Work- and family-related variables, work–family conflict and women's well-being: some observations

The present study was carried out to test an exploratory model consisting of three sets of variables (demographic, personality and work- and family-related variables) in the prediction of well-being. The model also provided a test of the indirect effect of these variables on well-being, via perceptions of work–family conflict. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses were used. In a sample of 147 employed British women with children, the results showed that these three sets of variables had both direct and indirect influence on well-being. Although work-related variables explained the most variance in the prediction of work- interfering-with-family conflict and job satisfaction, personality variables accounted for the most variance in the prediction of family-interfering-with-work conflict. Similarly, in the prediction of distress symptoms, demographic variables accounted for the most variance. The qualitative responses provided by the women complemented these findings. The proposed model appears to provide a better fit of the complex relationships that may exist between the many variables encompassing women's work and family lives than previous ones that have considered only one set of variables.

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