MANAGING WORK-LIFE ACROSS

Managing Work-Life across Public and Private Organizations

Robin Way

Strayer University

Abstract

Various workforce and societal changes have made the issue of work-family conflict relevant for employees and organizations alike. The increasing pressures for attracting and retaining talented employees have forced many public and private organizations to develop formal family friendly policies aimed at providing employees with resources to balance their work and family responsibilities. However, the effects of implementing such formal policies are not clearly established. These formal supports are often underutilized and, even when employees use them, they may not always have the intended consequences. It has been suggested that informal workplace characteristics, such as supervisor support and a supportive work-family culture, may be as important as, or even more important than, the simple provision of formal benefits. Prior research on family-friendly policies and cultures and their effects on employees' attitudes and behaviors is limited in that it has focused almost exclusively on the experiences of individuals employed in private sector organizations, with the effects on public sector employees being largely unknown. Thus, the aim of this dissertation was to address this gap by examining and comparing work-family relationships between employees working in the public and the private sectors of the economy. This study uses data from the Families and Work Institute's 2002 National Study of the Changing Workforce, and employs institutional theory, ecological systems theory, role theory, and social exchange theory to investigate how formal support, informal support, and work characteristics may affect employees' work-family conflict, job satisfaction, and turnover intentions. The main objectives of this study were centered on practical concerns, as the investigation seeks to impact public sector's ability to recruit, motivate, and retain qualified employees.

The findings of this study suggest both similarities and differences between public and private sector organizations with respect to the constructs measured. Contrary to the expectations and the institutional theory, there were no significant differences in the provision of formal supports between the two sectors. However, consistent with the institutional theory, the results confirmed that public sector employees enjoy higher levels of informal support and HR practices than their private sector counterparts. This study also supports the idea of social exchange between employees and their employers related to work- family issues. By revealing the key role played by the informal support in all three outcomes of interest for this study (i.e., work-family conflict, job satisfaction, and turnover intentions), the findings suggest the importance for organizations to assist their employees in maintaining good work and family relationships. Therefore, both public and private organizations seeking to help their employees manage work and family responsibilities will benefit from knowing employees' perceptions of formal support, informal support, and work characteristics, along with their specific impact on employees' work-family conflict, job satisfaction, and turnover intentions.

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION6

Context of the Problem6

Statement of the Problem8

Research Questions and Hypotheses9

Research Question /Hypothesis 1:10

Research Question/ Hypothesis 2:10

Significance of the Study11

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW14

Primary Theoretical Perspectives14

The Ecological Systems Theory15

The Role Theory16

The Social Exchange Theory18

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY20

Participants20

Measures22

Dependent variables22

Job ...