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

5.2 Coping with Work-Life Conflict: What Should Families Do?

As noted above, Canadian employees use a number of family-based strategies to cope with the different forms of work-life conflict. We now turn to the question of which strategies are effective at helping employees cope with work-life conflict and which are not. To answer this question, we looked at the relationship between each of the 18 family coping strategies and the four forms of work-life conflict included in this study. To determine if different strategies are effective for different groups, the analysis was done twice. The first focused on gender and dependent care status while the second looked at the impact of gender and job type on the relationship between coping and work-life conflict. The complete set of findings is provided in Appendix G. Key findings (R² of .04 or higher, α < than .01, Δ in work-life conflict of 0.3 or greater) are summarized in Tables 23 and 24 and discussed in the section below. Information on how to read Tables 23 and 24 was shown earlier in Box Nine.

Table 23: Impact of Family Coping Strategies on Work-Life Conflict: Gender by Dependent Care
a. Main Effects

Family Coping Strategy	Overload	Work to Family	Family to Work	Caregiver Strain
Get by on less sleep than I would like	F = 366.2, α = .000 R2 = .161, Δ = .8	F = 88.1, α = .000 R2 = .121, Δ = 1.0	F = 79.1, α = .000 R2 = .047, Δ = .5	F = 18.1, α = .000 R2 = .049, Δ = .3
Leave things undone around house	Interaction	F = 188.1, α = .000 R2 = .072, ***	R2 = . 028	R2 = .032
Get children to help	R2 = .043 *	R2 = .028	R2 = .013	R2 = .030
Plan family time together	R2 = .034	R2 = .006	R2 = .012	R2 = .038
Hire help to care for elderly relatives	R2 = .042 *	R2 = .013	R2 = .024	F = 20.9, α = .000 R2 = .072, Δ = .5
Hire help to care for children	F = 4.2, α = .01 R2 = .055 ***	R2 = .015	F = 19.9, α = .000 R2 = .065 , Δ = .5	R2 = .041 *
Cover household tasks for each other	F = 12.5, α = .001 R2 = .048, Δ = - .4	R2 = .009	R2 = .015	F = 5.2, α = .005 R2 = .041, Δ = - .3
Leave work problems at work	Interaction	Interaction	R2 = .018	R2 = .045 *
Modify work schedule	F = 49.9, α = .000 R2 = .061, Δ = - .3	F = 53.3, α = .000 R2 = .040, Δ = - .3	R2 = .026	R2 = .043 *
Rely on extended family for help	R2 = .038	R2 = .012	R2 = .023	Interaction
Rely on friends for help	R2 = .034	R2 = .009	R2 = .022	Interaction
Plan work changes around family	R2 = .046 **	R2 = .008	R2 = .017	R2 = .028
Identify one partner as having primary responsibility for household tasks	R2 = .036	R2 = .014	R2 = .020	R2 = .038
Buy goods and services	Interaction	R2 = .037	R2 = .022	R2 = .044 *
Encourage children to help each other	R2 = .036	R2 = .005	R2 = .013	R2 = .030
Try to be flexible	R2 = .034	R2 = .010	R2 = .014	R2 = .041 *
Cut down on outside activities	F = 141.2, α = .000 R2 = .092, Δ = .5	F = 146.7, α = .000 R2 = .069, Δ = .6	F = 45.1, α = .000 R2 = .040, Δ = .4	F = 7.7, α = .003 R2 = .044, Δ = .3
Limit job involvement to allow time for family	R2 = .039	R2 = .017	R2 = .036	R2 = .040 *

Table 23: Impact of Family Coping Strategies on Work-Life Conflict: Gender by Dependent Care
b. Significant Interactions

Family Coping Strategy	Overload	Work to Family	Family to Work	Caregiver Strain
Leave things undone around house	F = 3.2, α = .004 R2 = .111	ns	ns	ns
Leaving work problems at work	F = 5.4, α = .000 R2 = .110	F = 2.6, α = .01 R2 = .163	ns	ns
Relying on extended family for help	ns	ns	ns	F = 5.1, α = .000 R2 = .044
Relying on friends for help	ns	ns	ns	F = 2.7, α = .01 R2 = .045
Buying more goods and services	F = 3.0, α = .007 R2 = .066	ns	ns	ns

Table 24: Impact of Family Coping Strategies on Work-Life Conflict: Gender by Job Type
a. Main Effects

Family Coping Strategy	Overload	Work to Family	Family to Work	Caregiver Strain
Get by on less sleep than I would like	F = 495.6, α = .000 R2 = .147, Δ = .8	F = 451.1, α = .000 R2 = .134, Δ = .9	R2 = . 036	R2 = .037
Leave things undone around house	F = 293.5, α = .000 R2 = .110, Δ = 0.7	Interaction	R2 = . 018	R2 = .032
Get children to help	R2 = .043 *	R2 = .028	R2 = .012	R2 = .024
Plan family time together	R2 = .034	R2 = .025	R2 = .007	R2 = .030
Hire help to care for elderly relatives	Interaction	R2 = .021	R2 = .031	Interaction
Hire help to care for children	F = 14.3, α = .01 R2 = .058 ***	R2 = .027	F = 47.7, α = .000 R2 = .056 , Δ = .7	R2 = .033
Cover household tasks for each other	F = 18.8, α = .000 R2 = .042, Δ = - .3	R2 = .033	R2 = .006	R2 = .029
Leave work problems at work	Interaction	F = 550.7, α = .000 R2 = .171, Δ = - 1.0	R2 = .007	R2 = .033
Modify work schedule	Interaction	Interaction	R2 = .015	R2 = .030
Rely on extended family for help	Interaction	R2 = .033	R2 = .014	R2 = .031
Rely on friends for help	R2 = .032	R2 = .030	R2 = .012	R2 = .030
Plan work changes around family	R2 = .039	R2 = .031	R2 = .017	R2 = .028
Identify one partner as having primary responsibility for household tasks	R2 = .040 **	R2 = .041 **	R2 = .010	R2 = .031
Buy goods and services	F = 83.2, α = .000 R2 = .056, Δ = .3	F = 83.2, α = .000 R2 = .050, Δ = .5	R2 = .011	R2 = .031
Encourage children to help each other	R2 = .042 *	R2 = .026	R2 = .011	R2 = .022
Try to be flexible	R2 = .032	R2 = .031	R2 = .003	R2 = .027
Cut down on outside activities	F = 186.3, α = .000 R2 = .081, Δ = 0.5	Interaction	R2 = .019	R2 = .031
Limit job involvement to allow time for family	R2 = .041	Interaction	R2 = .029	R2 = .029

Table 24: Impact of Family Coping Strategies on Work-Life Conflict: Gender by Job Type
b. Significant Interactions

Family Coping Strategy	Overload	Work to Family	Family to Work	Caregiver Strain
Leave things undone around house	ns	F = 3.4, α = .0030 R2 = .189	ns	ns
Hire help to care for elderly relatives	ns	ns	ns	F = 3.1, α = .007 R2 = .074
Leave work problems at work	F = 1.7, α = .01 R2 = .043	ns	ns	ns
Modify work schedule	F = 2.7, α = .01 R2 = .053	F = 4.4, α = .01 R2 = .055	ns	ns
Rely on extended family for help	F = 2.8, α = .01 R2 = .041	ns	ns	ns
Cut down on outside activities	ns	F = 3.2, α = .002 R2 = .075	ns	ns
Limit job involvement to allow time for family	F = 2.8, α = .009 R2 = .041	ns	ns	ns

Employees engage their family in a wide variety of strategies to cope with high role overload

Use of just over half (55%) of the family coping strategies examined in this study can be meaningfully linked to the incidence of role overload. In all but three of these cases (modify work schedule, hire help to care for the children, and cover household tasks for each other), the higher the level of role overload, the greater the use of the coping strategy (i.e. positive association between use of coping and overload). The following coping strategies are associated with increased rather than decreased levels of role overload (i.e. greater use associated with higher levels of role overload) regardless of gender, job type or dependent care status:

• cut back on sleep (Δ = +0.8)
• cut back on outside activities (Δ = +0.5)

The following coping strategies appear to help employees cope with role overload (i.e. there is a negative association between the use of the strategy and role overload) regardless of gender, job type or dependent care status:

• cover household and family tasks for each other (Δ = -0.4)
• modify the work schedule (Δ = - 0.3)

The relationship between role overload and hiring help to care for children is curvilinear. Employees who use this strategy moderately often report lower levels of role overload than their counterparts who use it rarely or often. This finding may be because many of the employees who require only part-time care for their children work part time.

Leaving things undone around the house is positively associated with higher levels of role overload (Δ = +0.7) for both men and women when job type is taken into account.

The relationship between role overload and the use of five of the family coping strategies, while significant, is also quite complex. In two of the cases, hire help to care for elderly dependents and rely on extended family for help, the relationship depends on both the gender and the job type of the employee. In the other three cases, leave things undone around the house, leave work-related problems at work and buy goods and services, the relationship varies depending on the gender of the employee, their job type and their dependent care situation. Details on these relationships are given below.

Closer examination of these data indicate that employees attempt to cope with role overload by sacrificing personal needs (getting less sleep, leaving things undone around house, cutting down on leisure) and making a conscious decision to put their family first (which may hurt their career progression if they work for a firm with a culture of hours). In others words, as role overload increases, employees attempt to cope (and do it all) by distributing their time differently. As such, high levels of role overload can negatively impact either personal time and/or time devoted to work.

Strategies that facilitate separation between work and family domains help employees cope with work-to-family interference

Use of just under half (44%) of the family coping strategies examined in this study can be meaningfully linked to the occurrence of work-to-family interference. One coping strategy in particular stands out as having a strong positive association with this form of interference: getting by on less sleep. Greater use of this coping strategy is strongly associated with the increased incidence of work-to-family interference (Δ = +1.0) for employees regardless of their gender, their job type or their dependent care status.

The other significant relationships between family coping strategies and work-to-family interference are more complex, as the impact of the strategy on this form of interference often varies depending on gender, job type and/or the dependent care status of the individual. While many of these relationships are discussed in more detail below, they are summarized here for ease of reference.

When gender and dependent care status are taken into account, the following relationships can be observed:

• Cutting down on outside activities is positively associated with work-to-family interference (Δ = +.6).
• Modifying work schedules is negatively associated with work-to-family interference (Δ = -.3).
• There is a curvilinear relationship between work-to-family interference and two family coping strategies, leave things undone around the house and relying on extended family for help (i.e. moderate use of these strategies is associated with lower work-to-family interference), while low and high use is associated with greater interference.

In all four cases, these relationships can be observed regardless of gender and dependent care. The same cannot be said with respect to the relationship between a fifth coping strategy, leave work problems at work, and this form of work-life conflict. In this case, to understand the impact of the strategy on work-to-family interference, we need to look at both gender and dependent care status.

When gender and job type are taken into account, the following relationships can be observed:

• Buying more goods and services is positively associated with work-to-family interference (Δ = +.5).
• Leaving work-related problems at work is negatively associated with work-to-family interference (Δ = -1.0).
• Covering family responsibilities for each other is negatively associated with work-to-family interference (Δ = -.3).

In all three of these cases, these relationships can be observed regardless of gender and job type. The data also reveal three other coping techniques whose relationship with work-to-family interference depends on both gender and job type. These involve cutting down on outside activities, leaving things undone around the house and modifying the work schedule.

These findings are similar to those observed for role overload in that employees use a comparable set of strategies to deal with both forms of work-life conflict: sacrifice personal needs and make a conscious decision to put family first.

Employees purchase help from outside the family in an attempt to cope with family-to-work interference

Employees use a much more selective group of family-related coping strategies to cope with family-to-work interference than was observed in the analysis dealing with role overload and work-to-family interference (significant relationships between only 3 of the 18 strategies and family-to-work interference). Employees try to cope with family-to-work interference by:

• getting less sleep (Δ = +.5)
• hiring help to care for the children (Δ = +.5)
• cutting down on outside activities (Δ = +.4)

Use of only one of these strategies (getting by on less sleep) was significant in both the gender by job type and gender by dependent care analyses. The other two were significant only when dependent care status was taken into account.

The data suggest that these Canadians purchase help from outside the family and sacrifice personal needs to ease family-to-work interference.

The way that employees try to cope with caregiver strain depends on their work and non-work circumstances

The use of just over one in three (38%) of the family coping strategies was significantly associated with caregiver strain. In all but one case (getting by on less sleep), the link between use of the coping strategy and caregiver strain varied depending on the gender, dependent care status and job type of the individual. Again, while details on each of these relationships are discussed in more detail later in this report, they are summarized here for ease of reference.

Caregiver strain is positively associated with the use of the following coping strategies:

• Getting by on less sleep and leaving things undone around the house were significant in both the gender by job type and gender by dependent care analysis.
• Hiring help to care for elderly dependents, cutting down on outside activities, and covering household activities for each other were significant in the gender by job type analysis.
• Relying on extended family for help and relying on friends for help were significant in the gender by dependent care analysis.

Restructuring family roles is not an effective way to cope with work-life conflict

Employees who try to cope with work-life conflict by restructuring their family roles engage in five activities. They encourage their children to help each other, get their children to help with household tasks, cover household responsibilities for each other, try to be flexible and plan family time together. Unfortunately, with one exception (covering household tasks for each other), none of these strategies are significantly associated with any of the forms of work-life conflict. In other words, restructuring family roles is not generally an effective way to cope with work and family. These findings are unfortunate as the coping strategies included in this grouping are used by the majority of Canadian families.

That being said, one of the strategies within this group, cover household responsibilities for each other, is negatively associated with three of the four types of work-life conflict under the following circumstances:

• Men and women in families where partners cover household responsibilities for each other report lower levels of role overload (Δ = -.4) and caregiver strain (Δ = -.3) when dependent care is taken into account.
• Men and women in families where partners cover household responsibilities for each other report lower work-to-family interference when job type is taken into account (Δ = -.3).

Employees who cope by putting their family first are more able to balance work-life conflict

Approximately one in three of the respondents copes by making a conscious effort to separate their work and family roles and giving time to their family. They do this by limiting their job involvement to give time to family, modifying their work schedule (i.e. using alternative work arrangements), planning work changes around their family needs, and leaving work problems at work. The data are clear -- such strategies help employees cope with role overload and work-to-family interference.

Leaving work-related problems at work helps employees cope with role overload and work-to-family interference

The relationships between leaving work-related problems at work and role overload and work-to-family interference are two of the strongest observed in this phase of the analysis. The relationship between work-to-family interference and this coping strategy is straightforward in the gender by job type analysis (interference decreases by -1.0 as the use of this strategy increases from rarely to often). The same cannot be said, however, of the relationship between leaving work problems at work and role overload, which depends on both job type (Figure 54a) and dependent care status (Figure 54b). Similarly, the relationship between this strategy and work-to-family interference varies when dependent care is taken into account (Figure 55). The following conclusions can be drawn from the examination of these figures:

• The use of this coping strategy is negatively associated with role overload and work-to-family interference for both men and women, regardless of job type or dependent care status (i.e. the more the employee uses this strategy, the less the overload).
• This is an effective coping strategy for all employees.
• While this is an effective strategy for both men and women, it seems to be more effective for men than for women. For example, when dependent care status is taken into account, this strategy is associated with a greater reduction in both role overload (decrease of -.8 for men compared to -.5 for women) and work-to-family interference (decrease of -1.2 for men compared to -.8 for women) for men than for women. Similar results are obtained when job type is taken into account (decrease in role overload of -0.7) for men compared to -.4 for women).

These findings are very reassuring since half the respondents use this strategy to cope with work and family. The lower levels of role overload and work-to-family interference associated with this strategy are likely because employees who practise this coping strategy are less likely to bring work home to complete after hours and more likely to be available, both physically and mentally, to their family when they are at home.

Figure 54: Relationship Between Leave Work Problems at Work and Role Overload
a. Gender by Job Type

Figure 54: Relationship Between Leave Work Problems at Work and Role Overload
b. Gender by Dependent Care

Figure 55: Relationship Between Leave Work Problems at Work and Work-to-Family Interference: Gender by Dependent Care Analysis

Employees who modify their work schedules to accommodate their personal life are more able to cope with role overload and work-to-family interference

When dependent care status is taken into account, the relationship between this coping strategy and work-life conflict is fairly straightforward. Both men and women who use this strategy moderately often report lower levels of role overload and work-to-family interference (Δ = -0.3) than their counterparts who rarely modify their work schedule. Greater use does not give any benefit with respect to greater balance above what is realized with moderate use.

As can be seen in Figure 56, however, the relationship between the use of this coping strategy and both role overload and work-to-family interference depends on both job type and gender.

This strategy is associated with a decline in role overload for men in management and professional positions (Δ = -0.4) but not for men in other positions. For women, the relationship between the use of this strategy and role overload is "u" shaped, as moderate use of this strategy is associated with a decline in role overload for both groups of women (Δ = -0.4 for female managers and professionals, Δ = -0.3 for women in other positions) while frequent use results in an increase of role overload (Δ = +0.2 for female managers and professionals and Δ = +0.1 for females in other positions), from the level of overload reported with moderate use of this strategy. These findings may be because women who can easily modify their work schedule are expected to pick up extra burdens at home.

As can be seen by examining Figure 56b, modification of a work schedule is associated with lower levels of work-to-family interference for three of the four groups in the study: male managers and professionals and female managers and professionals (Δ = -0.4) and males in other positions (Δ = -0.2). It is interesting to note that this decline in interference is realized with moderate use of this strategy. No additional gains are gained through daily use. The relationship between this strategy and interference for women in other positions, however, follows the same "u"-shaped function as observed in the dependent care status analysis. In this case, substantive decreases in work-to-family interference can be observed with moderate use of this strategy (Δ = -.4). Frequent use of this strategy is, however, associated with increased levels of interference (Δ = +.3 from the level of interference reported with moderate use of this strategy). This suggests that women in other positions with children who frequently modify their work arrangements to accommodate family demands end up with more, rather than less, work-to-family interference -- perhaps because they are worried about the results such behaviour will have on their performance at work or their job security.

Employees who wish to reduce role overload and work-to-family interference should consider limiting their job involvement to allow more time for the family

Just over one in three (37%) of the respondents to this survey consciously place limits on how involved they become with their job in order to be able to spend more time with their family. Women, regardless of job type, are more likely than men to use this coping strategy. While this strategy may have negative repercussions (i.e. employee labelled as less committed and loyal to job) when used on a daily basis, it is an effective way to cope with two of the four forms of work-life conflict, role overload and work-to-family interference, when used moderately. This conclusion is supported by the following relationships.

• The relationship between role overload and the use of this coping strategy can best be described as "u" shaped. Moderate use of this strategy (i.e. limit job involvement to spend time with family on a weekly basis) is associated with lower role overload (Δ = -0.3) while daily use is associated with increased role overload (Δ =+0.3), from role overload reported at moderate use.
• The relationship between limit one's job involvement to spend time with family and work-to-family interference is also "u" shaped for three out of the four groups in the study (Figure 57). The exception is female managers and professionals, who do not experience a rise in interference, when use of this strategy increases. These findings indicate that this coping mechanism is one that female managers and professionals, in particular, use to cope with work-to-family interference.

Figure 56: Relationship Between Modify Work Schedule and Work-Life Conflict
a. Role Overload

Figure 56: Relationship Between Modify Work Schedule and Work-Life Conflict
b. Work-to-Family Interference

Figure 57: Relationship Between Limit Job Involvement and Work-to-Family Interference: Gender by Job Type Analysis

Finally, it is interesting to note that both of these relationships were significant only when job type is taken into account. This is consistent with the fact that this strategy appears to be much more effective for women in managerial and professional positions than for other types of employees.

Employees who try to cope by sacrificing personal needs experience higher work-life conflict

Employees who attempt to cope with work-life conflict by leaving things undone around the house, getting less sleep, cutting down on outside activities and buying goods and services report significant higher levels of all four forms of work-life conflict than their counterparts who do not sacrifice personal needs in an attempt to "do it all." An examination of the data in Tables 23 and 24 indicate the following:

• All of the coping strategies included in this group have a strong positive association with role overload and work-to-family interference.
• These strategies have no association with family-to-work interference and caregiver strain when gender and job type are taken into account.
• There is a significant positive relationship between the use of these strategies and caregiver strain and work-to-family interference when dependent care is taken into account.
• Buying goods and services is not associated with role interference and caregiver strain (only role overload).

Details on the relationship between each of these strategies and work-life conflict are provided below.

Cutting back on sleep makes things worse

Employees who try to cope with work-life conflict by cutting back on their sleep report substantially higher levels of all forms of work-life conflict, regardless of gender, job type and dependent care status. In fact, this coping mechanism, on its own, explains up to 16% of the variation in role overload and 13% of the variation in work-to-family interference. In addition, the difference in work-life conflict between those employees who rarely use this strategy compared to those who use it frequently is among the highest observed in this study. Employees who use this strategy experience higher:

• role overload (Δ = +0.8)
• work-to-family interference (Δ = +1.0)
• family-to-work interference (Δ = +0.5)
• caregiver strain (Δ = +0.3)

It is hard to determine the causality of these findings. It may be that the act of cutting back on sleep leads to increased work-life conflict. Alternatively, it may be that as levels of work-life conflict increase, employees give up sleep in an attempt to do it all. It is also possible that employees are caught in a cycle where they give up on sleep to cope with work and family demands, which in turn exacerbates their conflict by decreasing their ability to perform work and family roles effectively. While further longitudinal research needs to be done in this area to help clarify this relationship, it is safe to conclude that the use of this strategy does not offer employees any relief from work-life conflict.

Cutting down on outside activities is not associated with lower work-life conflict

There is a strong positive relationship between cutting back on outside activities and increased incidence of all four forms of work-life conflict. The relationship between the use of this coping strategy and work-life conflict is fairly straightforward when both gender and dependent care status are taken into account. In all cases, there is little difference in the work-life conflict experienced by someone who engages in this coping strategy infrequently and someone who engages in it moderately often. The situation changes dramatically, however, when one compares the work-life conflict reported by someone who uses the strategy moderately and someone who uses it often. In such circumstances, role overload increases by +0.5,⁴⁷ work-to-family interference increases by +0.6, family-to-work interference increases by +0.4 and caregiver strain increases by +0.3.

The relationship between work-to-family interference and cut back on outside activities, by gender and job type, is shown in Figure 58. From this figure, it can be seen that this coping strategy is positively associated with increased interference between work and family for three of the four groups under consideration: male managers and professionals (Δ = +0.6), males in other positions (Δ = +.7) and females in other positions (Δ = +0.5). The impact is, however, different for female managers and professionals. In this case, moderate use of this strategy is associated with lower levels of work-to-family interference (Δ = -0.2), while higher use is linked to increased levels of interference (Δ = + 0.5 from moderate to high use). Again, while we cannot determine the direction of causality (i.e. are people with high conflict less likely to have time to engage in activities or do they deliberately cut back in an attempt to cope), we can say that this coping strategy does not appear to be effective except when used moderately by female managers and professionals.

Leaving things undone around the house does provide relief from work-to-family interference when used in moderation

With one exception (work-to-family interference), the relationship between leaving things undone around the house and work-life conflict is fairly straightforward. In all cases, there is a strong positive association between the use of this strategy and increased conflict regardless of gender or job type. Employees who leave things undone around the house experience increased role overload (Δ = +0.7), family-to-work interference (Δ = +0.5) and caregiver strain (Δ = +0.3).

As can be seen in Figure 59b, the relationship between the use of this coping strategy and work-to-family interference depends on both gender and job type. For men, the use of this strategy is positively associated with work-to-family interference (Δ = +0.4). In other words, at higher levels of work-to-family interference, men, regardless of job type, are more likely to cope by leaving things around the house undone. The relationship for women is very different. The relationship can best be described as "u" shaped. Moderate use of this strategy is associated with lower interference, but daily use is associated with increased interference. While this relationship holds for all women in the sample, the extent to which it applies varies strongly with job type. For women in management and professional positions, moderate use of this strategy is associated with a substantive drop in interference (Δ = -0.3) while daily use is associated with a very large increase in interference (Δ = +0.8 from the level of interference reported at moderate use). The impact of this strategy is not as dramatic for women in other positions, whose interference levels demonstrate only a minor drop (Δ = -0.1) with moderate use of this strategy. Similarly, the increase in interference between moderate and high use is only half as high as could be observed for counterparts in managerial and professional jobs (Δ = 0.4).

The relationship between leaving things undone around the house and work-life conflict for men and women with dependent care is not as straightforward. As can be seen by examining Figure 59a, there is a positive relationship between the use of this coping strategy and role overload for three out of four groups in this analysis (Δ = +0.8 for all three). For women with dependents there is a different pattern. When this strategy is used in moderation (i.e. weekly), it seems to help with role overload (i.e. no increase in role overload noted between low and moderate use of the strategy). However, when done on a daily basis, it is associated with higher role overload (Δ = +0.5). This suggests that this strategy provides more relief from role overload for women with dependent care than for other types of employees, but only if used in moderation.

The relationships between two forms of work-life conflict (work-to-family interference and caregiver strain) and leaving things undone around the house are "u" shaped. Moderate use of this strategy is associated with lower work-to-family interference (Δ = -0.1), but daily use is associated with increased interference (Δ = +0.7 from work-to-family interference reported at moderate use). Similarly, moderate use of this strategy is associated with lower caregiver strain (Δ = -0.1), but daily use is associated with increased caregiver strain (Δ = +0.3), from caregiver strain reported at moderate use.

Purchasing goods and services does not reduce work-life conflict

It appears that employees cannot buy balance. The use of this coping strategy was not associated with either caregiver strain or family-to-work interference. While it was linked to increased role overload and work-to-family interference, the relationship is positive (i.e. the greater the overload and interference, the more one purchases goods and services in an effort to cope). In the gender and job type analysis, the relationship is fairly straightforward -- increased use is associated with greater role overload (Δ = +0.3) and interference (Δ = +0.3). The relationship between role overload and purchasing goods and services is slightly more complex in the dependent care analysis. In this case, while the use of this strategy is still positively associated with increased levels of role overload, regardless of dependent care status, the impact on men is greater (Δ = +0.4) than it is on women (Δ = +0.3).

Figure 58: Relationship Between Cut Back on Outside Activities and Work-to-Family Interference: Gender by Job Type Analysis

Figure 59: Relationship Between Leave Things Undone Around the House and Work-Life Conflict
a. Role Overload (Gender by Dependent Care Analysis)

Figure 59: Relationship Between Leave Things Undone Around the House and Work-Life Conflict
b. Work-to-Family Interference (Gender by Job Type Analysis)

Moderate reliance on support from extended family helps women cope with role overload

Two coping strategies were included in the social support grouping: rely on extended family for help, and rely on friends for help. These coping strategies do not help employees cope with two of the four forms of work-life conflict (interference from work to family and from family to work). They do, however, when used moderately, seem to help women cope with role overload (when job type is taken into account) and caregiver strain.

The relationship between role overload and reliance on one's extended family for help is shown in Figure 60. The relationship between this strategy and role overload depends very much on gender. For men, regardless of job type, role overload increases substantially (Δ = +0.2) as one moves from moderate use of this strategy to high use. This suggests that either this strategy does not help men cope with role overload and/or that they do not seek help from their family until their levels of role overload are very high. The situation with women is very similar to what was observed with respect to modify work schedule, limit job involvement and leave things undone around the house (i.e. the relationship is "u" shaped). Female managers who use this strategy moderately often experience a decline in role overload of -0.4, which is slightly greater than the decline enjoyed by females in other positions (Δ = -0.3). For both groups of women, role overload increases of 0.3 can be observed between moderate use and high use.

Social support helps women with dependent care cope with caregiver strain

The results indicate that both forms of social support examined in this phase of the analysis help women with dependent care cope with caregiver strain. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for men with dependent care responsibilities (Figure 61). For women, caregiver strain is negatively associated with their ability to rely on extended family (Δ = -0.3) and friends (Δ = -0.2) for help. For men with dependent care responsibilities, the use of these strategies is positively associated with caregiver strain (Δ = +0.2).

Figure 60: Relationship Between Rely on Extended Family and Role Overload: Gender by Job Type Analysis

Figure 61: Relationship Between Use of Social Support and Caregiver Strain: Gender by Dependent Care Analysis
a. Rely on Friends for Help

Figure 61: Relationship Between Use of Social Support and Caregiver Strain: Gender by Dependent Care Analysis
b. Rely on Extended Family for Help

Employees with high levels of overload and family-to-work interference are more likely to cope by hiring help from outside the family

Forty percent of the respondents cope with work-life conflict by hiring help to care for their children and one in four hires help to care for elderly dependents. There is a substantive relationship between the use of both of these strategies and three forms of work-life conflict: role overload, family-to-work interference and caregiver strain. The relationship between family-to-work interference and these strategies is straightforward (positive association between use of these strategies and family-to-work interference for both men and women, regardless of job type). The relationship between the use of these strategies and role overload/caregiver strain is not as clear.

Hiring help to care for one's children is associated with a drop in role overload when used moderately

The relationship between role overload and hiring help to care for children is "u" shaped. Moderate use of this strategy (i.e. once or twice a week) is associated with lower levels of role overload than seen when an employee uses no outside help (Δ = -0.2), while daily use is associated with increased role overload (Δ = +0.3) from role overload reported at moderate use. This relationship was observed for both men and women, regardless of job type.

Hiring help to care for elderly dependents appears to help men and women in managerial and professional positions cope with role overload

The relationship between role overload and hiring help to care for elderly dependents is shown in Figure 62. This strategy appears to help men and women in managerial and professional positions cope with role overload (i.e. overload levels remain stable at higher levels of use). Unfortunately, this strategy does not appear to be as effective for men and women in other positions in the organization, who report a positive relationship between role overload and the use of this strategy (Δ = +0.3). These findings may reflect the fact that managers and professionals are able to afford more flexible, better quality care.

Hiring help to care for elderly dependents, when used moderately, helps women cope with caregiver strain

The relationship between hiring help to care for elderly dependents and caregiver strain depends on both gender and job type (Figure 63). For men, the use of this strategy is positively associated with caregiver strain (Δ = +0.4 for men in managerial and professional positions, Δ = +0.5 for men in other positions). In other words, at higher levels of caregiver strain, men are more likely to cope by hiring help to care for their elderly dependents. Men in other positions are slightly more likely to use this strategy than men in managerial and professional positions.

The relationship for women between caregiver strain and hiring help for elderly relatives is very different from those observed for men and can again be described as "u" shaped. Moderate use of this strategy is associated with a drop in caregiver strain while daily use is associated with increased strain. This suggests that when the strain is at a certain level, hiring some assistance helps alleviate the problem. Unfortunately, strain increases when hired help is required on a daily basis, suggesting that getting help does not relieve caregiver strain when the situation is acute. While this relationship holds for women regardless of job type, the shape of the function varies with job type. For women in management and professional positions, moderate use of this strategy is associated with a substantive drop in strain (Δ = -0.3) while daily use is associated with a noticeable increase in strain (Δ = +0.4) from the level of strain reported at moderate use. The impact of this strategy is not as dramatic for women in other positions whose interference levels demonstrate only a minor drop (Δ = -0.1) with moderate use of this strategy. The increase in strain between moderate and high use is, however, the same as observed for female managers and professionals jobs (Δ = +0.4).

Figure 62: Relationship Between Hire Help for Elderly Dependents and Role Overload: Gender by Job Type Analysis

Figure 63: Relationship Between Hire Help for Elderly Dependents and Caregiver Strain: Gender by Job Type Analysis