In recent days, there is a tendency that the number of double-income families is steadily on the rise along with an increase in the number of working women. As working couples have to perform separate roles at work and at home, there is a growing conc...
In recent days, there is a tendency that the number of double-income families is steadily on the rise along with an increase in the number of working women. As working couples have to perform separate roles at work and at home, there is a growing concern for work-family balance. Studies of work-family conflicts or of role conflicts established that role conflicts triggered by fulfilling multiple roles affect not only individual people's psychology and performance but their organizational performance. Studies have attempted to identify influential factors for work-family conflicts to boost job efficiency, and existing studies have mostly tried to find out moderating variables or parameters for the relationship of result variables involving work-family conflicts and career commitment. Yet few studies have ever examined the mediating effect of work-family conflicts on antecedents.
The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the level of support from spouses and supervisors on the career commitment and work-family conflicts of married office workers and the mediating effect of work-family conflicts on the relationship of support from spouses and supervisors to career commitment.
The subjects in this study were 344 married men and women who worked in large companies. A survey was conducted, and the collected data were analyzed to make an empirical research. A regression analysis was carried out by the statistical package PAWS 18.0 to test the hypotheses of the study. The findings of the study were as follows:
First, as a result of analyzing the impact of support from spouses and supervisors and two different types of work-family conflicts(time-based conflicts and tension-based conflicts) on career commitment, both of spouse support and supervisor support were found to have a significant impact on that.
Second, as a result of analyzing the relationship of support from spouses and supervisors to the two types of work-family conflicts, spouse support was found to exercise a significant influence on both of time-based conflicts and tension-based conflicts that were two kinds of work-family conflicts. Supervisor support was found to significantly affect both of time-based conflicts and tension-based conflicts that were two kinds of work-family conflicts as well. Like spouse support, supervisor support had a larger impact on tension-based conflicts than time-based conflicts.
Third, as a result of analyzing the mediating effect of the two types of work-family conflicts on the relationship of spouse support and supervisor support to career commitment, there was a significant influential path from spouse support to time-based conflicts to career commitment, and there was another significant influential path from spouse support to tension-based conflicts to career commitment.
The findings of the study illustrated that understanding and assistance from companies and society as well as mutual cooperation and understanding of married couples are all required, and that spouse support and supervisor support had a significant impact on career commitment. Both of men and women are confronted with growing conflicts while they perform their roles at work and at home, and that affects their work and family life in a negative way. Under the circumstances, the findings of the study suggest that both of husbands and wives should back up each other and make a concerted effort to get rid of their mutual conflicts.
Husbands and wives are able to eliminate work-family conflicts in collaboration by backing up each other and can have a positive impact on mutual career development. In addition, supervisors should pay attention to what family problems their subordinates face and help them to iron out their problems. That will be one of sure ways to relieve employees of work-family conflicts and to create the kind of corporate culture that could expedite the career development of workers.
One of possible solutions will be by conducting corporate education that is lately drawing growing attention. For instance, family-friendly coaching and mentoring programs should be prepared to improve the mutual relationship between supervisors and subordinates.