Workload, Work‐to‐Family Conflict, and Health: Gender Differences and the Influence of Private Life Context

Abstract

Previous research on gender differences in work‐to‐family conflict, and the latter's linkages with workload and health, has largely ignored the influence of private life context. Here, it is hypothesized that gender differences vary across private life contexts. A multiple‐group analysis (SEM) is performed on a representative sample (N = 8,593) of the working population in Flanders (Belgium) to examine gender differences in six family configurations, based on having (or not) a partner (working or not), and having children. Women were found to report higher levels of work‐to‐family conflict than men, but this difference only holds when both partners are earning (with and without children), and in single‐income families with children. Gender differences in the strength of the relationships between conflict and both workload and health were found in the overall sample, but were only reflected in specific subgroups. Our results suggest that private life context should receive attention in future research and policymaking aimed at achieving sustainable careers and caring.

Gender or Occupational Status: What Counts More for Well-Being at Work?

“…Calvo-Salguero et al, 2010;Cinamon & Rich, 2002;Duxbury & Higgins, 1994;Gutek et al, 1991;Lyonette et al, 2007;Van Veldhoven & Beijer, 2012). We may put forward two hypotheses to explain our divergent results.…”

“…Studies which have examined gender differences in work-family conflict have shown mixed results, but generally report that women experience greater conflict than men (e.g. Calvo-Salguero et al, 2010;Cinamon & Rich, 2002;Colombo & Ghislieri, 2008;Cortese, Colombo, & Ghislieri, 2010;Duxbury & Higgins, 1994;Gutek, Searle, & Klepa, 1991;Lyonette, Crompton, & Wall, 2007;Van Veldhoven & Beijer, 2012). These results are usually explained in the light of social norms and stereotypes.…”

“…On the one hand, literature from a gender perspective has examined gender differences in relation to these variables, showing that -compared to men -women in most cases experience lower job satisfaction and higher work-family conflict (Calvo-Salguero et al, 2010;Cinamon & Rich, 2002;Matud, 2004;Osorio et al, 2003;Tytherleigh et al, 2007;Van Veldhoven & Beijer, 2012). On the other hand, a body of studies has driven the attention to the impact of the occupational status, demonstrating a general positive effect of high-status occupations, even with some divergent results about the influence of status on work-family conflict (Booth & Van Ours, 2009;Calvo-Saluguero et al, 2010;Clark et al, 2008;McKinlay & Marcaeu, 2011;Salinas-Jiménez et al, 2013;Schieman et al, 2006).…”

Experiences of Work-Life Conflict for the Athletic Trainer Employed Outside the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Clinical Setting

“…In support of existing literature from the secondary school setting, 6 we observed that ATs who worked more hours per week and had less flexibility or control over their work schedules were at greater risk for WLC. Research 23 outside of athletic training has implied that one's family situation can mediate the experiences of conflict, with ATs who are married or married with children experiencing more conflict. In fact, the Center for American Progress and the University of California Hastings College of the Law revealed that about 90% of US mothers and 95% of US fathers have reported WFC.…”

Work–Family Conflict in Sri Lanka: Negotiations of Exchange Relationships in Family and at Work

“…First, couples in which both partners work outside the home are increasingly common. Second, as van Veldhoven and Beijer's study (2012) show, men and women in dual‐earner families experience higher levels of WFC than individuals in many other private life contexts (e.g., single men and women without children). Third, dual‐earner couples allowed us to hear from individuals in a type of family unit that should incentivize both spouses/partners to work together toward combining dual careers and care in a sustainable manner.…”