Interpersonal Context at Work and the Frequency, Appraisal, and Consequences of Boundary-Spanning Demands

Abstract

Compared to job-specific conditions, the interpersonal context of work has received less attention from work–family scholars. Using data from a 2007 U.S. survey of workers (N = 1,286), we examine the impact of workplace social support and interpersonal conflict on work–family conflict and exposure to boundary-spanning demands—as indexed by the frequency that workers receive work-related contact outside of normal work hours. Findings indicate that workplace social support is associated negatively with work-to-family conflict, while interpersonal conflict at work is associated with higher levels of work-to-family conflict. Results also indicate that both supportive and conflictive work contexts are associated with more frequent exposure to boundary-spanning demands. However, workers in supportive contexts are more likely to appraise these demands as beneficial for accomplishing work tasks, and are less likely to appraise them as disruptive to family roles. By contrast, workers in conflictive contexts are more likely to appraise demands as disruptive to family roles, and are less likely to appraise them as beneficial for paid work. Consequently, our findings underscore the resource and demands aspects of interpersonal work contexts and their implications for the work–family interface.

NOTES

Notes

¹ While we acknowledge that work–family conflict can also entail family-to-work conflict, our interest lies in understanding the extent that work interferes with family and nonwork roles, which has been documented as more common and severe (Frone 2003; Jacobs and Gerson 2004; Bellavia and Frone 2005).

² To obtain the sample, we used a list-assisted random digit dialing (RDD) selection drawn proportionally from all 50 states from GENESYS Sampling Systems (Marketing Systems Group, 565 Virginia Drive, Fort Washington, PA 19034-2706). The sampling approach employed the List + 1 method, which tends to yield a higher proportion of productive numbers (Lepkowski 1988). List-assisted RDD is widely accepted now by most social survey research organizations as a cost-effective alternative to the pure RDD methods originally developed by Waksberg (1978). List-assisted RDD increases the probability of residential numbers while minimizing the biases often associated with nontraditional RDD techniques. The final sample was based on (1) telephone numbers for residential households, (2) households agreeing to answer screening questions, (3) successfully screened households with one or more employed adults, and (4) eligible households with a subsampled adult who agreed to participate in the interview. The average age is 43.51 years, 59 percent are women, 72 percent are white.

³ Sample characteristics for the second wave of the Work, Stress, and Health (WSH) study are similar to the ACS 2005 population estimates, although some differences exist: Women are overrepresented in the present study (60 percent versus 51 percent in the ACS). Age: 18- to 19-year-olds are underrepresented (11 percent versus 22 percent in the ACS), while 50- to 59-year-olds are overrepresented (28.2 percent versus 18.6 percent in the ACS).