The concept of work-family conflict could be described as a situation when a person faces difficulties with maintaining a balance between career and family life. These difficulties result from the inability to combine family responsibilities and work duties. For example, in the developed countries, women often have to work and take care of children simultaneously. The latter activity is usually time-consuming and requires a lot of energy and; hence, for a woman, it becomes challenging to be a mother and work simultaneously. In the present study, job satisfaction is an independent variable, and the frequency of work-family conflict is a dependent one.
There are numerous studies dedicated to the discussion of the presented topic. A lot of scholars agree that job satisfaction is closely related to work-family conflict (Boles, Howard, & Donofrio, 2001; Grandey, Cordeiro, & Crouter, 2005; Buonocore & Russo, 2013). Bruck, Allen, and Spector (2002) argue that work-family conflict is usually driven by behavior-based conflict. This means that behavior that a person practices at work is unsuitable at home and, consequently, a conflict arises. Adams, King, and King (1996) note that a work-family conflict is lower when the family members show more show care and support. At the same time, Beutell and Wittig-Berman (1999) argue that job involvement, not job satisfaction, leads to conflict between family and work.
The first hypothesis of the current survey is that the higher job satisfaction is, the higher the probability of an unsurmountable work-family conflict. The second hypothesis is that spouses with high job satisfaction are more likely to divorce than spouses with low job satisfaction. The third hypothesis is that women face work-family conflict more frequently than men, and, for women, this conflict does not relate to the extent of job satisfaction.
References
Adams, G. A., King, L. A., & King, D. W. (1996). Relationships of job and family involvement, family social support, and work–family conflict with job and life satisfaction. Journal of applied psychology, 81(4), 411-420. Web.
Beutell, N. J., & Wittig-Berman, U. (1999). Predictors of work-family conflict and satisfaction with family, job, career, and life. Psychological Reports, 85(3), 893-903.
Boles, J. S., Howard, W. G., & Donofrio, H. H. (2001). An investigation into the inter-relationships of work-family conflict, family-work conflict and work satisfaction. Journal of managerial issues, 376-390.
Bruck, C. S., Allen, T. D., & Spector, P. E. (2002). The relation between work–family conflict and job satisfaction: A finer-grained analysis. Journal of vocational behavior, 60(3), 336-353. Web.
Buonocore, F., & Russo, M. (2013). Reducing the effects of work–family conflict on job satisfaction: the kind of commitment matters. Human Resource Management Journal, 23(1), 91-108. Web.
Grandey, A., Cordeiro, B., & Crouter, A. (2005). A longitudinal and multi‐source test of the work–family conflict and job satisfaction relationship. Journal of occupational and Organizational Psychology, 78(3), 305-323. Web.