Work-family conflicts and work performance

Psychol Rep. 2009 Aug;105(1):80-6. doi: 10.2466/PR0.105.1.80-86.

Abstract

Prior research indicates that work-family conflict interferes with family far more than it interferes with work. Conservation of resources provides a possible explanation: when shifting resources from family is no longer sufficient to maintain satisfactory work performance, then workers must acquire additional resources or reduce investments in work. One source of such additional resources could be high performance peers in the work group. The performance of workers with resource-rich peers may be less adversely affected by work-family conflict. In this study, 136 employees of a wholesale distribution firm (61% women, 62% minority) working in groups of 7 to 11 in manual labor and low-level administrative jobs rated their own work-to-family conflict. Their supervisors rated workers' performance. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that work-to-family conflict increasingly adversely affected job performance as work group performance decreased. Hence, work group performance may be an important moderator of the effects of work-family conflict.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Employee Performance Appraisal / statistics & numerical data*
  • Family Conflict / psychology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Job Satisfaction
  • Male
  • Minority Groups / psychology
  • Minority Groups / statistics & numerical data
  • Occupations / statistics & numerical data
  • Peer Group
  • Regression Analysis
  • Social Support
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Work / psychology*
  • Work / statistics & numerical data
  • Work Schedule Tolerance / psychology
  • Workload / psychology
  • Workload / statistics & numerical data