Alcohol and cigarette use affecting the relationship between work-life conflict and physical health

ABSTRACT

Poor worker health is estimated to cost employers more than half a trillion dollars per year in lost productivity [Japsen, B. (2018, November 15). Poor worker health costs U.S. employer’s half trillion dollars a year. Retrieved March 8, 2019, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2018/11/15/poor-worker-health-costs-u-s-employers-half-trillion-dollars-a-year/]. Stress, especially as it pertains to work-family conflicts, has been shown to be a primary contributor to employee health problems [Gisler, S., Omansky, R., Alenick, P., Tumminia, A., Eatough, E., & Johnson, R. (2018). Work-life conflict and employee health: A review. Journal of Applied Biobehavioral Research, 23(4), 1–46. https://doi.org/10.1111/jabr.12157]. This paper investigates how physical health symptoms resulting from increased work-family conflict may be mediated through increased alcohol and cigarette use, and how that relationship is moderated by factors such as family-friendly policies implemented by the organizations, time management, sex of the individual, and norms around the use of these substances among employees. The study examined 1275 blue collar/front-line workers from 60 different small businesses. Alcohol and cigarette use were found to partially mediate the relationship between high levels of work-family conflict and negative physical health symptoms. The availability and ease of use of family-friendly policies moderated the effects of the relationship as well. Results and implications are further discussed.

RESUMEN

Se estima que la mala salud de los trabajadores les cuesta a los empleadores estadounidenses más de medio billón de dólares por año en pérdida de productividad, lo que representa hasta el 60% de los costos totales asociados con los beneficios de atención médica del empleador (Japsen, 2018). Se ha demostrado que el estrés, especialmente en lo que respecta a los conflictos entre el trabajo y la familia, es uno de los principales contribuyentes a los problemas de salud de los empleados (Gisler et al., 2018). Los estudios han encontrado relaciones positivas directas entre el aumento de los niveles de estrés debido a conflictos laborales y el aumento de los problemas de salud (Kivimaki et al., 2006; Spell y Arnold, 2007; Bonde, 2008). Este artículo investiga cómo los síntomas de salud física resultantes de un mayor conflicto trabajo-familia pueden ser mediados por un mayor consumo de alcohol y cigarrillos, y cómo esa relación se modera por factores como las políticas favorables a la familia implementadas por las organizaciones, la gestión del tiempo, el sexo del individuo, y normas sobre el uso de estas sustancias entre los empleados. El estudio examinó a 1275 trabajadores manuales/obreros de 60 pequeñas empresas diferentes. Se descubrió que el consumo de alcohol y cigarrillos media en parte la relación entre los altos niveles de conflicto laboral-familiar y los síntomas negativos de salud física. La disponibilidad y la facilidad de uso de políticas favorables para la familia también moderaron los efectos de la relación. Los resultados y las implicaciones son discutidos más a fondo.

KEYWORDS:

• Work-family conflict
• family-friendly policies
• alcohol use
• cigarette use
• small businesses

PALABRAS CLAVE:

• conflicto trabajo-familia
• políticas favorables a la familia
• consumo de alcohol
• consumo de cigarrillos
• pequeñas empresas

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Katherine J. Roberto

Katherine J. Roberto (PhD, University of Texas at Arlington) is an Assistant Professor of Management at Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi. Her primary area of research is diversity in selection and retention of employees. She has published in journals such as Journal of Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management Review.

Jennifer F. Taylor

Jennifer F. Taylor is an Assistant Professor of Marketing in the College of Business at Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi. Dr. Taylor received her Ph.D. from Georgia State University. Her research interests include inter-organizational technology adoption, privacy issues and decision-making. Her work is published in the Journal of World Business, the Journal of Consumer Marketing, and the Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing.