Developing and testing a theoretical model linking work-family conflict to employee safety.

Despite work-family conflict being recognized as a source of stress, no published research to our knowledge has considered how it negatively affects workplace safety. A theoretical model linking strain-based work-family conflict and employee safety was tested with 243 health care workers. Within this model, work-family conflict is conceptualized as a workplace hazard. As expected, strong work performance norms and high work overload were associated with higher work-family conflict; increased family-to-work conflict was associated with decreased compliance with safety rules and less willingness to participate in discretionary safety meetings. Work-to-family conflict, however, was not associated with safety. These findings underscore the importance of work redesign strategies that consider work performance norms and work-family conflict for expecting a return on investment in terms of a safer workplace.

[1]  P. Bentler,et al.  Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis : Conventional criteria versus new alternatives , 1999 .

[2]  L. A. Pervin.  Handbook of Personality: Theory and Research , 1992 .

[3]  J. S. Long,et al.  Testing Structural Equation Models , 1993 .

[4]  Philip H. Mirvis,et al.  Assessing organizational change : a guide to methods, measures, and practices , 1984 .

[5]  Karen S. Markel,et al.  Developing and Testing an Integrative Model of the Work–Family Interface , 1997 .

[6]  Robert McMurrian,et al.  Development and validation of work–family conflict and family–work conflict scales. , 1996 .

[7]  A Cohen,et al.  Initial psychological research related to the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. , 1973, The American psychologist.

[8]  Julie Sochalski,et al.  Is More Better?: The Relationship Between Nurse Staffing and the Quality of Nursing Care in Hospitals , 2004, Medical care.

[9]  Eduardo Salas,et al.  Stress and human performance , 1996 .

[10]  R. Lazarus.  Psychological stress and the coping process , 1970 .

[11]  D. Hofmann,et al.  Safety-related behavior as a social exchange: The role of perceived organizational support and leader–member exchange. , 1999 .

[12]  M. Eysenck,et al.  Anxiety and Performance: The Processing Efficiency Theory , 1992 .

[13]  Mark R. Leary,et al.  Handbook of self and identity , 2003 .

[14]  Tammy D. Allen,et al.  Consequences associated with work-to-family conflict: a review and agenda for future research. , 2000 .

[15]  Stephen J. Gerras,et al.  Climate as a moderator of the relationship between leader-member exchange and content specific citizenship: safety climate as an exemplar. , 2003, The Journal of applied psychology.

[16]  Monica A. Hemingway,et al.  Organizational climate and occupational stressors as predictors of withdrawal behaviours and injuries in nurses , 1999 .

[17]  Susan J. Lambert,et al.  Added Benefits: The Link Between Work-Life Benefits and Organizational Citizenship Behavior , 2000 .

[18]  Michael R. Frone,et al.  Young workers' occupational safety. , 2004 .

[19]  Tahira M Probst,et al.  Layoffs and tradeoffs: production, quality, and safety demands under the threat of job loss. , 2002, Journal of occupational health psychology.

[20]  B. Byrne.  Structural equation modeling with EQS : basic concepts, applications, and programming , 2000 .

[21]  A. Shirom,et al.  Conservation of resources theory: Applications to stress and management in the workplace. , 2001 .

[22]  Lois E. Tetrick,et al.  Handbook of occupational health psychology , 2003 .

[23]  James J. Gross,et al.  Emotion and emotion regulation , 1999 .

[24]  Diane Doran,et al.  Nurse Staffing Models, Nursing Hours, and Patient Safety Outcomes , 2004, The Journal of nursing administration.

[25]  E. Kelloway,et al.  Development and test of a model linking safety-specific transformational leadership and occupational safety. , 2002, The Journal of applied psychology.

[26]  J. Gross,et al.  PERSONALITY PROCESSES AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES Emotion Regulation and Memory: The Cognitive Costs of Keeping One's Cool , 2004 .

[27]  Jeffrey H. Greenhaus,et al.  Sources of Conflict Between Work and Family Roles , 1985 .

[28]  M. L. Cooper,et al.  Antecedents and outcomes of work-family conflict: testing a model of the work-family interface. , 1992, The Journal of applied psychology.

[29]  K. Murphy.  Personnel Selection in Organizations , 1992 .

[30]  A. Leung,et al.  Role Stressors, Interrole Conflict, and Well-Being: The Moderating Influence of Spousal Support and Coping Behaviors among Employed Parents in Hong Kong , 1999 .

[31]  Jeffrey H. Greenhaus,et al.  Work and Family Influences on Departure from Public Accounting , 1997 .

[32]  D. Zohar.  A group-level model of safety climate: testing the effect of group climate on microaccidents in manufacturing jobs. , 2000, The Journal of applied psychology.

[33]  Terry A. Beehr,et al.  Human Stress and Cognition in Organizations: An Integrated Perspective. , 1987 .

[34]  Samuel Aryee,et al.  Antecedents and Outcomes of Work-Family Conflict Among Married Professional Women: Evidence from Singapore , 1992 .

[35]  Tahira M. Probst,et al.  The effects of job insecurity on employee safety outcomes: cross-sectional and longitudinal explorations. , 2001 .

[36]  R. Golembiewski.  Handbook of Organizational Behavior , 2001 .

[37]  T. Britt,et al.  Predicting Work–Family Conflict From Workload, Job Attitudes, Group Attributes, and Health: A Longitudinal Study , 2005 .

[38]  P. Ackerman,et al.  Motivation and cognitive abilities: an integrative/aptitude-treatment interaction approach to skill acquisition , 1989 .

[39]  Mark A. Griffin,et al.  Safety climate and safety at work. , 2004 .

[40]  M. Browne,et al.  Alternative Ways of Assessing Model Fit , 1992 .

[41]  P. O. Saksvik,et al.  Expanding the psychosocial work environment: workplace norms and work-family conflict as correlates of stress and health. , 2004, Journal of occupational health psychology.

[42]  Alicia A. Grandey,et al.  The Conservation Of Resources model applied to work–family conflict and strain. , 1999 .

[43]  Pascale Carayon,et al.  Controlling occupational safety and health hazards. , 2003 .

[44]  B. Ingersoll-Dayton,et al.  Balancing work and caregiving for children, adults, and elders , 1993 .

[45]  A Neal,et al.  Perceptions of safety at work: a framework for linking safety climate to safety performance, knowledge, and motivation. , 2000, Journal of occupational health psychology.

[46]  Paul E. Spector.  Method variance as an artifact in self-reported affect and perceptions at work: Myth or significant problem? , 1987 .

[47]  M. Frone,et al.  The psychology of workplace safety. , 2004 .

[48]  R. Arvey,et al.  Correlates of work injury frequency and duration among firefighters. , 2001, Journal of occupational health psychology.

[49]  W. Borman,et al.  A Theory of Individual Differences in Task and Contextual Performance , 1997 .

[50]  C. Wickens.  Designing for Stress , 2000 .

[51]  W. Casper,et al.  Work and family research in IO/OB: Content analysis and review of the literature (1980–2002) , 2005 .

[52]  Kathleen D. Vohs,et al.  Self-regulation and the executive function of the self , 2003 .

[53]  W. Borman,et al.  Expanding the Criterion Domain to Include Elements of Contextual Performance , 1993 .

[54]  A. Neal,et al.  A study of the lagged relationships among safety climate, safety motivation, safety behavior, and accidents at the individual and group levels. , 2006, The Journal of applied psychology.

[55]  Scott B. MacKenzie,et al.  Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. , 2003, The Journal of applied psychology.

[56]  Cortlandt Cammann,et al.  Assessing the attitudes and perceptions of organizational members , 1983 .

[57]  A. Neal,et al.  The impact of organizational climate on safety climate and individual behavior , 2000 .

[58]  Dawn S. Carlson,et al.  Construction and Initial Validation of a Multidimensional Measure of Work–Family Conflict , 2000 .

[59]  Lynda A. King,et al.  Relationships of job and family involvement, family social support, and work-family conflict with job and life satisfaction , 1996 .

[60]  S. Hobfoll.  Conservation of resources. A new attempt at conceptualizing stress. , 1989, The American psychologist.

[61]  Robert Karasek,et al.  Job decision latitude and mental strain: Implications for job redesign , 1979 .

[62]  D. A. Kenny,et al.  The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. , 1986, Journal of personality and social psychology.