Work–Family Conflicts among Female Staff of Higher Institutions in Nigeria

Abstract

Striking balance and maintaining harmony between work and family have always been a great challenge for women in general. This article examines factors that conflict between official responsibilities and family demand among female staff of higher institution of learning in Nigeria. A structured questionnaire is administered to female staff of higher institutions across the country. Hierarchical sampling technique is used to select female staff from each institution. Simple percentage and bar charts are used to present the socio-demographic characteristics of respondents. The mean responses for each factor are ranked and the first four ranked factors are discussed. Stress, mental fatigue, and psychological burnout/disorder are the major effects observed, while resuming and closing work at convenience is the major mechanism being used by women in tertiary institutions. Other highly ranked mechanisms are using a housekeeper/help, using a childcare center closer to workplace, and using help from colleagues in carrying out official assignments.

Investigating the Factors Related to Work-Family Conflicts Experienced by Working Women: A Systematic Review

“…A 22-item checklist (strengthening the reporting of observational studies in epidemiology) (STROB) was used to assess the quality of quantitative articles. Articles were classified into three categories: good (scores in the range of [17][18][19][20][21][22], fair (scores of [16][17][18], and poor (scores of 1-7) based on the points earned in each item (Appendix 1).…”

“…Time management is the most important skill that women need to create a work-life balance and prevent work-life conflicts (4,6,19,21,23,37,43). Short-term and long-term planning helps women to find the right time for each of their job and family roles (43).…”

“…Short-term and long-term planning helps women to find the right time for each of their job and family roles (43). Proper knowledge of their own abilities can help women to allocate appropriate time for their work and home tasks (6,19,43). Higher individual skills and a better ability to manage available resources to handle various work and family responsibilities play an important role in achieving work-life balance (12).…”

“…Since women play a major role in childcare and caring for the elderly and dependents in need (38), they may face many challenges balancing their caregiver role (39). According to research, caring for children (19,21,23,26,30,32,33,39,43) and caring for elderly family members (23,26,33,39,43) and relatives (21,39,43) create significant work-life conflicts for working women.…”

Work-to-family conflict, family satisfaction and engagement nexus: insights from millennial managers

“…Sayar et al (2016) and Opie and Henn (2013) report a negative relationship between WFC and employee engagement. In Nigeria, Ademuyiwa et al (2021) established that stress, mental fatigue and psychological burnout/disorder have a significant impact on the performance of female bank employees. Likewise, Ajayi et al (2020) reported that majority (78.8%) of female bankers experience strain because of job demand and meeting family expectations.…”