Work-family conflict and well-being: moderating role of spirituality

ABSTRACT

Although literature on work-family conflict and well-being is quite extensive, previous research has not examined the role of spirituality as a mechanism for coping with work-family conflict. In this research, we propose that spirituality moderates the relationship between work-family conflict and well-being. The research includes a broad range of well-being variables including job and family satisfaction, subjective and psychological well-being. Based on a survey of a large national sample (N = 1130), we found that spirituality mitigated the negative effects of work-family conflict on a wide range of well-being measures. We discuss implications for theory and practice of work-family conflict and spirituality in organizations.

KEYWORDS:

• JD-R Model
• psychological well-being (PWB)
• spirituality
• subjective well-being (subjective well-being)
• work-family conflict

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Keeping in mind the word-limit requirements of the journal, we only plot two significant interactions shown in Figures 2 and 3.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

T. T. Rajan Selvarajan

T.T. Rajan Selvarajan (Ph.D. Arizona State University) is an Associate Professor of Management at the California State University East Bay. His research interests include work-family conflict and social support and has been published in top management journals such as the Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of Vocational Behavior, International Journal of Human Resource Management, and Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, among others.

Barjinder Singh

Barjinder Singh (Ph.D. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) is an Assistant Professor of Management at the Elon University’s Martha & Spencer Love School of Business. His research focusses on work-non-work domains and management of diversity at work and has been published top management/psychology journals including, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, Journal of Vocational Behavior, Human Resource Management, Journal of Managerial Psychology and Journal of Business Ethics, among others. 

Donna Stringer

Donna Y. Stringer (Ph.D. University of Texas at Arlington). Donna's research focuses on human resource management in small and entrepreneurial organizations, diversity in organizations, and the impact of personal values in organizations. Her primary work experience has been in small business. She has also had extensive experience in working with and teaching diverse populations.

Olga Chapa

Olga Chapa (Ph.D. University of Texas- Rio Grande Valley) is an Associate Professor of Management at the University of Houston in Victoria, Texas. Her extensive research on gender roles social support and cultural factors influencing human behavior within the organizational context earned her an Emerald/EFMD Highly Commended Dissertation Award in 2009. She has published in various journal outlets such as the International Journal of Human Resource Management, Thunderbird International Business Review, and The Journal of Management History. She has presented her work at top-tier conferences such as the Academy of Management.