Work-family conflict and work engagement among mothers: Conscientiousness and neuroticism as moderators

Page 1 of 12 Original Research Work-family conflict and work engagement among mothers: Conscientiousness and neuroticism as moderators Authors: Tracy J. Opie1 Carolina M. Henn1 Affiliations: 1 Department of Industrial Psychology & People Management, University of Johannesburg, South Africa Correspondence to: Carolina Henn Email: Postal address: PO Box 524, Auckland Park 2006, South Africa Dates: Received: 14 Nov. 2012 Accepted: 28 May 2013 Published: 22 July 2013 How to cite this article: Opie, T., & Henn, C.M. (2013). Work-family conflict and work engagement among mothers: Conscientiousness and neuroticism as moderators. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology/SA Tydskrif vir Bedryfsielkunde, 39(1), Art. #1082, 12 pages. http:// dx.doi.org/10.4102/sajip. v39i1.1082 Copyright: © 2013. The Authors. Licensee: AOSIS OpenJournals. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License. Read online: Scan this QR code with your smart phone or mobile device to read online. Orientation: The study investigates factors that impact work-family conflict and work engagement among working mothers. Research purpose: The job demand-resources model is utilised to investigate the moderating role of conscientiousness and neuroticism on the relationship between work-family conflict and work engagement. Motivation for the study: Working mothers are challenged to establish a balance between work and family life. The resulting work-family conflict can negatively affect well-being. It is thus necessary to explore personal factors that relate to work-family conflict, particularly in the South African context. Research design, approach and method: A quantitative, cross-sectional survey design was used. The sample (N = 267) was comprised of working mothers from several organisations. Data was gathered using the work-to-family conflict questionnaire, the Basic Traits Inventory and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. Main findings: The results indicated that work-family conflict negatively predicts work engagement. Conscientiousness positively predicts work engagement, and neuroticism negatively predicts work engagement. A significant interaction effect was found for conscientiousness but not for neuroticism. The findings showed that for participants with high levels of conscientiousness, work engagement decreases significantly more with an increase in work-family conflict than for participants with low levels of conscientiousness. Practical/Managerial implications: Organisations should consider those individuals who have high levels of conscientiousness and low levels of neuroticism in the selection and placement of employees. In addition, organisations have a responsibility to provide conscientious women, particularly mothers, with adequate support to ensure that work-family conflict does not adversely impact their levels of work engagement. Introduction The study is aimed at gaining a greater understanding of factors that influence work engagement among working mothers. The introduction provides a broad overview of the focus of the study. Problem statement Key focus of the study The challenge of balancing the demands associated with work and family life has become increasingly prevalent among women, and especially, among working mothers (Franks, Schurink & Fourie, 2006). In recent decades, women’s participation in the workforce has grown considerably (Barker, 2003) and South Africa is no exception to this global phenomenon (Patel, Govender, Paruk & Ramgoon, 2006). In addition to their newly acquired work role, women are however still expected to perform their traditional roles, namely those of mother and wife (Biernat & Wortman, 1991). Women are largely responsible for childcare and domestic duties associated with such roles (Biernat & Wortman, 1991; Lewis-Enright, Crafford & Crous, 2009; MacDonald, 2004). Simultaneously performing the role of an employee, parent, and spouse may result in stress and conflict (Eagle, Icenogle, Maes & Miles, 1998; Theunissen, van Vuuren & Visser, 2003). In fact, pressure to meet these demands makes work-family conflict almost unavoidable (Mauno, Kinnunen & Ruokolainen, 2006). Background The phenomenon of work-family conflict has received considerable research attention (Koekemoer & Mostert, 2010; McLellan & Uys, 2009; Mostert, 2008; Theunissen et al., 2003; http://www.sajip.co.za doi:10.4102/sajip.v39i1.1082 Page 2 of 12 Wallis & Price, 2003) owing to the significant impact it may have on the health and well-being of individuals as well as on organisational outcomes (Bellavia & Frone, 2005; Greenhaus & Beutell, 1985; Hassan, Dollard & Winefield, 2010; Mitchelson, 2009; Poelmans, O’Driscoll & Beham, 2005; Rotondo, Carlson & Kincaid, 2003). This study focused on the impact of work-family conflict on a work-related well-being outcome, namely work engagement. Some studies have found that the experience of work-family conflict is impacted by personality (Bruck & Allen, 2003; Herbst, Coetzee & Visser, 2007; McLellan & Uys, 2009; Noor, 2002; Thomson & De Bruin, 2007). Two personality traits that have been consistently linked to work-family conflict are conscientiousness and neuroticism (Andreassi, 2011; Bruck & Allen, 2003; Wayne, Musisca & Fleeson, 2004). Apart from its relationships with work-family conflict, research has also shown that personality influences work engagement as work engagement correlates positively with conscientiousness and negatively with neuroticism (Jeong, Hyun & Swanger, 2009; Langelaan, Bakker, Van Doornen & Schaufeli, 2006). In order to determine whether work-family conflict is a predictor of work engagement and to assess the impact of personality factors on these variables, the job demandsresources (JD-R) model (Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner & Schaufeli, 2001) was utilised. In their study on work and organisation-based resources as moderators of workfamily conflict, well-being, and job attitudes Mauno et al. (2006) utilised the JD-R model. More specifically, workfamily conflict was conceptualised as a job demand in an expansion of the JD-R model of Demerouti et al. (2001) (Bakker, Van Veldhoven & Xanthopoulou, 2010; Mauno et al., 2006). Similarly, in the current study, workfamily conflict was conceptualised as a demand and its impact on work engagement was investigated. In addition, personality was conceptualised as a personal resource and was expected to buffer the relationship between work-family conflict and work engagement. Research objectives The study set out to answer the following research question: Does personality (neuroticism and conscientiousness specifically) moderate the relationship between work-family conflict and work engagement? The research aims were thus to: • determine whether significant relationships exist among the research constructs (that is, work-family conflict, work engagement, neuroticism and conscientiousness) • determine whether conscientiousness acts as a moderator in the relationship (...truncated)