Reducing Work-Life Conflict: What Works? What Doesn't?

3.2.3 And So What? The Link Between the Use of Alternative Work Arrangements and Work-Life Conflict

Data analysis done to determine how the use of various alternative work arrangements impact work-life conflict is provided in Appendix B and discussed in the sections below. The link between work-life conflict and working a regular 9-to-5 work day versus flextime or a compressed work week are discussed first. This is followed by an examination of how part-time work arrangements affect the various forms of work-life conflict. Examination of the impact of shift work and guerrilla tele-work on work-life conflict is dealt with in the final two parts of this section.

Figure 1: Relationship Between Work Arrangement, Gender, Job Type and Work-to-Family Interference

Work arrangement is not associated with role overload

The data indicate that role overload is not significantly impacted by how one's work day is arranged.

Compressed work weeks are associated with lower work-to-family interference for managers and professionals

Work arrangement is significantly associated with the extent to which work interferes with family.¹⁷ The relation is not, however, straightforward and depends on the gender of the employee as well as the type of job performed (Figure 1). For managers, regardless of gender, working a compressed work week is associated with reduced levels of work-to-family interference. This suggests that compressing work hours into fewer days gives employees with higher work demands time that they can use to deal with family concerns and issues. Working a compressed work week does not, however, have an impact on work-to-family interference for those in other positions within the organization.

Flextime is associated with lower work-to-family interference for women in other positions

Women in other positions (i.e. clerical, administrative, technical) within the organization who work flextime report lower levels of work-to-family interference than their counterparts who work a regular work day or a compressed work week. No such impact can be observed for their male counterparts (in fact, work arrangement is not related to this form of work-life conflict for men in other positions). Additionally, flextime does not have an impact on this form of work-life conflict for men and women in managerial and professional positions.

Regular work schedules are associated with lower levels of family-to-work interference

Work arrangement is significantly associated with the extent to which family demands and responsibilities are perceived to interfere with work. Men and women with dependent care responsibilities who work a regular, fixed work schedule (i.e. the beginning and end of their work day¹⁸ is fixed) report the lowest levels of interference (mean of 2.1), while their counterparts who work flextime report the highest (mean of 2.3). This increase may be because flextime arrangements make it difficult for an employee to say no to family demands (especially if their spouse or partner works a less flexible arrangement) -- thereby increasing this type of interference. Alternatively, it may be that family members are more likely to expect the partner/parent who works flextime (as opposed to a fixed schedule) to be able to interrupt their work day or reschedule their work to deal with a family emergency or attend a family event. Such expectations would increase this form of work-life conflict for such individuals. Where does a compressed work week fit into this picture? The data indicate that employees who work a compressed work week report levels of interference that are between these two extremes (mean of 2.2).

Employees with dependent care who use flextime arrangements report lower caregiver strain

Work arrangement is significantly associated with caregiver strain.¹⁹ Men and women with dependent care responsibilities who work flextime arrangements report the lowest levels of caregiver strain (mean of 1.6) while their peers who work a 9-to-5 day (mean of 1.9) and a compressed work week (mean of 1.8) report higher levels of strain. These findings suggest that flextime arrangements give employees a greater ability to fulfill responsibilities associated with their role as elder caregiver (e.g. take a dependent to a doctor's appointment) during work hours. Unfortunately, our data suggest that this greater level of flexibility seems to come at a cost -- higher family-to-work interference.

Employees who work part time report lower levels of role overload

Part-time work arrangements are significantly associated with lower levels of role overload.²⁰ The data from both the gender by job type (Figure 2a) and gender by dependent care analysis (Figure 2b) paint the same picture with respect to the association between role overload and working part time:

• with one exception (employees without dependent care), part-time work is associated with lower levels of role overload.
• part-time work is more effective in reducing role overload for men than women, regardless of job type or dependent care status.

These findings indicate, not surprisingly, that one way to reduce role overload is to spend less time in paid employment. The data showing that men realize a larger reduction in role overload than women suggest that when women move to part-time status, they devote a greater percent of the time that was previously devoted to work to non-work roles than their male counterparts. It is also interesting to note that women in managerial and professional positions realize very little gain from working part time. Additional analysis of the data (not shown) sheds light on this finding. This analysis found that women in managerial and professional positions who work part time spend more time in work than any other group of part-time employees (almost 30 hours a week). They also spend more time in dependent care activities than their counterparts who are working full time. As a result, the total number of hours women in this group devote to work and family activities is not much less than their counterparts who are working full time.

Employees who work part time report lower levels of work-to-family interference

The data also indicate that employees with dependent care responsibilities who work part time will also realize significantly lower levels of work-to-family interference. In other words, one way to reduce the extent to which work roles and responsibilities make it difficult to meet demands at home is to reduce to part-time status. The relationship between work-to-family interference and work and part-time work for men and women with and without dependent care is shown in Figure 3. The following observations can be made by looking at this figure:

• With one exception (men without dependent care), part-time work is associated with lower levels of work-to-family interference.
• Part-time work is more effective in reducing this type of interference for men and women with dependent care responsibilities than for those without responsibilities outside of work.
• While part-time work is associated with lower work-to-family interference for women without dependent care responsibilities, it has no association with this form of work-life conflict for men in this group.

These findings suggest that reducing one's work status to part time is one strategy that men and women with dependent care responsibilities who are experiencing high levels of work-to-family interference should consider.

Part-time work is associated with higher levels of family-to-work interference for women

Part-time work is significantly associated with the extent to which family interferes with work.²¹ The relation is not, however, straightforward and depends on the gender of the employee as well as their dependent care status (Figure 4). First, it is clear that working part time is an effective strategy for reducing family-to-work interference for men with dependent care responsibilities. Men with dependent care responsibilities who work part time report significantly lower levels of family-to-work interference than their counterparts who work full time. The same cannot be said for any of the other groups in the analysis. Regardless of their dependent care status, women who work part time report higher levels of family-to-work interference than those who work full time. Similarly, men without dependent care who work part time report higher levels of this form of interference than their peers who work full time. It is hard to determine what these findings mean without longitudinal data. They may indicate that people who find that family demands are interfering with their work move to part-time status as a way to cope with these issues (i.e. high family-to-work interference increases the likelihood that someone will work part time). Alternatively, it may be that employees who work part time as a way to cope with dependent care responsibilities are more likely to feel that their family is getting in the way of their work (i.e. part-time work leads to greater perceptions of family-to-work interference).

Figure 2: Role Overload and Part-Time Work
a. Relationship Between Part-Time Work, Gender, Job Type and Role Overload

Figure 2: Role Overload and Part-Time Work
b. Relationship Between Part-Time Work, Gender, Dependent Care Status and Role Overload

Figure 3: Relationship Between Part-Time Work, Gender, Dependent Care Status and Work-to-Family Interference

Figure 4: Relationship Between Part-Time Work, Gender, Dependent Care Status and Family-to-Work Interference

Part-time work does not help employees cope with caregiver strain

Data from this study are unequivocal -- part-time work does not help employees cope with caregiver strain (the relationship is neither significant nor substantive in either the gender by job type or the gender by dependent care analysis).

Men with dependent care who work shifts report lower levels of role overload

With one exception (male shift workers with dependent care), shift work is not associated with role overload.²² Data on the relationship between shift work, gender by dependent care status and role overload are shown in Figure 5. As can be seen, shift work has no impact on role overload for men and women without dependent care and for women with dependent care. For men with dependent care, however, shift work has an unexpected benefit -- reduced role overload. Examination of the time in dependent care data (not shown) helps to explain this finding. Men who perform shift work spend fewer hours a week in child care than their counterparts who do not work shifts (perhaps because they are not available when family chores are typically performed or because they are too tired after working their shift to pick up family tasks). Finally, it is interesting to note that no such difference was observed for the women in the sample. In fact, women with dependent care reported the highest levels of overload of any group regardless of how their work day was arranged.

Shift work is associated with higher levels of work-to-family interference

Shift-work arrangements are significantly associated with higher levels of work-to-family interference.²³ The impact of shift work on this form of work-life conflict is not, however, straightforward and depends on gender by job type (Figure 6a) and gender by dependent care analysis (Figure 6b). The following conclusions can be drawn by examining these figures:

• Managers and professionals report higher levels of work-to-family interference than those in other positions, regardless of whether or not they perform shift work.
• With one exception (women without dependent care), employees who perform shift work report higher levels of work-to-family interference than those who do not work shifts.
• Shift work is not associated with work-to-family interference for women without dependent care.
• Women in "other" positions within the organization who work shifts experience the most difficulties with work-to-family interference (i.e. report greatest increase in work-to-family interference from no shift to shift conditions).

Figure 5: Relationship Between Shift Work, Gender, Dependent Care Status and Role Overload

Figure 6: Work-to-Family Interference and Shift Work
a. Relationship Between Shift Work, Gender, Job Type and Work-to-Family Interference

Figure 6: Work-to-Family Interference and Shift Work
b. Relationship Between Shift Work, Gender, Dependent Care Status and Work-to-Family Interference

Several key points can be made using these data. First, employees with dependent care responsibilities, regardless of their gender, appear to find shift work problematic. This finding is consistent with the research literature in the area, which has noted that shift work makes it more difficult for the employee to attend family events that take place when they are working or sleeping. This study would suggest that one way these individuals could reduce work-to-family interference is to avoid (if possible) or minimize the amount of shift work they commit to when their children are young or elderly dependents require care. This recommendation is consistent with the fact that men and women without dependent care who work shifts experience fewer problems with this work arrangement than their counterparts with heavier responsibilities at home.

Figure 7: Relationship Between Shift Work, Gender, Dependent Care Status and Family-to-Work Interference

Second, shift work appears to be more problematic (at least with respect to this form of work-life conflict) for employees in "other" positions within the organization. Women in other positions, in particular, seem to find it difficult to meet family demands when working shifts. While it is difficult to determine why this is the case, there are several likely possibilities. First, as noted in Higgins and Duxbury (2002), employees in this sample who work in managerial and professional positions report significantly higher incomes than those in other jobs. It may be that this higher income provides managers and professionals who work shifts with the means to purchase family supports when they are working shifts. Alternatively, it may be that managers and professionals, by virtue of their position within the organization, have more control of what shifts they work and when they work such shifts. This interpretation suggests that organizations could help reduce the work-to-family interference levels of shift workers by giving them more control over their shift schedule (i.e. allow employee input into the shift schedule, permit trading of shifts between employees).

Employees with dependent care who work shifts are less likely to report family-to-work interference

Knowing whether or not an employee performs shift work explains a significant amount of the variation in family-to-work interference when gender and dependent care are also taken into account.²⁴ Similar to what was observed with respect to role overload, the link between shift work and reduced family-to-work interference is greatest for men with dependent care responsibilities (Figure 7). While women with dependent care who work shifts also report lower levels of family-to-work interference than their counterparts who do not perform shift work, the difference is not as great as observed for men. The fact that family demands are less likely to intrude on work done outside of the traditional 9-to-5 band can likely be attributed to the large number of Canadians who off-shift work with their spouse. As reported previously (Higgins & Duxbury, 2002), one in three of the employees in our sample arranges their work schedule so that they and their partner can share child care (i.e. work a different shift than their partner so that they do not need to arrange any kind of child care).

Shift work is not associated with caregiver strain

The data indicate that shift work is not associated with caregiver strain (relationship is not significant in either the gender by job type or gender by dependent care analysis). In other words, working shifts does not make it easier or harder to deal with issues associated with elder care.

Guerrilla tele-work is associated with increased role overload and interference

The results of this study pointed out that employees with dependent care responsibilities were more likely to perform guerrilla tele-work. We suggested that parents might use this type of work arrangement to combine dependent care responsibilities with paid employment (e.g. opt to work from home when a child is sick rather than phone in sick). Examination of the link between guerrilla tele-work and work-life conflict indicates that employees who engage in this strategy report higher levels of role overload, work-to-family interference and family-to-work interference. Furthermore, the fact that none of the interaction terms was significant indicates that this strategy is problematic for men and women regardless of the type of job they perform or whether or not they have dependent care.

The data indicate that guerrilla tele-work is more problematic from a role interference perspective (employees with dependent care who perform guerrilla tele-work report mean levels of both forms of interference that are 0.3 higher than those who do not perform informal work from home during regular hours) than from a role overload perspective (difference in means of only 0.2). This suggests that it is difficult for employees to separate work and non-work roles when they are tele-working. The higher levels of role overload in both sets of analysis also indicate that individuals who use this strategy experience greater time-related pressures. Taken together, these findings indicate that employees minimize the use of this work arrangement. It appears that combining work and family roles under the same roof during work hours increases work-life pressures - at least when such work arrangements are used informally.