Coping with work-family conflict: The role of organizational support

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the impact that perceived organizational and managerial support and actual organizational support resources (e.g., flexible work arrangements, alternative work schedules, etc.) have on work interfering with family (W{dollar}rightarrow{dollar}F) conflict, family interfering with work (F{dollar}rightarrow{dollar}W) conflict, and important job outcomes such as job satisfaction and withdrawal behaviors. This study also tested whether measures of work-family conflict were perceived forms of stress, and whether forms of organizational support have either main or buffering effects in separate models of W{dollar}rightarrow{dollar}F and F{dollar}rightarrow{dollar}W conflict. Data were obtained via questionnaire from a heterogeneous sample of 799 employees drawn from several companies in diverse industries. Results show that work-family conflict is a perceived form of stress, and that W{dollar}rightarrow{dollar}F conflict was more stressful than F{dollar}rightarrow{dollar}W conflict. Contrary to prior research, there were no significant gender differences in W{dollar}rightarrow{dollar}F or F{dollar}rightarrow{dollar}W conflict (or in stress attributed to balancing work and personal life), As expected, measures of support were found to act as significant coping resources, having beneficial effects for both individuals (e.g., reduced conflict, increased job satisfaction) as well as their organizations (e.g., decreased turnover intentions, improved attendance). As coping resources, measures of support had primarily main effects and some buffering effects in each model of work-family conflict. Furthermore, their relationship to measures of conflict and job outcomes were found to depend upon the direction of conflict (i.e., whether W{dollar}rightarrow{dollar}F or F{dollar}rightarrow{dollar}W). Consistent with findings from the social support literature, perceived organizational and managerial support had a greater impact on reducing work-family conflicts and improving organizational outcomes than did actual support resources. Organizational support was the primary coping resource found to reduce W{dollar}rightarrow{dollar}F conflict, whereas, perceived managerial support was the primary coping resource found to reduce F{dollar}rightarrow{dollar}W conflict. Perceptions of support were also found to be significant predictors of increased job satisfaction and decreased turnover intentions in both models, with organizational support being the strongest predictor. In contrast, actual use of organizational resources lead to decreased job satisfaction and increased withdrawal behaviors. The results and implications for organizations are discussed from the perspective of stress models.