Work-Family Conflict 1

Work-Family Conflict

Student Student

Writing 50

Professor Dean

September 11, 2006

Work-Family Conflict

The purpose of this research was to discover and examine on the relationship between work and
family life. Focus was on how increased work hours of the new economy may interfere with
familial relations in the future. Background information and various theories on work-family
conflict are discussed. Problem statement, consequences, and solutions are referenced to
provide more insight on how to establish a balance between work and family spheres.
Implications of work-family conflict and analysis of future consequences are also elaborated.

Introduction

The impact work has had on family constantly changes over time. Even though some

consider work and family separate domains, in which a person’s role alternates between husband

or wife and employee, it is significant to see how the impact of work has carried over to the

social life outside of the office and changed the relationships amongst family members.

Moreover, because full-time U.S. male and female employees in 2005 have come to work an

average of 46 hours a week, in contrast to year 2000’s 39.7 hours and 1995’s 39.3 hours (Board

of Labor Statistics [BLS], 2004; National Study of the Changing Workforce [NSCW], 1997, p.

8), the question that stands open is: –If the job culture of contemporary workplaces in the new

economy is constantly increasing its demand for longer hours at work, what does this mean for

current and future familial relationships of workers in the United States?

Although there are positive reasons and fulfillment one can gain from work, such as

“self-worth or dignity” (Reich, 2001), the focus in this paper is on the negative consequences of

Americans’ increasing weekly work hours on the family sphere as well as the solutions that can

be taken by affected families to balance the conflict between work demands and family (p. 56).

Many social researchers have investigated this work-family relationship and turned to various

theories to explain the consequences that follow from work-family conflicts, and these can also

be applied to the correlation between longer work hours and family life. While many Americans
 Work-Family Conflict 3

long to create families in their futures, will the demand for work in the new economy prolong

this dream, or will more employees turn to other solutions to create a more balanced life between

work and familial obligations?

Background: Work-family Study

Work and family literature mostly examines the role of work and studies its connection to

the family. Wharton and Blair-Loy (2006) refer to work-family conflict as a situation, in which

“the demands of the work interfere with fulfilling family responsibilities” (p. 417). The role of

researchers is to explore the relationship between both domains in order to make sense of the

correlation and consequences that can follow when both interact with one another. In connection

to family, many predictors of work-family conflict have been researched, including demands,

resources, and accommodations of employment (Friedman & Greenhaus, 2000, p. 123). Stress,

health-related problems, job dissatisfaction, and lower psychological well-being may result when

work demands, resources, and employment accommodations are in negative context, and they

may influence the worker’s efficiency to fulfill family responsibilities (Milliken & Dunn-Jensen,

2005, p.45). One of the many theories to explain how work actually can interfere with family

life is based on the spillover theory, which emphasizes that people in higher demanding jobs

“experience substantially higher levels of negative spillover from work into their lives off the

job—jeopardizing their personal and family well-being” (National Study of the Changing

Workforce [NSCW], 1997). Almost 90 percent of more than 69 million American parents with

children under the age of 18 are employed (Fredriksen-Goldsen & Scharlach, 2001, p.3), and

“dual-income families are …characterized as being overextended, overworked, overwhelmed and

over the top” (Gambles, Lewis, & Rapoport, 2006, p.67). The number of families headed by

single parents has increased 25 percent since 1990, to more than 7.5 million households (Sloan
 Work-Family Conflict 4

Work and Family Research Network, 2005). These trends show that it is even more important

that scholars analyze ways to alleviate work-family conflict to make both spheres even more

compatible and less distressing for working Americans with children since balancing work life

and family is getting harder to do. By constructing better solutions for workers facing work-

family conflict, single parents especially can learn how to manage work and family domains

effectively.

Trend of the 21st Century: Increased Work Hours

The working world has changed dramatically over the years. More people in the

workforce are more educated, workers are left with higher expectations and about gaining

fulfillment at work, and people are working longer hours. Stebbins (2001) points out that the

women and men’s roles changed in the workplace and at home (p. 9). More recent U.S. statistics

show that 18-44 year old women who have had a child in the last year and are participating in the

labor force increased from 1980’s 38 percent to 2004’s 55 percent (U.S. Bureau of the Census,

2004a). Hein (2005) asserted that the proportion of American workers who worked 50 or more

hours per week increased between 1987 and 2000, and that the situation has made it more

difficult for Americans to balance work and familial obligations in their lives (p. 130). The U.S.

Bureau of the Census (2004b) also projected a continuing trend of decreased marriages: percents

of U.S. marriages went from 9.8 percent in 1990, to 8.3 percent in 2000, and declined further to

7.4 percent in 2004. The decrease in marriage rates may be positively correlated with greater

work demands in the new economy since some might feel that increasing demands would make

it harder to maintain prospective family obligations. The United States now has the longest work

hours of any industrialized nation (Fletcher & Bailyn, 2005, p. 171). Reich (2001) notes

“Americans now working longer for pay than even the notoriously industrious Japanese, who are
 Work-Family Conflict 5

currently putting in about as many hours as Americans did in 1980; moreover, a “typical working

American also puts in 350 more hours a year than the typical European” (p.55). But why are

people working harder? Advancement in technology is just one factor that contributes to the

cause people to work longer and at a faster pace, and for others it is the “ways that contemporary

work is becoming more satisfying and compelling” (Gambles, Lewis, & Rapoport, 2006, p.48-

51). For some, paid work can provide people with a sense of meaning of purpose, satisfaction,

dignity, and even allows one to express a heart-felt commitment, while others just seek to make

money or make a living to support their family (Reich, 2001, p. 56-61). Although work may

offer a psychological or tangible satisfaction to some, Gambles et al. (2006) notes that others are

physically drained from working longer hours because they “feel obliged or compelled to give

more energy, emotional labor, or ‘more of themselves’ to their paid work activities” (p. 51).

The Predicament: An Imbalance Between Rising Work Hours and Family

As Reich (2001) pointed out, “Paid work is becoming far more intrusive on the rest of our

lives” (p. 57). How much time workers have for family responsibilities depends largely on the

amount of hours they worked (Hein, 2005, p. 129). As the amount of hours have increased over

the years, and are still continuing to do so, it becomes harder to create a balance between work

and family life, since demands and availability for family life obligations are not getting any less.

Hein (2005) also argued that for many employees in American, longer working hours have also

been shifted to “asocial hours,” which are hours not standard to their regular working schedules

and include night or weekends times (p. 134). This suggests that longer working hours are not

only carried out during daytime, but also at nighttime at irregular time periods. Negative

personal experiences that employees get from work can easily carry over into the family sphere,

and even if not all Americans come to find themselves in a rut trying to balance work and
 Work-Family Conflict 6

familial obligations, it is still important to analyze the cause and effects of the conflict that

increased work hours may exhibit on family life, as well as solutions to make balancing both

domains easier. The burning question is about the consequences that might follow from an

advancing and continuously developing economy, whose working hours are on the rise. Will the

implications of work-family conflict get worse for future generations? If how, what can be done

to lessen this conflict?

Theories: An Explanation for Imbalance

Milliken & Dunn-Jensen (2005) confirmed that a great amount of evidence from

conducted research indicate that number of hours worked is positively correlated with amount of

work-family conflict experienced in the family at home (p. 43). They also argued that recent

research suggests that “the more hours people work, the higher the level of work interference

with family and the lower the psychological well being (p. 44). Aspects of work that have been

made evident to “limit success and fulfillment” in the family sphere include resources such as

“money, time, and flexibility” (Friedman & Greenhaus, 2000, p.125). Various theories have been

established to explain the reasons for the conflict that work can deflect into family life. Some

main theories are: role theory, spillover theory, and conflict theory, all which can be applied

towards the current issue of increasing work hours and family life imbalance.

Role theory refers to the social role an employee plays in the work domain, and how their

experienced strain can negatively affect the performance in the familial domain (Googins, 1991,

p. 23). Resources at work, such as job authority, hours worked, and job satisfaction affect this

social role the worker plays, and depending on whether the employee is provided these resources

in a positive way (satisfactory job authority and work hours), s/he will have more or less work-

family conflict (Friedman & Greenhaus, 2000, p. 122-124). Edwards and Rothbard (2000)
 Work-Family Conflict 7

confirmed that “added work expectations and job involvement [are] predictors of work conflict

and family expectations” (p.213).

Spillover theory, according to Fredriksen-Goldsen and Scharlach (2001), revolves around

the conceptualization that the work sphere can have a positive or negative impact on the family

sphere, meaning that attitudes and behaviors (such as distress from working long hours) can

create distress at home with family members (p.55-56). Googins (1991) termed this process

“negative spillover,” and elaborated that “negative interference resulting from a person’s

experiencing problems in [the work domain] affect the performance in [the familial domain]”

(p.23). However, work can also literally spill into one’s family life when one has to take home

amounts of work to complete them for a deadline.

Conflict theory implies that there is an inevitable conflict between work and family

because both spheres are “generally incompatible, given their differing demands, responsibilities,

expectations, and norms (Fredriksen-Goldsen & Scharlach, 2001, p. 56). It is assumed that

anything at work will create some kind of conflict at home.

All three theories revolve around work aspects that can psychologically influence a

worker to experience work-family conflict at home, but the spillover theory, as well as the

conflict theory also brings out the issue of physical aspects of work that can cause conflict, such

as having to bring incomplete work assignments home to the family to get them done. Role

theory is mostly about how resources at work can psychologically influence the worker to exhibit

negative emotions or attitude at home. The conflict theory on its own is a more extreme version

of how resources from work can psychologically and literally cause the worker to experience

conflict with family, whether it be hours spent at work or being under stress. Although these

theories all have a different take on how work-family conflict occurs, they all have something in
 Work-Family Conflict 8

common: they show that there is a conflict between work and family spheres. The consequences

that are described in the theories call for a method to lessen role strain, negative spillover, and

family conflict such that a healthy balance can be established between work and family life.

Nature of the Problem: Consequences of Longer Hours on Family Life

In Googins’ (1991) Job and Home Study conducted in 1991, around 46 percent of parents

“wished they had more time to do things for the family,” while nearly 30 percent of parents felt

they had more on their plate than they could handle (p.134). Wharton and Blair-Loy (2006)

point out that amount of hours worked is one of the predictors of work-family conflict and

creates increased concern with “juggling work and family obligations” amongst business people

throughout the industrialized world (p. 415-416). Results of Wharton and Blair-Loy’s research

survey amongst business managers and professionals showed that “for every additional hour

worked, the odds that a respondent will express concern about the effect of long hours on his or

her family and personal lives increases by 7 percent (p. 426). Consequences that follow from

increased work hours may be physical or psychological, depending on the circumstances and

demands the worker has to deal with on the job. Moreover, the extent of the consequences varies

from person to person. An individual who faces less work demands is likely to experience less

work-family conflict.

Physical Consequences

“Family absence and poor family-role performance” may result from time-based

demands at work, such as number of hours worked and the conditions under which this time is

spent (Voydanoff, 2005, p.707, 709). This is most likely to occur to working parents that work

long hours or asocial shifts and are often stuck in the office. The fact is that when a parent is at

work, they are not at home and are thus not able to attend to family obligations, whether it is
 Work-Family Conflict 9

taking care of kids or fulfilling other duties at home. The increased hours that people are

working now are likely to increase the absences of parents with their children or spouses. Poor

family-role performance is possible to result because of increased absence between the role

model parent and the child they are separated from. The less often a child is able to see its

parents, the less likely the child is able to learn from them.

Marital discord and decreased life satisfaction are likely to occur to individuals that try

to combine work with and family roles and feel intense commitment towards both domains

(Perrone, Aegisdottir, Webb & Blalock, 2006, p.288). A study that analyzed work-family conflict

and marital outcomes found that conflict that occurred in the marital-familial sphere was

“positively related to psychological distress, which is related both directly and indirectly to

marital outcomes through marital interactions, e.g., greater hostility, less warmth and

supportiveness (Fredriksen-Goldsen & Scharlach, 2001, p.57). This consequence can occur from

negative spillover or even because of absence of the family member because of work demands.

Dissatisfaction with life is on a more personal level and can happen to those that struggle to

balance their work and familial obligations.

Caregiving strain is possible to occur to parent workers who have a hard time balancing

childcare obligations with work demands. Working for extended hours may prohibit mothers or

fathers from attending to their children’s needs (Fredriksen-Goldsen & Scharlach, 2001, p.83;

Gambles, Lewis & Rapoport, 2006, p.67). This means that a child may not able to receive the

necessary care it requires, thus negatively affecting its development.

Psychological Consequences

Family dissatisfaction and distress are strain-based demands from work that are due to

time and workload pressures, and it can “create psychological spillover from the work domain to
 Work-Family Conflict 10

the family domain” (Voydanoff, 2005, p. 709). Pressures and overload at work have also been

associated with greater withdrawal, anger, and arguments at home (Fredriksen-Goldsen &

Scharlach, 2001, p.57). In a Job and Home Study conducted by Googins (1991), results showed

that almost 35 percent of parents and non-parents “feel emotionally drained when they get home

from work” (p. 134). In a survey I conducted with a random sample of 13 males and 7 females

(ages 18-55+) who work part-time or full time for an average of 21-80 hours per week, results

indicated that negative factors from work, such as overtime (90%), excessive workload (55%), or

psychological strain (55%) experienced from work affected their family lives negatively. Thus

longer working hours can influence a person to bring home stress, energy depletion, or negative

emotions, which may in turn negatively influence relations with family members or even hinder

the oppressed worker to participate in family life activities. A father whose physical capacity is

drained from working excessive hours on the job may not be physically capable of playing with

his child after work.

Sense of loneliness and disconnection may enter the life of individuals who work

excessively and can moreover lead to depression and conflict with family members (Gambles,

Lewis & Rapoport, 2006, p.64). When one works many hours in the office because of work

demands, it can be hard to keep up with the duties at home. Asocial hours can contribute greatly

to this sense of disconnection because one is obligated to work hours outside of the regular

schedule. The absence at home because of the increased work hours can also contribute to the

literal disconnection with family members.

With all these physical and psychological consequences that result from increased work

demands, one can see that the effects of work-family conflict are more serious than one would

think. Some workers go through days thinking their stress, disconnection, sense of loneliness, or
 Work-Family Conflict 11

other psychological factors are ‘normal’ or typical for people and thus don’t read much into it.

But one should take these factors more seriously, since they may affect the worker and his/her

family’s health. Both physical and psychological consequences may also bleed into the rest of an

employee’s social circle and world. For example, if physical absence or decreased life

satisfaction plague a person, it can negatively influence the way he/she interacts with friends, co-

workers, and family members around them. Although work-family conflict might not affect

workers that do not experience these consequences, there is still potential for these to creep into

one’s life in the future. So what can someone do who is experiencing these problems with work

and family life?

Solutions to Concerns and Conflict: Constructive Work-Life Guidelines

For those American workers that experience the physical and psychological strain

because of work-family conflict and increased work demands, scholars and researchers have

assembled different methods and guidelines to lessen or even extinguish the conflict. Although

not all of the guidelines or propositions may work for everyone, they are still possible options

that can be taken to establish a balanced life between work and family domains. Initiatives taken

to incorporate these policies and guidelines in one’s life are likely to lessen work-family conflict

to make both more enjoyable for the employee and their family members.

Flexible Work Arrangements

Leave policies can be very helpful to parents that have an urgent need to attend to family

obligations and need time off from work to do so (Fredriksen-Goldsen & Scharlach, 2001,

p.170). Parents that have to take care of a newborn child or a family member that is sick at home

can take advantage of this policy that is sometimes even paid for by certain companies.
 Work-Family Conflict 12

Fredriksen-Goldsen and Scharlach (2001) noted that some flexible leave policies even “explicitly

give workers family/personal leave time to accommodate various living situations” (p.170).

Part-time work may be another option for overworked employees that need time off to

tend to family members, household obligations, or to reduce the likelihood of psychological

consequences. Hein (2005) reported that “the progressive reduction of daily hours of work and

the reduction of overtime …are general measures for improving working conditions and the

quality of working life” (p.132). Part-time work can be beneficial to workers who feel they have

been absent in their family members’ lives such that they can establish a better connection with

them. Evidently, individuals who work and are committed to family are more likely to be

satisfied in both domains (Perrone, Aegisdottir, Webb & Blalock, 2006, p.296).

Flexible scheduling offers workers the freedom to vary their starting and ending work

times such that they can fulfill other familial obligations at more convenient times. Fredriksen-

Goldsen and Scharlach (2001), who termed this process as “flex-time,” pointed out three

schedule sets that can be enforced: (1) “fixed flex-time,” in which workers begin work at a

predetermined time each day; (2) “a compressed work week,” in which workers are given the

option of working 40 hours in less than five days; (3) “gliding time,” in which workers can adjust

their hours as needed (p.172). One is more likely to adapt work and familial responsibilities to

one another by applying one of these three alternative schedules to one’s life instead of working

too many hours. In Fredriksen-Goldsen and Scharlach’s (2001) study, 99 percent indicated that

flexible scheduling was helpful (p.104). From their research results, Wharton and Blair-Loy’s

(2006) also reported that “less intense and more stable and predictable work conditions may

alleviate worries about the effects of work hours on those in one’s personal life” (p.418)
 Work-Family Conflict 13

Alternative work locations can be favorable to parents who would rather work at home

than an office, such that they can be close to family members or children. As a “homeworker,”

Hein (2005) remarks, especially women are able to “effectively earn income while being able to

take care of family responsibilities and avoid constraints on their movements outside the home

(p.152). Stress may lessen, and one may even be more productive because one does not have to

worry about commuting or leaving children unattended. This could also strengthen familial

bonds with workers that have been absent or disconnected from family members because of

previous work demands. A parent can thus establish a better connection with his/her child

because they can attend to its needs and provide for them when necessary. This can also increase

parental role-model performance since the child has their mother or father present to learn and

gain experience from, which could not be possible if the parent worked in an office.

Social Resources and Programs

Counseling or Consultation in relation to family-care concerns is often advantageous to

workers that have problems with work-family care conflict. Employee Assistance Program

(EAP) is a program that is often offered by companies for such purposes and is intended to

alleviate problems and concerns with balancing familial and work domains (Fredriksen-Goldsen

& Scharlach, 2001, p.178). This program can help to reduce psychological strain; moreover,

EAP can also give advice on how to tend to work demands and family obligations without

neglecting one or the other. Fredriksen-Goldsen and Scharlach’s (2001) study showed 83 percent

of individuals to find this method helpful in their lives (p.105).

Support Groups have been suggested to employees that suffer from imbalance of work

and family as well. Support groups are intended to “provide an opportunity for employees with

similar family-care situations to share concerns, discuss common problems, exchange useful
 Work-Family Conflict 14

information, and receive emotional support” (Fredriksen-Goldsen & Scharlach, 2001, p.179)

This method is a way for individuals to get out and mingle with people who experience the same

conflicts with work and family.

Child day care is a very popular option open to working parents who work a great

amount of hours every day. On-site care is a solution that can be worked into one’s busy

schedule with work, and it can also alleviate stress and care-giving strain, knowing that one’s

child is taken care of during busy work hours. For parents who would rather leave their child

with someone they know, babysitters are also an alternative.

All these work arrangement and social resources and programs offer workers an outlet to

balance work and family obligations. While some are more likely to lessen physical or

psychological consequences, such as absence and stress, others offer other benefits to

individuals. One should take one or more of these solutions into consideration when one is

serious about maintaining a balance between work and family life obligations. There is no one

right solution for a person since circumstances of availability and access might inhibit or limit

some people from taking advantage of these resources. Surely some programs may not be

offered in some companies or areas, but other options mentioned above may open new paths to

lessen consequences from work. Moreover, attaining a positive success from the resources can

vary from worker to worker as well because some guidelines may be more profitable and

constructive to one’s personal problems, while some solutions may just not work for them. This

is because circumstances and situations can complicate the accessibility of incorporating these

resources into one’s busy daily schedule. A single mother with two children may be better off

taking advantage of child day care than counseling, while a married couple might feel support

groups to be more helpful than working at home. This is why it is essential that one attempt to
 Work-Family Conflict 15

integrate a solution into one’s life, such that one can still establish a balance between work and

family from another solution when a pervious one has failed. While some people might also

need to make some sacrifices in order to be able to take advantage of some of these policies, or at

least lessen the intensity of the consequences, the attempt should still be made because the

positive results can greatly change one’s lifestyle and work-family relations for the better.

Conclusion & Future Consequences: Longer Hours = Increased Work-Family Conflict?

Work and family are central to the lives of most Americans, yet people still struggle to

integrate the demands of both spheres. Over the years the U.S. has developed itself into an

overwork culture in which demands of work have excessively increased for both men and

women. The rapid rise in amount of work hours is one consequence from work that can have a

serious negative impact on family life. So where will the United States draw the line? Knowing

that there are physical and psychological consequences that can creep into one’s familial life can

be very discouraging for younger people in our generation to start families. Childbirth rates are

decreasing, and fewer people are getting married. Can it be that our economy and its work

demands have slowly lulled Americans to step away from attempting the challenge to balance

work and family life? If this challenge is constantly getting more difficult because of work

demands increasing, how soon will it be before people shy away from the desire to establish

families, knowing that serious consequences may enter their lives? Such implications in terms of

the new economy are bound to get worse if people don’t accept the fact that work can harm their

family life, and therefore attempt to do something about the conflict to establish a balance.

Although societal transformations of the future economy might make work more demanding and

consequential to family life, it is up to the future generation to establish a better way to balance

work with family life. The more research that is to be done for work-family literature in respect
 Work-Family Conflict 16

to trends of the changing U.S. economy, the more likely new solutions are to be constructed such

that a person can feel more comfortable getting married, having children, and working once

again. Until more social resources, programs, or guidelines are created, one can take advantage

of those solutions existing today.

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