Interest regarding the challenge-hindrance occupational stress model has increased in recent years, however its theoretical foundation has not been tested. Drawing from the transactional theory of stress, this study tests the assumptions made in past research (1) that workload and responsibility are appraised as challenges and role ambiguity and…

Using longitudinal data (N=220), we examined the contribution of perceived organizational support and four mindsets of organizational commitment (affective, normative, perceived sacrifice associated with leaving and perceived lack of alternatives) to employee psychological well-being. In order to assess the contribution of support and commitment…

Although work and family social support predict role stressors and work-family conflict, there has been much ambiguity regarding the conceptual relationships among these constructs. Using path analysis on meta-analytically derived validity coefficients (528 effect sizes from 156 samples), we compare three models to address these concerns and…

This study investigated relationships between workplace factors and family dinners. We examined two aspects of the family dinner, the frequency that the entire family typically has dinner together each week and the frequency that children eat fast food for dinner. Participants were 220 parents who worked at least 20 h a week and had at least one…

The present study investigated variables that moderated the relationship between role ambiguity and self-efficacy. Results of a field study found support for the moderating role of learning goal orientation, such that the relationship between role ambiguity and self-efficacy was weaker when learning goal orientation was high. In addition, we found…

This study investigates the interrelations among role integration-segmentation, role identification, reactions to interruptions, and work-life conflict. Results from a field survey of university staff employees suggest that as highly identified roles are integrated into other domains, high role integration is related to less negative reactions to…

This study investigated the influence of two role stressors--role ambiguity and role conflict--on previously established relationships between mentoring activities--vocational support, psychosocial support, and role modeling--and prominent job attitudes. Full and partial mediation models were tested with a sample of 355 proteges. Results showed…

When trying to balance work and family responsibilities, many workers experience conflict between these two roles. Although role commitment has been viewed both as contributing to and alleviating conflict, this relationship has not been fully tested. Using a sample of female nurses and police officers, we examined the direct and indirect…

One of the most popular and often studied topics in the organizational socialization literature is Van Maanen and Schein's [Van Maanen, J., & Schein, E. H. (1979). Toward a theory of organizational socialization. In B. M. Staw (Ed.), "Research in organizational behavior" (Vol. 1), pp. 209-264. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.] theory of organizational…

A study of 160 hospital employees with partners and/or children showed that work-family conflict was significantly related to global and composite job satisfaction. Behavior-based conflict was significantly related to job satisfaction; strain-based and time-based conflicts were not. (Contains 30 references.) (SK)

Results do not support the proposition that perceived role conflict and role ambiguity are uniformly unfavorable role perceptions. Rather, they suggest the differential influences of these role perceptions are dependent at least in part upon differences in the outcomes under consideration and the characteristics of the roles in question. (Author)

Data from 372 adults who are married and/or parents were used to test a model of work-family interface that distinguishes between proximal and distal predictors of conflict. Results support an indirect reciprocal relationship between work-to-family and family-to-work conflict. Each type of conflict had three predictors: distress, overload, and…

Usable responses from 393 of 1,100 university employees yielded multiple measures of bidirectional role conflict. Family boundaries were more permeable than work boundaries: demands of work were allowed to intrude more on family roles than vice versa. No gender differences were found. (SK)

Interviews with 30 self-employed men and women indicated that family intrudes more on work for women, work intrudes more on family for men. Women emphasize the importance of self-employment flexibility for balancing work and family. Gender identity is deeply embedded in the process of constructing links between work and family life. (SK)

Dominance analysis investigated the effects of organizational context and work-family organizational support on several outcomes for 147 employees. Work-family support contributes to job satisfaction and organizational commitment most strongly through its impact on work-family conflict. However, variance in employee affect is better explained by…