WORK-FAMILY CONFLICT: EFFECTS AND COPING STRATEGIES AMONG FEMALE EMPLOYEES BY AGNES AMISSAH (PHD) & EMMANUEL GAMOR (M.PHIL)

WORK-FAMILY CONFLICT: EFFECTS AND COPING STRATEGIES AMONG FEMALE EMPLOYEES BY AGNES AMISSAH (PHD) & EMMANUEL GAMOR (M.PHIL)

INTRODUCTION Work and family are known as the two main domains or distinct fields in which modern people live. Responsibilities from these two domains are those that an adult cannot exonerate him or herself from. They satisfy various demands of the family environment as well as the work environment and may also serve as sources of people s happiness at the same time (Zhang, 2011). The work domain and the family domain are noted to be the most important aspects of adult life and extend, to all members of any community (Magnini, 2012; Karatepe, 2010; Netemeyer, McMurrian, & Boles, 1996). The pressures from the work domain and that of the family domain can affect individuals in various ways which include, physically and psychologically.

THEORIES OF WORK-FAMILY CONFLICT Work-family conflict The concept of work-family conflict has been defined by Shumiala, Azhar, & Sadaqat (2011) as a conflict of work and family interrelated roles. Carmel (2003) agrees that work-family conflict is an inter-role conflict that comes about due to incompatible roles in work and family domains. In the hotel industry, jobs have features known to be disadvantageous to family life of an individual (Xiao & O Neil, 2010; Harris, O'Neill, Cleveland, & Crouter, 2007). The characteristics include long and irregular working hours, emphasis on the moment of truth, service intangibility, customer first policies, high demands of responsiveness, routine and rituals, just to mention a few (Cleveland, et al., 2007).

The Expansionist Theory The theory consists of four principles: 1) Multiple roles are beneficial for one's mental, physical, and relationship health; 2) The benefits are derived from processes such as buffering, added income, social support, opportunities to experience success, expanded frame of reference, increased self-complexity, similarity of experiences, and gender-role ideology (Barnett & Hyde, 2001, p. 784); 3) There are upper limits to the benefits. These benefits are limited by role conditions such as the number of roles, the time it demands and the quality of each of the role demands; 4) Psychological gender differences are generally small. This expansionist viewpoint is in contrast with the work family conflict approach which has predicted a negative relationship between work roles and family roles. The expansionist theory fails to recognize that energy and time resources are limited and fixed, rather assumes that they are always available and at optimum levels.

EFFECTS OF WORK FAMILY CONFLICT The various effects that come out of work-family conflict are grouped into broad genres. These classes include Emotional exhaustion (Yavas, Babakus, & Karatepe, 2008; Karatepe & Badder, 2006; Posig & Kickul, 2004), job performance (Netemeyer, Maxham, & Pulling, 2005) and Turnover intentions (Boshoff & Allen, 2000).

EFFECTS OF WORK FAMILY CONFLICT CONTINUES Extensively influence the health conditions of an individual in various forms like depression (Mashal & Jackson, 1981 as cited in Yavas, Babakus, & Karatepe, 2008). It influences an individual s work as in job performance and productivity. There is also the possibility of an employee having the intention to quit his or her job (Eby, Casper, Lockwood, Bordeaux, & Brinley, 2005; Boshoff & Allen, 2000). Among working women in Taiwan, work-family conflict was strongly linked with lower job and family satisfaction, greater stress and more severe physical ailments (Lu, Siu, Spector, & Shi, 2009).

EFFECTS OF WORK FAMILY CONFLICT CONTINUES They become physically worn-out, emotionally exhausted, frustrated, and develop minor illness such as headaches and joint pains (Lu, Siu, Spector, & Shi, 2009). Researchers found a consistent positive relationship between long working hours, work load and work-family conflict (Aslam, Shumiala, Azhar, & Sadaqat, 2011). People who experience the WFC often feel depressed, and physically drained from having to deal with the incompatibility of their work duties and family roles (Aslam, Shumiala, Azhar, & Sadaqat, 2011; Galambos, Akmeida, & Kolaric, 1995).

METHODS The quantitative approach and a descriptive study design was used to answer the proposed objectives. The target population for the study was female employees of hotels in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis and Koforidua of Ghana. The convenience sampling technique was employed to reach the respondents.

Although the random sampling technique would have been the most ideal option, realities of unavailability of target respondents made the convenience technique a more realistic option. Statistical Tools Descriptive statistics Correlation analysis (Pearson s Correlation)

RESULTS Do not Experience WFC 19% Experience WFC 81%

EXPERIENCE OF WFC BY SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHICS (N=330) Unmarried employees (81.6%) experienced less work-family conflict than their married counterparts (91.9%). Female employees with basic education as their highest level of education did not experience any form of WFC. However, all employees with post graduate degrees and professional certificates experienced WFC (100%). Employees without children experienced less WFC (77.9%) than their counterparts with children (87.8%). all departmental heads and entry level workers were involved in WFC (100.0%) while just a little over half, approximately 58% of women at the supervisory level experienced workfamily conflict.

300 250 200 150 100 50 EFFECTS OF WORK-FAMILY CONFLICT 156 108 119 72 202 257 0 Frustrated by the job Frustrated by family demands Emotionally drained Depressed Fatigued Physically drained Frustrated by the job Frustrated by family demands Emotionally drained Depressed Fatigued Physically drained Effects on the individual

EFFECTS ON THE ORGANISATION Attended interviews of jobs with less conflict Have considered leaving my job Responsibilities at home reduces effort at work Looking for anther job in two months Stress at home makes me irritable at work Often think about quitting Reduction in concentration at work Reduction productivity due to family demands Reduction in perdformance Home activities do not allow for best output Distracted by thoughts and demands from home 55 63 63 73 74 100 119 129 140 165 181 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350

EFFECTS ON FAMILY 350 300 250 200 150 193 183 164 154 119 109 100 50 0 Distraction from Stress at work makes Job reduces effort at work when am home me irritable at home home No time to take care of my elderly dependent Marital disagreement No time to take care of my children

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INTERFERENCE BETWEEN WORK AND FAMILY AND SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES Sociodemographic Variables Coefficient of correlation with interference between work and family Marital status -0.266** Highest level of education 0.174** Elderly dependence -0.294** Child dependence 0.131* Level as employee 0.066 ns * Correlation is significant at 0.05 level (2-tailed), ns - Not significant, ** Correlation is significant at 0.01 level (2-tailed).

COPING STRATEGIES 350 300 250 200 209 229 173 248 150 100 50 0 65 100 73 83 56 39 9 18 0 0 9 I do not Sometimes Often Always 9 Social RR Persomal RR Reactive RR Cognitive R

CONCLUSION More females in the service industry experience work-family conflict and among them, departmental heads and the married are the most affected. WFC among the females was noted to cause negative effects on the individual employee, their organisation and families as well. Work-family conflict has significant relationships with socio-demographics of female employees. Female employees are more reactive in their approach to cope with WFC through the reconstruction of their mind-sets. It is recommended that the management should create a family supportive work environment to decrease the unfavourable effects of WFC on female employees.

THINK ABOUT THIS. What are the desired policies that can help reduce the negative effects of work-family conflict?

Thank you