Work‐family conflict in East vs Western countries

Bibliographic Data

ID20501658
AuthorsZaiton Hassan (0000-0002-4009-5193, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak), Maureen Dollard (0000-0002-3128-8727, University of South Australia), Maureen F Dollard, Anthony H Winefield (0000-0001-5027-6687, University of South Australia)
EditorsRonald J Burke
Year2010
Volume17
Issue1
Pages30-49
Publication date2010-02-09
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCross Cultural Management An International Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1352-7606 • E-ISSN: 1758-6089
PublisherEmerald (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1108/13527601011016899
OpenAlexW2063441618
LanguageEN
Citations received31
References cited72

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to advance the understanding of both directions of work‐family conflict (WFC), work interference with family (WIF) and family interference with work (FIW) in an Eastern culture. Findings are compared with those of 14 other Western studies and the relationships among WIF, FIW and job, family, community and life satisfaction are explored. Design/methodology/approach This study is conducted in Malaysia, a country with Islam as the official religion. Data are obtained from 506 employees in three public and three private sector organizations. Questionnaires are distributed via human resource managers. Findings Results show that similar to Western studies, WIF scores are higher than FIW scores. Malaysians are significantly lower on WIF than Westerners. Nevertheless, Malaysians score significantly higher on FIW than all Western samples. Within the Malaysian sample, FIW also has a stronger negative relationship with all facets of satisfaction and WIF has a positive relationship with family satisfaction. Research limitations/implications Cross‐sectional data are presented which could result in common method bias. Practical implications Organizations can assist in minimizing WIF and FIW by providing family‐friendly policies and parenting related programmes. The importance of family in an individual's life in Eastern cultures is different than in Western cultures. Therefore multi‐national companies operating in Eastern settings would be well‐advised to take cultural aspects such as collectivism into consideration. Originality/value The study provides insights into Eastern experiences of WIF and FIW compared with Western experiences. The study expands previous studies by measuring both directions of WFC and employing a heterogeneous sample (e.g. not just female, those married, those with children)

Business · Collectivism · Originality · Political science · Engineering · Gender Diversity and Inequality · Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior · Psychology · Social Psychology · Work-Family Balance Challenges · Marketing

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