Date of Award

2016

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Psychology

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Horvath, Michael

Subject Headings

Psychology

Abstract

Work-life balance is becoming a popular topic within organizations as no employee wants to endure work-family conflict. Research has been trying to understand what can impact work-family conflict. To increase knowledge about work-family conflict this study examined how role overload can impact different groups of people depending upon work schedule, parental status, and activity during commute. The data were collected through two surveys posted on Amazon's Mechanical Turk. In total, there were 192 respondents. Results found that an interaction was present between an employee's work schedule and the child's status as a student to significantly predict the time the employee is able to spend with the child. Employees with a compressed work week are able to spend more time with children than employees without a compressed work week. Further, when an employee has a compressed work week they are able to spend more time with children when their children are not in school compared to when children are in school. Additionally it was found that level of depletion after the work day significantly predicts one's work-family conflict. The findings of this study can help future researchers improve their knowledge on what can impact one's work-family conflict. The findings will also help organizations understand work-family conflict better. Organizations may become more willing to consider offering employees alternative work schedules and activities to allow employees to replenish resources before the start of the workweek and after their workday is over.

Included in

Psychology Commons

COinS