The work-life interface: a critical factor between work stressors and job satisfaction
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-09-2016-0226 |
| Pages | 880-897 |
| Published date | 04 June 2019 |
| Date | 04 June 2019 |
| Author | Victoria P. Weale,Yvonne D. Wells,Jodi Oakman |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Global HRM |
The work-life interface: a critical
factor between work stressors
and job satisfaction
Victoria P. Weale
Department of Psychology and Public Health,
La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
Yvonne D. Wells
Australian Institute for Primary Care and Ageing,
La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia, and
Jodi Oakman
Department of Psychology and Public Health,
La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to explore job satisfaction, and how the work-life interface might
affect job satisfaction, among residential aged care staff. The statistical package PROCESS was used to
analyse the impacts of workplace stressors (poor safety climate, poor relationships with colleagues and poor
relationships with management) and potential mediating variables that measured aspects of the work-life
interface, specifically work-family conflict (WFC) and work-life balance.
Design/methodology/approach –This survey researchwas carried out through distri bution of a paper-based
questionnaire to approximately 800 permanent, fixed term and casual employees working in residential aged care.
All job roles, including both direct care and support staff, were represented in the sample.
Findings –WFC and work-life balance act serially to mediate the relationships between workplace stressors
and job satisfaction.
Research limitations/implications –Study participants were restricted to residential aged care facilities
in the metropolitan Melbourne area, Australia, limiting generalisability of the findings.
Practical implications –The work-life interface is a legitimate concern for human resources managers.
Implications include need for greater understanding of the contribution of work-life fit to job satisfaction.
Interventionsto improve job satisfactionshould take into account how workplacestressors affect the work-life
interface, as well as job-related outcomes. Enhancedwork-life fit should improve job-related outcomes.
Originality/value –This paper explores the potential mediating roles of WFC and work-life balance on job
satisfaction and demonstrates a pathway through which the work-life interface affects job satisfaction for
workers in residential aged care.
Keywords Mediation, Healthcare, Flexibility, Job design, Job satisfaction, Work-life balance,
Work-family conflict
Paper type Research paper
Australia’s population, along with that of many other countries, is ageing, and the
proportion of the population aged 85 years or older is predicted to rise from 1.6 per cent in
2007 to 5–7 per cent in 2056 (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2009). This increase will lead to
greater demand for all aged care services (King et al., 2012; Productivity Commission, 2015),
higher staff numbers in the sector, and exacerbation of staff shortages and high turnover.
One way of addressing staff shortages is by improving retention of all workers, irrespective
of their age (Howe et al., 2012).
The 2012 Aged CareWorkforce Census and Survey reportedthat over 147,000 workers are
employed in directcare roles in residential aged care facilities across Australia(see King et al.,
2012). The majority(68 per cent) are employed as personal care assistants (PCAs), 12 per cent
as enroled nurses (ENs) and 15 per cent as registered nurses (RNs). Others are employed in
Personnel Review
Vol. 48 No. 4, 2019
pp. 880-897
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0048-3486
DOI 10.1108/PR-09-2016-0226
Received 1 September 2016
Revised 8 April 2017
13 October 2017
6 March 2018
19 July 2018
Accepted 11 November 2018
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0048-3486.htm
880
PR
48,4
non-direct care roles: for example, facility managers, administrators and ancillary staff.
Permanentpart-time arrangementsare common (72 per cent), with about one-fifth(19 per cent)
employed on a casual basis. Many facilities (46 per cent) report using labourhire agencies to
cover staff absences. Most direct care workers(89 per cent) are women, and, the workforce is,
on average, older than the Australian workforce as a whole (King et al.,2012).
Previous research (King et al., 2012) reported that around three-quarters of residential
aged care facilities surveyed in Australia have staff vacancies, and that time to fill these
varies by job role and location. This suggests that in Australia, residential aged care
employees are able to exercise choices about their employment. King et al. (2013) proposed
that a shift away from the nature of care work, to a focus on policy and management issues,
such as satisfaction with schedules, is required to address turnover in aged care. Other
research (Howe et al., 2012; Oakman and Wells, 2015; Skinner et al., 2011) has examined
relationships between workplace factors and staff retention. Existing frameworks have
linked a range of job factors to job satisfaction; one of the most well-known is the Job
Characteristics Model developed by Hackman and Oldham (1975).
Such models include a range of work-related factors, such as autonomy and task
significance, but they do not incorporate non-work factors. Rather, they treat the non-work
and work domains separately, without consideration of the overall fit between these two
domains and the subsequent impact on outcomes such as job satisfaction. Some studies
have attempted to link the domains by looking at the influence of work demands and
resources on specific factors affecting the work-life interface; such as work-family conflict
(WFC) or work-life balance (Fein and Skinner, 2015; Samad et al., 2015; Spector et al., 2007).
Others have examined the influence of factors including work-life balance and WFC on job
and life satisfaction (Kalliath and Kalliath, 2015; Karimi et al., 2010; Kanwar et al., 2009; Zhao
et al., 2011). However, to the authors’knowledge, few studies have explored fit between work
and non-work domains as a pathway through which job demands and resources influence
broader outcomes such as job satisfaction. One exception is research by Ngah et al. (2010),
which reported that WFC explained the relationship between lack of supervisor support and
low job satisfaction for single mothers in Malaysia.
The current study aims to extend this body of knowledge by including measures of the
work-life interface (i.e. WFC and work-life balance) in a conceptual model of the effects of
workplace factors on job satisfaction. The study investigated whether WFC and work-life
balance are important in explaining the association between job satisfaction (as an outcome)
and work demands and resources in a sample of residential aged care workers in Australia.
Job satisfaction: outcomes
Job satisfaction is the extent to which people like, or dislike, all elements of their job (Spector,
1997). Previous research has reported the relationship between job satisfaction and
outcomes such as workload, burnout and turnover intention (Dall’Ora et al., 2015; Karantzas
et al., 2012; McGilton et al., 2013; Miller, 2008); however, the relationships between job
satisfaction and its determinants, and longer-term outcomes such as burnout and general
health, are often unclear and conflicting findings have been reported. A systematic review of
70 articles concluded that further research is needed to understand the causal links between
job satisfaction, work-related burnout and impacts on general health (Khamisa et al., 2013).
Other research in the health sector generally (e.g. Ramoo et al., 2013), and in residential
aged care specifically (Castle et al., 2007; Decker et al., 2009; Karantzas et al., 2012; McGilton
et al., 2013; Miller, 2008), has concluded that job satisfaction is negatively related to
intentions to leave the job, regardless of personal factors such as age, tenure or level of
education. That is, high job satisfaction encourages staff retention. Staff retention has also
been linked with positive ratings of working conditions such as wages, hours of work and
relationships with residents (Dall’Ora et al., 2015; McGilton et al., 2013; Steinmetz et al., 2014).
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The work-life
interface
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