Abstract
Orientation: The study is set against the background of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent legislated lockdown that forced the majority of the South African workforce to work from home through the application of Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies such as wireless internet, virtual workspaces, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT). This was expected to have an impact on work-family conflict, which in turn influences well-being outcomes such as burnout and life satisfaction. The current study will provide valuable implications for the organisational strategies and social support systems to deal with work-family conflict.
Research purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the moderating effect of different forms of social support (co-worker support, supervisor support and support outside of work) on the relationship between work-to-family conflict (WFC) and family-to-work conflict (FWC) on the one hand and selected well-being outcomes on the other (burnout, work engagement and life satisfaction).
Motivation for the study: Employees were suddenly propelled into a 4IR world for which South African workplaces were not quite ready yet. Demands, such as learning computer technologies like Zoom, caused new job demands and strain. Work from home influenced work-life balance and boundaries. The study was motivated by an interest to determine and see if social support would help mitigate the negative impact of work-family conflict on burnout and to assess if social support would moderate the influence of work-family conflict on work engagement and life satisfaction.
Research design, approach, and method: A quantitative, cross-sectional designed was followed. Online questionnaires were distributed and a final sample of N=284 was realised. The measurement instruments utilised were the Work-to-Family Conflict Questionnaire, Family-to-Work Conflict Questionnaire, Maslach Burnout Inventory – General Survey, Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9), Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), and the 8-item Survey of Perceived Organizational Support (SPOS). Hierarchical moderated regression analyses were performed to investigate possible interaction effects.
Main finding: Significant main effects were found for WFC, co-worker support, supervisor support and support outside work on burnout, work engagement and life satisfaction. Main
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effects were also found for FWC on burnout and work engagement. A significant interaction effect was found for supervisor support between WFC and work engagement. No other significant interactions were measured. The findings showed that for participants with no supervisor support, work engagement decreased significantly more with an increase in work-family conflict than for participants who had supervisor support.
Practical/managerial implications: Results of the study show that organisations and employers should ensure that their employees receive significant support from their supervisors as this will create a more engaged workforce, even when dealing with work-to-family conflict. Work-family conflict influences well-being, both inside and outside of work, and therefore it is important for organisations to provide adequate and appropriate support to employees as part of their corporate responsibility.
Key words: Work-to-family conflict, family-to-work conflict, well-being outcomes, work engagement, burnout, life satisfaction, social support, supervisor support, co-worker support, support outside of work.