The relationship between work-family role conflict, family supportive work policies and stress: A control perspective

This study examined the direct and indirect effects of four family supportive policies on work-family role conflict, and psychological, physiological, and behavioral measures of strain. This examination was grounded in theoretical arguments and empirical results encompassing the concept of perceived control. A model of proposed relationships was tested by gathering cross-sectional data from 412 health care professionals with children aged 16 or younger living at home. The respondents, 78% of whom were nurses, were drawn from all acute-care health facilities with over 20 beds in Nebraska. Evaluation of an index of four family-responsive policies, including help with child care services, information and referral services, flextime, and supportive supervisors, supported the position that family supportive policies can help reduce the strain workers experience by increasing an employee\u27s sense of control. Family supportive policies were found to enhance an employee\u27s perception of control over work-family obligations, which in turn, directly increased work satisfaction, and indirectly, through lower levels of work-family conflict, led to lower levels of depression, fewer somatic complaints, lower cholesterol levels and greater job satisfaction. Perceived control also buffered the impact of work-family conflict on job satisfaction and depression. The present findings are important for two reasons. First, they establish an empirical link between objective aspects of the work environment and worker control perceptions; that is, structural interventions do increase an employee\u27s perceptions of control in the workplace. Secondly, the findings demonstrate that control is a key mechanism by which family supportive policies affect work-family conflict and strain. Implications for human resource managers and study limitations are discussed