Melrona Kirrane

The influence of support relationships on work‐family conflict: differentiating emotional from instrumental support

The importance of various support sources to the experience of work and non‐work life balance is a well‐documented factor. This study investigate the differential impact of the support of work colleagues, workplace supervisors, non‐work friends, spouse/partner, and extended family on employees’ perceptions of the balance between their work and family life commitments. The sample of an Irish working cohort (n=170) indicated that after having a young child (6 years of age) the next significant predictor of experienced work interference with family life was spouse‐partner instrumental support. Spouse‐partner social support did not have an impact on experienced work interference in family life. The support of co‐workers and workplace supervisors did not influence experienced work‐family conflict. How and why positive spouse‐partner instrumental support should lead to elevated work‐family conflict are discussed.

The transmission of work‐related attitudes: a social learning analysis

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to focus on personal and social background factors as potential channels for the transmission of work related attitudes in young adults. The paper aims to examine the extent to which gender, parental job type, job status, and education, as well as school experience, influence the development of attitudes towards work and family life.Design/methodology/approach – The study comprised a quantitative (questionnaire based) survey with a sample of 782 final year undergraduate students attending various third level institutions in Ireland and the USA.Findings – The results indicated that individuals who had grown up in traditional mixed families had more positive attitudes towards balancing work and home roles than did those who had grown up in traditional single earner families. Fathers educational level also emerged as a significant factor in the career‐family attitudes of the participants.Research limitations/implications – The results of this research indicate that youn...

Linking perceived management support with employees’ readiness for change: the mediating role of psychological capital

ABSTRACT Although the relationship between management support and readiness for change is a well-studied topic, mediating variables in this relationship are rarely examined. This paper presents the findings of an investigation into the mediating role of psychological capital (PsyCap) in the relationship between perceived management support and readiness for change. A questionnaire was administered to employees (N = 120) of a public sector organization undergoing a change initiative. Results of structural equation modelling demonstrated that PsyCap partially mediated the relationship between management support and employees’ readiness for change. This indicates that employees’ responses to change are shaped by both their personal psychological resources and their perceptions of the organizational environment. The findings offer a platform for positive future developments in research and practice.

Attitudes towards managing the work-family interface: The role of gender and social background

The effective management of the work-life interface is an issue increasingly recognised as of strategic importance to organisations and of significance to employees (Forsyth & Polzer-Dedruyne, 2007; Nord et al., 2002; Russell & Bowman, 2000). A pan-European investigation (Brannen et al., 2002) concluded that young Irish people characterize the two domains of work and family as operating in conflict with each other. Given the high rate of workforce participation in the Irish labour market, and the corporate imperative of effective retention strategies (Messersmith, 2007; Cappelli, 2000), understanding how this perspective may influence behavioural intentions with respect to managing the work-family interface will be a valuable insight for organizations. Although gender and social background have long been identified as having a significant impact on the development of a number of work-related attitudes (Barling & Kelloway, 1999), neither dimension has been investigated with respect to their impact on attitudes towards managing the work-family interface. This study aims to establish the relationship between a number of demographic factors and such attitudes. Identifying behavioural intentions among students now ready to enter the labour market, will facilitate the development of more appropriate and robust organizational policies and procedures in relation to managing the work-family interface. Attitudes towards managing the work-family interface were measured using the Career Family Attitudes Measure (Sanders et al., 1998). The results of this study confirm that gender continues to have a strong role in the development of attitudes towards managing the work-family interface. The results also suggest that a number of social background factors, in particular school experience, parental education and parental occupation are strong factors in the development of these attitudes.

A qualitative investigation of the origins of excessive work behaviour

Studies of workers who engage in excessive work behaviour continue to attract the attention of researchers. Most research in this field adheres to quantitative methodologies aligned to the addiction or trait paradigms and largely focuses on correlates and consequences of such behaviour. However, within this literature, empirically based understandings of the factors that propel individuals to engage in excessive work patterns are sparse. Resting on socio-cultural theories of work, we adopt a novel approach to this field of enquiry and examine the genesis of excessive working using a qualitative methodology. We use discourse analysis to comparatively explore data from a sample of twenty-eight workers comprising excessive and non-excessive workers. Our study identified the roles of family of origin, educational experience, and professional norms as clear drivers of excessivework patterns. Data to support the dominant addiction and trait paradigms within this research domain were equivocal. Lifestyle decision-making differentiated the comparison group from the excessive workers. We discuss our findingswith reference to theories of workaholism and consider their implications for the evolution of this field.

Intragroup Processes and Teamwork within a Successful Chamber Choir.

ABSTRACT Despite the ubiquity of choirs across time and cultures, relatively little is known about the internal dynamics of these social systems. This article examines the group processes involved in a small European chamber choir. The research adopted a mixed-methods qualitative approach that combined individual interviews (n = 13) with ethnographic observation. Analysis described the group processes of the choir in relation to standard models of effective teamwork. The results suggest that certain dynamics of this choir lie beyond conventional conceptualisations of teamwork. Further conceptual and empirical research is necessary to develop a model of teamwork that can be applied to the conditions of performance-based teams and inform choral practice and training.