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ARTICLES

Understanding the roles of subjective and objective aspects of time in the work-family interface

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Pages 149-172 | Published online: 27 Oct 2011
 

Abstract

The experience of time has been posited as an important predictor of work-family conflict; however, few studies have considered subjective and objective aspects of time conjointly. This study examined the reported number of hours dedicated to work and family as indices of objective aspects of time, and perceived time pressure (in the work and family domains respectively) as an important feature of the subjective nature of temporal experiences within the work-family interface. Results indicate that the stress of having insufficient time to fulfill commitments in one domain (i.e., perceived time pressure) predicts work-family conflict, and that perceived time pressures predict the amount of time allocated to a domain. Additionally, findings suggest that domain boundaries are not symmetrical, with work boundaries being more rigidly constructed than family boundaries. Work-to-family and family-to-work conflict were generally related to overall health, turnover intentions, and work performance, as expected.

La experiencia de tiempo en el trabajo has sido posicionada como un importante factor predictivo del conflicto trabajo-familia; sin embargo pocos estudios han considerado los aspectos subjetivos y objetivos del tiempo en el trabajo conjuntamente. Este estudio examino el número de horas medidas dedicadas al trabajo y a la familia como índices objetivos de tiempo y la presión de tiempo percibida (en los dominios de trabajo y familia respectivamente) como un elemento importante de la naturaleza subjetiva de la experiencia del tiempo en la interface trabajo-familia. Los resultados indican que el estrés de no contar con suficiente tiempo para cumplir con los compromisos en un dominio (i.e., percepción de presión de tiempo) predice conflictos de tipo trabajo-familia y que la percepción de presión de tiempo también predice el número de horas dedicada a un dominio u otro del conflicto. Más aún, los hallazgos sugieren que los límites de los dominios no son simétricos sino que los límites del domino trabajo son más rígidos que los del dominio familia. Los conflictos de trabajo-a-familia y de familia-a-trabajo se relacionan, en términos generales, al estado general de salud, intenciones de cambio y rendimiento en el trabajo, tal y como se esperaba.

Acknowledgements

This article was supported in part by Training Grant T01/OH008610-04 from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of NIOSH. A previous version of this article was presented at the bi-annual meeting of the APA/NIOSH Conference on Occupational Stress and Health, Miami, Florida, March 2006.

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