Journal of Humanities and Applied Social Sciences (Oct 2022)

How do changes in family role status impact employees? An empirical investigation

  • Matthew B. Perrigino,
  • Ellen Ernst Kossek,
  • Rebecca J. Thompson,
  • Todd Bodner

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1108/JHASS-04-2021-0075
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 4, no. 5
pp. 393 – 409

Abstract

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Purpose – Despite the proliferation of work–family research, a thorough understanding of family role status changes (e.g. the gaining of elder or child caregiving responsibilities) remain under-theorized and under-examined. The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize various forms of family role status changes and examine the ways in which these changes influence various employee outcomes. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected as part of the work–family health study. Using a longitudinal, three-wave study with two-time lags of 6 months (n = 151 family role status changes; n = 392 individuals with family role stability), this study uses one-way analysis of variance to compare mean differences across groups and multilevel modeling to examine the predictive effects of family role status changes. Findings – Overall, experiences of employees undergoing a family role status change did not differ significantly from employees whose family role status remained stable over the same 12-month period. Separation/divorce predicted higher levels of family-to-work conflict. Originality/value – The work raises important considerations for organizational science and human resource policy research to better understand the substantive effects of family role status changes on employee well-being.

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