP is positively associated with employee commitment through both employee work-to-family experiences and partner attitudes. FSOP was positively related to employee work-to-family enrichment, which was positively associated with employee affective commitment. FSOP was negatively associated with employee work-to-family conflict, which related to a partners more positive attitude toward the employees work schedule and higher commitment to the employees firm. Partner commitment was positively and reciprocally related to employee affective commitment. These relationships partially mediated the FSOP-employee affective commitment relationship and varied as a function of parental status and single- versus dual-earner couple status but not as a function of employee gender. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Who is a good organizational citizen? Social perception of male and female employees who use family leave

In this study, we examined perceptions of the citizenship behaviors of male and female employees who took leave to care for a newborn, a sick child, a sick parent, or who did not take leave. In a 2 (employee gender) × 4 (reason for leave) × 2 (participant gender) experimental design, 242 undergraduate students read a mock personnel file and rated the employee on altruism and generalized compliance. Female employees were not rated differently whether they took leave or not. Male employees who took leave for birth or eldercare were rated less likely to be altruistic at work than their male counterparts who did not take leave and their female counterparts who took leave. There was also a bias against male leave takers for generalized compliance ratings, especially by male evaluators. Future research ideas and implications for organizational practice are discussed.

A work–family conflict/subjective well-being process model: A test of competing theories of longitudinal effects.

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).

A Review and Examination of Demographic Similarity Measures Used to Assess Relational Demography Within Groups

Relational demography within groups, or an individuals demographic similarity to a group, is a type of cross-level theory labeled as an individual-within-the-group model. Previous researchers used three different approaches for measuring the core construct of demographic similarity: the difference score, interaction term, and perceptual approaches. This article provides an in-depth review of the measurement definition, conceptual properties, and limitations of each approach, highlighting similarities and differences among them. Then, the authors use data from four financial service organizations to demonstrate that the three measures minimally relate to one another and differentially relate to work outcomes. Although researchers often use the three measures interchangeably, this article suggests that they assess distinct components of the demographic similarity construct or measure the construct with differing degrees of success. Based on the review, the authors offer best-practice guidelines for researchers as to how to use each approach most effectively.

Is all sexual harassment viewed the same? Mock juror decisions in same- and cross-gender cases.

Given recent court decisions, there is a need to investigate less common forms of sexual harassment, including women harassing men and same-gender harassment. The present study was a 2 (harasser gender) x 2 (target gender) x 2 (participant gender) factorial design in which 408 mock jurors made decisions in a hostile work environment case. Women harassing men were more likely to be found guilty than were men harassing women, and harassers in same-gender cases were more likely to be found guilty and were perceived more negatively than harassers in cross-gender cases. Participant gender differences were found in cross-gender, but not same-gender, conditions. Results suggest that the gender composition of the harasser and target may be an extralegal factor influencing managerial and juror decision making.

The Jingle-Jangle of Work–Nonwork Balance: A Comprehensive and Meta-Analytic Review of Its Meaning and Measurement.

We review research on work–nonwork balance to examine the presence of the jingle fallacy—attributing different meanings to a single construct label—and the jangle fallacy—using different labels for a single construct. In 290 papers, we found 233 conceptual definitions that clustered into 5 distinct, interpretable types, suggesting evidence of the jingle fallacy. We calculated Euclidean distances to quantify the extent of the jingle fallacy and found high divergence in definitions across time and publication outlet. One exception was more agreement recently in better journals to conceptualize balance as unidimensional, psychological, and distinct from conflict and enrichment. Yet, over time many authors have committed the jangle fallacy by labeling measures of conflict and/or enrichment as balance, and disagreement persists even in better journals about the meanings attributed to balance (e.g., effectiveness, satisfaction). To examine the empirical implications of the jingle and jangle fallacies, we conducted meta-analyses of distinct operational definitions of balance with job, life, and family satisfaction. Effect sizes for conflict and enrichment measures were typically smaller than effects for balance measures, providing evidence of a unique balance construct that is not interchangeable with conflict and enrichment. To begin to remedy concerns raised by our review, we propose a definition of work–nonwork balance drawing from theory, empirical evidence from our review, and normative information about how balance should be defined. We conclude with a theory-based agenda for future research.

Employees’ financial insecurity and health: The underlying role of stress and work-family conflict appraisals

Data from two longitudinal samples were utilized to elucidate underlying mechanisms of the well-established relationship between financial insecurity and health outcomes, stemming from the theoretical rationale of conservation of resources and cognitive appraisal theories. Study 1 (n = 80) consisted of low-wage foodmanufacturing employees working full time, while Study 2 (n = 331) was consisted of a larger, heterogeneous sample of full-time workers representing multiple occupations. Respondents were surveyed on financial insecurity, work-to-family conflict (WFC), stress, and health outcomes at two time periods, 3 months apart. Results across our studies provided support for the direct effects of financial insecurity on WFC and stress. In addition, appraisals of WFC and stress serve as significant mediators of the relationship between financial insecurity and health outcomes, including a significant overall lagged effect across time, and perceived stress accounting for the largest proportion of variance in the lagged relationship among Time 1 financial insecurity and Time 2 health outcomes. Besides support for conservation of resources and cognitive appraisal theories, practically, our studies suggest that workplace initiatives to reduce financial insecurity could positively influence employees’ work–family, stress, and health experiences.

Advancing Methods in Work-Life Research: Illustrative Studies, Lessons, and Future Challenges

Work-life research has faced criticism for methodological weaknesses. The goal of this symposium is to advance understanding of work-life research by bringing together a group of scholars experienced in diverse methodological issues to briefly share the research questions, the approaches used in four illustrative papers, before addressing lessons learned, methodological challenges faced, and suggestions for improving work-life research methods. The range of methodological issues addressed include: 1) measurement equivalence of the same scales used to assess change over time in a two contrasting settings: a low income and high income workforce in different industries: 2) a literature review of methodological gaps in widely used work- family conflict constructs and typical studies; 3) challenges in examining dyadic work-family conflict congruence with couples as the unit of analysis; and 4) the triangulation of critical incident techniques and qualitative methods to help tease out the causal ordering of var...