To predict and to explain: a multigroup analysis of gender on job and family satisfaction among hospitality employees

Purpose – The recent trends of work and family issues have prompted a proliferation of research in the work-family study; however, evidence from the hospitality industry is limited. This paper aims to examine the relationships between the work-family interface on job satisfaction (JS) and family satisfaction (FS). Additionally, the authors have adopted person-centered perspectives to determine if gender affects the magnitude of these relationships. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from 295 hospitality employees, and the hypotheses were tested using the partial least squares method of structural equation modeling. Other than assessing the path model’s explanatory power, the authors examined the model’s predictive power using PLSpredict to predict new cases. Findings – The results supported the originating domain view where the domain in which work-family enrichment (WFE) or conflict originates would have the immediate effect. Simultaneously, the authors found empirical evidence demonstrating the complimentary transfer of resources from the family domain to the work domain, enriching an individual’s satisfaction level. Finally, multigroup analysis reveals that women displayed higher job dissatisfaction than men when facing work-family conflict. Originality/value – To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first study that allows a better understanding of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on employees’ work-family dynamics. This is the first study relating WFE and conflict to matching-domain satisfaction in one model. By examining these constructs’ simultaneous pathways, the authors extend the body of knowledge by contrasting the source attribution perspective with the cross-domain theory of enrichment and conflict. Consequentially, the authors answer Premchandran and Priyadarshi’s (2020) call to examine work-family dynamics in different cultures on different genders