AN EXAMINATION OF THE IMPLICATIONS AND COSTS OF WORK-LIFE CONFLICT IN
CANADA
Submitted to: Health Canada
by: Duxbury, Higgins and Associations
Linda Duxbury, Ph. D.
Chris Higgins, Ph.D.
Karen L. Johnson, M.M.S.
First draft: March 1999 Revised: May, 1999 Final: June, 1999
Executive Summary
This report frames work-life conflict in terms of its potential costs
to the individual, to the organization, and to the health care system.
The later two costs are estimated in monetary terms. It uses survey data
which was collected by Duxbury and Higgins between 1991 and 1998 to address
the following specific questions:
- What are the costs of work-life conflict in terms of:
- The individual employee (work-family overload and interference,
depressed mood, perceived stress, "burnout", life satisfaction,
and physical health)?
- The employing organization (absenteeism, turnover, performance,
job satisfaction, commitment, and quality of work relationships)?
- The Canadian health care system?
- What is the prevalence of work-life conflict among Canadian employees?
Which groups are at particularly high risk for work-life conflict (i.e.,
how is work-life conflict related to gender, job type, dependant care
status)?
- What are the implications of these costs for the formulation of organizational
and public policy?
The following observations were made in the report:
- slightly more thanone in three Canadian employees (35.6% to 40% of
those sampled) experience a high level of work-life conflict.
- one third of Canadian employees report high levels of depressed mood;
- half of Canadian employees experience high levels of perceived stress;
- one quarter of Canadian employees feel "burned out" from their jobs
- the number of Canadian employees who report high levels of work-life
conflict, and perceived stress has increased since 1991-92
- the number of work absences and physician visits are on the rise
- the number of Canadian employees who report high job satisfaction,
life satisfaction and that they are in good health is decreasing,
- women report substantially more work-life conflict than men, regardless
of job type or dependent care status,
- men and women who perform managerial or professional work report substantially
more conflict between work and non-work than their counterparts in non-professional
positions,
- men and women with dependent care responsibilities (i.e. childcare,
eldercare) report substantially more work-life conflict than their counterparts
without such obligations
- approximately half of the mothers who work in managerial and professional
positions and almost 40% of mothers employed in non-professional positions
report high work-life conflict. These percentages have remained very
stable over time.
- the amount of work-life conflict reported by men appears to have increased
substantially over time
- High work life conflict is associated with:
- decreased wellness in terms of greater perceived stress, depressed
mood, and burnout; and poorer physical health,
- reduced job satisfaction and organizational commitment.
- greater use of the Canadian medical system (i.e., increased number
of physician visits, increased illness), and
- increased absence from work
- Workers with high work-life conflict registered 13.2 days of absence
per year, compared to only 5.9 days per year in the low work-conflict
group
- 35% of employees with high work-life conflict visited their physician
in a 12 month period versus 24% of employees in the low work-conflict
group
- employees with high work family conflict made an average of 4.62 visits
to the physician in a 12 month period; employees with low work family
conflict made an average of 3.17 visits
- In 1997, excess work absence among Canadians working under conditions
of high work-life conflict was estimated at roughly 19.8 million workdays.
At output equal to average earnings of $135 per day (Assuming average
annual earnings of $37,000 (Statistics Canada 1999d), this represents
a loss to Canadian organizations of at least $2.7 billion dollars.
- In 1997 excess physician visits among Canadians working under conditions
of high work-life conflict was estimated to total86.9 million. Atanaverage
cost of $35 per visit, this represents public health care expenditures
of at least $425.8. million to treat individuals for problems
related to work-life conflict.
Taken together these observations suggest that:
- Canadian organizations have not yet provided employees with the types
of support they need to balance work and non-work obligations and roles,
- Work-life challenges are mounting for men (i.e. work-life balance
is becoming a issue for all employees with dependent care responsibilities
rather thana "women's issue")
- Canadian individuals, organizations and society itself is paying a
high cost for not addressing the issue of work-life balance.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the Childhood and Youth Division at
Health Canada for funding this research. In particular we would like to
thank Jane Corville-Smith and Helen McElroy for their efforts in delivering
this final product. We would also like to acknowledge SSHRC who provided
the funding for much of this research as well as the Government of Saskatchewan
who championed the study of this topic in their province.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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INTRODUCTION |
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Why study work-life conflict? |
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Why study the health implications of work-life conflict? |
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Why study the costs of work-life conflict? |
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1. |
SETTING THE CONTEXT |
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1.1 |
Changes in the work world |
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1.2 |
Challenges in the health care system |
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1.3 |
Implications |
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2. |
DEFINITIONS AND CONCEPTS |
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2.1 |
Definitions |
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2.2 |
An ecological model of stress and health |
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3. |
SOURCES OF STRESS |
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3.1 |
Stress in the work domain |
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3.2 |
Stress at home |
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3.3 |
Stress at the interface: work-life conflict |
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4. |
MODERATORS OF WORK-LIFE CONFLICT AND THE |
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STRESS RESPONSE |
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4.1 |
Gender |
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4.2 |
Job type |
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4.3 |
Social support |
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4.4 |
Personality and coping style |
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4.5 |
Control |
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4.6 |
Summary |
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5. |
OUTCOMES OF WORK-LIFE CONFLICT AND THE |
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STRESS RESPONSE |
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5.1 |
Individual outcomes |
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5.2 |
Organizational outcomes |
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6. |
PREVALENCE OF WORK-LIFE CONFLICT: |
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A PORTRAIT OF CANADIAN EMPLOYEES |
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6.1 |
Description of the studies |
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6.2 |
Overview of the findings |
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6.3 |
Who's at risk for work-life conflict and health problems? |
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6.4 |
The effect of work-life conflict on individual and |
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organizational outcomes |
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6.5 |
The effect of work-life control on work-life conflict and |
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individual and organizational outcomes |
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6.6 |
Summary |
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7. |
AN ESTIMATE OF THE COST OF WORK-LIFE CONFLICT
TO |
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CANADIAN EMPLOYERS AND THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM |
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7.1 |
Model for socio-economic assessment of work-life conflict |
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7.2 |
Methodology |
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7.3 |
Summary |
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7.4 |
Limitations of the estimates |
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8. |
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS |
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8.1 |
The organization's role in reducing work-life conflict |
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8.2 |
Governments' role in reducing work-life conflict |
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REFERENCES |
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APPENDIX A: MEASURES |
INTRODUCTION
Why study work-life conflict?
Canada's workforce has undergone dramatic changes in the last thirty
years. Traditionally, employees have been males with homemaker wives to
see to the needs of the family. Today's workforce, however, is a mosaic
of different genders, ages, races, ethnic groups, religions, and lifestyles
(Esty, Griffin & Schoor Hirsch, 1995). Women have joined the paid
labour force in unprecedented numbers, and many workers, both men and
women, now face dual roles as employees and caregivers. With the aging
of the population, caregiving has been extended to include not only children,
but also elderly and disabled family members. These remarkable demographic
and social changes mean a host of new challenges for today's workers as
they struggle to cope with the often competing pressures of work demands
and personal responsibilities. Clearly, the old model of coordinating
work and family, which has assumed that one's work role is separate from
(and takes precedence over) one's family role, is no longer valid for
a majority of the labour force.
Interrole conflict has been identified as a key component of stress
(Kompier & Levi, 1995). We all play many roles: employee, boss, subordinate,
spouse, parent, sibling, friend, and community member. Each of these roles
imposes demands on their incumbents requiring time, energy and commitment.
Work-family conflict (Recently, the expression, "work and family"
has been replaced by the term, "work and lifestyle". This shift in terminology
occurred when it became apparent that non-work responsibilities take many
forms, including volunteer pursuits and education, as well as the care
of dependants. In its newer sense, then, interrole conflict can potentially
affect all workers, not just caregivers. In this report, the broader
term, "work-life", will be used to refer to all forms of conflict between
work and personal life, including work-family stressors.) occurs
when the cumulative demands of multiple roles at home and at work become
too great to manage comfortably (Kahn, Wolfe, Quinn, Snoek & Rosenthal,
1964). This conflict results in strain of two types: role overload (too much to do; too little time!); and role interference (when
incompatible demands make it difficult to perform the roles, such as occurs
when an employee needs to be in two places at the same time). Given the
ever-increasing demands on today's worker, it is therefore not surprising
that the topic of work-life conflict has been drawing increasing attention
from employers, academics, labour and governments as a potential threat
to employee health and well-being (Duxbury & Higgins, 1998; Frone,
Russell, & Cooper, 1997; Johnson, Duxbury & Higgins, 1997).
Why study the health implications of work-life conflict?
As in most transition periods, changing behaviours have outpaced social
and organizational readiness. Such is the case for today's employees who
have largely felt the burden of working and caring for dependents in a
world that has been unresponsive to their realities. Dealing with the
needs of this changing workforce is new ground for many organizations
who have traditionally relied on a "one size fits all" approach to their
human resources management (Esty et al., 1995). Competitive pressures
to streamline and boost productivity make matters worse, as organizations
find themselves with fewer resources available to develop and implement
initiatives that might help their employees obtain a better balance. Accordingly,
employers have been slow to respond to the needs of the new work force,
and the continuing pressures on employees has contributed to a growing
incidence of stress and "burnout".
With the existing low level of employer support for employees with work-life
conflict, Canadians can expect a lower quality of work and family life
and an increased risk for stress-related health problems. Work-family
conflict, stress and burnout have been linked as causal factors in both
physical disease and poor mental health. The CMHA reports that the combination
of work stress and domestic stress threaten an individual's sense of control,
efficacy and competence, which in turn, contribute to perceptions of diminished
"wellness". Moreover, the protracted inability to control the work/non-work
interface has been associated with elevated serum cholesterol levels,
cardiovascular and gastrointestinal disorders, allergy, and migraine in
both men and women (Duxbury, Higgins, Lee & Mills, 1991).
The threat of work-life conflict to employee well-being, therefore,
has implications not only for the many workers who must cope with stress
and illness, but also for organizations, governments, and society on the
whole. From the employer's perspective, the inability to balance work
and family demands has been linked to reduced work performance, increased
absenteeism, high turnover, and poor morale (Duxbury & Higgins, 1998).
Work-life conflict has also been linked to productivity decreases associated
with lateness, unscheduled days off, emergency time off, excessive use
of the telephone, missed meetings, and difficulty concentrating on the
job (Bureau of National Affairs, 1990). Estimates indicate that at least
one quarter of the human resource challenges faced by Canadian organizations
are the result of employees having to manage dual responsibilities at
home and at work (MacBride-King, 1990).
From the perspective of governments, the current challenges facing Canada's
health care system suggest that provincial and federal policy makers can
also ill afford to overlook the significant links between work-life conflict
and health. Although the state of health of the population in Canada is
unarguably among the best in the world, Canada is in a less enviable position
with respect to health expenditures (Contandriopoulos, 1998). Canada devotes
between 9 and 10% of its GDP to health; compared to other OECD countries,
only the U.S. spends a higher share of its GDP on health care than we
do (National Forum on Health,1996). Concern with the mounting costs of
medical resources in this country have led to recent reviews of the health
care systems at both the provincial and federal levels, and a strong effort
to contain costs (Ibid., 1996). Cost-containment strategies have generated
considerable concern and debate over the financing and delivery of health
care services, to the point where many Canadians have come to view Canada's
health care system as being in "perpetual crisis" (National Forum on Health,
1996).
Whereas it is critical that governments respond to the health care "crisis"
by continuing to explore new ways of achieving efficiencies, it may be
equally important to step back from the debate in order to investigate
ways of reducing the demand for health care services in the first place.
It may be a propitious time, therefore, to be more proactive in terms
of health promotion. Reducing the level of work-life conflict among Canada's
workforce may represent an important step toward improving the quality
of work and family life for Canadians, reducing the costs to organizations,
and decreasing the burden on the health care system.
Why study the costs of work-life conflict?
The purpose of attempting to assess the costs of work-life conflict
in socio-economic terms is based on the observation that market systems
create "externalities": significant costs that are not borne by the members
of society who reap the benefits (Levi & Lunde-Jensen, 1996). To date,
it has been the business sector who has reaped the benefits of not responding to the work-family needs of employees. The "costs" of organizational
inaction are "paid" by individuals who suffer from the health consequences
of work-life conflict, and a public health care system which pays for
their treatment. The purpose of this report, therefore, is to provide
a more balanced examination of some of these "hidden" costs by exploring
the effects of work-life conflict from the multiple perspectives of the
various stakeholders, including individual employees, organizations, and
governments.
Objectives of this report
This report will frame work-life conflict in terms of its potential
costs to the individual, to the organization, and to the health care system.
It will address the following specific questions:
- What are the costs of work-life conflict in terms of:
- The individual employee (work-family overload and interference,
depressed mood, perceived stress, "burnout", life satisfaction,
and physical health)?
- The employing organization (absenteeism, turnover, performance,
job satisfaction, commitment, and quality of work relationships)?
- The Canadian health care system?
- What is the prevalence of work-life conflict among Canadian employees?
Which groups are at particularly high risk for work-life conflict (i.e.,
how is work-life conflict related to gender, job type, dependant care
status)?
- Whatare the implications ofthesecosts for the formulation of organizational
and public policy?
Outline of the report
This report is divided into eight sections. The first section established
the context of the study. Definitions and the theoretical framework used
in this analysis are presented in section two. Sources of work, family
and work-family stress are identified and discussed in the third section
while information on the moderators (i.e. gender, job type, parental status)
and consequences (ie. stress, depression, absence) of work-life conflict
are presented in sections four and five respectively. Section 6 documents
the potential effects of work stress and work-life conflict on the health
and well-being of employees. Estimates of the costs of work-life conflict
due to absence from work and visits to the physician are presented in
Section 7. Relevant conclusions are drawn and recommendations given in
Section 8.
1.SETTING THE CONTEXT
A little more than a decade ago the Hudson Institute caught the attention
of organizational and government decision-makers with its publication
of Workforce 2000 (Johnston & Packer, 1987), a compelling description
of changes in the work world and changes in the demographic profile of
today's workers. The report painted a portrait of a new workforce
aging, ethnically diverse, and with growing proportions of women and parentsa
portrait which departed radically from images of the male dominated workforce
of the past. Although demographers had been tracking these changes for
years, Workforce 2000 awakened policy makers to the risks inherent
in ignoring the needs of this new workforce if they were to meet the challenges
of the new global economy.
The declining labour pool and skills shortages predicted in the report
meant that organizations would be competing for a shrinking number of
skilled employees, many of whom would have personal, cultural and family
needs that would not be well served by traditional "one-size fits all"
(Esty et al., 1995) human resource policies. Moreover, in a global marketplace,
Canada too would be competing to retain top talent, and would be at risk
for a "brain drain" should it be unable to respond to the needs of this
diverse workforce.
Recognition of the issues raised in Workforce 2000 and elsewhere
(e.g., Drucker, 1989; Towers Perrin & Hudson Institute, 1991) has
prompted policy makers to reexamine antiquated HR policies designed at
a time when female workers were a relative minority, and male workers
could leave personal and family issues at home (Rodgers & Rodgers,
1989). With the advent of the dual-income family, employees of both sexes
are now coping with caregiving and household responsibilities that were
once managed by a stay-at-home spouse (Morgan & Milliken, 1993). Traditional
HR policies which can impose rigid time and place constraints on employees,
and promotional practices which reward long work hours at the expense
of personal time can generate stress, and detract from the pleasures of
parenting and the simple enjoyment of personal life (Galinsky, Freedman
& Hernandez, 1991). Increasingly, therefore, researchers, business
planners, and government policy makers are turning their attention to
the potential adverse effects of work stress and work-life conflict on
employee health and productivity.
This section of the report explores the changing needs of both the Canadian
workforce and the Canadian health care system. The first part traces historic
and anticipated industry and labour force trends that have contributed
to the "new world of work", and describes some of the threats this environment
may pose to employee health and well-being. The second part outlines some
of the recent challenges faced by the Canadian health care system as it
strives to maintain a high standard of health care in a climate of constraint.
The analysis concludes with a discussion of the implications of these
trends for the "health" of employees, organizations and the health care
system in general.
1.1 Changes in the work world
Dramatic demographic, social and economic changes of the past few decades
have led to what has aptly been described as a work and lifestyle "revolution"
(Vanderkolk & Young, 1991). The changing profile of the labour force,
driven largely by the continuing influx of women and mothers into the
labour market, means that many employees have new responsibilities and
priorities, and accordingly, new attitudes toward work and the role it
should play in their lives. Employers, too, are being forced to reexamine
their approach to people management, as competitive pressures drive them
to streamline and to demand greater output from a smaller workforce. Following
is a brief discussion excerpted from Johnson, Duxbury and Higgins (1997)
which describes some of the key factors that have transformed the Canadian
workplace.
1.1.1 Population aging
Canada's population is aging, influenced largely by the baby boom of
the 1950's and early 1960's, followed by the baby bust of the late 1960's
and early 1970's (Foot, 1996). A continuing low rate of fertility has
resulted in an age distribution characterized by an overrepresentation
of people in their prime working years, and a diminishing pool of young
adults aged 15-24. Between 1981 and 1996, the proportion of Canadians
aged 25-44 increased from 29% of the population to 33% (Devereaux, 1990;
Statistics Canada, 1997a). Conversely, the proportion of young adults
aged 15-24 fell from 19% to 14% (Ibid.). Fewer Canadians aged 15 to 24
means fewer labour force entrants.
Forecasts suggest that the shrinking of the labour force entry pool
will continue into the next century. Estimates indicate that by the year
2016, this group will have shrunk to 12% of the population (Statistics
Canada, 1997a). As the pool of traditional labour force entrants declines,
forecasts indicate an increased reliance on women, recent immigrants and
visible minorities as the primary sources of new labour. Employees in
these demographic groups have personal, family, and cultural orientations
that may conflict with traditional work cultures and career paths. These
trends indicate that work-life conflict is not going to just "go away"
as mid-career boomers complete their families and approach retirement
age. Instead, work-life conflict may well become even more commonplace.
1.1.2 Women in the work force and changing family patterns
The growing involvement of women in the paid labour force represents
one of the most significant demographic trends in Canadian society (Ghalam,
1993). Between 1977 and 1996, women's labour force participation rate3 increased from 43% to 57%, whereas men's participation rate declined from
81% to 74% over the same period (Statistics Canada, 1997b). For women
with children especially young children the growth in labour
force participation rates has been even more dramatic. Between 1976 and
1994 (the most recent year for which family composition data are available),
the participation rate of women with a youngest child aged 6 to 15 increased
from 50% to 70% (Lero, Goelman, Pence, Brockman & Nuttall, 1992; Statistics
Canada, 1997c). During the same period, the rate for women with a youngest
child aged 3 to 5 increased from 41% to 67%, and the rate for mothers
of infants and toddlers under age 3 nearly doubled, from 32% in 1976 to
62% in 1994 (Ibid.).
Participation rate represents the labour force expressed as a percentage
of the total population 15 years of age and over. The participation rate
for a particular group (by age, sex, marital status, etc.) is the labour
force in that group expressed as a percentage of the population for that
group.
As women continue their involvement in the paid labour force, family
demographics have shifted accordingly. In 1967, only 34% of two-partner
families in Canada were families in which both spouses worked for pay
(Moore, 1990); by 1995 this proportion had increased to 64% (Statistics
Canada, 1997d). Labour market demand, however, is only one of many factors
that have contributed to women's increasing labour force participation.
Other contributors to this trend include higher educational attainment
among women, greater social acceptance of maternal employment, and not
least of all, financial need (Ghalam, 1993; Lero, Brockman, Pence, Goelman
& Johnson, 1993).
Recent Statistics Canada data suggest that a second income may be necessary
in the 90s simply to keep a family from losing ground financially.
When adjusted for inflation, the average 1995 pre-tax income of dual-income
families was $69,000 (roughly $45,000 after tax), virtually unchanged
from the 1989 level. Had this family been a single-earner family, however,
they would have seen their pre-tax income fall over the same period
to an average of $50,000 in 1995, 11% lower than in 1989 (Statistics
Canada, 1997d).
For families with very limited financial resources, a second income
may mean the difference between poverty and an adequate standard of living.
Statistics Canada indicates that in 1995, 5% of dual-income families were
classified as low-income. Without the contribution of the female partner's
earnings, the low-income rate would have more than tripled to 18% (Statistics
Canada, 1997d). This data suggests that the dual-income family today not
only allows both men and women to fulfill their personal and professional
needs but also provides a critical buffer against financial hardship during
precarious economic times. Women work not only because they want to, but,
in many cases because they need to.
A second family configuration that is rapidly increasing in prevalence
is the lone-parent household. In 1996, 15% of all families in Canada were
lone-parent families, compared to 13% in 1991 (Statistics Canada, 1997e).
The number of lone-parent families reached 1.1 million in 1996, up 19%
from 1991 and 33% from 1986. Although these figures include both male-
and female-headed households, lone parenthood is largely the domain of
women. In 1996, lone-parent families headed by women outnumbered those
headed by men by more than four to one (Ibid.).
Roughly half of female lone parents work for pay (Lero & Johnson,
1994). Lone parents in the labour force face considerable challenges in
terms of balancing their work and home lives. Like parents in dual-income
families, they must cope with the combined demands of their paid work
and their domestic responsibilities. Unlike parents in two-partner families,
however, they often must do so without the assistance and emotional support
of a spouse, and often under the additional burden of financial stress.
In 1993 for example, sixty percent of female-led lone-parent families
lived below the low-income cutoff ("Statistics Canada's Low Income
Cut-offs are used to classify families and unattached individuals into
"low income" and "other" groups. Families or individuals are classified
as "low income" if they spend, on average, at least 20% points more of
their pre-tax income than the Canadian average on food, shelter and clothing.
The number of people in the family and the size of the urban or rural
area where the family resides are also taken into consideration" - Statistics
Canada, 1995, pg. 86).
1.1.3 Competitive pressures and the push for productivity
Concomitant to these social and demographic trends has been an unprecedented
rate of environmental change for organizations. Betcherman, McMullen,
Leckie & Carron, (1996) describe three environmental forces impinging
on today's organization. First is a competitive pressure resulting from
a change both in the degree of competition (increasing domestically and
internationally), and in the nature of competition (a shift from high-volume,
standardized output to specialized "niche" products and services). Second
is the rapid proliferation of computer-based technologies, and the upward
pressure this growth has placed on employee skills and training needs.
Third is the increasing complexity of the regulatory framework governing
HR issues, including more stringent standards related to human rights,
harassment, gender-neutral workplaces, equity, employment insurance, and
health and safety. Combined, these factors have forced Canadian businesses
to rethink how they position themselves in the marketplace, how they do
business, and especially, how they manage their people.
Many organizations have responded to these pressures by streamlining
and moving to flatter, more flexible structures better suited to operating
in a rapidly changing and uncertain environment (Betcherman et al., 1996;
Galbraith & Lawler, 1993; Mohrman, Cohen, & Mohrman, 1995). Such
attempts at redesign have often translated to major work force reductions
(Kochan & McKersie, 1992), and a growing need to obtain maximum output
from the remaining core of employees.
At a time when technology was supposed to be reducing the work week
and freeing up leisure time, a large segment of employees are instead
working longer hours. Canadian labour force survey data indicate
that between 1976 and 1995, the proportion of workers putting in a regular
35-40 hour week fell from 65% to 54%; and the proportion usually working
41 hours or more climbed to 22% from 19% (Statistics Canada, 1997f).
Data on overtime work reflect a similar trend. In the first quarter
of 1997, one fifth of the Canadian workforce roughly 2 million employees
reported overtime hours (Ibid.). In addition, overtime workers put in
fairly long hours over and above their regular week, averaging over 9
extra hours a week. Six in ten of these employees received no pay for
these extra hours (Ibid.).
The combination of heavy work demands, long hours, and the anxiety associated
with fearing "your job might be next" are likely to impose considerable
hardships on today's employees. As expressed by demographer David Foot,
the trend toward "leaner and meaner" can often translate into "smaller
and angrier", or worse yet, "weaker and frightened" (Foot, 1996, p.65).
Heavy work demands and job security ambiguity have generated an unprecedented
level of stress for today's employee (Duxbury and Higgins, 1998). Add
to this work stress a growing level of family and financial pressures
from the home domain, and you have a recipe for psychological distress
and stress-related illness.
1.1.4 Slow corporate response
Research suggests that Canadian organizations have, for some time, been
aware of the growing level of stress and work-family conflict among employees.
A study conducted 10 years ago by the Conference Board of Canada indicated
that 50% of surveyed employers believed that work-family conflict was
generating stress for their workers, and a nearly equal proportion of
respondents reported morale and recruitment problems (Paris, 1989).
Some organizations concerned with employee health (as well as "bottom
line" effects of stress, such as turnover, absences, and productivity
loss) have turned to "family-friendly" work arrangements, such as flextime
or telework, to help their employees achieve a better balance. National
survey data, however, indicate that employer response has been extremely
slow. Estimates indicate that flextime is available to only one in four
Canadian workers (Akyeampong, 1997), compressed work week to less than
one in five (Duxbury et al., 1991), and fewer than one in ten employees
have access to a telework option (Akyeampong, 1997). It appears that,
from the employer's perspective, the highly visible (monetary) costs of
implementing such programs have outweighed their less tangible (social
and psychological) benefits. Organizational inertia, therefore, has exacerbated
the problem for many workers, who for the most part, have been left on
their own to cope with the new realities of the workplace.
1.2 Challenges in the health care system
Canadian workers and their employers have not been the only ones to
suffer the social and financial pressures of the 90s. The last decade
has been one of great turbulence for the Canadian health care system as
well. Escalating resource costs combined with the need for fiscal restraint
have prompted governments to rethink program and policy to seek more efficient
ways to finance and deliver health care to Canadians (National Forum on
Health, 1996). Although an analysis of health care issues is beyond the
scope of this report, some mention of the challenges facing the system
seem warranted as a backdrop to the discussion. Following is a brief outline
of some of these challenges. Unless otherwise indicated, all of the statistics
cited below were drawn from Contrandriopoulos (1998).
1.2.1 Health care expenditures
Although the state of health of the population of Canada is among the
best in the world (as measured in standard indicators of infant mortality
rates and life expectancy), it comes at a considerable investment of public
funds. Over 70% of health care expenditures in Canada are financed from
public sources, the remainder coming from private sources, such as private
insurance premiums and out-of-pocket expenditures. Although the ratio
of public to private funds is in fact comparable to the average of industrialized
countries, Canada spends considerably more on health care as expressed
in either per capita or GDP terms.
In 1996, Canada spent roughly $75 billion for health care, representing
9.2% of GDP, or $2,513 per person (This data may not be directly comparable
to the figures from Contrandriopoulos' international comparisons due to
the shift in data source and some changes in methodology.) (Canadian
Institute for Health Information, 1999). Preliminary data for 1998 suggest
an increase to roughly $80 billion (Ibid.) International comparisons indicate
that, as compared to other industrialized countries, Canada's health expenditures
are high- - in per capita terms, it ranks third of 24 OECD countries in
terms of expenditures (surpassed only by the U.S. and Switzerland). The
relationship, however, between high expenditures and the health status
of the population is weak. Japan- - the healthiest country in the world--
spends 3 percentage points less of its GDP on health care than
does Canada. Conversely, the U.S., which by some standards is considerably
less healthy and trails many industrialized nations on health status indicators,
spends 4 percentage points more of its GDP on health care than
does Canada. In other words, spending more on health care does not seem
to translate into more health (National Forum on Health, 1996). Many factors
come into play in the health spending-health status relationship, including
the cost of resources.
1.2.2 Rising costs of medical resources
In spite of the comparatively high level of health care expenditures
in Canada, Canada uses fewer medical resources than is the average
in other OECD countries. Consistent with international trends, the number
of beds per 1,000 population declined between 1989 and 1993 to roughly
6 in Canada, compared to highs of 20 in Switzerland and 16 in Iceland
and Japan. As measured by the number of physicians, Canada also does not
appear to be at either extreme, ranking 17th of the 24 countries
(representing roughly 2.2 physicians per 1,000 population). Again, it
is not the healthiest countries which make use of the greatest resources.
Japan, with its high standard of population health, had one of the smallest
numbers of physicians (roughly 1.6 per 1,000 population). Such comparisons
have led some experts to conclude that, since Canada's quantity of medical resources appears to be under control, it must be the price of these resources that is exerting upward pressure on health care expenditures.
It has also been suggested, that given Canada's proximity to the U.S.
(where resource prices are even higher), it may be very difficult for
Canada to implement policy to freeze or reduce the costs of its resources
(National Forum on Health, 1996; National Institute for Health Information,
1998).
1.3 Implications
The preceding sections paint a picture of a growing rift between the
personal needs of Canadian workers and the responsiveness of their employers.
Social trends and demographic forecasts, however, promise that work-lifestyle
issues, particularly work and family issues, will continue to figure prominently
in the lives of Canadian employees for years to come, as the baby boom
generation moves through its senior career years and becomes "sandwiched"
between the need to care for children and the need to care for aging parents.
And lest we assume work-family issues to be an anomalous by-product of
this generation of employees, demographics also remind us that the "echo
boom" will be quick on the boomers' heels, reaching employment age in
the first half of the next decade (Foot, 1996).
Without greater support for employees and their families, Canada can
expect to see an ever-increasing level of work-life conflict and stress-related
illness. For individuals, the cost is high. Protracted stress and work-life
conflict have been linked with depression, anxiety, and "burnout", as
well as psychosocially mediated medical conditions, such as cardiovascular
and gastrointestinal disorders, allergy, and migraine (Duxbury & Higgins,
1998). For family members, employee stress can mean poor parenting, interference
with family relationships, and increased reliance on social and counselling
services (Bolger, DeLongis, Kessler & Wethington, 1989). For organizations,
employee stress and conflict have been associated with a host of unfavourable
work attitudes and behaviours, including increased absence, turnover,
and productivity loss (Duxbury & Higgins, 1998).
Employee stress and work-life conflict also pose challenges to Canada's
health care system, should prolonged stress translate to psychological
and physical illness. Boomers concentrated in the "full-nest" stage of
the life cycle (roughly 30 to 54 years of age) now represent nearly 40%
of the population (Statistics Canada, 1998, CANSIM Matrix 6367.). This
represents an extremely large cohort at risk for work-related stress and
illness. Given an already high level of health care expenditure, Canada's
ability to cope with a growing proportion of young adults seeking treatment
for stress-related illness may be limited.
Canada's comparative performance in terms of health expenditures and
resource use suggest that the quest for greater efficiencies may be on
governments' agendas for some time. With limited ability to reduce the prices of medical resources, mechanisms which can reduce the demand for resources would seem worthwhile investments. In this sense, investigating
the potential costs of work-life conflict (and, hence, the potential savings
associated with a prevention strategy) seems appropriate.
The next sections of the report take a closer look at the individual
and organizational costs of workplace stress and work-life conflict in
the context of the theoretical and empirical literature.
2. DEFINITIONS AND CONCEPTS
"Work-life conflict", as a relatively new concept, has rarely been studied
directly in the context of health effects (for exceptions, see Frone,
Russell & Cooper, 1997; and Thomas & Ganster, 1995). This section
of the report, therefore, will examine work-family conflict under the
broader umbrella of stress-response theory. First described by Walter
B. Cannon (1929) near the turn of the century, the stress response has
been the topic of extensive theoretical and empirical research over the
intervening years (for a review, see Quick, Nelson & Hurrell, 1997).
An abundant literature is available, therefore, to help understand the
mechanisms by which stress (and work-life conflict as a subcomponent of
stress) can manifest itself in ill health.
The following discussion provides a theoretical backdrop to the report
by briefly defining terminology and introducing the stress response model.
2.1 Definitions
The word "stress" is in such popular use today that it has come to mean
different things to different people. We say that commuting is too much
"stress" to bother with, that we work in a "high stress" environment,
or that public speaking "stresses us out". In these varied contexts, it
can be seen that the word "stress" has evolved to refer to both the source of some event and the reaction to it. Scientifically, however,
"stress" refers to the broad domain concerned with how individuals adjust
to their environments (Quick et al., 1997). Before looking at a theoretical
model, therefore, it is important to first establish a common language
by distinguishing among the various components of stress: the stress
response, stressors, and distress. Following are some definitions
given by Quick:
Stress Response The stress response is the generalized,
unconscious mobilization of the body's natural energy resources when confronted
with a stressor. It is characterized by a biological activation of the
hormonal and sympathetic nervous systems, and is often manifested in elevated
heart rate, increased respiration and perspiration, and muscle tightening.
All of these actions are designed to prepare the individual to fight or
run, hence the description of the stress response as the "fight or flight"
response.
Stressor : The stressor is the physical or psychological
stimulus which generates the stress response. It serves as the trigger
for the mind-body activities described above.
Distress (Strain) : Distress (also referred
to as "strain") is the adverse outcome of the stress response.
It refers to the individual's degree of physiological, psychological and
behavioural deviation from normal healthy functioning.
"Distress", therefore, is what we generally mean when we talk about
experiencing a high level of "stress". It is important to note that not
all stress responses are unhealthy. "Healthy" stress responses (labelled
"eustress"; Selye, 1976a) refer to the moderate level of arousal
that is required to increase performance. Stress in its evolutionary context
of "fight or flight" is one of humans' best assets for managing legitimate
emergencies and achieving peak performance in vital tasks and activities
(Quick et al., 1997). It is only when the stress response exceeds this
optimum level that the load becomes too great and performance is depressed.
Recognition that the stress response can be either adaptive or maladaptive
leads us to appreciate that "stress is inevitable; distress is
not" (Quick et al., 1997, p. xvii).
2.2 An ecological model of stress and health
The stress response is best understood through an ecological approach
which examines the whole spectrum of psychological, sociological, and
physiological events that make stimulus demands on an individual (Cooper
& Davidson, 1987). Figure 1 provides a multifaceted model of the various
domains that constitute possible sources of stress (stressors), and subsequent
stress outcomes (distress).
According to the model, psychosocial stressors emanate from both work
and non-work domains. The individual's response to these stressors is
moderated by the individual's genetic "psychobiological program" (i.e.,
propensity to react), as well as sex, personality factors, and various
other variables related to social support, control, and coping.
FIGURE 1: An Ecological Model of Stress and Health
Stressors
- Work Domain
- Physical Demands
- Task Demands
- Work Role Demands
- Interpersonal Demands
- Organizational Structure/Culture
- Home Domain
- Family Structure/Relationships
- Dependant Care Demands
- Neighbourhood and Community
- Financial Concerns
Individual Stress Response
Modifiers
Distress Outcomes
- Individual Outcomes
- Behavioural
- Substance Abuse
- Eating Disorders
- Violence
- Psychological
- Depression
- Life Satisfaction
- Percieved Stress
- Burnout
- Physical Health
- Cardiovascular Desiease
- Gastrointrestinal Disorders
- Organizational Outcomes
- Absenteeism
- Turnover
- Performance
- Job Satisfactions
- Commitment
- Social Support Relationships (Co-workers/managers)
- Control
- Personality/Coping Style
These predisposing, moderating variables may promote "healthy stress"
responses, or, conversely, may result in "distress" outcomes in the behavioural,
psychological or physical domains. All of these processes take place in
a "human-environment ecosystem" (Levi & Lunde-Jensen, 1996), a cybernetic
system with multiple feedback loops. Accordingly, distress which has occurred
in an individual can feed back into the structures and processes (e.g.,
at the workplace or in non-work life), affect the individual's next stress
response, or alter the modifiers themselves (Ibid.).
An ecosystems approach is especially important in the study of work-life
conflict as it highlights the interdependence and bidirectionality of
the various contributors to stress in an individual's life. In this model,
we have positioned work-life conflict at the junction of work and non-work
(home) stressors (see Figure 1), as it can be viewed as a specific type
of stress response triggered by the combined effects of stressors from
these two domains. Although stressors from the home domain have been recognized
in the occupational stress literature, often the models developed in this
literature have relegated personal and family influences to a category
such as "extraorganizational stressors", or have included them as a subcategory
of work-role demands (see for example, Matteson & Ivancevich, 1987;
Quick et al., 1997). Such an approach may fail to capture the subtle interactions
between work demands, home demands, and the perceived congruence between
the two.
The next three sections of the report expand on the stress-response
model by discussing in greater detail the antecedents (stressors), moderators,
and outcomes of stress (distress and strain), with particular emphasis
on work-life conflict.
3.SOURCES OF STRESS
The ecological model introduced in the previous section identified two
broad categories of stressors in a worker's environment: those emanating
from the work domain, and those from the non-work (home) domain. This
section of the report outlines the nature of the potential stressors in
each domain, and concludes with a discussion of what may happen "when
worlds meet": work-life conflict.
3.1 Stress in the workplace
Although the stress response is an individualized experience, there
are, without a doubt, a wide variety of pressures in today's work settings
with the potential to generate adverse stress reactions (distress) for
many employees. Following is a brief description of some of the more common
sources of stress in the workplace. Unless otherwise stated, this summary
has been drawn from Quick et al. (1997).
3.1.1 Physical demands
Some occupations, by their very nature, are characterized by a high
number of stressors emanating from the physical environment.
Physical stressors include those normally associated with blue collar
occupations, such as heavy lifting, climbing, and exposure to potentially
hazardous conditions or substances. Physical stressors are not limited
to the non-professional occupations, however. Today, white collar jobs
involve a new set of stressors that may also be physically demanding.
Computer work is one such stressor, and has been associated with repetitive
strain as well as problems related to excessive exposure to video display
terminals. Inadequate lighting, noise, and poor indoor air quality are
also potential sources of problems in today's work environments
3.1.2 Task demands
Although we normally tend to equate heavy task demands with stress,
the stress response model suggests that tasks demands at either end of
the spectrum may be perceived as stressful. Optimal performance is associated
with an optimal level of stimulation. Many situations in working life,
however, are characterized by either over- or under-stimulation, or worse,
both. The last situation can occur when workload is high (e.g., many actions
or observations per unit time), but the tasks to perform are so extremely
simple as to be almost "an insult to the human brain" (Levi & Lunde-Jensen,
1996, p. 15). Task characteristics can be stressful, therefore, when they
demand too little of an employee (such as in mass assembly or keyboarding),
or when they demand too much (as in hectic front-line service positions
or work requiring continuous technology learning and upgrading).
3.1.3 Work role demands
Whereas task demands are concerned with specific work activities which
characterize the job, role factors are related to the behaviour others
expect of employees as they fulfill their organizational functions. Individuals
must fulfill expectations in multiple work roles, simultaneously acting
as supervisor, subordinate, team member and friend. These roles may not
always be consistent or compatible. Incompatibility may take the form
of role conflict or role ambiguity.
Role conflict occurs when two or more roles cannot be performed simultaneously
(such as in a matrixed organization where an individual must satisfy the
demands of two or more teams or supervisors). Role ambiguity occurs when
there is inadequate, unclear of confusing information about expected role
behaviours (due to poor communication of expectations, poor communication
of rewards, or ambiguous technical jargon).
3.1.4 Interpersonal demands
Individuals also may encounter work stressors in the form of social,
personal, and working relationships. Interpersonal stressors may result
from personality differences, team pressures, and differences in leadership
styles. In today's workplace, diversity issues have become another source
of stress for many, as employees who are different in culture, gender,
age, and ability may encounter interpersonal conflict and career barriers.
3.1.5 Organizational structure and culture
As rapidly changing business environments force organizations to "right-size",
"down-size", and "delayer" (i.e. downsize at the middle management level
of the organization), new pressures are emerging for today's employee.
Some of these challenges emanate from the breakdown in the "psychological
contract' between employers and employees, which traditionally has afforded
employees some degree of permanence in the workplace, as long as they
performed their jobs adequately (Duxbury & Higgins, 1998). Today,
employees who survive the down-sizing live with the fear that their job,
or their entire work unit, may be the next to go. In addition, much of
the downsizing has been done without sufficient attention to the structures
and processes that remain. As layers, particularly mid-management layers,
have been removed, new mechanisms for reward, support, and communication
have not always been built into the new systems. As a result, many workers
are expected to do the work formally done by two or three employees, often
with very limited resources. Levi & Lunde-Jensen (1996) provide a
list of cultural stressors which are often found in organizations in transition:
- lack of clear job descriptions or chain of command
- absence of recognition of or reward for good performance
- lack of opportunity to voice complaints
- lack of feedback over the finished product
- job insecurity due to short-term contracts, downsizing, and mergers
- concerns related to one's responsibilities for other employees
- the manager cannot adequately supervise the work of his/or her subordinates
because they have too many people reporting to them (i.e. too high a
span of control)
- chances that a small error or momentary lapse of attention may have
serious, or even disastrous, consequences.
3.2 Stress at home
Individuals can find stress in the workplace, or they can take it there
(Duxbury et al., 1991). Even before the dual-income family became the
norm, pressures from the home domain have followed employees to their
paid work. Non-work stressors include family structure and the quality
of family relationships, dependant care demands, the nature of the community
in which one lives, and financial concerns (Johnson, 1997). The home can
be a relief from job stress and a sanctuary in which to regenerate, or
it can be a source of turmoil (Matteson & Ivancevich, 1987). Because
work and home are such salient features of every employee's life, it is
easy to see how unsatisfactory resolution of problems at home can interact
with, and sensitize an individual to, stressors at work.
3.2.1 Family structure and family relationships
Stressors in the family environment include not only discrete "crisis"
events, but also long-term patterns of marital and family interaction
that can affect the individual's ability to cope with stressful events.
Examples of crisis events may included divorce, separation, death, illness
of a family member, or a move to a new house or community (McCubbin, Joy,
Cauble, Comeau, Patterson & Needle, 1980). Long-term interactive patterns
which may affect coping ability include the quality of marital and parent-child
relationships, the nature of decision-making and problem solving, and
the existence of abusive relationships and behavioural problems (Ibid.).
Stressors may also arise over time from significant changes in family
roles and relationships associated with life-cycle stages, such as the
transition to parenthood; and the "empty nest" period (Ibid.).
3.2.2 Dependant care demands
The number and ages of children in the family is a significant determinant
of the level of stressors in the home. Both large numbers of children
and the presence of very young children in the home have been associated
with family role strain (Katz and Piotrkowski, 1983; Lero et al., 1992).
Similarly, the need to care for aging parents or other elderly relatives
is becoming a reality for many employees today, leaving many in the so-called
"sandwich generation" with responsibility for the care of both children
and parents (Duxbury & Higgins, 1998).
3.2.3 Neighbourhood and community
Although neighbours and community provide an important means of social
support, they also can increase the level of stressors in an individual's
home environment (Johnson, 1997). Neighbourhoods differ in the level of
service they offer to individuals, such as access to recreation, shopping
and entertainment facilities, or the availability of counselling services
(Ibid.). They also differ in terms of orderliness, natural beauty, cleanliness,
safety, transportation, and road conditions (Matteson & Ivancevich,
1987). Rural life poses unique challenges, including not only a lower
level of family-related services, but also the very practical time demands
for employees who need to commute to urban centres (Duxbury & Higgins,
1998).
3.2.4 Financial concerns
Given the rising cost of living over the past decade with no concomitant
increase in real family income, financial worries are a reality for many
families today. As discussed in Section 1, in many instances, two incomes
are necessary just to make ends meet. Financial hardship can be an ongoing
stressor when individuals must face the challenges of providing for a
family in uncertain economic times. In addition, the lack of monetary
resources greatly reduces the coping options available to individuals
in almost any stressful transaction as it can limit access to legal, medical,
financial, or other professional assistance (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984).
3.3 Stress at the interface: Work-life conflict
The distinction between the demands of workplace and the demands of
home is conceptual, and in many ways, artificial (Quick et al., 1997).
Work and home life are each so salient a feature of everyday life and
so closely enmeshed that it is nearly impossible to tease out one or the
other as the source of any given stress response (i.e., is the family
a source of distress at work, or is work a source of distress in family
relationships?). The two domains interact so strongly that a circular
relationship prevails (Matteson & Ivancevich, 1987). Moreover, antecedent
conditions in work and family domains may or may not be highly stressful
when considered alone, but their joint occurrence is apt to produce
distress (Bedeian, Burke & Moffett, 1988), suggesting an additive
effect (Frone, Russell & Cooper, 1992).
It is perhaps the awareness of this additive relationship that has given
rise to the increasing interest in work-life conflict as a separate construct
(Frone et al., 1992). What may be most important in the study of work-life
and health outcomes is not so much in which of the two domains a stressor
originates, but what happens "when worlds collide".
Work-life conflict occurs when the demands of work and non-work life
are incompatible in some respect so that participation in either role
is made more difficult by participation in the other role (Greenhaus &
Beutell, 1985). It can emanate from two aspects of the work-life interface:
factors associated with the time required to perform work and non-work
roles, and the psychological spillover of gratification (or distress)
from one role domain to the other (Voydanoff, 1988). Since most often
work and family duties are performed in separate locations, individuals
are generally physically unavailable to perform both sets of duties
simultaneously (Ibid.). The "spillover" effect means that individuals
may also encounter psychological unavailability if the energy required
for the performance of one role depletes the energy required to perform
the other role (Ibid.). In this sense, then, work-life conflict can be
seen to have two major components: the practical aspects associated with
time crunches and scheduling conflicts, and the perceptual aspect of feeling
overwhelmed or overloaded by the pressures of multiple roles.
The remainder of this section briefly outlines some of the factors that
might be considered to be "interface" stressors. Although some of these
factors also might rightly be classified as characteristics of "work"
or "family", they heavily rely on an interplay between the two domains.
3.3.1 Amount and scheduling of work time
Work is the cornerstone around which other activities must be made to
fit (Duxbury & Higgins, 1998). Time spent in the work role is necessarily
unavailable for family, education, leisure, or community. The scheduling
of work hours also contributes to conflict when evening or weekend work
prevents employees from being available for family activities which occur
at specific times (Voydanoff, 1988).
3.3.2 Division of family labour
The time crunch associated with combined work and family roles is dependent
not only on hours in paid work, but also on the distribution of domestic
work (including the care of the children) within the home. Research suggests
that although women have made strides in the workplace, the division of
labour at home falls along pretty traditional lines. In terms of the actual
time spent in various roles, men generally spend more time in the paid
work role, and women spend more time in family roles (Galinsky, 1986).
When combined, however, women spend more of their time working (paid work
plus domestic work) than do men (Pleck, 1983; Higgins, Duxbury & Lee,
1996; Rexroat & Shehan, 1987). In addition, women retain primary responsibility
for overseeing household work, regardless of who carries out the task
(Barnett & Baruch, 1983; Duxbury & Higgins, 1998). These patterns
suggest that women are more likely than men to encounter stressors from
this aspect of the work-family interface. Not only do they devote longer
hours to their combined work roles (the physical aspect of work-family
conflict), they also retain the responsibility for seeing that the work
gets done (the psychological aspect of conflict).
3.3.3 Child and elder care demands
Although dependant care responsibilities impinge on individuals who
are not in the workforce, the presence of children or elderly dependants
raises a unique stressor for employed parents: the need to arrange alternate
care to cover work hours. In 1988 (the most recent year for which national
data are available), fully half of employed parents in Canada reported
difficulties finding or maintaining appropriate child care (Lero &
Johnson, 1994). A Conference Board of Canada study conducted in the same
year indicated that one third of employees who provided care to both children
and elderly family members (i.e. members of the sandwich generation) found
it very difficult to balance paid work and home responsibilities. The
need to arrange care (and in many cases orchestrate multiple child and
elder care arrangements!) provides a considerable source of stress for
many employees, and is a good example of the "greater than additive" effect
of stressors at the interface of home and work life. While no national
data could be found indicating what percent of Canadian workers are presently
in the sandwich generation, recent work in Saskatchewan (Duxbury and Higgins,
1998) indicate that approximately 20% of employees in that province spend
time each week looking after children as well as elderly dependents. This
percent can be expected to increase as the parents of the baby-boomers
age.
4. MODERATORS OF WORK-LIFE CONFLICT AND THE STRESS RESPONSE
The conceptual model presented in Figure 1 shows that a range of family
and work stressors may lead to a variety of behavioural, psychological,
and physical consequences by way of the stress response. Why is it, however,
that the stress of combined work and family demands may manifest in hypertension
in one individual, depression in another, and have virtually no observable
consequence for a third individual? Work-life conflict, and ultimately
individual health, cannot be understood solely on the basis of antecedent
conditions, for people differ considerably with regard to how they are
affected by the same environmental conditions.
Differences in individual stress response presumably are the result
of differences in the ways people respond to life challenges- - that is,
the resources, actions, and perceptions they mobilize as they seek to
avoid or minimize distress (Pearlin, Lieberman, Menaghan & Mullan,
1981). Potential modifiers of the stress response may include basic individual
and demographic differences (e.g., gender, job type), personal resources
(e.g., coping styles, personality differences), social resources in the
work and non-work environments (e.g., relationships with supervisors or
family members), and perceived control over these environments. In other
words, it is the subjective interpretation of stressors at the
interface of work and family - - not employment and family conditions
per se- - that is the critical determinant of individual well-being (Williams
& Alliger, 1994).
This section of the report briefly outlines some of the potential modifiers
of work-life conflict. This list is by no means exhaustive, but it is
intended to provide readers with an overview of some of the key factors
that have been identified in the literature as moderating the perception
of conflict at the work-family interface. An understanding of these modifiers
is critical if we are to identify individuals who may be at greatest risk
for conflict and stress-related health disorders.
4.1 Gender
There is a large body of literature to attest to the fact that women
experience higher levels of work-family conflict than do men (Duxbury
& Higgins, 1991; Duxbury et al., 1991; Gutek, Searle & Kelpa,
1991; Higgins, Duxbury & Lee, 1992; Lero et al., 1992; Nock &
Kingston, 1988). Why this is so is still the topic of some debate.
Some suggest that women may be biologically "programmed" (through sex-based
hormonal systems, for example) to respond differently to stressors (for
a discussion, see Matteson & Ivancevich, 1987). This hypothesis is
borne out by differences in symptomatology shown by women versus men,
wherein women tend to exhibit emotional symptoms, such as depression,
mental illness, and general psychological discomfort, men tend to manifest
physiological disease, such as heart disease and cirrhosis (Jick &
Mitz, 1985).
Others argue that gender differences in stress response are attributable
to differences in socialization processes and differences in role expectations
that expose women to a higher level of stressors. In the home domain,
women, irrespective of their involvement in paid work, have been found
to be significantly more likely than men to bear primary responsibility
for homechores and child care (Duxbury et al., 1991; Gutek et al., 1991;
Lero et al., 1992; Higgins et al., 1992; Nock & Kingston, 1988). At
the workplace, women have been found to be disproportionately represented
in occupations with "built-in strain" such as clerical work, which couples
high work demands with little discretionary control (Cranor, Karasek,
& Carlin, 1981; Wilkins & Beaudet, 1998).
Although it is difficult to determine which of these mechanisms is most
responsible for women's differential response to stress, there is little
doubt that women are exposed to different, if not more, stressors at both
work and at home (Matteson & Ivancevich, 1987). This literature provides
rather strong evidence, therefore, that women are at particularly high
risk for work-family conflict and stress-related disorders.
4.2 Job type
Job type is a potential moderator of work-life conflict due to inherent
demographic and work context differences between individuals in various
occupational groups (i.e., those in managerial and professional work versus
employees in clerical, sales, service and blue-collar positions). Although
the moderating effect of occupation on work stress has been studied frequently
(for a review, see Quick et al., 1997), its relationship to work-life
conflict is less well known.
O'Neil and Greenberger (1994) suggest that managers and professionals
are more likely to occupy occupations which afford more flexibility and
personal control over the timing of work, facilitating the commitments
of parenting and other non-work activities. They also note that professionals
may have an advantage in balancing work and home life as their jobs offer
greater extrinsic rewards (e.g., salary) which can offset some of the
"costs" that demanding jobs entail and allow them to purchase services
to help them cope.
Job type may also act as a surrogate measure for other important demographic
context variables such as education, income, commitment, and identification
with the work role. Professionals have been reported to be more highly
educated, to receive greater remuneration, to spend more time and energy
in the work role, and to be more highly committed to and involved in their
work than their counterparts in non-professional positions (Duxbury et
al., 1991). Each of these factors has been linked to an increased ability
to cope with work-family conflict (Voydanoff, 1988), suggesting job type
as an important moderator of the work-life response.
4.3 Social support
Social support has been consistently found to lessen the effects of
work-life conflict (Galinsky, 1986). Social support derives from a variety
of social relationships at work, at home, and in the community (Quick
et al., 1997). At home, social support stems from spouse, children, friends
and extended family. At work, it may take the form of support from one's
coworkers or supervisor. Supervisor support, in particular, has been identified
as a critical moderator of work-life conflict (Thomas & Ganster, 1995).
Quick et al. (1997) note that social support in the workplace may be playing
an increasingly important role as a moderator of stress, as traditional
societal structures such as the extended family and the township are being
attenuated, and individual mobility continues to rise.
4.4 Personality and coping style
Individuals differ not only in the environments they encounter, but
also in their ability to cope with stressful events. Coping has been described
as the adaptational techniques used by an individual to master a major
psychological threat and its attendant negative feelings (Galinsky, 1986).
Coping style has received considerable attention in the stress-health
literature, and has been associated with various personality characteristics,
including tolerance for ambiguity (Ivancevich & Matteson, 1980), introversion-extraversion
(Brief, Schuler, & Van Sell, 1981), and the presence of "Type A" response
patterns (i.e., harried and competitive, and high on aggression and hostility;
Howard, Cunningham & Rechnitzer, 1976).
Coping style has not been directly explored in the context of work-life
conflict. Its importance to the stress response, however, indicates that
it may also be a critical determinant of perceived conflict in the work-life
arena. Work-life conflict is largely a perceptual phenomenon, describing
an individual's interpretation of potentially competing environmental
demands. Since coping refers to the process by which an individualappraises a stressful situation and decides among alternative strategies to
manage it (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984), its role as a mediator in appraising
work-life conflicts is apparent.
4.5 Control
Closely related to coping style is the individual's perceived ability
to control stressful events. Control is defined as the belief that one
can exert some influence over the environment, either directly or indirectly,
so that the environment becomes more rewarding or less threatening (Ganster
& Fusilier, 1989). Control over the work environment has been identified
as a critical factor in reducing adverse stress responses, and in improving
psychological and physical health outcomes (Kompart & Levi, 1995).
Seminal work by Karasek (1979) has suggested that an employee's level
of distress (which he refers to as job "strain") is a function of both
work demands and the perceived level of control the employee has over
these demands. According to Karasek, it is not the psychological demands
of work, including time pressures and heavy output demands, that pose
the greatest health risk (Karasek & Theorell, 1990). Instead, the
primary work-related risk factor appears to be lack of control over how
one meets these job demands and how one uses one's skills (Ibid.). Karasek
(1979; 1990) maintains that, demanding jobs only pose a health risk when
they occur in combination conditions of low job control.
Karasek (1979) developed a well-known model (Figure 2) to illustrate
the relationships between control, demand, and distress or job strain.
According to this model, two conditions are associated with distress.
The most distressing condition ("high strain") occurs when high job demands
are combined with low control (lower left quadrant of the model). High
job strain, he claims, is typical of such occupations as waiter, assembly
line worker, and keypuncher, where a high level of output is demanded,
but employees have little or no decision latitude as to how the job is
performed (Karasek notes that high strain jobs are very often those in
which there is a disproportionate number of women). The second most distressing
condition occurs when control is low, but so are work demands (lower right
quadrant). These jobs Karasek labels as "passive", as they are typically
those which require little more than routine responses to the environment,
such as the jobs held by billing clerks, janitors and security guards.
Figure 2: Karasek's Demand-Control Model (Karasek & Theorell,
1990)
|
|
Demands |
|
|
High |
Low |
Control |
High |
Moderate Strain |
Low Strain |
Low |
High Strain |
Mod-High Strain |
Karasek's demand-control model has implications for the study of work-life
conflict. It implies that the ability to balance work and non-work life
may be enhanced in instances where individuals are able to exert some
control over either the work environment or the home environment, or at
the interface. For example, perceived control over the work environment
may be obtained when individuals have the autonomy to decide how to approach
their work tasks or what resources they will draw on to complete them.
At home, individual control is obtained through a strong family support
network, or through having adequate financial resources to purchase services
(Barnett & Baruch, 1987). At the interface of work and family, flexibility
in work time (such as the ability to work a compressed work schedule),
or in work place (for example, telework) may buffer the effects of work-life
conflict. Thus, the relationships between work and family stressors and
perceived work-life conflict should be weaker for employees with high
control and stronger for those with low control (Voydanoff, 1988).
4.6 Summary
This section of the report has presented a brief overview of some of
the potential moderators of work-life conflict. Although, for clarity,
these moderators have been discussed as discrete and independent constructs,
the ecological model presented in Figure 1 reminds us that in everyday
life these factors are overlapping and highly interrelated. Gender, for
example, may affect the perception of work-family conflict directly if
it implies a sex-linked hormonal predisposition. It may also contribute
to work-family conflict indirectly by increasing the probability that
an individual is employed in a high strain job such as clerical work or
keypunching (Karasek, 1979; 1990).
This discussion has also treated these variables as if they exert their
influence only at the work-life junction (i.e., at the point of the "individual
response" in Figure 1). Again, this depiction of moderators is oversimplified.
Moderators can exert their influence at any point in the chain from stressor
to health outcome (Pearlin et al., 1981). Recognition of the interconnectedness
of the moderators of work-life conflict is essential in both the identification
of high risk individuals, and in designing prevention and intervention
strategies (for example, a preventive approach might strive to eliminate
the stressors, change the way that stressors are appraised by the individual,
or might promote social support and control as "buffers" against stressor
exposure; Levi & Lunde-Jensen, 1996).
As concluded by Matteson & Ivancevich (1987):
"It is impossible to overstate the importance of individual differences.
In a very real sense, it is not stressors that produce stress; what produces
stress is the significance, meaning, and interpretation that individuals
assign to stressors. And that interpretation is what it is because of
individual differences" (p. 91).
Fundamental individual differences, therefore, contribute greatly to
the variability in employee responses to work and family environments.
The host of behavioural, psychological, physical, and organizational outcomes
that are associated with work stress and work-family conflict are the
topic of the next section.
5. OUTCOMES OF WORK-LIFE CONFLICT AND THE STRESS RESPONSE
As illustrated in the ecological model, distress can manifest at the
level of the individual employee in terms of a variety of adverse behavioural,
psychological, and physical reactions. Individual distress can also have
unfavourable consequences at the organizational level, ranging from the
direct costs of preventable accidents and stress-related work absences
to the somewhat less tangible effects on job satisfaction and other employee
work attitudes.
This section of the report provides a brief overview of some of these
consequences of the stress response. Although there is considerable literature
available on the individual and organizational effects of work stress
in general, research on the effects of work-life conflict is much more
sparse. The following summary, therefore, is organized so that each outcome
is explored first in the broader context of work stress, followed by an
overview of available research specifically in the work-life domain.
5.1 Individual outcomes
The manifestation of distress at the individual level can be divided
into three classes: observable behavioural consequences, such as changes
in eating, smoking, or drinking behaviours; psychological consequences,
including depression and burnout; and physical health consequences, most
often those associated with cardiovascular disease and gastrointestinal
disorders.
5.1.1 Behavioural consequences
Workplace stress has been identified as a major contributing factor
to a wide range of adverse behaviours, including increased cigarette smoking,
the abuse of alcohol and other drugs, accident proneness, violent behaviour,
and eating disorders (for a review, see Quick et al., 1997). Very little
research has been done specifically on the behavioural consequences of
work-life conflict, but work by Frone, Russell & Cooper (1993; 1997)
has strongly suggested a connection with increased alcohol consumption.
Although a thorough review of this research is beyond the scope of this
paper, two observations relevant to health costs should be made. First,
when distress is manifested as an overt behaviour (as opposed to an internalized
response, such as depression), the effects extend well beyond the individual.
For example, not only has work-related stress been linked to an increased
incidence of industrial accidents (Webb, Redman, Hennrikus, Kelman, Givverd
& Sanson, 1994), it also has been shown to increase the likelihood
of automobile and domestic accidents (Whitlock, Stoll, & Rekhdahl,
1977). In addition, abusive behaviours, such as alcoholism and violence,
have obvious implications for the well-being of others in the individual's
work and family environments. These "ripple" effects imply much higher
social and economic costs than are apparent when the individual is the
sole unit of analysis. Second, the behaviours themselves become risk factors
for physical illness, as is the case with smoking and coronary heart disease,
or alcoholism and cirrhosis (Quick et al., 1997).
5.1.2 Psychological consequences
Although often viewed as "personal" problems that can be resolved by
the individual employee, emotional disorders and psychiatric illness place
a considerable burden on the Canadian health care system. In 1993, Canada
spent over $5 billion to treat individuals with some form of mental illness
(Moore et al., 1997). This represented 11% of the direct costs (Direct
costs include the costs of hospital care, drugs, research, and medical
services provided by a physician.)of treating all illnesses in Canada,
second only to expenditures on cardiovascular disease (Ibid.). Workplace
stress has been identified as a significant contributor to reduced psychological
functioning, and the psychological effects of workplace stress have been
well documented (for a review, see Quick et al., 1997). Among the problems
associated with distress are depression, reduced life satisfaction, perceived
stress (As is the case in everyday usage, the term "stress" has had
a variety of connotations in the literature. Many authors have used it
synonymously with "distress" to refer only to the maladaptive stress response.
To be consistent with the literature, in this section we use the term
"perceived stress" to refer to a set of maladaptive responses to stressors
(e.g., feeling irritated, nervous, unable to cope)), and "burnout".
5.1.2.1 Depression
Depressed mood is defined as a state characterized by low energy and
persistent feelings of helplessness and hopelessness (Duxbury& Higgins,
1998). In 1995, over 1.5 million Canadians sought treatment for depression
(Statistics Canada, 1999a). Depression represents the single most common
psychological condition seen by the family physician (Quick et al., 1997).
It is estimated that depression is two to three times more prevalent among
women than among men (Matteson & Ivancevich, 1987).
Although it is suggested that depression has a genetic or biological
component, environmental stressors are believed to trigger it (Davison
& Neale, 1978). Psychological theory maintains that depression emanates
from feelings of personal helplessness in the face of persistent and uncontrollable
stressors (Seligman, 1974). Seligman's theory of "learned helplessness"
can be seen to closely resemble Karasek's (1979) control model of workplace
strain discussed in Section 4.5. Both psychological and organizational
theory, therefore, implicate high stress-low control work settings in
the etiology of depression.
The potential contribution of chronic stressors to the etiology of depression
has received very little attention in the work stress literature (Matteson
& Ivancevich, 1987). The few existing studies have looked primarily
at gender differences (e.g., Dohrenwend, Krasnoff, Askensay & Dohrenwend,
1978; Jick & Mitz, 1985), and, consistent with national incidence
data, find depression rates for women to be two to three times higher
than those for men.
Given the persistent, and often irreconcilable, time demands of the
work and family roles, it is not surprising that work-life conflict has
been shown to be a significant contributor to depressed mood (Burden &
Googins, 1987; Duxbury et al., 1991; Frone, Russell, & Cooper, 1992;
Frone, Russell, & Cooper, 1997; Higgins et al., 1992; Thomas &
Ganster, 1995). Consistent with Karasek's and Seligman's work, control
over the work-family interface has been shown to significantly reduce
the likelihood of depressive symptomatology (Thomas & Ganster, 1995).
5.1.2.2 Life satisfaction
In contrast to other health outcomes, life satisfaction has not been
studied in the context of work-related stress, but has received some attention
in the work-life literature. Work-life researchers reason that, because
of the interactive and reciprocal nature of the relationships between
work and family domains, work-related role stress might combine with work-family
demands to exert considerable influence on an employee's overall perception
of life satisfaction (Bedeian et al., 1988). Further, it is assumed that
improvements in the quality of work-life (e.g., increased work-time or
work-location flexibility) will produce corresponding improvements in
the quality of life as it makes it easier for employees to reduce the
strains of managing the modern family (Duxbury & Higgins, 1998). Generally,
the research has supported these contentions. High work-life conflict
has consistently been associated with a reduction in overall life satisfaction
(Aryee, 1992; Bedeian et al., 1988; Duxbury & Higgins, 1998; Rice,
Frone & McFarlin, 1992).
5.1.2.3 Perceived stress
Perceived stress refers to the extent to which one perceives one's situation
to be uncontrollable and burdensome. Individuals who report high levels
of perceived stress generally are manifesting the symptoms we associate
with "distress", including nervousness, frustration, irritability,
and generalized anxiety. Perceived stress has been linked to job dissatisfaction,
depressed feelings, work absence, and turnover. It is highest among women,
especially those working in service occupations (Wilkins & Beaudet,
1998). Perceptions of stress have been shown to be particularly high among
employees who have difficulty balancing work and non-work demands (Duxbury
et al., 1991; Higgins et al., 1992; Lero & Johnson, 1994; MacBride-King,
1990; Williams & Alliger, 1994).
5.1.2.4 Burnout
Burnout is a concept which dates to the late 1970s, and is characterized
as a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion (Maslach, 1978).
It is most commonly associated with "white collar professions" (Karasek
& Theorell, 1990) which combine a high level of interpersonal involvement
with exposure to emotionally demanding situations. Such situations are
prevalent particularly in the human services professions and in public
service and managerial positions where clients impose constant demands
for attention (Duxbury & Higgins, 1998). Burnout is closely linked
to depression, and research has shown that, like depression, burnout is
most common in high-demand, low control work settings (Karasek & Theorell,
1990). In addition to its draining effect on individuals, burnout is strongly
correlated with unfavourable organizational outcomes, including reduced
job satisfaction and increased job conflict (Duxbury & Higgins, 1998).
Chronic daily stressors, rather than unique critical life events, are
regarded as central factors in generating burnout (Duxbury & Higgins,
1998). Given the persistent time demands on employees who are trying to
juggle competing work and family responsibilities, it is not surprising
that burnout has been significantly associated with work-life conflict
(Ibid.).
5.1.3 Physical health consequences
Although the behavioural and psychological effects of work-related stress
are themselves immense, they may in turn have a potentially more devastating
effect on an individual's medical health (Quick et al., 1997). The physical
health consequences of distress appear to result from the frequent or
intense arousal of the stress response, particularly the psychological
arousal that is induced by repeated exposure to stressors (Ibid.). It
is believed that, with prolonged exposure to stressors, chronic arousal
of the sympathetic and endocrine systems may contribute to the development
of more serious medical conditions (Matteson & Ivancevich, 1987),
including cardiovascular disease (e.g., heart attack, hypertension, stroke,
migraine), gastrointestinal disorders (e.g., peptic ulcer), arthritis,
allergy, skin disease, and backpain; Quick et al., 1997). In fact, these
physical disorders are so closely related to distress that Selye labelled
them the "diseases of adaptation" (Selye, 1976b). Following is a summary
of the literature on the physical effects of work-related stress in general,
and work-life conflict in particular.
5.1.3.1 Cardiovascular disease
Perhaps the most frequently studied medical condition in the work stress
literature is cardiovascular disease (CVD). Distress causes changes in
almost every aspect of cardiovascular functioning, so it is directly involved
in the etiology of most CVD states (Matteson & Ivancevich, 1987).
CVD has several manifestations, all characterized by an interruption in
the flow of blood within the system (Ibid.). Included in the CVD category
are hypertension (high blood pressure), cardiovascular accidents (stroke),
myocardial infarctions (heart attack), metabolic necrosis (death of the
heart muscle), and arrhythmia (irregularity in cardiac rhythm; Karasek
& Theorell, 1990). Distress is also believed to contribute to peripheral
vascular diseases, such as migraine (Matteson & Ivancevich, 1987).
CVD is one of the leading causes of death, second only to cancer: in
1995, CVD was responsible for 73,000 deaths in Canada (Statistics Canada,
1999b). It is estimated that in the same year, $7.3 billion was spent
to treat individuals with CVD, representing 17% of the direct costs of
all illness in Canada (Moore et al., 1997).
Karasek & Theorell (1990) believe that work-related stress plays
a role in three different pathways to CVD: (1) it contributes to several
long-term physiological processes, such as hypertension; (2) it may be
involved in the acute triggering mechanism for coronary heart disease;
and (3) it aggravates the effects of conventional risk factors, such as
increased smoking or fat intake. In fact, Karasek & Theorell argue
that work stress contributes almost as much to the statistical risk of
coronary heart disease as do the conventional risk factors.
Quick et al. (1997) review a large number of studies (primarily American
and European) which suggest that work-related stress is a major contributor
to CVD, particularly coronary heart disease. Very recent work by Statistics
Canada (Wilkins & Beaudet, 1998) looked at the relationships between
job strain (which they defined as high demand, low control jobs) and two
manifestations of CVD (hypertension and migraine) in the Canadian labour
force. They estimated that roughly 5% of Canadian employees, both male
and female, suffered from high blood pressure. They also collected data
on migraine and found it to be three times more prevalent among women
than among men (migraine was reported by 12% of women versus 4% of men).
Migraine was found to be significantly related to job strain among men,
and to job insecurity among women. No significant relationships were found
for hypertension, a finding contrary to the research reviewed by the authors
of the study. (The authors note that they used a self-report measure
of recall ("Have you ever had a diagnosis of high blood pressure?") which
was insensitive to the timing of the diagnosis. In addition, other research
has used actual blood pressure readings rather than recall. Research on
the relationships between hypertension and work-related stress have yielded
some of the more equivocal findings in the CVD literature (Quick et al.,
1997)) Only two studies were identified which looked at CVD as a
function of work-life conflict. Both examined hypertension. In a cross-sectional
study of female health professionals (who recorded their own blood pressure
readings), Thomas & Ganster (1995) found no links between work-family
conflict and hypertension. On the other hand, Frone et al. (1997) in a
longitudinal study of a random community sample of 260 employed mothers
and fathers found that interference from family to work was significantly
associated with an increased incidence of hypertension, as measured by
the researchers over a four-year period. Although few conclusions can
be drawn from two studies, these findings provide some support for a relationship
between work-life conflict and CVD. Frone et al.'s significant findings
are particularly important, as longitudinal studies are better able than
cross-sectional research to provide evidence of causal links.
5.1.3.2 Gastrointestinal disorders
Another purported consequence of stress is gastrointestinal (GI) disorder
(Matteson & Ivancevich, 1987). GI problems include anything from repeated
episodes of heartburn to peptic ulcer (Ibid.). In 1995, GI-related health
problems accounted for 32 million physician visits in Canada, representing
12% of all visits (Moore et al, 1997). It is estimated that in 1993 (the
most recent year for which data are available), $3.3 billion was spent
to treat digestive diseases, representing 8% of the direct costs of all
illness in Canada (Ibid.).
Peptic ulcer disease has been one of the most commonly studied GI disorders
in the work stress literature (for a review see Quick et al., 1997). Cause-effect
relationships between stress and peptic ulcer have remained elusive. Although
case studies strongly suggest ulcer disease surfaces or worsens during
times of stress, large-scale epidemiological studies have been unconvincing
(Ibid.). Early studies were unable to control for the relationship between
ulcer disease and associated risk behaviours, such as smoking, and family
history (Ibid.) Recent studies have been confounded by the growing belief
that peptic ulcer may be related to bacterial infection (Ibid). Although,
to date, a causal link has not been established between distress and peptic
ulcer disease, clinical experience and the prevalence of peptic ulcer
among high-strain occupations (e.g., air traffic controller, executives)
suggest that work stress may at least precipitate or exacerbate ulcer
disease (Quick et al.,1997).
Stronger relationships have been found between the stress response and
other GI problems, including irritable bowel syndrome, and ulcerative
colitis (Quick et al., 1997). In both cases, psychological distress has
been associated with the onset or worsening of symptoms (Ibid.) No literature
was identified on the relationship between work-life conflict and GI disorders.
5.1.4 Summary of individual consequences of work-life conflict and the
stress response
Individual response to stressors in the work and work-life environments
can be seen to take a wide variety of forms. The preceding review suggests
that there is strong correlational evidence that work-related stress and
work-life conflict manifest in psychological symptoms of some magnitude.
Causal connections to these and more serious medical problems, however,
remain difficult to demonstrate. As was discussed in Section 4, there
is such individual variation with regard to stressors, stress, and consequences,
and so many intervening variables that it may be virtually impossible
to forge the links necessary to claim that distress "causes" mental and
physical illness.
The large body of clinical research and correlational evidence, however,
makes it safe to conclude that distress at least precipitates or exacerbates
disease (Quick et al., 1997). It may be that work- and work-life stressors,
like other sources of stress, have cumulative effects that contribute
to the development of many common causes of mental and physical disorders.
Genetics, biological development, and many other factors influence the
appearance and course of these diseases, but distress plays a role in
hastening the appearance of disease and worsening its impact (Ibid.)
5.2 Organizational outcomes
Problems with work-related stress and work-life conflict affect not
only individual employees, but also their employers. Both organizations
and individuals benefit from an optimum level of stress, and both pay
a price for mismanaged stress and distress (Quick et al., 1997). The consequences
of an optimal "healthy" level of stress in organizations include high
performance and vitality (Ibid.). The unhealthy consequences of excessive
or mismanaged stress take the form of "organizational distress" (Ibid.,
p. 89).
Signs of organizational distress range from increased absence and turnover
due to illness and the inability to manage work-related stress to decrements
in job satisfaction, commitment and productivity (Duxbury et al., 1991;
Higgins et al., 1992). Some of these consequences are quantifiable in
dollars and cents (e.g., time lost due to illness); others are somewhat
less tangible, and are primarily those which reflect deterioration in
employee attitudes toward their work and the employing organization (e.g.,
reduced job satisfaction and employee commitment).
Quick et al. (1997) have compiled a summary of potential organizational
consequences of work-related stress, dividing them into "direct costs",
and "indirect costs" (Figure 3). Direct costs include the loss of an individual
through absence or turnover; and productivity declines while in the workplace.
"Indirect" costs reflect the "intangibles": loss of organizational vitality,
and deterioration in the quality of work relationships.
Figure 3: Costs of organizational distress (adapted from Quick et
al. 1997)
Direct Costs
- Participation and membership
- absenteeism
- turnover
- strikes/work stoppages
- performance on the job
- quality/quantity of output
- accidents
Indirect Costs
- Loss of vitality
- job dissatisfaction
- low commitment
- Reduced quality of relationships
- distrust
- animosity
- aggressiveness
The remainder of this section looks at some of these consequences in
more detail. As in Section 5.1, outcomes related to work stress in general
will be discussed first, followed by relevant information on outcomes
from the work-life literature.
5.2.1 Direct costs
5.2.1.1 Absenteeism
In 1997, full-time employees in Canada missed an average of 7.4 days
from work, representing an estimated loss of 66 million workdays (Akyeampong,
1998). A rudimentary calculation based on average daily earnings of $135 (Interpolated from 1996 average annual worker earnings of $37,000
(Statistics Canada, Catalogue 13-217XPB).), suggests that absenteeism
may cost Canadian organizations as much as $8.9 billion annually. Since
it has been estimated that work absences in Canada can cost an organization
1.75 times the absent worker's wage rate (May, 1987), the total costs
to employers may be substantially greater than this estimate suggests.
It is difficult to estimate what proportion of this lost work time is
attributable to employee work stress per se. American and UK estimates
suggest as much as 50% of absenteeism may be in some way stress related
(Cooper, Liukkonen, & Cartwright, 1996; Elkin & Rosch, 1990).
Statistics Canada data indicate that employees who report exposure to
excessive job demands miss 30% more work time than is the average (calculated
from Text Table 6-B, Statistics Canada, 1994).
The strong relationships between work stress and physical illness discussed
in Section 5.1 suggest that the effect of work stress on work absence
may be rather indirect, and hence, more difficult to measure: adverse
stress responses may increase the risk of illness, which in turn, increases
the rate of absence. Determining the contribution of stress to absence
is further complicated by the fact that factors other than stress and
illness may contribute to absence rates. Bhagat, McQuaid, Lindholm &
Segovis, 1985) suggest that absenteeism even during stressful conditions
may reflect market opportunities more than the consequences of stress
itself (i.e., during economic downturns, employees feel too insecure to
risk being absent even when ill). This phenomenon led Cooper et al. (1996)
to coin the term, "presenteeism", to draw attention to the potential productivity
loss incurred when people come to work in spite of not feeling well!
In contrast to some of the difficulties inherent in linking absenteeism
to work stress, researchers have had somewhat more success in demonstrating
its relationship to work-life conflict. Although work-life conflict may
contribute indirectly to illness absence due to the stresses of balancing
work and non-work life, often it leads directly to absences that are not illness-related. Such is the case when an employee takes time to accompany
a child to a sports event, or to care for a sick child or elderly parent.
In these cases, researchers can ask employees how many days they were
absent for reasons other than illness.
Statistics Canada has expanded its labour force survey to collect data
on reasons for absence. National data indicate that in 1997, 1.2 of the
7.4 days lost per employee was due to personal or family responsibilities
(Akyeampong, 1998). Applying the average earnings calculation used earlier,
a conservative estimate of the cost to Canadian organizations of time
lost for personal and family reasons is roughly $1.4 billion. Add to this
the costs of illness absence that may have been indirectly attributable
to work-family stressors (see section seven of this report), and the cost
to Canadian organizations is substantial.
Absence data collected through self-report measures, however, are subject
to bias due to under-reporting. This is particularly so when employees
are asked to estimate time lost due to reasons other than illness, as
employees are understandably reluctant to disclose this information (Galinsky,
Freedman & Hernandez, 1991). In addition, it has been found that employees
who are reluctant to disclose child care problems often use their own
sick days to stay home with their children (MacBride-King, 1990). This
suggests that the proportion of absences categorized as personal illness
may be inflated by the inclusion of days off for family.
The problem of under-reporting family-related absence is avoided in
other approaches to studying work-life conflict. One such approach is
to collect data on all work absences (irrespective of reason), and then
correlate the number of absences with various demographic and psychological
indicators collected through survey. For example, the Conference Board
in a study of 7,000 employees across Canada (MacBride-King, 1990) correlated
days absent with the age of the children of the family, and found that
absences for parents of children under 13 were significantly higher than
those for non-parents or parents of teen-agers. "Dual-caregivers" (those
with responsibility for the care of both children and other dependants)
had the highest rates of absence of any group.
Absenteeism can also be correlated with scores on formal measures of
work-life conflict collected through survey. Duxbury & Higgins (1998)
divided their sample of 5,000 Saskatchewan employees into those who reported
high work-life conflict and those who reported low work-life conflict.
The number of days absent per year in the high work-life conflict group
was over three times that in the low conflict group (9.5 days versus 2.5).
MacBride-King (1990) obtained similar results in the Conference Board
Study after grouping her respondents into high- and low-conflict categories
(5 days for high conflict employees versus 2.5 for low). Combined with
the labour force survey data presented earlier, these empirical studies
provide strong evidence of a link between work-life conflict and absence.
5.2.1.2 Turnover
Although a certain level of turnover is essential to organizational
vitality (Quick et al., 1997), the costs associated with replacement mean
most organizations strive to keep turnover to a minimum (Robbins, 1993).
The cost of turnover includes not only the obvious loss of the productivity
of the qualified employee, but also the hidden costs of recruiting, hiring,
and training a replacement (MacBride-King, 1990). Estimates indicate that
the ratio of turnover costs to annual salary ranges from 1.2 to 2, with
the average at about 1.5 (Robbins, 1993). The range reflects differences
in position level, organizational function, and relocation costs (Ibid.).
Using the Canadian average annual earnings figure of $37,000 (Statistics
Canada 1999d) the loss of even one employee at an "average" level in the
organization, can cost an employer $55,000. This cost increases when professional
employees in the knowledge sector leave the organization (i.e. higher
salaries, greater recruitment and replacement costs).
As expected, research has linked work-related stress and burnout to
increased turnover (Cooper et al., 1996; Karasek &Theorell, 1990).
Work has also been done in the context of work-life conflict. In the Conference
Board study, 12% of Canadian employees said they had left a previous employer
due to family responsibilities; 14% had considered leaving their current
employer (MacBride-King, 1990). Women were about four times (20%) more
likely than men (6%) to report having left a previous employer for this
reason. Recent work by Duxbury & Higgins (1998) with Saskatchewan
employees indicated that 30% of employees with high work-family conflict
would consider leaving their jobs for one with a better "balance", compared
to only 4% of a low conflict group. The authors caution that high turnover
is a particular threat to organizational health, as the employees who
leave are those who are most "marketable", and accordingly, are those
with skills the employer can least afford to lose.
5.2.1.3 Strikes/work stoppages
High strain work situations have also been connected to work interruptions
due to strikes and stoppages (Quick et al., 1997). In 1996, Canada experienced
327 strikes and lockouts, involving 284,000 workers and over 3 million
lost workdays (International Labour Office; 1996). Work interruptions
of this nature involve not only the direct costs associated with loss
of production and replacement of personnel, but also the indirect costs
of lost opportunities and disruption of relations with suppliers, clients,
and others in the task environment (Ibid.).
The relationship between work-life issues and labour actions has not
been explored. To date, organized labour's stand on work-life issues has
been somewhat mixed. On the one hand, improving the quality of life for
members through workplace modifications is consistent with the goals of
union leaders. On the other hand, some of the modifications that might
reduce work-life conflict for members (e.g., voluntary part-time and reduced
hour arrangements) are perceived as threats to the "full-time-job-for-life"
model which labour has traditionally worked to obtain and preserve. Although
work-life conflict may not constitute a direct source of labour unrest,
its potential to indirectly contribute to overall work-related stress
and dissatisfaction remains an important consideration.
5.2.1.4 Performance
There is a considerable body of literature to suggest that the hyperarousal
associated with work-related stress is a major contributor to accidents
and performance decrements (for a review see Quick et al., 1997). Although
much of this literature is beyond the scope of this paper, it should be
noted that distress due to work-life conflict may well have similar effects
if individuals who are overextended trying to balance work and family
demands are fatigued or preoccupied on the job.
Work-life researchers have typically explored employee performance by
using a measure of employees' perceived productivity (Duxbury & Higgins,
1998; MacBride-King, 1990). This approach uses survey format to ask employees
to what extent their personal and family obligations have interfered with
their work. MacBride-King (1990) found that roughly half of Canadian employees
with dependant care responsibilities had difficulty taking on extra work
projects, working overtime, travelling and relocating, and attending meetings
or courses after work hours. Nearly half also reported an inability to
concentrate on the job due to family obligations. Women were significantly
more likely than men to report problems in all of these areas. Although
no attempt has been made to assign a dollar value to these types of problems,
these findings suggest a high productivity cost for Canadian employers
(in addition to the high cost to individual employees in terms of reduced
career progress and satisfaction!)
5.2.2 Indirect costs
5.2.2.1 Job satisfaction
The organizational costs of a low level of employee satisfaction are
much more difficult to measure than some of the previously discussed outcomes.
The consequences to employers appear to be indirect: job satisfaction
has been shown to be associated with increased absenteeism and turnover
(Robbins, 1993), suggesting that the ultimate cost of job dissatisfaction
will be the costs associated with these withdrawal behaviours. Robbins
(1993), however, argues that an often overlooked dimension of job satisfaction
is its relationship to employee health. He reviews research that demonstrates
that employees who are satisfied with their jobs live longer and are less
prone to health setbacks ranging from headaches to heart disease. He concludes
that job dissatisfaction is itself a source of work-related stress, which
in turn, triggers or exacerbates stress-related disease.
Consistent with its purported role in reducing work-related stress,
job satisfaction shows a strong inverse relationship to work-life conflict.
Individuals who score high on work-life conflict have consistently been
shown to be highly dissatisfied with their jobs (Bedeian et al., 1988;
Bhagat et al., 1985; Duxbury & Higgins, 1998; Karasek, Gardell, &
Lindell, 1987; Thomas & Ganster, 1995). Duxbury & Higgins' study
found a substantial difference between high- and low-conflict groups on
their measure of job satisfaction: nearly 80% of employees with low work-family
conflict were satisfied with their jobs, compared to only 27% of the high
conflict sample. This reduction in job satisfaction is dramatic, given
that, typically, 60 to 70% of employees are satisfied with their jobs
(Duxbury & Higgins, 1991; Robbins, 1993; Statistics Canada, 1994).
These findings indicate that, like work stress in general, work-life conflict
may have the potential to generate costly withdrawal behaviours indirectly
through its effect on job satisfaction.
5.2.2.2 Organizational commitment
Commitment is loyalty. An individual who has high organizational commitment
is willing to exert extra effort on behalf of the organization, and has
a strong desire to remain with the organization (Mowday, Porter &
Steers, 1982). Commitment, like job satisfaction, is related to reduced
absences and strongly related to turnover (Duxbury & Higgins, 1991),
and thus, may be an important indirect contributor to costly withdrawal
behaviours.
Research suggests a strong negative relationship between work-life conflict
and organizational commitment (Bhagat et al., 1985; Duxbury & Higgins,
1998; Orthner & Pittman, 1986). Individuals who view their employers
as being unsupportive of their non-work roles are less likely to feel
a sense of loyalty to the perceived source of the conflict. Duxbury &
Higgins (1998) found that only 47% of employees with high work-life conflict
were committed to their employers versus nearly 70% of employees in the
low conflict group. Given the high association between commitment and
turnover, these findings suggest that reducing work-life conflict may
be an effective means for organizations to minimize turnover.
5.2.2.3 Reduced quality of relationships
It has been suggested that under conditions of distress, a deterioration
occurs in the quality of interpersonal relationships on the job (Quick
et al., 1997). Individuals experiencing distress have been found to show
markedly less trust in, respect for, and liking for those they work with
(Kahn et al.,1964). Quick et al. suggest that the more energy that is
consumed in bad relationships, the less constructive energy is available
to perform the job, hence threatening productivity. In addition, poor
working relations have the effect of reducing employee satisfaction, and
in turn, employee attendance (Steers & Rhodes, 1978). The reduced
quality of relationships in the organization, therefore, may contribute
to absences in the short-run, and to reduced organizational health in
the long run (Quick et al., 1997).
5.2.3 Summary of organizational consequencesof work-life conflict and
the stress response
The preceding summary suggests that the potential costs to organizations
of work stress and work-life conflict may be substantial. Costs amenable
to "dollars and cents" analysis, such as those associated with absence
and turnover, appear to have received much more attention in the work
stress literature than some of the "intangibles" such as job satisfaction
and organizational commitment. Quick et al. (1997), however, caution that
the indirect costs of distress, although much more difficult to quantify,
may be no less devastating to organizational health. In addition to their
damaging effect on the organizational climate, indirect costs may themselves
be the source of the more measurable costs, such as absenteeism and turnover.
On the other hand, the work-life literature has given a good deal of
attention to the more indirect indicators. This emphasis on the "softer"
indicators, such as satisfaction and commitment, is important as it brings
to light some of the risks associated with the many "hidden" costs of
stress. Before beginning to examine some of the wider costs of stress
and work-life conflict, the next section will attempt to gauge the magnitude
of the problem by estimating the prevalence of work-life conflict in Canada.
6. ESTIMATED PREVALENCE OF WORK-LIFE CONFLICT: A PORTRAIT OF CANADIAN
EMPLOYEES
Recently, attempts have been made to estimate the prevalence of work-related
stress among Canadian employees. Data from Statistics Canada (Statistics
Canada 1994; Wilkins & Beaudet, 1998), for example, indicate that:
- 66% of Canadian employees- - nearly 10 million adults- - believe theyare
exposed to some sort of health risk in the work environment;
- of these, 25% cite stress from excessive work demands as the perceived
threat;
- 32% of employees believe that theseexposures have already had a negative
effect on their personal health;
- men are more likely to report health risks related to the physical
environment (e.g., dust, noise); women are more likely to cite computer
screens and stressful interpersonal relationships as problem sources;
- professionals are more likely to report risks related to excessive
work demands; skilled workers are more likely to cite problems related
to the physical environment (dust, noise).
- individuals withlow control over decision-making perceive high psychologicaldistress
(40% of Canadian workers in high demand-low control jobs report high
perceived stress!)
These types of data provide an indication of the extent and magnitude
of work stress problems in Canada, and suggest potential high risk groups.
Little information of this sort, however, is available to indicate to
what extent Canadian employees are affected by work-life conflict. (An
important exception is the Conference Board of Canada's survey (MacBride-King,
1990) which examined a variety of personal and work outcomes by comparing
employees with difficulty balancing family responsibilities to those without.
Their study indicated that roughly 27% of Canadian employees had at least
moderate difficulty balancing work and home responsibilities. When limited
to parents with children at home, this proportion rose to 35%. MacBride-King,
however, did not use a formal measure of work-life conflict in this work.)
This section of the report uses survey data collected by Duxbury and
Higgins between 1991 and 1998 to provide an indication of the prevalence
of work-life conflict among the Canadian workforce. This data is drawn
from four large studies conducted between 1991 and 1998, collectively
representing nearly 30,000 public and private sector employees across
Canada.
6.1 Description of the Studies
6.1.1 The samples
The studies on which this section is based were conducted by two of
the authors between 1991 and 1998 (Duxbury et al., 1991; Higgins et al.,
1992; Duxbury-Higgins Associates, 1997; Duxbury & Higgins, 1998).
They include:
- A federal public sector survey of roughly 6,000 federal employees
working in the National Capital Region, representing six government
departments (Duxbury et al., 1991).
- A private sector survey of roughly 15,000 employees from a cross-section
of 30 small and large geographically diverse organizations across Canada
(Higgins et al., 1992).
- An independent survey of 2,500 employees working for a large service
sector company at sites across Canada (Duxbury-Higgins Associates, 1997).
- A survey of 5,400 employees working in 40 medium to large private,
public, and non-profit organizations in the province of Saskatchewan
(Duxbury & Higgins, 1998).
All studies involved surveys of men and women in a variety of occupations,
both with and without dependant care responsibilities. Dependant care
was defined as having responsibility for either a child under 18, or for
an elderly or disabled relative with whom time was spent on a regular
basis. Job type was distinguished as being either professional/managerial
(i.e., career occupations), or non-professional/non-managerial (i.e.,
clerical, technical, production work, etc.) (Note: In the tables that
follow these job type categories are labeled "professional" and "non-professional.") For the purpose of the following analyses, the public and private sector
work-life studies (i.e. Studies One and Two) are combined under the heading
"1991-92 national sample". Because Study Three involved a single organization,
and as such, must remain anonymous, it will be referred to as the "1997
Single Organization". Study Four will be referred to as the "1998 Saskatchewan
study". For further information about the national sample and the Saskatchewan
study, please refer to the source documents listed in the reference section.
6.1.2 The measures
All data presented in this section were collected through pencil and
paper survey using measures recognized in the empirical work-life literature
(see Appendix A for a discussion of these measures). All psychological
outcomes (depressed mood, life satisfaction, perceived stress, burnout,
perceived health, intent to turnover, commitment, job satisfaction) were
self-report using one to five Likert rating scales. For these measures,
results are expressed as the proportion of the sample who scored high
(e.g., % who reported a high level of depressed mood or job satisfaction).
The number of days absent from work and the number of physician visits
were collected by asking respondents to indicate how often they had engaged
in the behaviour (e.g., had been absent from work, had visited a physician).
For these measures, results are expressed as the average (mean) per year.
Every effort was made to maintain consistency between studies. However,
specific study requirements and the addition over time of new measures
(e.g., spillover, burnout and perceived health) or better measures (e.g.
work-interferes with family) has meant that not all variables are included
in each dataset. (Refer to Appendix A for full descriptions of the measures
and reference information.)
6.1.3 Objectives of this analysis
This analysis will:
- examine the level of work-life conflict among Canadian employees;
- identify employee groups who seem most at risk for work-life conflict
and ill health (i.e., by gender, job type);
- examine individual outcomes associated with work-life conflict (depressed
mood, life satisfaction, perceived stress, burnout, perceived health,
contacts with a physician);
- examine organizational outcomes associated with work-life conflict
(absenteeism, turnover, job satisfaction, commitment);
- explore how these outcomes differ between individuals with high work-life
conflict and those with low conflict; and
- explore how these outcomes differ between individuals with high control
over the work/non-work interface, and those with low control.
6.1.4 Interpretation of the Data
Due to the large sample sizes almost all the between group differences
(i.e. men versus women within a particular sample; professional/managerial
women in 1991 versus professional/managerial women in 1997) are statistically
significant. These differences may not, however, be substantive (i.e.
worthy of note). For the purposes of this report we have defined substantive
as follows:
- For Table 1 (i.e. comparison of total samples for the three data sets):
- For the individual and organizational outcome data differences
of 2% or more are considered substantive
- In the case of the absenteeism and physician visit data mean differences
of 0.5 or more are considered substantive.
- For Table 2a and 2b (i.e. comparison of sub-samples using the three
data sets):
- For the individual and organizational outcome data differences
of 5% or more are considered substantive
- In the case of the absenteeism and physicianvisit data mean differences
of 1.0 or more are considered substantive.
- For Figures 4 and 5 (i.e. comparison of sub-samples for the Saskatchewan
data set only):
- For the individual and organizational outcome data differences
of 5% or more are considered substantive
- In the case of the absenteeism and physician visit data meandifferences
of 1.0 or more are considered substantive.
Finally, it should be noted that our discussion of trends over time focuses
on a comparison of the 1991-92 National data to the 1998 Saskatchewan
data. The decision to limit the comparison to these two samples was based
on the following rationale: 4) these samples are more representative as
they contain data from employees working for a large number of companies
of different sizes working in a wide variety of sectors, and 5) the larger
sample sizes make the between group comparisons more meaningful.
6.2 Overview of the findings
Table 1 provides a comparison of the three samples in terms of work-life
conflict and a variety of individual and organizational outcomes discussed
in Section 5. Three observations may be made from this data. First, in
spite of many differences between the samples in terms of both sample
composition and the time at which data were collected, the studies yielded
remarkably similar data on work-life conflict. The findings indicated
that slightly more than one in three Canadian employees (35.6% to 40%)
experience a high level of work-life conflict.
Second, there was also a remarkable consistency across individual outcomes.
The stability of these findings was rather alarming, given the potential
health risks associated with these measures. The data indicated that:
- one third of Canadian employees report high levels of depressed mood;
- half experience high levels of perceived stress; and
- one quarter feel "burned out" from their jobs. No such general statements
can be made about organizational outcomes, which seemed to vary according
to sample. Fifty-five to 66% of respondents were highly committed to
their organizations; 40% to 61% were highly job satisfied; roughly 12%
reported high intent to turnover.
Finally, differences between the 1991-92 sample and the 1998 study of
Saskatchewan suggest that:
- work-life conflict, perceived stress, work absences and physician
visits may be on the rise while
- job satisfaction, life satisfaction and perceived health may be decreasing.
Comparisons across time, however, remain highly speculative due to the
very different samples used.
Table 1: Prevalence of work-life conflict and selected individual
and organizational outcomes among employees in Canada
Outcome |
1991-92
National
Sample
(N=21,228) |
1997
Single
Organization
(N=2,507) |
1998
Saskatchewan
Sample
(N=5,368) |
Percent High |
Work-family conflict: |
|
35.6 |
38.1 |
40.1 |
Individual outcomes: |
Depressed mood |
33.1 |
31.6 |
34.7 |
|
Life satisfaction |
42.5 |
44.7 |
38.4 |
|
Percieved stress |
47.3 |
49.2 |
50.5 |
|
Burnout |
-- |
26.1 |
27.3 |
|
Percieved health |
-- |
48.7 |
46.5 |
Organizational outcomes: |
Intent to turnover |
13 |
-- |
12.1 |
|
Commitment |
56.1 |
64.4 |
55.3 |
|
Job satisfaction |
61.6 |
39.4 |
49.5 |
Mean per year |
Days absent: |
Total |
4.1 |
8.3 |
9.6 |
|
Due to Illness |
-- |
5.2 |
4.9 |
|
Due to family |
-- |
2 |
2.9 |
|
Due to fatigue |
-- |
0.9 |
1.8 |
Number of physician visits: |
|
2.7 |
3.4 |
3.8 |
6.3 Who's at risk for work-life conflict and health problems?
Tables 2a and 2b provide information on all three samples by gender
and job type. Table 2a is limited to respondents with dependant care responsibilities
(i.e., for either a child or an elderly or disabled family member); Table
2b provides data on employees without dependant care responsibilities.
In order to allow readers to find information on subgroups of interest,
these tables present a high level of detail. Not all of the relationships
shown in this data can be discussed in the context of this report. The
following discussion uses these tables to make some general observations
regarding which employee groups encounter high work-life conflict and
which may be at particularly high risk for stress-related illness.
Table 2a: Prevalence of work-life conflict and selected individual
and organizational outcomes among employees in Canada (employees with dependant care responsibilities)
Outcome |
1991-92 National Sample (N=13,351) |
1997 Single Organization (N=1.691) |
1998 Saskatchewan Sample (N=4,037) |
Professional |
Non-Professional |
Professional |
Non-Professional |
Professional |
Non-Professional |
M |
F |
M |
F |
M |
F |
M |
F |
M |
F |
M |
F |
Percent High |
Work-family conflict: |
38.5 |
51.4 |
25.6 |
36.1 |
49.1 |
51.6 |
35.5 |
36.4 |
39.4 |
47.9 |
29.6 |
35.4 |
Individual outcomes: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
-Depressed Mood |
22 |
34.1 |
25.6 |
43.1 |
25.6 |
24.7 |
30.6 |
38 |
28.2 |
31.2 |
32.3 |
43.2 |
-Life Satisfaction |
47.9 |
49.6 |
43.1 |
38.9 |
47.6 |
56.1 |
30.6 |
43 |
42.2 |
43.5 |
34.5 |
36 |
-Percieved Stress |
38.7 |
49.7 |
40.5 |
56.2 |
40.2 |
43.5 |
55 |
54.5 |
46.1 |
53.6 |
46.8 |
56.7 |
Burnout |
- |
- |
- |
- |
25.3 |
26.2 |
29 |
25.3 |
26.9 |
29.6 |
22.8 |
28 |
Percieved Health |
- |
- |
- |
- |
49.7 |
47.6 |
45.9 |
47.2 |
57.8 |
61.1 |
49.9 |
48 |
Organizational Outcomes: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
-Intent to turnover |
11.5 |
13.2 |
10.1 |
11.3 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
9.8 |
12.2 |
11.1 |
9.8 |
Commitment |
57.8 |
61 |
57.2 |
57.8 |
69.6 |
73.8 |
66.1 |
63.4 |
59.2 |
55.6 |
49.4 |
58.2 |
Job Satisfaction |
62.5 |
67.9 |
63.7 |
61 |
42.3 |
50.9 |
30.6 |
37.6 |
47.4 |
49.3 |
48.2 |
52.3 |
|
Mean per year |
Days absent (total) |
2.63 |
4.51 |
4.1 |
5.23 |
6 |
7.1 |
7.2 |
10.1 |
7 |
12.1 |
8.4 |
12.6 |
-Due to illness |
- |
- |
- |
- |
3.4 |
3.4 |
4.2 |
6.4 |
3 |
6.1 |
4.3 |
6 |
-Due to family |
- |
- |
- |
- |
1.6 |
2.4 |
1.9 |
2.7 |
2.4 |
4.1 |
2.7 |
4.4 |
-Due to fatigue |
- |
- |
- |
- |
0.7 |
1 |
0.9 |
0.9 |
1.6 |
1.8 |
1.4 |
2.2 |
-Number of physician visits |
1.99 |
2.92 |
2.23 |
3.34 |
2.9 |
3.9 |
3.5 |
3.6 |
3.2 |
3.8 |
3.6 |
4.1 |
Table 2b: Prevalence of work-life conflict and selected individual
and organizational outcomes among employees in Canada (employees without dependant care responsibilities)
Outcome |
1991-92 National Sample (N=7.876) |
1997 Single Organization (N=816) |
1998 Saskatchewan Sample (N=1,288) |
Professional |
Non-Professional |
Professional |
Non-Professional |
Professional |
Non-Professional |
M |
F |
M |
F |
M |
F |
M |
F |
M |
F |
M |
F |
Percent High |
Work-family conflict: |
29.9 |
38.5 |
23.1 |
28.1 |
34.8 |
42.5 |
21.9 |
29.5 |
34.7 |
37.7 |
24.3 |
24.1 |
Individual outcomes: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
-Depressed Mood |
23.4 |
35.7 |
27.8 |
40.8 |
8.7 |
28.8 |
19.5 |
35.6 |
27.4 |
32.1 |
33.1 |
40.3 |
-Life Satisfaction |
43.4 |
47 |
34.9 |
40 |
46.7 |
55.5 |
34.4 |
40 |
38.3 |
45.1 |
29.1 |
36.9 |
-Percieved Stress |
38.5 |
51.8 |
41.3 |
52.2 |
34.8 |
45.9 |
45.3 |
52.9 |
43.3 |
50.8 |
46.4 |
49.7 |
Burnout |
- |
- |
- |
- |
17.4 |
30.8 |
18.8 |
30.4 |
26.8 |
32.7 |
26.8 |
27.8 |
Percieved Health |
- |
- |
- |
- |
51.1 |
53.8 |
63.2 |
46 |
57.6 |
52.1 |
52.3 |
47.2 |
Organizational Outcomes: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
-Intent to turnover |
17.3 |
16.2 |
16.8 |
15.2 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
21.9 |
16.5 |
17.9 |
14.1 |
Commitment |
48.9 |
53.2 |
49.8 |
55 |
65.2 |
66.4 |
63.3 |
56 |
49.1 |
57.9 |
46.8 |
54.7 |
Job Satisfaction |
58.7 |
63.1 |
56.1 |
59.4 |
42.4 |
45.9 |
28.1 |
36.1 |
47.3 |
49.2 |
47.5 |
50.7 |
|
Mean per year |
Days absent (total) |
2.97 |
3.8 |
3.89 |
4.4 |
4 |
5.6 |
4.5 |
9.7 |
6.6 |
9.2 |
5.8 |
8.9 |
-Due to illness |
- |
- |
- |
- |
2.8 |
3.5 |
2.9 |
6.8 |
4.3 |
5.7 |
3.7 |
5.7 |
-Due to family |
- |
- |
- |
- |
0.6 |
0.9 |
0.6 |
1.5 |
0.9 |
1.1 |
0.8 |
1.2 |
-Due to fatigue |
- |
- |
- |
- |
0.6 |
1.1 |
0.5 |
1 |
1.3 |
2.4 |
1.3 |
2 |
-Number of physician visits |
1.99 |
2.82 |
2.38 |
3.26 |
3.6 |
2.7 |
2 |
3.6 |
3.3 |
|
|
|
6.3.1 Work-life conflict
Tables 2a and 2b provide support for much of the literature reported
in Section 4 on the moderators of work-life conflict. The following general
observations can be made from this data:
- women report substantially more work-life conflict thanmen, regardless
of job type or dependent care status,
- men and women who perform managerial or professional work report substantially
more conflict between work and non-work than their counterparts in non-professional
positions,
- men and women with dependent care responsibilities report substantially
more work- life conflict than their counterparts without such obligations
- approximately half of the mothers who work inmanagerial and professional
positions and almost 40% of mothers employed in non-professional positions
report high work-life conflict. These percentages have remained very
stable over time.
- the amount of work-life conflict reported by men appears to have increased
substantially over time.
Taken together these last two observations suggest that:
- Canadianorganizations have notyetprovided dual-income employees withdependent
care the types of support they need to balance work and non-work obligations
and roles, and
- work-life challenges may be mounting for men (i.e. becoming an issue
for all employees with dependent care responsibilities rather than a
"women's issue")
6.3.2 Individual outcomes
Consistent with the literature reported in Section 5, women also appeared
to be at greater risk for depressed mood and perceived stress. With few
exceptions, this varied little according to dependant care status (i.e.,
women with and without dependants reported comparable levels of stress
and depressed mood). The relationship of individual outcomes to job type,
however, was opposite to that observed with work-life conflict. Depressed
mood and perceived stress were lower among professional and managerial
groups. This supports literature which has found that higher income and
educational attainment is associated with an increased ability to cope.
In addition, this finding reinforces the assertion that specific characteristics
of the jobs of professionals and managers, especially autonomy and control
over work and work hours, can minimize conflict for these employees. Control
will be further examined later in this section.
6.3.3 Organizational outcomes
In spite of their greater difficulties in terms of work-life conflict
and individual outcomes, women appeared to be somewhat more committed
to their employers than were men. That women encounter both high conflict
and distress and high commitment is consistent with literature
which suggests that commitment may be more strongly linked to the economy
and job market than to personal or organizational factors (see Section
5). Supporting this notion was the observation that turnover seemed to
be linked to dependant care status, with those with dependants expressing
the lowest level of turnover intentions (roughly 10% to 13%, compared
to 14% to 18% among employees without dependants). This data suggests
that both turnover and commitment may be more related to life cycle stage,
opportunity, and mobility than to other personal or work factors. This
also implies, however, that employees who are experiencing high levels
of conflict may perceive few options but to remain in highly stressful
situations.
Job satisfaction showed no consistent patterns according to gender,
job type, or dependant care status. The only noteworthy observation was
that it appeared to be lower in the more recent studies than it was in
the earlier study. Although this comment is speculative due to sample
differences, it is consistent with the increases in absence and physician
visits observed in Table 1. Literature suggests that job satisfaction
is highly related to work absences and health (see Section 5.2).
6.3.4 Absences and physician visits
Like the individual outcome data, these findings suggest that women,
non-professional groups, and those with dependant care responsibilities
are at particularly high risk for stress-related illness. At the extremes
were non-professional women with dependants (who averaged 12 days absence
per year), and professional men with no dependants (3 days absence).
Women consistently reported more absences and physician visits than
did their male counterparts. Detail by reason for absence shows that women
missed more work than men both for family reasons and for personal illness.
Differences between women with dependants and those without, however,
suggest that much of women's higher absence may be related to dependant
care needs. Absence due to illness was virtually identical for women with
dependants and those without. On the other hand, absence for family reasons
among women with dependants was double that seen among women without dependants.
6.4 The effects of work-life conflict on individual and organizational
outcomes: Examination of the Saskatchewan Data
Sections 6.2 and 6.3 provided a profile of Canadian employees in terms
of their level of work-life conflict, individual outcomes and organizational
outcomes. This section of the report looks at the relationship between work-life conflict and these various outcomes. Only the Saskatchewan data
set is used in this an analysis. The Saskatchewan dataset was chosen as
the basis for this analysis because: (1) a single dataset (i.e., as opposed
to merging data from all four studies) was believed to be best able to
show links between work-life conflict and health outcomes, as it controlled
for confounds due to differences in sampling and data collection time
frames; (2) it was our most recent study, so was perhaps most representative
of the work-life situation among employees today; and (3) it was composed
of employees in a variety of workplaces in a variety of sectors, rather
than a single organization.
The Saskatchewan sample was divided into two groups: those with high
work-life conflict (i.e. scores of 3.75 or greater on the work-life measure),
and those with low work-life conflict (i.e. scores of 2.25 or lower on
the work-life measure). We then examine any differences between the two
groups in terms of the individual and organizational outcomes of interest.
Figure 4 illustrates some of the more significant findings.
Figure 4: Relationship between work-life conflict and selected outcomes
(1998 Saskatchewan sample)
IMAGES NEED TO BE INSTERTED HERE!!! |
Figure 4 illustrates the close relationship between work-life conflict
and an individual's work attitudes, behaviours, and perceived well-being(Note
that work-life conflict was associated with adverse effect on all of the outcome measures examined. Only the most salient findings were
summarized in Figure 4.). High work life conflict can be seen to
be substantially associated with:
- decreased wellness in terms of perceived stress and physical health,
depressed mood, and especially, burnout.
- reduced job satisfaction and organizational commitment.
- greater use of the Canadian medical system(i.e.increased numberofphysician
visits, increased illness), and
- increased absence from work The data in Figure 4 also indicate that
both men and women are adversely affected by
work-life conflict. The major gender differences were in behavioural
measures. Work-life conflict showed a much stronger effect on women's
work absences and physician visits than it did on men's. This is consistent
with women's higher level of work absence in general, and suggests that
helping reduce work-life pressures may have a particularly beneficial
effect for women.
6.5 The effects of work-life control on work-life conflict and individual
and organizational outcomes: Examination of the Saskatchewan Data
Control was identified in Section 4.5 as a critical moderator of distress
and work-life conflict. In this section of the report, we use a measure
of perceived work-life control to explore this relationship more closely.
Unlike measures which assess an employee's control over demands, the measure
we use here is one by Thomas & Ganster (1995) which specifically addresses
factors pertaining to control over dependant care and hours of work. (See
Appendix A for a complete description of the measure.) Figure 5 illustrates
the effect of work-life control on selected work attitudes and behaviours
and measures of individual well-being, again in the context of the Saskatchewan
sample. Note that these findings pertain only to employees with children
or other dependants, as employees without dependant care responsibilities
were skipped out of this item.
Figure 5: Relationship between work-life control and selected outcomes
(1998 Saskatchewan sample)
IMAGES NEED TO BE INSTERTED HERE!!! |
Figure 5 provides support that work-life control can significantly improve
work attitudes, behaviours, and perceived well-being among employees with
dependants.(Note that control led to improvements in all of the outcome
measures examined. Only the most salient findings are summarized in Figure
5.) Higher control over the work-life interface can be seen from
this data to be substantially associated with:
- increased wellness (i.e. lower perceived stress and depressed mood,
higher life satisfaction)
- increased job satisfaction
- lower use of the Canadian medical system (i.e.decreased numberof physician
visits), and
- decreased absence from work
Consistent with their greater responsibility for home and family, women
appeared to obtain the greatest benefit through increased control, particularly
in terms of work absence and work-life conflict. It is important to note,
however, that control led to more favourable individual and work outcomes
among both men and women. This data, when interpreted in light
of our earlier findings that work-life conflict appears to have increased
over time for men, supports our contention that work-life conflict is
no longer "just a women's issue."
6.6 Summary
This section of the report has provided an indication of the prevalence
of work-life conflict among Canadian employees, and allowed us to identify
groups who may be at particularly high risk for conflict and stress-related
illness. The findings suggest that just over one in three employees in
Canada suffer from an inability to balance their work and non-work life.
Extrapolated to a 1998 workforce of roughly 15.6 million(Statistics Canada,
1999c), this means that work-life conflict may be a problem for as many
as 5.5 million Canadian workers.
The findings also identify women as being at particularly high risk
for work-life conflict. Consistent with literature which shows that employed
women still shoulder the responsibility for the care of home and children,
women in these samples reported higher work-life conflict than their male
counterparts. Women with children working in professional and managerial
occupations, in particular, reported especially high work-life conflict.
This data would suggest that the nature of career occupations (e.g., long
hours, travel, etc.) and work cultures which expect professionals to give
priority to work at the expense of family may be incompatible with work-life
balance. It should, however, be noted that in spite of their higher level
of work-life conflict, women in professional and managerial work reported
lower perceived stress and depressed mood than their non-professional
counterparts and fewer absences and physician visits. This data suggests
that employees in career occupations may be better able to manage work-life
conflict due to autonomy, flexibility and the financial ability to purchase
services to help them cope. This pattern, therefore, identifies women
in non-professional/non-managerial occupations as being at greatest risk
for work-life conflict to develop into more serious stress-related illnesses.
It is, however, important to note that this data suggests that work-life
conflict is a growing issue for men. This suggests that measures to help
"mothers" balance will be addressing only part of the problem.
Finally, analyses of the relationship between work-life conflict and
individual and organizational outcomes implicated work-life conflict in
the development of a variety of adverse emotional- physical, and work-related
outcomes. Control data indicated that increasing control over the work-family
interface may be an especially effective means of minimizing these adverse
effects.
7. AN ESTIMATE OF THE COST OF WORK-LIFE CONFLICT TO CANADIAN EMPLOYERS
AND THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM
Until now, we have viewed work-life conflict in terms of its considerable
human costs, and the associated direct and indirect costs borne by organizations.
Work stress and work-life conflict, however, are not problems of individual
employees and organizations, but are wider societal problems that are
ultimately shared by all players in society (Cooper et al., 1996). This
section of the report will take the discussion one step further by attempting
to assign a dollar value to the cost of work-life conflict. Specifically,
we will estimate two sets of costs; costs to the employer (operationalized
as absence from work due to high work-life conflict) and costs to the
Canadian health care system (operationalized as physician visits arising
from high work-life conflict).
This section is divided into four main sections. The first introduces
the socioeconomic model used as the rationale for examining the costs
of work-life conflict at the national level. Second, a methodology and
formula for estimating costs is presented. This methodology is then used
to produce estimates of the costs of work-life conflict in terms of two
indicators at the national level: work absences and physician visits.
These indicators were chosen in order to provide an estimate for each
of two economic sectors (the cost of work absences to organizations, and
the cost of physician visits to the health care system). The part of the
report concludes with a summary and discussion of the limitations of this
methodology.
7.1 Model for socio-economic assessment of work-life conflict
The model chosen to illustrate the national cost of work-life conflict
is taken from a series of studies on workplace health currently underway
in the European Union (Cooper et al., 1996; Levi & Lunde-Jensen, 1996).
The researchers involved in this project have been attempting to measure
the extent of workplace stress in the European Union, and to estimate
its impact across the broader Community. The term, "socio-economic", refers
to the need to calculate the effects of workplace stress for society as
a whole, across the economic sectors to include not only individuals and
business, but also governments and the broader society (Note that
we are restricting the analysis at the national level to costs borne by
the private sector and by the public health care system. The socio-economic
costs of work stress and work-life conflict are far-reaching, however,
and extend well beyond these segments of society. These effects may include
lost opportunities for further education, involuntary early retirement
caused by stress, increased taxation to cover the costs of social support,
and a decrement in the standard of living due to reduced productivity
(Cooper et al., 1996). The list is virtually limitless, and no attempt
was made to explore these very serious, but complex issues.)(Cooper
et al., 1996; Levi & Lunde-Jensen, 1996). A socio-economic perspective
on work-life conflict, therefore, addresses the costs of employee stress
and ill health at three levels: the employee, the employer, and the broader
society and health care system (Figure 6). In this report we focus on
costs associated with only two of these three levels (i.e. the employer
and broader Canadian society)
Figure 6: Three perspectives on the economic (adapted from Cooper
et al., 1996) costs of work-related stress
- National: (socioeconomic and health care costs)
- Organizational: (financial costs and declining organizational
health)
- Individual: (loss of welfare)
The above socio-economic perspective suggests that in order to estimate
the true cost of workplace stress, we must look not only at the costs
incurred by organizations (in terms of lost output due to absence, for
example), but also to other societal sectors for the "hidden costs" (Levi
& Lunde-Jensen, 1996). In economic terms, hidden costs are referred
to as "externalities": significant costs that are borne by segments of
society who are not receiving the benefits (Ibid.). For example, when
employers driven by short-run bottom line concerns increase workloads
but provide little or no support to their employees (as has been shown
to be the case in the Canadian work-life arena- - see Section 1.1.4),
organizations benefit through increased profits, while somebody else pays.
In the case of work-life conflict, it is the employee who pays through
distress and illness. So does the Canadian health care system as it foots
the bill for the costs of treating stress-related illness.
The following section describes a method of socio-economic assessment
used by Levi & Lunde-Jensen (1996) to calculate the estimated cost
of work-related stress at the national level, and adapts it to the specific
case of work-life conflict.
7.2 Methodology
7.2.1 Selecting variables
Levi & Lunde-Jensen's first step in obtaining data for an economic
estimate of work-related stress is to select the stressor and the specific
consequences of interest from the wide range of potential health consequences
that exist. In the case of work-life conflict, we have already defined
the stressor: it is the perception of role overload and work-family interference,
and it has been operationalized through a measure of work-life conflict
from the empirical literature (refer to Appendix A).
This leaves the question of which health consequences to explore, given
the wide range of outcomes described in Section 5. This task is made somewhat
easier by the requirement that the economic and health cost data be available
on a national level from secondary sources. In other words, the data must
exist for such calculations to be performed. As expressed by Cooper et
al. (1996), "The problem is... not the lack of economic calculation methods,
but the lack of factual material on which to base calculations" (p. 78).
Two health consequences were thus chosen for exploration on the basis
that they were available from national labour force and health data. Days
absent from work was selected as a potential cost of work-life conflict
to organizations. The number of visits to a physician was chosen
as a potential cost to the Canadian health care system. Note that these
estimates are partial and minimalistic, representing only two of many
potential costs to the private and public sectors. "Minimalistic" estimates,
however, are manageable for calculation purposes, and are comparable to
Levi & Lunde-Jensen's approach to assessing the costs of work stress
in general (in which they used only cardiovascular disease as an outcome).
7.2.2 Components of the model and data sources
Following are the basic components of the socio-economic assessment
model (Levi & Lunde-Jensen, 1996), and the Canadian data sources used
to meet these needs:
- Health and social data are needed from which one
can calculate the total number of lost workdays, and the frequency of
use of the target health services (in our case, physician visits). Data
for the number of lost workdays were obtained from Statistics Canada's
1997 Labour Force Survey absence data (Akyeampong, 1998). Data for the
number of physician visits were obtained from Statistics Canada's 1996-97
Population Health Survey, 2nd Cycle, and are based on the
working age population 15-64 years.
- Basic economic indicators of the economy and health
care system are needed in order to assign a value to the average output
per worker per day and the average cost of the health care service.
Levi & Lunde-Jensen's approach assumes that the value of work time
lost can be measured by the average value of work time in society. The
datum selected for this study reflects average earnings of full-time
full-year workers for 1996 ($i.e. $37,000 per year), the most recent
year available (Statistics Canada, 1999d). The value of a physician
visit was inferred from the average cost of a consultation with a general
practitioner or specialist. This datum was much more difficult to obtain.
Since each health care jurisdiction collects its own data, there was
little consistency in information available from each jurisdiction.
Personal communication with the Canadian Institute for Health Information
yielded a national average of roughly $35 for a medical consultation
in 1994, the most recent year for which data were available. Unfortunately,
the estimate was not based on data from all jurisdictions. The figure,
therefore, was double checked against separate lists of fees by province.
Fees for all provinces ranged from roughly $25 to $50 per consultation,
so the estimate was considered to be within acceptable limits for the
purpose of this calculation. It should be viewed with caution, however,
due to the variability in reporting procedures between jurisdictions.
- An estimate of the proportion of sickness occurrence related
to the stressor. This component of the model is the greatest
challenge. In the context of general work stress, with which the model
most frequently has been used, this component requires: (1) an epidemiological
estimate of the prevalence of work stress in the general population;
and (2) the relative risk of adverse health outcomes associated with
work-life stress. Often, neither of these figures is available in national
level data (An exception is Statistics Canada who has recently applied
this procedure to work strain at the national level. See Wilkins &
Beaudet (1998).). This required that these estimates be calculated
before proceeding with the cost estimate. To date, we are unaware of
any study which has applied the methodology to the specific case of
work-life conflict. We therefore, use one of our own datasets (The Saskatchewan
data set presented in Section 6) as the basis for these calculations.
The procedure for calculating this component of the model is discussed
in the next section.
7.2.3 Estimating prevalence, relative risk, and the etiologic fraction
Before proceeding to economic cost estimates, the requirements listed
in 7.2.2 must be met. The Saskatchewan dataset was chosen as the basis
for estimating prevalence and relative risk at the national level because:
(1) a single dataset (i.e., as opposed to merging data from all four studies)
was believed to be best able to show links between work-life conflict
and health outcomes, as it controlled for confounds due to differences
in sampling and data collection time frames; (2) it was our most recent
study, so was perhaps most representative of the work-life situation among
employees today; and (3) it was composed of employees in a variety of
mid to large sized workplaces in a variety of sectors, rather than a single
organization. Of course, relying on data from a single province introduces
its own problems in terms of generalizability to the broader Canadian
population. These limitations will be addressed at the end of this section.
The questions to be answered from the Saskatchewan dataset are:
- What proportion of workers are exposed to the risk factor (in our
case, work-life conflict)? This is the prevalence question.
- What proportion of the excess sickness occurrence (in our case, absence
and physician visits) can be associated with the risk factor? This answers
the question of relative risk.
- With data on both the exposed population and their excess risk, how
muchof the total sickness occurrence would not have occurred
had the risk factor been absent? This expression is referred to as the etiologic fraction.
Table 3 provides the Saskatchewan data used to answer these questions
for work absences (Because gender and job type have been shown to
be moderators of work-life conflict (see Section 4), Tables 3 and 4 also
provide separate data for these categories. These analyses are provided
in order to identify high risk groups for work-life conflict and illness,
and will not be carried into the national level cost estimates. This level
of detail is difficult to obtain from national statistical databases (e.g.,
average cost of a physician visit for a woman versus a man; daily output
calculated on the basis of women's average salary versus men's). Where
such data are available, it has been suggested that it is unethical to
assign dollar values to sickness occurrence within different groups of
society (Levi & Lunde-Jensen, 1996).). Question 1 (prevalence)
was answered by calculating the proportion of the sample who reported
high work-life conflict (operationalized as scores of 3.75 or greater
on the work-life measure described in Appendix A). The prevalence of high
work-life conflict (P) was 35% in this workforce. Prevalence differed
according to gender and job type, with women and professional/managerial
employees being most likely to experience high conflict.
In order to answer Question 2 (relative risk), a control group of individuals
with low levels of work-life conflict was then obtained to determine the
excess absence associated with the risk factor. Low work-life conflict
was operationalized as scores of 2.25 or lower on the work-life measure
described in Appendix A. Workers with high work-life conflict registered
13.2 days of absence per year, compared to only 5.9 days per year in the
non-exposed group. This yields a relative risk ratio (RR) of 2.22 (i.e.,
absence among workers with high work-life conflict was two and one quarter
times the level of absence for workers with low work-life conflict).
Table 3: Data for estimating prevalence of work-life conflict and
relative risk for work absence: Saskatchewan dataset, 1998 (N = 5,397)
|
Exposed group: high work-life conflict |
Control group: low work-life conflict |
Prevalence (P) |
Total |
35% |
24% |
Men |
33% |
23% |
Women |
36% |
25% |
Professional / Managerial |
41% |
20% |
Non-professional |
30% |
27% |
Number of days absent* |
Total |
13.2 |
5.94 |
Men |
9.71 |
4.78 |
Women |
15.85 |
6.84 |
Professional / Managerial |
11.4 |
5.65 |
Non-professional |
15.21 |
6.11 |
Relative Risk (RR)
(ratio of absence high-conflict group : absence low-conflict group) |
Total |
22.2 |
Men |
2.03 |
Woman |
2.32 |
Professional / Managerial |
2.02 |
Non-professional |
2.49 |
Etiologic fraction (RR-1)*P/((RR-1)*P+1) |
Total |
30% |
Men |
25% |
Women |
32% |
Professional / Managerial |
29% |
Non-professional |
31% |
*Days absent includes time lost for all reasons, including
illness, family responsibilities, etc.
Once the population at risk is quantified, and their excess risk identified,
we can calculate how much of the total absence would not have occurred
had the risk factor not been present in the population (Question 3: the
etiologic fraction). This is calculated from prevalence (P) and relative
risk (RR) with the formula:
Etiologic fraction = (RR - 1) * P / ((RR - 1) * P + 1)
If the risk of the exposed group is 2.22 times the risk of the control
group, and the prevalence is 35%, then the formula gives ((2.22-1) * .35
/ ((2.22-1) * .35) + 1 = 30%. Excess absence among employees who worked
under conditions of high work-life conflict, therefore, has been quantified
as 30%. This fraction varies according to differences in prevalence and
relative risk between groups. Gender differences were pronounced: excess
absence among women with high work-life conflict was estimated to represent
32% of all women's absences, compared to a figure of 25% for men. There
was very little effect of job type (excess absence among both professional/managerial
and non-professional employees accounted for roughly 29% to 31% of absences).
Table 4 presents analogous data for physician visits. The etiologic
fraction obtained for this outcome was 14% (i.e., excess visits to a physician
among employees who worked under conditions of high work-life conflict
represented 14% of all physician visits). This fraction was considerably
lower than the fraction obtained for work absences (30%). This difference
suggests that work-life conflict has a stronger effect on work absence
than does physician visits, as would be expected if not all absences are
due to illness, and not all illness warrants medical attention. Again,
the fraction was higher among women (17%, versus 9% among men). There
were no job type differences.
The etiologic fractions calculated from this step of the model can now
be applied to economic and cost data at the national level (i.e., components
1 and 2, Section 7.2.2) to attempt to assign a dollar value to the excess
costs associated with work-life conflict. Note that only the data for
the total sample will be used in this final step, as gender and job type
are not included in financial costs estimates (see footnote 11).
Table 4: Data for estimating prevalence of work-life conflict and
relative risk for physician visits: Saskatchewan dataset, 1998 (N = 5,397)
|
Exposed group: high work-life conflict |
Control group: low work-life conflict |
Prevalence (P) |
Total |
35% |
24% |
Men |
33% |
23% |
Women |
36% |
25% |
Professional / Managerial |
41% |
20% |
Non-professional |
30% |
27% |
Number of physician visits* |
Total |
4.62 |
3.17 |
Men |
4.14 |
3.17 |
Women |
4.98 |
3.17 |
Professional / Managerial |
4.07 |
2.79 |
Non-professional |
5.26 |
3.36 |
Relative Risk (RR)
(ratio of visits high-conflict group : visits low-conflict group) |
Total |
1.46 |
Men |
1.31 |
Woman |
1.57 |
Professional / Managerial |
1.46 |
Non-professional |
1.57 |
Etiologic fraction (RR-1)*P/((RR-1)*P+1) |
Total |
14% |
Men |
9% |
Women |
17% |
Professional / Managerial |
16% |
Non-professional |
15% |
*visits to the physician excluded regular check-ups and
visits associated with pregnancy
7.2.4 Applying etiologic fraction to national indicators and cost data
Table 5 provides data used to calculate the economic costs of work-life
conflict at the national level. The procedure involves using the proportion
of excess sickness occurrence obtained in the Saskatchewan sample (the
etiologic fraction) as a multiplier for national level data. The results
indicate that, in 1997, excess work absence among Canadians working under
conditions of high work-life conflict was roughly 19.8 million workdays.
At output equal to average earnings of $135 per day (Assuming average
annual earnings of $37,000 (Statistics Canada 1999d).), this represents
a loss to Canadian organizations of roughly $2.7 billion dollars. In terms
of health care costs, estimated excess physician visits among Canadians
working under conditions of high work-life conflict totalled 86.9 million
in 1996-1997. At an average cost of $35 per visit, this represents public
health care expenditures of roughly $425.8. million to treat individuals
for problems related to work-life conflict.
Table 5: Estimated economic costs of work-life conflict (work
absence and physician visits), Canada*
Factor |
|
Work absence |
Total days lost in Canada |
Etiologic fraction |
Excess days attributable to work-life conflict |
Cost / day |
Cost of work-life conflict |
66 million |
0.3 |
19.8 million |
$135 |
$2.7 billion |
Physician visits |
Total number of visits + |
Etiologic fraction |
Excess visits attributable to work-life conflict |
Cost / visit |
Cost of work-life conflict |
86.9 million |
0.14 |
12.2 million |
$35 |
$425.8 million |
*See Section 7.2.2 for data sources for Canada
+Number of physician visits based on working age population
15-64 years.
7.3 Summary
Application of the socio-economic model has provided a glimpse of the
potential financial cost of work-life conflict to Canadian organizations
and the Canadian health care system. The model suggests that failure to
respond to the needs of employees who are experiencing work-life conflict
has contributed not only to mounting stress for employees, but also to
substantial "hidden" costs to employers and governments. Our estimates
suggested that, in 1997, work-life conflict in Canada cost organizations
roughly $2.7 billion in work absences, and the health care system approximately
$425.8 million for physician visits. This data reinforces our contention
that employers as well as Canadian society are paying a price for not
addressing employees' needs with respect to work-life balance.
Although no financial estimates were attempted by gender, our data on
relative risk indicate that work-life conflict may represent a considerable
threat to the health of Canadian women. Consistent with the work-life
literature, women in this analysis had a higher level of work-life conflict
than did men. What was noteworthy, however, was the extent to which women's
conflict contributed to health outcomes in the estimates. Differences
in the prevalence of conflict between women and men (36% among women,
versus 33% among men) were significant, but comparatively minor as compared
to the differences in their absence levels. Women with high conflict reported
one and a half times the number of absences as their male counterparts
(15.9 days versus 9.7). In the final calculation, work-life conflict contributed
to 32% of all women's absences, as compared to 25% among men. Given that
women shoulder the majority of domestic work (Lero & Johnson, 1994),
some of these absences were certainly attributable to dependant care responsibilities
(e.g., time lost to care for a sick child or other dependant), and hence,
reflect social roles as well as personal illness. However, work-life conflict
also accounted for a larger proportion of women's physician visits than
it did men's (17% for women, versus 9% for men), suggesting a considerable
stress-related health risk as well.
7.4 Limitations of the estimates
To our knowledge, these estimates represent the first attempt to assign
a dollar value to the costs of work-life conflict at the national level,
and as such, are not without their limitations. First, we must again stress
that these estimates are minimalistic, representing only one of many potential
indicators of the health effects of work-life conflict. For organizations,
we used only the direct value of lost work time (i.e., the earnings of
the absent employee). This does not, therefore, cover such indirect costs
as replacement of the employee during the absence, "learning curves" during
the replacement, and reduced productivity. Nor does it cover the cost
of employee benefits to help workers cope, such increased use of employee
assistance plans. For the health care sector, we used only the cost of
a physician consultation. In 1996, physician services accounted for $10.7
billion of a $53 billion public sector health expenditure (Canadian Institute
for Health Information, 1999), representing only 20% of total health expenditures
by governments. Our estimates, therefore, cannot gauge the contribution
of work-life conflict to public expenditures for other services, such
as hospital stays, diagnostic procedures, and governments' share of the
costs of drugs to treat stress-related illnesses.
Our estimates are also limited by the sample we used as a basis for
calculating our multipliers. Employees in the province of Saskatchewan
may not be representative of employees across Canada. Levi & Lunde-Jensen
(1996), however, argue that generalizability can be enhanced by comparing
estimates to those obtained in other samples. A comparison of the prevalence
of work-life conflict in the Saskatchewan sample (40% high) with prevalence
in the 1991-92 national sample (36%) and the organization-specific sample
(38%) suggests that our estimate is within reason. Our etiologic fractions
(i.e., the proportion of excess absence/physician visits associated with
work-life conflict) are higher than numbers obtained in the European Community
studies. Levi & Lunde-Jensen, in their study of general work stress
in Sweden, reported that high strain jobs accounted for 16% of total sickness
absence for men, and 24% for women. These stress estimates are lower than
our work-life conflict estimates of 25% for men, and 32% for women. Better
estimates await further Canadian studies specifically addressing work-life
conflict and health outcomes.
Finally, our estimates are also limited by our national-level data sources.
Finding appropriate health care information was a considerable challenge.
Although both Statistics Canada and the Canadian Institute for Health
Information provide excellent health data, it was nearly impossible to
find "oranges and oranges". Large interprovincial differences in payment
schedules and classification categories made the costing of physician
services extremely difficult. In addition, the number of physician visits
obtained from the Population Health Survey included all members of the
working age population aged 15-64, not just employed persons. This means
that this number may be somewhat overestimated. (On the other hand, reducing
the sample to capture only those who were employed during the reference
period of the survey would have excluded individuals who were too ill
to attend work!) Overall, we believe these to be fair estimates, given
the data at hand. Should better data become available, the multipliers
obtained in this study should allow recalculation with relative ease.
8. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Work-life conflict is likely to be a continuing problem as Canada moves
into the next millennium. The confluence of globalization, mounting competitive
pressures, skills shortages, downsizing, restructuring and rapid technology
growth have contributed to an unprecedented rate of organizational change,
often without adequate support for the employees most affected by this
change (Cooper et al., 1996). Accordingly, heavy work demands, long hours
and job insecurity have become widespread features of the workplace (Karasek
& Theorell, 1990). Pressures are mounting on the home front as well,
as the workforce becomes increasingly diverse, and employees face a "double
day" seeing to the needs of the family when their paid work is through.
In the absence of organizational support, most employees have been left
to shoulder this burden alone. In the long run, this is not likely sustainable.
The national survey data presented in this report (Section 6) suggest
that conflicting work and home life pressures already may be taking their
toll, as evidenced in high work-life conflict, depressed mood, perceived
stress, and growing dissatisfaction with job and life. Although both men
and women are feeling the pressures of conflicting work and home demands,
work-life conflict has been shown to pose a particular threat to the health
and well-being of women, who remain largely responsible for the care of
home and family irrespective of their employment status (Lero & Johnson,
1994).
Our economic analyses suggest that these very real, but often intangible,
individual consequences also have "hidden costs" which impose financial
burdens on employers and governments in the form of work absence and stress-related
illness. Although economic analyses are not an ideal solution, and have
been criticized for ignoring "grief and suffering" (Levi & Lunde-Jensen,
1996, p. 3), the model used here is still the only model available to
assess the unpaid costs to society. It is often only through making hidden
costs visible that organizations and policy makers are prompted to action
(Cooper et al., 1996). Investment in prevention and health promotion needs
to be supported and justified by a convincing business case (Ibid., 1996).
The remainder of this report looks at the potential role of organizations
and governments in promoting healthier workplaces and reducing work-life
conflict and stress among Canadian employees. The discussion draws on
the ecological model presented in Section 2 in order to explore the various
points at which prevention or intervention measures may be most effective.
The report concludes with suggestions for further research.
8.1 The organization's role in reducing work-life conflict
The findings of this report indicate that Canadian organizations may
no longer be able to afford to ignore the issue of work-life conflict.
Organizational health extends beyond the profit and loss account (Cooper
et al., 1996). Long-term health depends on the organization's ability
to sustain increased performance over time. Ultimately, an organizations'
financial well-being is dependent on the physical, psychological and emotional
well-being of its members (Ibid.).
Organizational action to promote the well-being of employees can take
one of three forms (Quick et al., 1997). It can be directed at the source
of distress (primary prevention); it can be directed at the level of the
individual response (secondary prevention); or it can be directed at the
level of the outcome (tertiary prevention). In terms of the ecological
model presented in Section 2 (see Figure 1), primary prevention efforts
can be seen to correspond to action at the level of the stressor. Primary
prevention would seek to remove or minimize the stressors within the work
environment which generate the distress in the first place (e.g., might
reduce the task demands, minimize role ambiguities, give employees more
control over when and where they work). Secondary prevention acts at the
point of the individual response to existing stressors. Secondary prevention
efforts attempt to help the individual manage the stress response (e.g.,
relaxation training, physical fitness promotion, stress education). Tertiary
prevention works on the right hand side of the model, attempting to minimize
the distress outcomes which result when organizational stressors and the
individual stress response have not been adequately controlled (e.g.,
counselling, substance abuse programs).
Unfortunately, research suggests that the majority of organizational
prevention activities
have been at the secondary or tertiary level (Cooper et al., 1996; Karasek
& Theorell, 1990).
Those responsible for initiating interventions have generally believed
that it is easier to change the individual than to change the organization
(Ivancevich, Matteson, Freedman, & Phillips, 1990). This sentiment
would appear to be equally true today as many employers restructure, downsize
and implement technology with little input from employees. As a result,
attempted solutions address symptoms, not causes (Karasek & Theorell,
1990). This is unfortunate, as secondary and tertiary level "lifestyle"
interventions, although temporarily beneficial to individuals, have been
shown to have little effect in post-treatment follow-ups: it is reported
that over 70% of employees who attend such programs revert to their previous
habits within one to two years (Ivancevich & Matteson, 1988).
It has been suggested that in order for organizations to make real progress
in reducing employee stress and stress-related illness, they will need
to stop viewing work conditions and occupational stressors as "problems
made by God" (Levi & Lunde-Jensen, 1996, p. 25). Secondary and tertiary
interventions implicitly assume that organizations will not change; therefore,
individuals must develop their resistance to the inevitable stressors
(Cooper et al., 1996). Stress and work-life conflict, however, are not
inevitable, but an outcrop of conventional models of work organization
which have not changed with the times (Karasek & Theorell, 1990).
A sincere effort to improve the well-being of employees starts at the
source, with a strategy of primary prevention to minimize or eliminate
stressors in the work environment (Cooper et al., 1996).
Organizations have a critical role to play in primary stress prevention:
whereas individual employees can mobilize their personal resources to
cope as best they can, only organizations have the power to modify the
work environment so as to minimize its stress-generating features in the
first place (i.e. give employees more flexibility with respect to when
and where they work, make work loads more realistic, adopt policies which
are supportive of employees' personal lives/families). In terms of work-life
conflict, the ecological model suggests that organizations can introduce
primary prevention strategies at two points. They can take action at the
point of work domain stressors (i.e., minimize the stressors in
the work environment); or they can take action at the point of the modifiers of the individual's response (i.e., maximize factors shown to reduce unhealthy
stress responses).
8.1.1 Modifying the work domain
Organizations can assume proactive roles in reducing stressors from
the work domain through some of the following primary prevention strategies
proposed by Elkin & Rosch (1990); Cooper et al.(1996); and Sauter,
Murphy & Hurrell, (1990):
- Redesign the task. This method is aimed at improving
the person-job fit by restructuring core job dimensions to better suit
the individual's skills and interests.
- Redesign the content. This method seeks to offer
jobs which can provide meaning and stimulation, including such strategies
as job rotation or job enrichment to minimize narrow, fragmented work
activities.
- Adjust the work load and work pace. This method alters
both physical and mental work demands commensurate with the capabilities
and resources of workers, avoiding both underload and overload.
- Redesign the physical work environment. This method
minimizes the distressful aspects of the physical environment either
by eliminating noise, heat, etc., or by introducing growth-oriented
settings, such as fitness centres.
- Encourage career development. This method structures
career paths through self-assessment and an analysis of opportunities
to reduce individual frustration and improve job and career satisfaction.
- Analyse work roles and establish goals. This method
reduces stress through minimizing confusions or ambiguity.
- Share the rewards. This method reduces distress and
conflict over expectations by demonstrating clear performance-reward
links.
- Define the job's future. This method seeks to avoid
ambiguity over matters pertaining to job security. Employees should
be clearly informed of imminent organizational developments that may
affect their employment.
8.1.2 "Modifying the modifiers"
The ecological model suggests two modifiers of work-life conflict that
are amenable to primary prevention strategies: control and social support (The remainder of the modifiers in Figure 1, such as sex, personality,
coping and job type, are either unable to be altered, or involve secondary
interventions.). Karasek's model (Section 4) and our survey data
(Section 6) suggest that increasing employee perceptions of control, in
particular, may be a powerful tool for reducing work-life conflict. Following
are primary prevention strategies, drawn from Elkin & Rosch (1990);
Cooper et al.(1996); Johnson et al. (1997) and Sauter et al. (1990), that
may serve to increase employees' sense of control over work and
work-life integration.
- Introduce flexible work schedules. Provide schedules
such as flextime, compressed work week and job sharing, in order to
give employees some control over the coordination of competing work
and home demands. Where schedules must involve rotating shifts, the
rate of rotation should be stable and predictable.
- Allow employee input into scheduling. Employees are
in the best position to know what peak work demands are, and are the
only ones to know their non-work needs!
- Offer flexible "cafeteria benefits" programs. Employees
who are able to select packages of health benefits can tailor them to
their family needs (e.g., employees may prefer dental when children
are young, and prefer to switch to RSP contribution plans later in life).
- Encourage participative management. This method increases
the amount of discretion and autonomy that individuals have by decentralizing
decision making and increasing participation. The individual is able
to exert greater control over work and to channel stress-induced energy.
- Provide employees with discretion over their work. Wherever possible, allow employees the opportunity to control the when,
where and how of their work tasks. This includes work pace, task assignments,
methods of payment, resources used, task content and goal selection.
Help them in this effort so their choices are coordinated with the needs
of the organization and other workers.
Following is a list of primary prevention strategies to decrease work-life
conflict by increasing social support in the workplace:
- Work to change organizational culture. A primary
source of conflict is often an organizational culture which values long
hours ("face time") over output, and which encourages rigid traditional
career paths. Train employees and managers in diversity and work-life
issues. Offer alternatives to hierarchical career paths. Send a strong
message from the top that employee health and well-being is valued and
critical to the business plan. Then reward it.
- Train managers in supportive behaviours. Supervisors
are critical in providing a work atmosphere that is supportive of employees
and their needs. Supervisors do not always have the skills required
to be effective in recognizing and responding to the signs of distress
(both their employees' distress and their own!) These skills can be
taught.
- Train coworkers in work-life issues. Be certain
that all employees know how work-life issues affect them and others
in their work environment. Where flexible work arrangements are available,
make sure that they are implemented and monitored with an eye to their
possible effects on the work of others in the workplace.
- Provide opportunities for social interaction. Jobs
which allow regular and frequent personal interaction can provide both
emotional support and actual help as needed in accomplishing tasks.
- Provide regular and appropriate feedback on work matters.
This not only relieves distress by promoting communication and interaction,
but also improves subsequent work performance.
- Build formal and informal social mechanisms into the organization.
Teams, mentor ship programs, rewards ceremonies, and social events provide
cohesive forces and opportunities for stress release through social
interaction.
Regardless of whether they target the work domain or the modifiers of
the distress response, primary prevention strategies seek to tackle stress
and work-life conflict at the "front end". When remedial action occurs
at the "back end" of the model (i.e., treating poor health and other distress
outcomes), the approach is merely reactive and recuperative rather than
proactive and preventative (Cooper et al., 1996). Although treating the
symptoms may be easier, identifying the problem at its source can arguably
arrest the whole process (Cooper at al., 1996).
8.2 Governments' role in reducing work-life conflict
Much of today's work stress and work-related conflict can be attributed
to the fundamentals of change, increasingly high workloads, and lack of
control over work and work scheduling (Cooper et al., 1996). These stressors,
for the most part, are under the purview of individual employers. Although
progress in reducing work-life conflict will rely primarily on the cooperation
and ingenuity of organizations, unions, and individual workers, governments
have a role to play in setting the stage for stress-reduction and health-
promotion initiatives.
As information disseminators, governments might want to monitor and
publicize work-life issues and labour force changes, and emphasize the
links between work-life conflict and health outcomes. Much more research
is needed to bring work-life conflict and its risks to the corporate agenda,
particularly studies which can evaluate the long-term effectiveness of
various intervention and prevention programs. Governments may also want
to support workshops, on-line help, conferences and other forums which
can promote the sharing of innovative "success stories".
As legislators, governments play key roles in setting standards for
occupational health and safety. The existing mosaic of jurisdictions for
worker health (i.e., provincial departments of labour, provincial WCB's,
Human Resources Development Canada, and federally regulated industries
covered under the Canada Labour Code) make the task of ensuring uniform
national employment standards a particular challenge. More effort might
be directed at coordinating the provisions of these various regulatory
bodies and providing an umbrella to ensure that work-life issues are recognized.
As facilitators, governments may want to offer incentives to responsible
organizations who implement and maintain stress prevention and work-life
strategies. A successful example of such an initiative is Alberta's Work
Injury Reduction Programme (WIRP), a joint initiative of Alberta Municipal
Health and Safety Association, Alberta Labour, and the Workers' Compensation
Board (Alberta Municipal Health and Safety Association, 1999). This voluntary
program earns employers refunds when they reduce their Workers' Compensation
claims through health and safety improvements recommended in an annual
audit. The audit focuses not only on operations, facilities, and health
and safety information, but also on critical success factors, such as
corporate leadership and human resources management. Such a program would
have considerable potential to be expanded to include criteria for work-life
and diversity initiatives.
Finally, as employers, governments have a responsibility to demonstrate
exemplary human resources practices within their own workplaces. Government
organizations need to ensure that their own stress reduction and work-life
programs serve as models for other Canadian employers.
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APPENDIX A
MEASURES
Definition and Measurement of Constructs Used in This Analysis
Work-Family Outcomes
Work-family conflict is a form of interrole conflict in which
the role pressures from the work and family domains are mutually incompatible
in some respect. Participation in the work (or family) role is, therefore,
made more difficult by virtue of participation in the family (or work)
role. The cumulative demands of multiple roles can result in role strain
of two types: overload and interference. Overload exists when the total
demands on time and energy associated with the prescribed activities of
multiple roles are too great to perform the roles adequately or comfortably.
Role interference occurs when conflicting demands make it more difficult
to fulfil the requirements of multiple roles.
Overload was assessed using a version of the scale developed
by Bohen and Viveros-Long (1981) to measure the impact of flextime programs
on reducing work-family stress. The scale enables employed persons to
indicate on a Likert format how often they feel strains of various kinds
related to time for job and time for family. High scores indicate greater
conflict between work and family. Duxbury and Higgins (1998) report a
Cronbach's Alpha co-efficient of 0.88.
Interference from work to family was assessed by means of a 5-item
Likert type scale developed by Gutek, Searle and Kelpa (1991). High scores
indicate higher levels of perceived interference. Duxbury and Higgins
(1998) report that the interference from work to family measure has a
Cronbach's Alpha co-efficient of 0.87.
Perceived Work-Family Control: Control is defined as the belief
that one can exert some influence over the environment, either directly
or indirectly, so that the environment becomes more rewarding or less
threatening (Thomas and Ganster, 1995). Perceptions of control are believed
to lessen the stress of exposure to threatening events. Perceived control
over work and family pressures was assessed using a modified version of
a 14 item scale developed by Thomas and Ganster (1995). This scale allows
respondents to indicate on a 1 to 5 likert scale the extent to which they
have control over various aspects of work and family like (e.g. the ability
to choose vacation days, the ability to find care for a sick child, the
ability to get help with elder care). Cronbach's alpha coefficient for
the modified scale was 0.73 (Duxbury and Higgins, 1998)
Work Outcomes
Organizational commitment refers to loyalty to the employing
organization. Mowday, Steers and Porter (1979) indicate that commitment
is characterized by three factors: acceptance of the organization's values;
willingness to exert effort on behalf of the organization; and a strong
desire to remain an employee of the organization. The nine-item short
form of the Job Commitment Scale developed by Mowday et al. (1979) was
used in this study to measure commitment. A 5-point Likert-type scale
(1 indicating strongly disagree, 5 indicating strongly agree) was used
for all items. The scale score is the summed average of the item scores.
High scores indicate greater commitment to the organization. Duxbury and
Higgins (1998) report a Cronbach's alpha co-efficient for this measure
of 0.92.
Job Satisfaction is the degree to which employees have a positive
affective orientation toward employment. The "facet-specific" measure
of satisfaction developed by Quinn and Staines (1979) was used in this
study. Employees indicate how satisfied they are with their jobs in general,
their pay, their work hours, their work schedule and their work tasks
on a scale of 1 (very dissatisfied) to 5 (very satisfied). Job satisfaction
is calculated as the summed average of item scores. High scores represent
high job satisfaction. An immense amount of work by the Survey Research
Centre of the University of Michigan went into the development of this
scale. Duxbury and Higgins (1998) report a Cronbach's alpha of 0.88 for
this measure.
Job stress was assessed using the Job Tension subscale of Rizzo,
House and Lirtzman (1970) Work Stress Scale. The authors describe this
scale as a measure of "the existence of tensions and pressures growing
out of job requirements including the possible outcomes in terms of feelings
or physical symptoms" (p. 481). A 5-point Likert scale (1 indicating strongly
disagree, 5 indicating strongly agree) is used. High scores indicate high
job tension. Duxbury and Higgins (1998) report a Cronbach's alpha of 0.79.
Intent to Turnover is defined as an individual's desire to not
continue to be an organizational member. It is measured using a three
question scale from the Michigan Organizational Assessment Questionnaire
(Cammann, Fichman, Jenkins, & Flesh, 1979). The first two items (I
will probably look for a new job in the next year, and I often think about
quitting) are answered using a five point Likert type scale with 1 indicating
strong disagreement through 5 indicating strong agreement. The third question
(How likely is it that you will be able to find a job with another employer
with about the same pay and benefits you now have?) was answered using
a five point Likert type scale with 1 indicating highly unlikely through
5 indicating highly likely. The scale score is the summed average of the
three items. High scores indicate greater intent to turnover. Duxbury
and Higgins (1998) obtained a Cronbach's alpha of 0.83 for this measure.
Absenteeism: The measure used in this study is a modification
of the measure used in the Health and Daily Living Form (Moos, Cronkite,
Billings & Finney, 1988) to assess absenteeism. Respondents were asked
the following: "During the last 3 months have you been unable to work
or carry out your usual activities because:
- Of health problems?
- Of family or personal problems?
- You were emotionally or mentally fatigued?"
Total Absence is the sum of items a, b and c. Only item "a" was used
by Moos et al. in 1988. Our modifications make this measure more relevant
to today's dual-income employee.
Individual Outcomes
Stress was measured by means of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS;
Cohen, Kamarck & Mermelstein, 1983). The PSS was designed to assess
appraisals of the extent to which one's current life situation is unpredictable,
uncontrollable and burdensome. Respondents answer the PSS by indicating
on a 5-point Likert-type scale the frequency within the last month that
they have experienced various stressful feelings. Higher scores on this
measure indicate greater levels of perceived stress. Duxbury and Higgins
(1998) report a Cronbach's alpha co-efficient of 0.87.
Life Satisfaction was measured using the Satisfaction with Life
Scale (SWLS; Diener, Emmons, Larsen & Griffin, 1985). The SWLS was
designed to measure the respondent's global life satisfaction. The SWLS
is a Likert-type scale on which respondents indicate the extent to which
they agree with 5 statements describing their present state. Higher scores
indicate greater levels of life satisfaction. Duxbury and Higgins (1998)
report a Chronbach's alpha co-efficient of 0.87.
Depressed Mood was measured using a scale developed by Moos,
Cronkite, Billings and Finney (1988). This construct is defined as a state
characterized by low affect and energy, and persistent feelings of helplessness
and hopelessness. High scores indicate higher levels of depressive symptomology.
Moos et al. report Cronbach's alpha co-efficients ranging from 0.67 to
0.73. Duxbury and Higgins (1998) report a Cronbach's alpha of 0.76.
Burnout: Burnout is a newly defined concept in the realm of psychological
stress that has recently gained extensive attention as a separate strain.
Burnout as defined here is a state of physical, emotional and mental exhaustion
which is often found in those who have involvement with people in emotionally
demanding situations. Chronic daily stresses rather than unique critical
life events are regarded as central factors in producing burnout. At severe
levels, burnout overlaps with symptoms of depression. Such situations
are prevalent particularly in the human services professions and also
in public service and managerial positions where clients and employees
impose constant demands for attention. Burnout was operationalized in
this study through the use of the Burnout Inventory developed by Maslach
and Jackson (1986). High scores indicate high burnout. Maslach and Jackson
report Cronbach's alpha co-efficients ranging from 0.79 to 0.83. Duxbury
and Higgins (1998) report a Cronbach's alpha of 0.80.
Physical Health: Two items were used to measure physical health
in this analysis: Perceived physical health, and physician visits.
Perceived Physical Health was assessed using a single measure
developed byMoos, Cronkite, Billings and Finney (1988) which asks respondents
to rate their perception of their overall level of health on a 1 to 5
scale. Higher scores indicate better health.
Physician Visits: This item was operationalized using a measure
from the Health and Daily Living Form (HDL) developed by Moos et al. (1998).
Respondents were asked: "Notcounting check-ups and maternity visits, how
many times during the last12 months have you seen a physician."
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