Individual, organizational and social level antecedents of work-family enrichment: Does gender acts as a moderator?
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JABS-10-2017-0186 |
| Published date | 07 January 2019 |
| Date | 07 January 2019 |
| Pages | 108-132 |
| Author | Pavitra Mishra,Jyotsna Bhatnagar |
| Subject Matter | Strategy,International business |
Individual, organizational and social level
antecedents of work-family enrichment:
Does gender acts as a moderator?
Pavitra Mishra and Jyotsna Bhatnagar
Abstract
Purpose –This studyaims to fulfill the need to explore positive sideof work–family interface, especially in
emerging economies like India. The authors assessed the relationships of individual (family role
salience), organizational (work–family culture) and social (community support) antecedents to work-to-
family enrichment. They also examined whether gender moderated the relationship between the three
antecedentsand work-to-family enrichment.
Design/methodology/approach –Data werecollected on a questionnaire scale from 487employees.
Findings –It has been found that family role salience, supportive work-family culture and community
support were directly related to work-to-family enrichment. Gender did not influence the relationship
between work-family cultureand work-to-family enrichment. However, relationshipsbetween family role
salienceand work-to-family enrichment, and betweencommunity support and work-to-familyenrichment,
were stronger in case of the male employees. The evolving nature of gender and integration of work-
family-community domain provide insights into managers and policymakers about the importance of
familyand community in the organizations.
Practical implications –The studybuilds a business case for facilitating a positivework-family culture in
India for both male andfemale employees. The results point to the transitioningsocio-cultural scenario of
India, which advocates more similarities than differences in modern gender role expectations and
identity. The currentstudy emphasizes that while formulatingpolicy, managers and policymakers should
keep in mind evolvingpreferences of both the genders.
Originality/value –The research providesa holistic view of how individual-, organizational- andsocial-
level factorsmay affect employees’ work–familyenrichment in India. It also highlights the changingrole of
gender.Theoretical and practical limitations are also discussed.
Keywords Gender, India, Work-family enrichment, Community support
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The work–family interface is a culture-sensitive phenomenon (Powell et al.,2009) which calls
for work–family studies in different cultural contexts. Only sparse studies are present on
work–family interface in emerging economies, especiallyin the Indian context (Shaffer et al.,
2011). One of the positive outcomes of the work–family interface is work-to-family
enrichment. There are limited studies on work–family enrichment particularly in Indian
context (Aryee et al., 2005;Mishraet al.,2014).
India is witnessing fast changing work–family interface, owing to several factors such as
advancements in technologies whichkeep individuals active beyond usual working hours, a
shift from joint to nuclear family system, an increase of dual career couples, increased
career aspirations and desire of better lifestyle. These factors are well-known to complicate
the work–family interface (Lyness and Erkovan, 2016;Gajendran and Harrison, 2007).
Pavitra Mishra is based at
the Indian Institute of
Management Rohtak,
Rohtak, India.
Jyotsna Bhatnagar is based
at the Management
Development Institute,
Gurgaon, India.
Received 17 October 2017
Revised 18 April 2018
28 June 2018
Accepted 11 October 2018
PAGE 104 jJOURNAL OF ASIA BUSINESS STUDIES jVOL. 13 NO. 1 2019, pp. 104-128, ©Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1558-7894 DOI 10.1108/JABS-10-2017-0186
Besides, past studies have pointed that a troublesome work–family interface can lead to
stress, depression, deterioration in physical health and poor job performance (Greenhaus,
Allen, and Spector, 2006;O’Driscoll et al.,2004;Frone, 2003;Grzywacz and Marks, 2000).
Therefore, in a quest for positive work–family interface, it is significant to identify factors that
may enable a more balancedand enriching life.
This study aims to explore the relationships between work-to-family enrichment with
contextual (work–family culture and community resources) and individual-level (family role
salience) factors. Further, the moderating role of gender was also studied for all the direct
relationships. Gender is a characteristic that male and female members of the societyadopt
and identify themselves with asthey undergo societal exposure and cultural manifestations.
To mention here, a classification of gender roles in India is important because of its
patriarchal culture (Gneezy et al.,2009). Females are primarily expected to take care of
family responsibilities, whereas males are looked upon for financial support and security
(Andersen et al., 2013). Constrained with such cultural and societal classification, females
find less representation in economic development and finds difficult to adjust their
professional aspirations with family responsibilities. However, times are changing, and
multiple initiatives are being taken by the Indian Government for promoting education and
participation of women in the workforce (Lenka and Agarwal, 2017). Thus, it is important to
study how gender and its evolving nature may impact work–family dynamics of a society.
Further, though gender plays a pivotal role in management, as it is the primary source of
personality differences and can affect policymaking (Neubert and Taggar, 2004), there is
limited research on moderating impact of gender (Brush and Cooper, 2012;Lee, 2009;
Barbuto et al., 2007). Therefore, this study also aims to contribute to “gender in
management” by exploring its links withwork-to-family enrichment.
Work-to-family enrichment is linked with several organizational- and individual-level
outcomes, such as organizational commitment (Wayne et al., 2004;Van Steenbergen and
Ellemers, 2009), career satisfaction (Carlson et al., 2006), marital satisfaction (Hakanen
et al.,2011
), family satisfaction (Jaga and Bagrain, 2011), job satisfaction (Daniel and
Sonnentag, 2016), well-being, psychological capital (Mishra et al., 2017), physical and
mental health (McNall et al.,2010) and reduced turnover intentions (Wayne et al.,2006).
Work-to-family enrichment occurs when resources generated from involvement in
occupational roles help improve the quality of family life (Carlson et al.,2014). Researchers
(Boixados et al.,2010;De Klerk et al.,2013) suggest that an employee’s work and family life
can provide reciprocal enrichmentthrough the resources and rewards inherent in each role.
Role accumulation theory (Sieber, 1974;Marks, 1977) provides support for work-to-family
enrichment. According to role accumulation theory, when people participate in multiple
roles, they are benefited in a number of wayssuch as follows:
䊏greater role privileges;
䊏lower strain in one role because of a buffering effect of other roles;
䊏higher or enhanced status; and
䊏personality enrichment.
The role enhancement theory also provides theoretical support for the notion that the
employees use resources/experiences of one role in the improvement of another role
(Barnett and Hyde, 2001). Positive transmission of resources can be through positive
emotional arousal, inter-personal availability, energy creation and gratification (Mitchell
et al.,2015
;Rothbard, 2001), leading to work-to-family enrichment.
Greenhaus and Powell (2006) gave a theoretical framework to explain how resources
obtained from work, such as encouragement, financial compensation, information, security,
work-family benefits and advice can enhance employees’ functioning in the family role.
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