Work-Family Conflict In East Vs. West Countries
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to advance the understanding of both directions of work‐family conflict (WFC), work interference with family (WIF) and family interference with work (FIW) in an Eastern culture. Findings are compared with those of 14 other Western studies and the relationships...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Emerald Group Publishing Limited
2010
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| Online Access: | http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/136/ http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/136/1/WORK-FAMILY%20CONFLICT%20IN%20EAST%20VS.%20WEST%20COUNTRIES.pdf |
| _version_ | 1848834472196177920 |
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| author | Zaiton, Hassan Dollard, Maureen F. Winefield, Anthony H. |
| author_facet | Zaiton, Hassan Dollard, Maureen F. Winefield, Anthony H. |
| author_sort | Zaiton, Hassan |
| building | UNIMAS Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to advance the understanding of both directions of work‐family conflict (WFC), work interference with family (WIF) and family interference with work (FIW) in an Eastern culture. Findings are compared with those of 14 other Western studies and the relationships among WIF, FIW and job, family, community and life satisfaction are explored.
Design/methodology/approach
– This study is conducted in Malaysia, a country with Islam as the official religion. Data are obtained from 506 employees in three public and three private sector organizations. Questionnaires are distributed via human resource managers.
Findings
– Results show that similar to Western studies, WIF scores are higher than FIW scores. Malaysians are significantly lower on WIF than Westerners. Nevertheless, Malaysians score significantly higher on FIW than all Western samples. Within the Malaysian sample, FIW also has a stronger negative relationship with all facets of satisfaction and WIF has a positive relationship with family satisfaction.
Research limitations/implications
– Cross‐sectional data are presented which could result in common method bias.
Practical implications
– Organizations can assist in minimizing WIF and FIW by providing family‐friendly policies and parenting related programmes. The importance of family in an individual's life in Eastern cultures is different than in Western cultures. Therefore multi‐national companies operating in Eastern settings would be well‐advised to take cultural aspects such as collectivism into consideration.
Originality/value
– The study provides insights into Eastern experiences of WIF and FIW compared with Western experiences. The study expands previous studies by measuring both directions of WFC and employing a heterogeneous sample (e.g. not just female, those married, those with children). |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T05:52:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | unimas-136 |
| institution | Universiti Malaysia Sarawak |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T05:52:31Z |
| publishDate | 2010 |
| publisher | Emerald Group Publishing Limited |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | unimas-1362017-01-03T02:55:44Z http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/136/ Work-Family Conflict In East Vs. West Countries Zaiton, Hassan Dollard, Maureen F. Winefield, Anthony H. H Social Sciences (General) Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to advance the understanding of both directions of work‐family conflict (WFC), work interference with family (WIF) and family interference with work (FIW) in an Eastern culture. Findings are compared with those of 14 other Western studies and the relationships among WIF, FIW and job, family, community and life satisfaction are explored. Design/methodology/approach – This study is conducted in Malaysia, a country with Islam as the official religion. Data are obtained from 506 employees in three public and three private sector organizations. Questionnaires are distributed via human resource managers. Findings – Results show that similar to Western studies, WIF scores are higher than FIW scores. Malaysians are significantly lower on WIF than Westerners. Nevertheless, Malaysians score significantly higher on FIW than all Western samples. Within the Malaysian sample, FIW also has a stronger negative relationship with all facets of satisfaction and WIF has a positive relationship with family satisfaction. Research limitations/implications – Cross‐sectional data are presented which could result in common method bias. Practical implications – Organizations can assist in minimizing WIF and FIW by providing family‐friendly policies and parenting related programmes. The importance of family in an individual's life in Eastern cultures is different than in Western cultures. Therefore multi‐national companies operating in Eastern settings would be well‐advised to take cultural aspects such as collectivism into consideration. Originality/value – The study provides insights into Eastern experiences of WIF and FIW compared with Western experiences. The study expands previous studies by measuring both directions of WFC and employing a heterogeneous sample (e.g. not just female, those married, those with children). Emerald Group Publishing Limited 2010 Article PeerReviewed text en http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/136/1/WORK-FAMILY%20CONFLICT%20IN%20EAST%20VS.%20WEST%20COUNTRIES.pdf Zaiton, Hassan and Dollard, Maureen F. and Winefield, Anthony H. (2010) Work-Family Conflict In East Vs. West Countries. Cross-Cultural Management : An International Journal, 17 (1). pp. 30-49. ISSN 1352-7606 http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/full/10.1108/13527601011016899 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/13527601011016899 |
| spellingShingle | H Social Sciences (General) Zaiton, Hassan Dollard, Maureen F. Winefield, Anthony H. Work-Family Conflict In East Vs. West Countries |
| title | Work-Family Conflict In East Vs. West Countries |
| title_full | Work-Family Conflict In East Vs. West Countries |
| title_fullStr | Work-Family Conflict In East Vs. West Countries |
| title_full_unstemmed | Work-Family Conflict In East Vs. West Countries |
| title_short | Work-Family Conflict In East Vs. West Countries |
| title_sort | work-family conflict in east vs. west countries |
| topic | H Social Sciences (General) |
| url | http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/136/ http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/136/ http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/136/ http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/136/1/WORK-FAMILY%20CONFLICT%20IN%20EAST%20VS.%20WEST%20COUNTRIES.pdf |