Work Hours, Work – Family Conflict and Psychophysical Health of Working Parents – Are There Differences Between Women and Men?

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the mechanisms that lie
beneath the relationship between work hours and the
psychophysical health of working parents and to examine
whether sex moderates this relationship. The proposed
model, which included mediatory effects of the two
dimensions of the Work-family conflict (Time-based and
Strain-based conflict), was tested on a convenience sample
of working parents (n = 377; 55.2 % mothers). Subjective
psychophysical health was measured by Musculoskeletal
Symptoms Scale (Barton et al., 1995) and General Health
Questionnaire – 12 (Goldberg, 1988). Work-family conflict
(due to a spillover of the work domain in the family domain)
was measured by Time-based and Strain-based scales
(Carlson, Kacmar, & Williams, 2000). The results showed
that work hours have a significant independent contribution
in predicting both subscales of Work – family conflict.
Furthermore, gender moderated the relationship between
work hours and participants’ health. Work hours are
significantly positively correlated with self-assessed
psychophysical health of mothers, but not fathers. This
correlation is entirely mediated by Strain-based conflict.
Contrary to expectations, Time-based conflict does not
mediate the relationship between work hours and the health
of working mothers.