Balance of Life: Causes and Effects of Work-Family Balance in Employed Parents (Malaysia Context)
Introduction:
The Malaysian family and the effects of Globalization
Different and complex interplay of historical and cultural circumstances have shaped and affected the Malay family system. Greta civilizations from India, West Asia, China and Europe were influential to the Malays. These civilizations left indelible marks on the Malaysian society, particularly the family system. The Malay family system had integrated diverse elements within its structure and function while culturally adapting to the local environment which induced the evolution of an indigenous family and kinship system distinctively different from various exogenous influences.(1995)
The second half of the century witnessed the beginning of a major transformation of international economy, a sea change that continues to play itself out in the name of globalization. We stand at the center of these events, without a clear understanding of their outcome but with a palpable sense of the changing shape of our world ( 2003). According to (2000), research on work-family conflict has been conducted primarily in Western industrialized nations, most notably the United States, but economic and business globalization has made work-family issues increasingly important in developing countries .
Significance of the Research Topic:
The study aims to identify the causes and effects of Work – Family Balance in employed parents in Malaysia. More specifically the study is intended for the following:
Research Gap:
Previous researches represent partial depictions of the experiences of individuals who are involved in the daily negotiation of work and family demands. The conflict and stress inherent in managing work and family responsibilities have been shown to be counterbalanced by the psychological benefits that stem from participating in the work and family domains (1998). Researchers have drawn attention to the need to complement the focus on conflict by examining how work and family experiences enrich the lives pf individuals through the conceptual lens of work-family balance or integration (1998).
In view of the different expectations that underpin role performance in the work and family domains, the extant research has overwhelmingly focused on the conflict that members of these family forms (dual-earner, single parent families) experience in simultaneously performing their work and family responsibilities. In addition to highlighting the bi-directional nature of work-family conflict in terms of work interfering with family and family interfering with work (1991), researchers have examined the prevalence, antecedents and outcomes of work-family conflict ( 1998;1994;2000;2002). Although this stream of research has illuminated researchers’ understanding of the work-family interface, there is recognition that it represents a partial depiction of the experiences of individuals who are involved in the daily negotiation of work and family demands. In particular, the conflict and stress inherent in managing work and family responsibilities have been shown to be counterbalanced by the social psychological benefits that stem from participating in the work and family domains (1998; 1994).
Literature Review:
The global trend of increased female labor force participation, coupled with prevalence of dual-earner and single parent families, has precipitated considerable research interest in how members of these emergent family forms mange their work and family responsibilities ( 2005). The problem of balancing work and family arises from work-family conflict, which reflects a mutual incompatibility between demands of the work role and the demands of the family role. Much of the recent research on work-family interface has relied on role theory ( 2003). One distinct viewpoint that emerged within this theory suggest that work and family represents a form of inter-role conflict, thus the emphasis on one role may come at the expense of the other ( 2003). Another view argues that work and family roles can enhance one another through the development of greater social support and larger skill sets (2001, 2002). Multiple roles can lead to behavioral incompatibility and conflicting time demands (2002). Thus, individuals’ efforts spent on one role area at the cost of decreased efforts in other roles, such as tradeoffs made between work and family. According to (2000), work-family spillover posits attitudes, emotions, skills and behaviors established in one domain flow in to the other. Positive spillover or facilitation occurs when engagement in job roles and family roles contributes harmfully to each other. Negative spillover or conflict occurs when engagement in job and family roles contributes harmfully to each other .
Antecedents of Work-Family Balance
This study will examine three sets of antecedents of work-family balance: personality, role environment comprising role experiences, and role involvement ( 2003). Personality characteristics have been noted to not only influence how individuals interpret and react to a situation but also to proactively shape the environment ( 2002). The role-related antecedents of work-family balance that will be examined in this study are role overload, role involvement, and social support.
Work-Family Conflict
Balancing the demands of work and family roles has become the principal daily task for many employed adults, in part because of changes in employment demographic characteristics and societal attitudes about work (1992). Conflict between work and family responsibilities and its effects on employees is an issue of increasing importance in both popular and academic publications ( 2001). (1994), indicate that there is considerable conflict generated in families as work experiences spillover into family life and vice versa (). This finding has been supported by (2000), stressing that conflict happens when engagement is a job and family role contributes harmfully to each other. over refers to the effects of work and family on one another that make the two domains similar (1994; 1995). Work-role ambiguity is seen as a factor that increases work-family conflict. Work-role ambiguity occurs when workers are unsure of what is expected of them in a work role. As uncertainty concerning work-roles increase, employees use more mental energy to decipher it. This requirement may drain mental energy and attention needed for their family roles. (2000), found out that role overload and role conflict were predictors of work-family conflict ().
Effects of Work-Family Balance
Research on the work-family interface has been precipitated by the negative consequences of work-family interface has been precipitated by the negative consequences of work-family conflict on individual and organizational outcomes. Although the conflict dimensions of work-family balance have been reported to be negatively related to job satisfaction, (1998) found work-family conflict to be more strongly related to job satisfaction than to family-work conflict. This study aims to determine the effects of both work-family conflict and family-work conflict on job satisfaction. Individuals who experience difficulties integrating their work and family roles will perceive their organizations as unsupportive and will therefore not feel obligated to reciprocate with commitment (2002). It is therefore expected that work-family conflict and family-work conflict would be negatively related to job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Furthermore, work-family conflict has significant effects on organizational outcomes such as absenteeism, burnout, commitment and performance (2001 ).
Research Questions:
1. What is the impact of the causes/antecedents of work-family balance?
Hypothesis:
Theoretical Framework:
Role Theory has provided the theoretical framework for research on the work family interface. Through role enactment, roles provide not only form and structure to social relationships among individuals but also the means to achieve important internalized life goals ( 1987). Two competing perspectives, scarcity and expansion-enhancement, have been used to examine the process of participation in multiple roles. The assumption on scarcity perspective is that individuals have a fixed amount of psychological and physiological resources to expend on their role obligations, and involvement in multiple roles will exhaust these resources and ultimately impair one’s functioning. In contrast, the expansion-enhancement perspective focuses on the net positive gains to be obtained from involvement in multiple roles.
Work-Family Conflict
Work-Family Conflict
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