When families overload careers: the critical role of family-interferes-with-work and boundary management
| Date | 26 November 2024 |
| Pages | 334-349 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-05-2024-0424 |
| Published date | 26 November 2024 |
| Author | Michael Halinski,Laura Gover,Linda Duxbury |
When families overload careers:
the critical role of family-interferes-
with-work and boundary management
Michael Halinski
Ted Rogers School of Management, Toronto Metropolitan University,
Toronto, Canada
Laura Gover
Vancouver Island University, Nanaimo, Canada, and
Linda Duxbury
Sprott School of Business, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
Abstract
Purpose –While there has been growing interest in how personal and work-related factors shape employees’
careers, we know little about how family demands affect career intentions. Drawing from role theory and
boundary theory, we examine the indirect effect of family-role overload on career intentions via family-
interferes-with-work (FIW), as well as the conditional indirect effect of boundary management on these
relationships.
Design/methodology/approach –Utilizing two waves of panel data that were collected in the third and fourth
waves of the pandemic in Canada (n5433), we conducted a structural equation model to test our hypotheses.
Findings –Our analysis reveals that FIW mediates the relationship between family-role overload and (1) career
change intention and (2) job turnover intention. The results also indicate that the effect of family-role overload
on career intentions via FIW strengthens for employees with a low ability to enact preferred boundaries.
Originality/value –This research shows the indirect effect of family-role overload on career intentions via FIW.
This research also highlights how boundary management can buffer the effects of family-role overload on career
intentions.
Keywords Career intentions, Family-role overload, Family-interferes-with-work, Boundary management
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Over the past few decades, it has become increasingly common for employees to change their
jobs or even their career (Lee et al., 2017). The increased prevalence of employee turnover has
led managers and researchers alike to pay growing attention to what motivates employees to
enter, exit or develop a specific career (Stuart et al., 2021) – also referred to as career intentions
(Biggs et al., 2018). Most research in this domain highlights work-related conditions (e.g.
Chung, 2022), professional considerations (e.g. Simosi et al., 2015;Simosi et al., 2022) or
individual characteristics (e.g. Bardoel and Drago, 2021) as the driving forces affecting career
intentions. These work-oriented studies, however, overlook evidence that shows work-related
decisions may be influenced by families (Greenhaus and Powell, 2012).
In line with the growing number of studies that highlight the importance of a family-
inclusive lens when studying work processes (Allen and French, 2023), we investigate how
family-role overload related to career intentions over time. Family-role overload (FRO) occurs
when individuals feel that they have too many tasks to do at home and insufficient time to
complete them (Michel et al., 2011). FRO has been conceptualized as a family domain stressor
and associated with many negative outcomes in the home domain (e.g. Halinski et al., 2020).
FRO can also spillover to affect employees at work (Booth-LeDoux et al., 2020).
Existing research on family demands such as FRO, provides mixed evidence for how this
construct relates to career intentions. Some research indicates that challenging family demands
may deter employees from changing careers (e.g. Carless and Arnup, 2011;Griffeth et al.,
PR
54,1
334
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/0048-3486.htm
Received 7 May 2024
Revised 9 October 2024
Accepted 5 November 2024
PersonnelReview
Vol.54 No. 1, 2025
pp.334-349
©Emerald Publishing Limited
0048-3486
DOI10.1108/PR-05-2024-0424
2000), whereas other research claims that heightened family demands are associated with
reasons to leave an occupation (e.g. Trusty et al., 2019). Given that existing research indicates
overwhelming demands at home can cause conflict between work and family (Boyar et al.,
2008), we argue that these mixed results may be partially explained by the Role Theory (Kahn
et al., 1964), which posits that incompatibility between work and family roles may impact
functioning in either role (Greenhaus and Beutell, 1985). Specifically, we argue that FRO
indirectly relates to career intentions via family-interferes-with-work (FIW) – “a form of inter-
role conflict in which the role pressures from the work and family domains are mutually
incompatible in some respect” (Greenhaus and Beutell, 1985, p. 77). In line with research that
indicates FRO can cause interference between work and family (Mariappanadar, 2014) and
role interference can influence employees’ intentions at work (e.g. Haar et al., 2012), this
theorization suggests that FIW plays a critical mediating role in the relationship between FRO
and career intentions.
Furthermore, researchers have started to recognize that career intentions may be influenced
by work-family boundary management (De Gieter et al., 2022). Based on pandemic research
showing that one’s ability to maintain boundary preferences throughout the pandemic affect
their ability to manage intensifying workloads (Adisa et al., 2022) and family demands
(Kerman et al., 2021), we expect that the ability to enact preferred boundaries moderates the
effect of FRO on FIW. We use Boundary Theory (Ashforth et al., 2000), which posits that
employee wellbeing is a function of a person’s ability to maintain their boundary preferences
to justify this assertion. We argue that, in comparison to employees with a low ability to enact
preferred boundaries, employees with a high ability to enact preferred boundaries are likely to
experience less FIW from their FRO because they are likely to be able to better manage
boundary blurring caused by overwhelming demands (Adisa et al., 2022) at home. In sum, we
test the moderating effect of ability to enact preferred boundaries on the indirect effect of
family role overload on career intentions via FIW (see Figure 1).
Family-role
overload
Family-interferes-
with-work
R2 = 18.7%
Job turnover
intention
R2= 7.5%
Career change
intention
R2= 7.4%
0.401***
0.189***
0.010 0.182***
–0.042
Note(s): Standardized regression coefficients are shown. Dashed lines indicate insignificant
paths. Gender (male = 1, female = 0), married or living with partner (yes = 1, no = 0), work
hours, and percent of time in remote work as control variables. *p < 0.05. **p < 0.01.
***p < 0.001. Specific indirect paths: family-role overload to career change intention
(β = 0.075, p < 0.001) and family-role overload to job turnover intention (β = 0.070, p < 0.01)
Source(s): Authors’ own creation
Figure 1. The indirect effects of family-role overload on career intentions via family-interferes-with-work
Personnel Review
335
Get this document and AI-powered insights with a free trial of vLex and Vincent AI
Get Started for FreeStart Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting