Influence of managerial support on work–life conflict and organizational commitment: an international comparison for India, Peru and Spain

Abstract

This paper analyses work–family issues and related variables in three different countries (India, Peru and Spain) from a cross-cultural perspective. The level of conflict that employees feel between their working and personal lives is examined, as well as the relationships between work–life conflict (WLC) and employee commitment to the organization in each country. We also seek to understand whether managerial support is associated with WLC and affective commitment. Participants were 329 employees from different business organizations. Results suggest that the extent of WLC experienced by employees is similar for Spain and Peru, and also for Peru and India. Employees from India reported significantly higher levels of WLC compared to Spanish respondents. Results also show that in all three countries both the WLC and the managerial support in relation to work–family demands are associated with affective commitment. High levels of managerial support also lead to lower experiences of WLC in Peru and Spain, but not in India. The influence of individual differences in these variables was also examined. Whereas no gender differences emerged, marital status and elder/childcare responsibilities influenced perceptions of WLC as well as affective commitment. Results are discussed in terms of how cultural, social and economic differences between India, Peru and Spain may influence work–family issues.

Keywords::

• India
• managerial support
• organizational commitment
• Peru
• Spain
• work–life conflict

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the support and advice received from anonymous reviewers. We would also like to thank the funding agencies for supporting our research.

Funding

This work was supported by DiputaciónForal de Gipuzkoa, Spain. The India data reported are small part of the data collected for the research project supported by Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), India.

Notes

^1. In this paper this is the only type of component of work–family culture that we analyse, but we consider it very important that the other two components are included in future research.