Parent and Child Experiences of Parental Work–Family Conflict and Satisfaction with Work and Family

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between parent and young adult child perceptions of parental work–family conflict and work and family satisfaction. Data were collected from 112 parent–child dyads, and children perceived parents to experience significantly more strain-based work–family conflict than parents reported. Parent and child did not differ in ratings of five other dimensions of parent’s work–family and family–work conflict. Parent and child ratings of the parent’s experience of all three dimensions of work–family conflict and one of three dimensions of family–work conflict were positively correlated. Four actor–partner interdependence models using multilevel modeling tested dyadic effects of work–family or family–work conflict on work or family satisfaction. Negative actor effects were found for behavior-based work–family and family–work conflict and for strain-based family–work conflict on family satisfaction. Negative actor effects existed for behavior-based work–family and family–work conflict on work satisfaction, and behavior-based work–family conflict also had a negative partner effect on work satisfaction.

Job satisfaction as a mediator between family-to-work conflict and satisfaction with family life: a dyadic analysis in dual-earner parents

“…Moreover, according to the matching hypothesis, the primary effects of a conflict are found in the domain in which the conflict originates (Amstad et al, 2011). As evidence supports both hypotheses at intra-individual and inter-individual levels (Amstad et al, 2011; Li et al, 2021 ; Matei et al, 2021 ; Morr & Droser, 2020 ; Drummond et al, 2017 ), we pose that family-to-work conflict indirectly reduces family satisfaction via a reduction of job satisfaction. In other words, if individuals cannot meet the demands at work due to family interference with their job they will experience job dissatisfaction, which in turn may generate a negative affective reaction against family, thus negatively influencing family satisfaction.…”

“…Drummond et al, ( 2017 ) found that work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict negatively correlated with both job and family satisfaction, although when they tested the relationship between family-to-work conflict and family and job satisfaction one year later, the relationship between family-to-work conflict and family satisfaction was stronger than the relationship between family-to-work conflict and job satisfaction, also providing more support to the matching theory. In addition, Morr and Droser ( 2020 ) also provides provide support to the matching theory, as they found that a behavior- and strain-based family interference with work correlated negatively with family satisfaction. Therefore, we expect a negative relationship between family-to-work conflict and family satisfaction based on the matching hypothesis, and a negative relationship between family-to-work conflict and job satisfaction based on the cross-domain hypothesis.…”

“…Given that family-to-work conflict can have noticeable effects on domain-specific satisfaction (De Simone et al, 2014 ), the impact of both family-to-work conflict and job satisfaction in the family domain may be better assessed by examining satisfaction with family life, the person’s subjective, conscious assessment of their family life (Zabriskie & Ward, 2013 ). Several studies support a positive relationship between job and family satisfaction (Emanuel et al, 2018 ; Morr & Droser, 2020 ; Musadieq 2019 ; Schnettler et al, 2020 ). Both work and family satisfaction are frequent outcomes of work-family and family-work conflict, yet correlation patterns for between conflict and satisfaction may depend on the domain that is causing the conflict (Amstad et al, 2011).…”

Family-to-work enrichment associations between family meal atmosphere and job satisfaction in dual-earner parents

“…The APIM is the most frequently used analytical model of dyadic data (Garcia et al, 2015 ) because it simultaneously estimates the effects of an individual’s attributes on their own outcome variable (actor effect), as well as their partner’s (partner effect). The APIM has been used to investigate complex dynamics in family members and other close relationships, such as the association between parents’ work-family conflict and enrichment and their children’s problem behaviours (Vieira et al, 2016 ), the relationship between couples’ depression and relationship satisfaction (Li & Johnson, 2018 ), the link between parent and child experiences of parental work-family conflict (Morr & Droser, 2020 ), the association between fathers’ parenting uplifts and mothers’ life satisfaction (Chen, 2020 ), and the relationship between parents’ work-family conflict and enrichment and their adolescent children’s well-being (Matias & Recharte, 2021 ).…”

Should children become key stakeholders in designing family-friendly workplaces?

“…Moreover, WLB does not imply only the reduction in parental stress by creating and maintaining a symmetrical balance between different spheres of life (Ford and Collinson, 2011), but also the time for personal pleasures that lead to family wellbeing (Bradley et al, 2008). Looking at WLB from a child's perspective, Morr Loftus and Droser (2020) found that children believe parents are less satisfied with both family and work than they show at home. Since parents model their children's attitudes towards future work and family, it is important to consider children's expectations of their parents' workplace versus HR strategies aimed at achieving wellbeing for working parents.…”