CONFLICT, STRESS AND ABSENTEEISM
Master thesis, Msc HRM, University of Groningen, Faculty of Economics and Business
June 24, 2014
GIJS JANSEN Studentnummer: 1785192 Goeman Borgesiuslaan 397
9722VJ Groningen
e-mail: g.jansen.4@student.rug.nl
Supervisor/ university
Dr. S. Täuber
Msc. Y. Cantimur
Abstract
Working part-time is an effective strategy for finding the right balance between work and family
demands and thereby reduces work-family conflict. Hence, in the present study we investigated
full-time employment and parenthood as an antecedents of work-family conflict and its effect on
stress and absenteeism. We were interested whether working part-time as a parent reduces work-
family conflict, stress and absenteeism of employees. The present study linked outcomes on a
questionnaire measuring employment, work-family conflict, parenthood, and stress to frequency
of absence of employees of a professional catering company. Part-time employees with children
experience less work-family conflicts compared to parents that are full-time employed. This
study is one of the first studies that researched the link between part-time employment and actual
absenteeism via work-family conflict and stress. Although, the results on this relationship from
this study are inconclusive, we were able to provide useful suggestions for further research on
this topic.
Responsibilities for work, housework, and childcare are no longer confined to traditional gender roles, due to an increase of dual-career couples and single-parent households, accompanied by a decrease in traditional, single-earner families (Frone, 2002). Therefore, finding the right balance between family life and the work domain has received more attention over the last couple of years by human resource management (Carlson, Grzywacz & Zivnuska 2009). A balance between the family and the work domain has been associated with higher job satisfaction and a stronger commitment to the job (Carlson, et al. 2009). When this balance is disturbed, interrole conflict is likely to occur, for the demands of both domains are interfering (Kahn, Wolfe, Quinn, Snoek, & Rosenthal, 1964). This interrole conflict can either emerge from work to family interference, or from family to work interference (Byron, 2005). Higher levels of work-family conflict have been associated with lower work performance and higher intentions for absenteeism and turnover (Allen, Herst, Bruck, & Sutton, 2000)
Organizations implement policies that aim to enhance the flexibility of employees in
balancing their work and non-work responsibilities. Part-time employment is often seen as an
effective strategy in reducing work-family conflict (Byron, 2005) and is recommended by
Euopean Union as an adequate strategy. Furthermore, when having children or experiencing high
time pressure, reduction of working hours is the only change in work conditions that effectively
decreases work-family conflict (Laurijssen & Glorieux 2012). In addition, higher work hours
increase work-family conflict which in turn led to higher psychological distress (Major, Klein
and Ehrhart, 2002). Moreover, higher levels of work-family conflict have been related to higher
self-reported absenteeism (Erickson, Nichols, Ritter, 2000). However, research on the
relationship between part-time employment, work-family conflict, psychological distress, and
absenteeism is scarce (Allen et al., 2000; Byron, 2005; Frone, Russel & Cooper, 1992a). Hence,
in the present study we want to investigate full-time employment and parenthood as an antecedents of work-family conflict and its effect on psychological stress and absenteeism. For we are interested whether working part-time as a parent is reduces work-family conflict, stress and absenteeism.
Theoretical Models on Work-Family Balance
Research on linkages between work and family has increased since the change of work and family roles due to an increase of dual-earning couples and the disappearance of traditional gender roles (Edwards & Rothbard, 2000). Models concerning the linkage between the work and family domain can be classified in either non-causal or causal models (Morf, 1989). Causal models assume a causal link between events in the work domain and in the family domain.
While non-causal models assume that such a direct causal relationship between the two domains does not exists. A correlation between the two domains is attributed to a third variable (Frone, 2002). Frone (2002) concludes that earlier research has shown that various models are applicable however, none of them is able to fully outline the relationship between the work and family domain.
A more recent meta-analysis of Byron (2005) provides evidence for two specific models:
the spillover model and the congruence model (Edwards et al., 2000). The spillover model
assumes that stress or strain from one domain spills over another domain. Negative spillover is
just as likely as positive spillover. For example, employees who have supportive colleagues or a
supportive family tend to have less work-family conflict (Byron, 2005). The congruence model
states that a third variable has a congruence effect on both the work and family domain (Edwards
et al., 2000). For example, coping abilities can reduce work-family conflict because a person is
able to handle problems in both domains (Frone et al., 1991).
Work hours and other antecedents of work-family conflict
As becomes clear form the meta-analysis from Major et al. (2002), work-family conflict has been widely studied, yet the relation between longer work hours and work-family conflict has more often been assumed than that is was tested. Major et al. (2002) only found 15 studies wherein work time was measured in their sample of more than 130 quantitative studies that were examined. In all, the relationship between work-time and well-being or stress was only examined in two studies. One of those studies (Parasuraman, Pruohit, Godshalk, & Beutell, 1996) provided evidence that the effect of work time on life stress was mediated by work-family conflict.
Since then, more recent studies have provided support for this finding (Rijswijk, Rutte &
Croon, 2004) for reducing working hours by switching to part-time employment was found to decrease work-family conflict. In turn, this decrease in work-family conflict was linked to increased well-being. Furthermore, part-time work was found to be associated with increased wellbeing when it was controlled for as a strategy for reducing work-family conflict. Therefore, it was concluded by Rijswijk et al. (2004) that part-time employment is beneficial for employees, regardless whether they did so to either reduce or to prevent work-family conflict.
Based on the spillover model (Zedeck & Mosier, 1990) Major et al. (2002) argued that
family responsibilities like child care and house cleaning are likely to increase work-family
conflict. For, it is likely that employees who spend more time on family responsibilities have less
time left for work. Yet, these predictions were not supported by their analysis. However, a more
recent study has shown that working part-time is the only effective strategy for reducing work-
family conflict after having children (Laurijssen et al.,2012). Moreover, part-time employment
did not only proved to be an effective strategy for reducing time pressure. But it also proved to
be an effective response to high time pressure. Having children does seem to have an effect on work-family conflict.
Higher educated women experience a negative link between part-time employment and work-family conflict as they experience higher job satisfaction (Lautsch & Scully, 2007). While for worker-class employees is has been found that reduced working hours relate to higher levels of work-family conflict (Lautsch et al., 2007). In all, reducing working hours by means of part- time employment is found to be an effective intervention for reducing and preventing work- family family conflict. In all, parenthood has mixed effects on the level of work-family conflict (Major et al., 2002). In present study its relationship with part-time employment and work-family conflict will be more closely examined.
Consequences of work-family conflict
As noted before, work-family conflict is related to negative outcomes for the employee as well as the organization (Allen et al., 2000). For example, commitment to organization decreases when work-family conflict is high (Good, Sisler, & Gentry, 1988; Netemeyer, Boles, &
McMurrain, 1996). Frone (2002) speculates that organizational outcomes like absenteeism and lower work performance can only be a result of family to work interference. And not the other way around, as absenteeism and lower work performance is more likely an outcome of family demands instead of work demands. Therefore, Frone (2002) considered a direct relation between work-family conflict and absenteeism to be unlikely.
However, work-family conflict is positively related to psychological distress and self-
reported health (Frone et al., 1992a). Because of the link between work-family conflict and
psychological distress, Frone et al. (1992a) call for future research to connect distress due to
work-family conflict to absenteeism. More recent studies have confirmed that work-family
conflict is positively related to psychological distress (Major et al., 2002). Moreover, Grandey and Cropanzano (1999) linked work-family conflict to actual job distress, which increased turnover intentions, life distress and physical health complaints. More importantly, work-family conflict was linked to absenteeism (Erickson et al., 2000). However, absenteeism was measured by means of self-reports which are prone to social desirability. Therefore, in the present study, we will attempt to link experienced stress to the behavior of employees by means of behavioral data on absenteeism.
The present study
According to Eurostat (e.g., http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu, 12-01-2014) The Netherlands has the highest percentage of part-time employees of the whole of Europe. On the average percentage of part-time workers in the EU is 19%. Whereas in The Netherlands this percentage is as high as 50% of the Dutch workforce. In scientific literature, The Netherlands is even regarded as the first part-time economy in the world (Visser, 2002). Having children is often mentioned as a reason for voluntarily decrease in working hours. A study by the labor union FNV Abvokabo (Oostvoorn, 2010) revealed that 65 % of the respondents reduced the amount of working hours after having children. As the combination of work and having children is perceived as stressful for 62% of the respondents.
The literature on part-time employment, work-family conflict and distress has been quite
consistent. However, research on the link between part-time employment, work-family conflict,
psychological distress, and absenteeism is scarce (Allen et al., 2000; Frone et al., 1992a). As a
result, literature on the connection between work-family conflict and absenteeism has been less
well established (Byron, 2005). Therefore, the present study tries to find further support for the
link between those concepts. In addition, organizations are likely to benefit form a better picture
of the link between part-time employment, work-family conflict, and absenteeism. To provide such an answer, the following hypotheses are proposed.
Hypothesis 1: Full-time employment is stronger related to work-family conflict compared to part-time employment.
Hypothesis 2a: Parenthood increases work-family conflict.
Hypothesis 2b: Part-time employees with children experience less work-family conflict compared to full-time employees with children.
Hypothesis 3: Full-time employment is indirectly related to more frequent absenteeism via work-family conflict and increased stress.
METHOD Participants
The sample included 179 employees (57 men and 117 women) form a professional catering company. The participants were between 21 and 66 years old (M= 45.22, SD=11.32) and have been employed at the catering company between 2 months and 30 years (M=7, SD=6.24).
Employees worked between 4 en 60 hours per week (M=29.94, SD=11.56). Full-time contracts in the Netherlands of 1 fte consist of 36 to 41 work hours per week. Dummies were constructed to enable statistical analysis. For more than 35 hours per week (employment = 1) and for less than 36 work hours per week (employment = 0). This results in 66 part-time employees and 104 full-time employees.
Education varied considerably among the participants: 2.3% just completed primary
school, 31.4% completed a lower level of college education, 3.5% finished middle school (Hoger
Algemeen Voortgezet Onderwijs and Voorbereidend Wetenschappelijk Onderwijs) and 16% got
a bachelor’s degree. To enable statistical analysis, dummies were created by categorizing
primary school and lower level of college education as lower level of education (Education = 0) which accounted for 80.5% of the participants. Middle school and bachelor degrees were categorized as higher level of education (Education = 1) and accounted for 19.5% of the participants.
Material and Measures
Our main measures were three scales to measure stress, work-family conflict and job satisfaction respectively. Stress was measured by the Overspannings Klachtenlijst (Schmidt, 2001) which measures symptoms of stress by means of 22 questions, for example ‘sleeping problems’ (see Appendix A for the complete list of items). Each sates a certain symptom which occurrence in the past seven days can be rated on a scale from 1(did not occur) to 5(occurred a lot). The average score on the questionnaire provides an indication on how much stress the respondent experiences and shows a reliability of α = .97 . In addition, the eight following items measure the core symptoms of being overstrained and chronicle stress: ‘(1) concentration problems, (2) troubles with thinking clearly, (3) worse performance, (4) not able to handle thing, (5) forgetful, (6) not feeling capable to solve problems, (7) loss of interest, and (8) no enjoyment of the daily happenings’. The average score on these items is predictive of chronic stress and is indicated as the score on overstrain which has a reliability of α = .95.
We measured work-family conflict four items developed by Frone, Russell and Cooper ( 1991,
1992a, 1992b, 1993). The degree to which a respondent's job interferes with his or her home life
(work to family conflict) and the degree to which a respondent's home life interferes with his or her
job (family to work conflict) was assessed by two items each. The two items assessing Work-Family
conflict were: ‘How often does your job or career interfere with your responsibilities at home, such
as yard work, cooking, cleaning, repairs, shopping, paying the bills, or child care?’ and ‘How often
does your job or career keep you from spending the amount of time you would like to spend with your
family?’ The items assessing Family-Work conflict were: ‘How often does your home life interfere with your responsibilities at work, such as getting to work on time, accomplishing daily tasks, or working overtime?’ and ‘How often does your home life keep you from spending the amount of time you would like to spend on job or career-related activities?’ Each item was rated on a 7-point frequency-based response scale, ranging from 1 (never, never) to 7 (always, daily).
We measured job satisfaction was with the 4-item job satisfaction scale by Smith, Kendall and Hullin (1969); a sample item is: ‘My job inspires me.’ (α=.91 - .96). Each item was evaluated on a 7-point response scale, ranging from 1 (Totally disagree) to 7 (Totally agree).
Procedure
The study was administered online by use of Qualtrics. The catering organization send an e-mail containing the link to the online questionnaire to all their employees. All participants completed the same questionnaire, which started with completing a web-based informed consent form. After receiving instructions, they continued by answering questions about their personal background (gender, age, level of education, marital status, employment, work hours, function, parenthood, country of birth and nationality). Participants were asked to fill in their personnel- number after being informed that doing so would enable us to connect their answers to data on absenteeism. After the connection the personnel-number would be deleted and data from the report would not be individually identifiable. Next, was the ‘Overspannings Klachtenlijst’
questionnaire where participants were asked to fill in the whether they had suffered certain troubles over the past 7 days concerning stress related symptoms and to rate the intensity.
Subsequently, two questions about work to family conflict and two questions about family to
work conflict were asked. These were followed by 4 questions concerning the job satisfaction of
the employees. Lastly, participants were thanked for their effort and given the opportunity to
leave a comment concerning the questionnaire or the study. These comments did not show any relevant questions or issues concerning the questionnaire or study.
When the questionnaire was closed, the data on absenteeism was connected to the answers on the questionnaire by means of the personnel-number at the office of the human resource consulting organization. This was done by manually copying absenteeism data for every personnel number from the database of the human resource consulting organization to the data file of the questionnaire. In the questionnaire the frequency and the overall duration of absenteeism was filled in by the researcher. After the data was connected, all personnel-numbers were deleted from the data file of the questionnaire to ensure anonymity of the participants.
RESULTS
Firstly, we expected that full-time employment is stronger related to work-family conflict compared to part-time employment. Secondly, we expected that having children positively influences the effect of part-time employment on work-family conflict. Thirdly, we expected that full-time employment is indirectly related to more frequent absenteeism via work-family conflict and increased stress. To test the first and second hypothesis an analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed. For the third hypotheses a path analysis-based moderation and mediation analysis was performed by use of the computational tool PROCESS (Preacher & Hayes, 2008).
For all statistical tests an alpha level of 0.5 was used (see Appendix B for the complete list of variables).
The analysis yielded that the effect of employment on work-family conflict was
significant F(1,162)=6.13, p =.014. Full-time employees experience on average 2.67 work-
family conflict (SD=1.35). Part-time employees experience on average 2.19 work-family conflict
(SD=1.14). Post hoc analysis revealed that part-time employees experience .49 point less (t =-
2.48, SD=0.20, p =.014) on a scale of one to seven. Thus, work-family conflict is higher for full-
time employment compared to part-time employment as can be seen in figure 1.
FIGURE 1
Mean Work-Family conflict for Part-time and Full-time employees.
Our second hypothesis predicted that having children increases work-family conflict. And secondly, that part-time employees with children experience less work-family conflict compared to full-time employees with children. The analyses revealed a significant main effect of
parenthood on work-family conflict F(1,90)=6.44, p =.013. This indicates that, employees who
have children experience more work-family conflict (M=2.72, SD=0.11) compared to employees
without children (M1.73, SD=0.36). Furthermore, working part-time does seem to significantly reduce the experienced work-family conflict. For the analysis revealed that the effect of
employment on work-family conflict was significant for employees with children F(1,80)=4.91, p=.029. Thus part-time employees with children (M=2.36, SD=1.26) experience less work-
family conflict compared to full-time employees with children (M=3.04, SD=1.35), as illustrated by figure 2.
FIGURE 2
Mean Work-Family conflict for Part-time and Full-time employees with and without Children.
