International Journal of Hospitality Management 33 (2013) 304–309

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International Journal of Hospitality Management

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijhosman

Relationships among work-family supportive supervisors, career competencies,

and job involvement
Haiyan Kong ∗
Business School, Shandong University (Weihai), No. 180 West Culture Road, Weihai, Shandong, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Keywords: This study aims to explore the relationships among work-family supportive supervisors, career compe-
Work-family supportive supervisor tencies, job involvement, and job satisfaction. Data were collected from a sample of 1012 hotel employees
Career competencies working in the frontline of the hospitality industry in China. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was
Job involvement
used to estimate the relationships among the constructs. The findings indicate a positive relationship
Job satisfaction
between work-family supportive supervisors and career competencies. Career competencies contribute
China
positively to job involvement and job satisfaction. This study provides insights into how managers of
human resources can retain qualified staff and increase the job satisfaction of employees.
© 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction supervisors, job involvement, and satisfaction of work force in

Issues of work-life balance are receiving substantial attention
because the present workforce, who mainly belongs to generation
Y, considers quality of life as their main priority. Generation Y
refers to those who were born between the late 1970s and the
early 1990s (Josiam et al., 2010). Unlike previous generations
of employees, Generation Y people are more concerned about
enjoying their careers, and achieving work-life balance and equity
in the workplace (Broadlbride et al., 2007). They do not want work
to dominate their lives, and they value their non-work time and
care more for the quality of their lives (Kerslake, 2005). In China,
30-year-old employees suffer from extreme pressure. One survey
indicates that more than 64% of employees below 35 years old face
three main pressures, namely, work-life balance conflict, study
pressure, and competitive pressure (The Women’s Federation,
2007). Most young people are caught in between work and family.
They tend to marry late because they consider housing a big prob-
lem along with economic problems and work-life conflicts. When
married couples finally have a child, they experience the stress
related to being new-parents, cost of kindergarten, and sending
and picking up kids from school. In addition, most people at the age
of 30 come from one-child families, and have the duty to take care
of their parents and grandparents, especially when the elders are
sick or injured. As a result, marriage, work, and family are sources
of great pressure that the 30-year-olds face. These people need
work-family friendly policies and support. This study, therefore,
aims to explore the relationships among work-family supportive
∗ Tel.: +86 631 5897267; fax: +86 631 5688289.
E-mail addresses: konghaiyan@sdu.edu.cn, haiyan.kong@tom.com
China. The participants in this study belong to this generation Y.
In western countries, several work-life balance approaches are
used as strategic human resources management tools to retain
qualified staff (Wong and Ko, 2009). In contrast, little attention
is given to employees in China despite their substantial work
and household responsibilities (Allen, 2001; Bond et al., 1998;
Gilbert et al., 1994). This situation requires the implementation
of family-friendly programmes to meet such needs of the work-
force.
Career competencies are increasingly becoming important in
the present dynamic work environment. Arthur et al. (1995) sug-
gest that personal competencies should reflect different forms of
knowing. Career competencies can be categorized into three types,
namely, “knowing why,” “knowing whom,” and “knowing how”
competencies. The first category relates to career motivation, per-
sonal meaning, and identification. The second category concerns
career-relevant networks and contacts. The third category involves
career-relevant skills and job-related knowledge. Although career
competencies are critical for both organizations and individuals,
studies of such competencies are mostly theoretical (e.g., Arthur
et al., 1995; DeFillippi and Arthur, 1994). To date, there is little
systematic empirical research on this issue (Eby et al., 2003). Pub-
lished studies focus on three areas, which are the conceptualization
of career competencies (Arthur et al., 1999; Inkson and Arthur,
2001), ways to improve them (Sturges et al., 2003), and the relation-
ship between career competencies and success (Eby et al., 2003).
The study of Kong et al. (2011) examines the mediating effect of
career competencies between the relationship of organizational
career management and employee career satisfaction. However,
only a few studies explore the determinants of career competen-
cies.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2012.09.006
 H. Kong / International Journal of Hospitality Management 33 (2013) 304–309
Most studies on work-family support focus on the relation-
ship between work-life balance and retention strategies (Deery,
2008), employee work-family conflict and strain (Thomas and
Ganster, 1995), job satisfaction and organizational commitment
(Allen, 2001), and the influence of work-family balance on female
staff (Ng and Fosh, 2004). Organizational family-friendly policies
are positively related to employee work-family balance (Lu et al.,
2009), while family plays an important role in individual career
consequences and competencies (Shaffer et al., 2012). This study,
therefore, aims to explore the influence of the work-family support-
ive supervisor on career competencies and the influence of career
competencies on job involvement and job satisfaction.
2. Literature review
2.1. Relationship between work-family supportive supervisor and
career competencies
A family-friendly work environment plays an important role in
raising morale, and attracting and retaining a dedicated workforce
(Allen, 2001). Thomas and Ganster (1995) pose that a family-
supportive work environment consists of two major components,
which are family-supportive policies and family-supportive super-
visors. Both components are critical to balancing work and personal
life. The supportive supervisor is one who empathizes with the
desire of employees to seek balance between work and fam-
ily responsibilities (Thomas and Ganster, 1995). A family-friendly
work environment has several positive effects on employee work
and life. For example, Thomas and Ganster (1995) found that
work-family support programmes (except ‘program’ in comput-
ers), especially having supportive supervisors, is positively related
to the employee job satisfaction and family matters. With the
help of supportive supervisors, employees are able to balance life
and work, and concentrate on career management. A support-
ive relationship with superiors and networks maximizes career
success (Ferris et al., 2000; Igbaria and Wormley, 1992). Individ-
uals devote themselves to career management, and ultimately,
achieve high career competencies because of high quality family
supportive management. Based on this discussion, it is predicted
that:
H1. There is a positive relationship between a work-family sup-
portive supervisor and career competencies.
2.2. Relationship between career competencies and job
involvement
Career competencies have an influence on job involvement. Job
involvement refers to the cognitive or belief state of psychologi-
cal identification with one’s job (Kanungo, 1982). Individuals with
high career competencies tend to achieve a high level of job involve-
ment because “knowing why” career competencies may inspire the
internal motivation of individuals. Employees with high internal
motivation tend to be involved in their jobs because they have inner
desires to devote more effort to their jobs (Brown, 1996). When
employees feel that a job can satisfy their needs for acquiring com-
petence, the sense of satisfaction can encourage them to exert more
effort, and thus further increase job involvement (Hall and Lawler,
1970). In addition, individuals with higher career competencies
can rise to higher levels of job performance (Moss et al., 2007)
by challenging obsolete practices, proposing creative suggestions,
introducing novel practices, and developing additional skills (Tett
and Burnett, 2003). Employees with a high score in job performance
usually acquire relatively higher levels of performance appraisals
and feedbacks compared to their peers from their supervisors or
305
managers. The higher appraisals, in turn, encourage employees to
be further involved in their jobs. Hence, it is predicted that:
H2. There is a positive relationship between career competencies
and job involvement.
2.3. Relationship between career competencies and job
satisfaction
Job satisfaction is a pleasurable or positive emotional state
resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job experience (Locke,
1976). Robbins and Coulter (1996) define it as the general atti-
tude of employees towards their job. People with high career
competencies of “knowing why,” “knowing whom,” and “knowing
how” set career goals, identify jobs they are interested in (Suutari
and Makela, 2007), build networks, and develop job-related skills
(Arthur et al., 1999). All these traits lead to a high level of job satis-
faction. For example, people who score high on “knowing why”
competencies usually have realistic career expectations, knowl-
edge of their strengths and weaknesses, and specific career goals
(London, 1993; Noe et al., 1990). People who know themselves well
exhibit a very strong career identity. In contrast, people with high
“knowing how” competencies tend to seek regular training and
development opportunities to acquire transferable skills (Banai and
Harry, 2004). Variety and clarity of skills are important predictors
of job satisfaction (Li and Tse, 1998). “Knowing whom” competen-
cies facilitate individuals to stay on top of new developments and
approaches (Higgins and Kram, 2001), and to obtain a good reputa-
tion and image for a new business (Lado et al., 1992). In addition, a
recent study found that individuals with high scores on career com-
petencies achieve higher levels of career satisfaction (Kong et al.,
2011). Employees who are satisfied with their careers psychologi-
cally identify with their career, and consequently, with their current
job. Together, these theoretical predictions and empirical findings
lead to the third hypothesis:
H3. There is a positive relationship between career competencies
and job satisfaction.
2.4. Relationship between a work-family supportive supervisor
and job involvement, and job satisfaction
The presence of a supportive supervisor represents the effort
of the organization to look after workers with family respon-
sibilities. Organizational supportive activities reduce the stress
workers experience from work-family conflicts, and contribute to
the high productivity of employees (Clifton and Shepard, 2004).
When employees perceive their supervisor is family-supportive,
they tend to feel more psychologically comfortable, and to devote
themselves to their jobs. Psychological climates, such as supportive
management, contribute positively to job involvement and job sat-
isfaction (Biswas, 2011; Brown and Leigh, 1996). Work-life balance
practices such as having a family-friendly work supervisor, is posi-
tively related to employee job satisfaction (Deery, 2008; Thomas
and Ganster, 1995). Several studies suggest the positive effects
of supervisor support on the organizational commitment and job
satisfaction of employees (Allen, 2001; Biswas, 2011). Hence, it is
predicted that:
H4. There is a positive relationship between work-family support-
ive supervisor and job involvement.
H5. There is a positive relationship between work-family support-
ive supervisor and job satisfaction.
Fig. 1 shows the proposed framework.
306 H. Kong / International Journal of Hospitality Management 33 (2013) 304–309
Job
H4
Involvement
H2
Work-family H1 Career
Supportive Competencies
Supervisor H3
Job
Satisfaction
H5
Fig. 1. The proposed framework.
3. Research methodology
3.1. Target respondents
The present study aims to explore the perceptions of work-life
balance issuers and career competencies of generation Y. Hence,
majority of the participants for the survey were born between late
1970s and early 1990s. Quantitative research methodology was
used to test the theoretical model. The study utilized a survey ques-
tionnaire to gather data. The target respondents of the current study
were hotel employees who worked in four or five star hotels in
China. The respondents were varied in terms of education level, job
position, and work area. Information about family life, employment
status, and working experience of the participants were collected
as well. To collect varied data, the survey was administered in 21
provinces.
The participants consisted of 46% males and 54% females. Over
half of the respondents were single (54.9%), while 42.9% were mar-
ried. Most of the employees surveyed (97.1%) were aged between
20 and 35, while the others were between the ages of 36 and 45.
Over 85.7% completed college-level education or above, which indi-
cated that a large proportion was well educated. Approximately
64.8% of the respondents had two to six years of work experi-
ence in the hospitality industry; 12% had more than eight years
of hotel management experience in four or five star hotels. Most of
the participants worked as full-time employees in the hotels. They
generally had a wide range of duties and served in the food and
beverage, sales and marketing, housekeeping, front office, human
resources, accounting, security, engineering, public relations, pur-
chasing, recreation, or other departments.
3.2. Data collection
A pilot test was conducted to assess the length, clarity, scale
reliability, content, and validity of questionnaire. More than 110
hotel employees participated in the pre-test and contributed useful
comments on the instrument scale. Necessary modifications were
made based on the feedback on the pilot test. Factor analysis was
conducted to make the research instrument more compact and reli-
able. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with varimax rotation was
conducted to test the internal consistence of the scales. The EFA
output suppressed two items of job involvement construct with
factor loadings of less than 0.40. These two items were, “Usually I
feel detached from my job,” and “To me, my job is only a small part
of who I am.” The remaining items represented the rating scale well,
and these items were used in the main survey.
The main survey was conducted nationwide with the target
sample of hotel employees in China. Out of the 1500 questionnaires
distributed, 1090 completed forms were returned. The data were
screened to ensure that the dataset met the requirements for SEM
analysis. After the deletion of missing data and outliers, 1012 valid
questionnaires were retained. Upon testing, the data were found to
follow a multivariate normal distribution.
3.3. Instrument measurement
The perception of a family-supportive supervisor was measured
by using the nine-item measure developed by Thomas and Ganster
(1995). The measure indicated the self-reported perceptions of
employees of the extent to which their supervisors provided
family-supportive activities. The sample items included “Switched
schedules (hours, overtime hours, vocation) to accommodate my
family responsibilities,” and “Listened to my problems.” In terms
of the measurement scale of career competencies, Eby et al. (2003)
identified the relevant variables of career competencies for West-
ern countries. Kong (2010) later refined the study of Eby to fit the
context of China. This study adopted the refined items to mea-
sure the career competencies of hospitality employees in China.
The sample items included “I seek out opportunities for continu-
ous learning in my career,” and “I have a diversified set of job related
skills.” Job involvement was measured based on the items adopted
from Kanungo (1982). The sample items included “The most impor-
tant things that happen to me involve my present job,” and “I am
very much involved personally in my job.” This study measured
employee job satisfaction from six facets, which included the work
itself, promotion, income, supervision, co-workers, and job in gen-
eral (Balzer et al., 1997; Smith et al., 1969). All the items were
measured using a seven-point Likert-type scale that ranged from 1
(disagree strongly) to 7 (agree strongly).
3.4. Data analysis method
Structural equation modelling (SEM), using AMOS software, was
applied in data analysis. This study adopted a two-stage approach
to SEM as this approach enjoys comparative advantages over the
one-step approach when a theory is only tentative (Anderson and
Gerbing, 1988). First, the measurement model was examined by
conducting exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Confirmatory factor
analysis (CFA) was done to purify the measurement indicators, and
to specify the relationships between the observed indicators and
the constructs. Second, the structural model was assessed to spec-
ify the relationships among the latent variables. A more reliable
measure can be secured in the sense that interaction between the
measurement and the structural model may be avoided.
4. Results
4.1. Individual measurement model
4.1.1. EFA of measurement model
Assessing the generalizability of the results of a model to the
population is very important. To evaluate the degree of gener-
alizability, cross-validation was conducted to prove that a data
structure was representative of the population. The most com-
monly used method is to move the results to a confirmatory
perspective, and then assess the replicability of the results, either
with a split sample from the original data set or with a separate
sample (Hair et al., 2009). If the sample size is large enough, then
the researcher may randomly split the sample into two approxi-
mately equal subsets, and assess the factor models for each subset.
In this study, the large sample size permits cross validation with
two equal subsets. Following the recommendation of Hair et al.
(2009), the entire data set was split randomly into two subsets of
506, in which one set was for calibration (EFA), and the other was
for validation (CFA).
Scale reliability and EFA were first conducted to check the
underlying dimensions of measurement items. Varimax rotation
 H. Kong / International Journal of Hospitality Management 33 (2013) 304–309 307

Table 1
Results of EFA and reliability.

Item Fac. E.V V.E (%) ˛

Factor 1: Work-family Supportive Supervisor (WSS) 5.89 18.40 0.92

WSS9: Showed resentment of my needs as a working parent 0.80
WSS4: Juggled tasks or duties to accommodate my family responsibility 0.74
WSS3: Was critical of my efforts to combine work and family 0.74
WSS5: Shared ideas or advice 0.72
WSS8: Was understanding or sympathetic 0.70
WSS7: Helped me to figure out how to solve a problem 0.67
WSS2: Listened to my problems 0.59
WSS6: Held my family responsibilities against me 0.55
WSS1: Switched schedules (hours, overtime hours, vocation) to 0.45
accommodate my family responsibilities

Factor 2: Career Competencies (CC) 5.02 15.70 0.90

CC2: I have proactive personality 0.81
CC1:I have clear career insight 0.80
CC3: I am open to experience 0.73
CC5: I have networks outside the hotel 0.63
CC8: I have joined professional organizations related to my career 0.61
CC4: I have networks within the hotel 0.59
CC7: I have career-related skills 0.58
CC6: I seek advice from mentor about my career development 0.54

Factor 3: Job Involvement (JI) 3.93 12.30 0.88

JI8: Most of my personal life goals are job-oriented 0.73
JI2: I consider my job to be very central to my existence 0.69
JI5: Most of my interests are centred around my job 0.66
JI6: I have very strong tie with my present job which would be very 0.66
difficult to break
JI4: I live, eat and breathe my job 0.62
JI1: The most important things that happen to me involve my present job 0.52
JI7: I like to be absorbed in my job most of the time 0.49
JI3: I am very much involved personally in my job 0.45

Factor 4: Job Satisfaction (JS) 4.44 13.87 0.90

JS2: I’m satisfied with my co-workers 0.67
JS3: I’m satisfied with the income 0.64
JS1: I’m satisfied with the supervision 0.62
JS6: I’m satisfied with job in general 0.62
JS5: I’m satisfied with work itself 0.61
JS4: I’m satisfied with promotion 0.55

Fac.=Factor, E.V = Eigenvalue, V.E = Variance Explained (%).

was conducted and an eigenvalue of 1.0 was adopted to determine
the factors with a cutoff factor loading of 0.40. The appropriateness
of EFA was confirmed by the Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) mea-
sure of sampling adequacy (0.95) and Bartlett’s test of sphericity
(p < 0.001).
The factor loadings of items ranged from 0.45 to 0.81, higher
than 0.40, which generated meaningful theoretical dimen-
sions (Hair et al., 2002). All measurement items belonged
to their own dimensions, with eigenvalues more than 1.0:
(1) work-family supportive supervisor (eigenvalue = 2.95,
variance explained = 24.61%); (2) career competencies (eigen-
value = 5.02, variance explained = 15.70%); (3) job involvement
(eigenvalue = 3.93, variance explained = 12.30%), and (4) job satis-
faction (eigenvalue = 4.44, variance explained = 13.87%). The scale
reliability ranged from 0.88 to 0.92, which exceeded the minimum
standard for reliability (0.70) as recommended by Nunnally (1978).
Therefore, the items comprising the four constructs were inter-
nally consistent and stable, and together they formed a reliable
scale. Hence, items were found to represent a satisfactory level of
internal consistency within all constructs, and these items were
subsequently tested with CFA (Table 1).
4.1.2. CFA of individual measurement model
The CFA was conducted to examine individual measure-
ment models with the other subsamples. The goodness-of-fit
indices of each measurement model indicated an acceptable
fit between the model and the sample data: (1) work-family
supportive supervisor measurement model (x2 = 219.54, df = 25,
CFI = 0.92, GFI = 0.91, RMSEA = 0.08); career competencies mea-
surement model; (2) career competencies measurement model
(x2 = 164.49, df = 18, CFI = 0.94, GFI = 0.93, RMSEA = 0.08); (3) job
involvement measurement model (x2 = 149.01, df = 17, CFI = 0.92,
GFI = 0.93, RMSEA = 0.08); and (4) job satisfaction measurement
model (x2 = 78.34, df = 7, CFI = 0.95, GFI = 0.94, RMSEA = 0.08). Aver-
age variance extracted (AVE) was used to test both convergent
validity and discriminant validity. The AVE value of the construct
of work-family supportive supervisor, career competencies, job
involvement, and job satisfaction were 0.59, 0.52, 0.88, and 0.60,
respectively. All the AVE values were greater than 0.50, which indi-
cated a high level of convergent validity. In addition, the AVE of each
construct was greater than the squared correlation coefficients for
the corresponding inter-constructs, which suggested satisfactory
discriminant validity (Fornell and Larcker, 1981). Thus, the pro-
posed measurement model was found to fit the data well, and the
reliability and validity of the model were satisfactory.
4.2. Overall measurement model
The overall measurement model was examined after testing
the fit and construct validity of each individual measure-
ment model. The goodness-of-fit indices (x2 = 2303.05, df = 410,
CFI = 0.92, GFI = 0.90, RMSEA = 0.07) indicated a fairly good fit
between the model and the sample data. As shown in Table 2, the
reliability of each construct ranged from 0.88 to 0.92, with all val-
ues exceeding 0.70. Hence, the overall measurement model fit the
data well.
308 H. Kong / International Journal of Hospitality Management 33 (2013) 304–309

Table 2 The findings of this study provide guidance to hotel man-

Correlations (squared correlation), reliability, AVE, and mean of overall measure-
agement. First, the results shed light in developing work-family
ment model.
supportive policies. The results indicate that family-supportive
Factor WSS CC JI JS supervisor is an important predictor of employee career compe-
WSS 1.00 tencies and job satisfaction. Employees who perceived that the
CC 0.58 (0.34) 1.00 organization was more family-supportive enhanced more career
JI 0.71 (0.50) 0.67 (0.45) 1.00 competencies, and in turn experienced more involvement and
JS 0.71 (0.50) 0.66 (0.44) 0.72 (0.51) 1.00
more job satisfaction than employees who perceived that the
Reliability 0.92 0.90 0.88 0.90
AVE 0.59 0.52 0.51 0.60 organization was less family-supportive. This finding is consis-
Mean 4.83 5.28 4.98 5.04 tent with previous studies that reported that the option of flexible
Std. Dev. 0.96 0.88 0.93 0.94 work schedules was rated as the benefit that employees value
most (Rodgers, 1993; Wong and Ko, 2009). The results suggest
that work-family supportive policies of organizations may have
4.3. Structural model great influence on employee career development, job attitudes,
and involvement. Thus, one of the most effective ways for an
As the measurement model was found to be acceptable, the organization to respond to employee needs is the creation of a
hypothesized structural model was evaluated by using all the family-supportive environment. For example, the organization can
sample data. The model fit indices were as follows: x2 = 2409.94, offer flexible work options and child care-related benefits.
df = 407, CFI = 0.91, GFI = 0.90, and RMSEA = 0.07. The values indi- Second, the findings indicate that work-life balance practices
cated that the model represented a fit to the data. The results may not only help to retain qualified staff but may also increase
suggested that all structural path estimates were statistically sig- their job involvement and satisfaction. Therefore, managers should
nificant (as indicated by C.R. >1.96) and validated. Fig. 2 shows listen to employees and appreciate their differences and needs.
the structural model associated with the standardized parameter A policy encouraging feedback and suggestions from employees
estimates. on how to meet their needs of work-life balance should be wel-
As shown in Fig. 2, the path coefficient value and significance come. Several effective approaches such as flexible time schedule,
level indicated that the structural paths were both positive and sig- baby-care policy, and daily flexitime, are recommended for hotel
nificant. Hence, all the direct positive relationships were supported. employees. Understanding a work-family supportive environment
The model also proposed the mediating role of career competen- helps retain qualified staff and enhances the competitive abilities
cies. The Sobel Test was used to examine the mediating effect of of the organization.
career competencies. The indirect effect coefficient (0.40, 0.21) Finally, this study also highlights the importance of career
and t-value (9.02, 7.87) supported the mediating role of career competencies in enhancing job involvement and job satisfac-
competencies. Thus, all the proposed hypotheses were statistically tion. Career competencies contribute to career satisfaction and
significant and supported. job involvement. An effective family-friendly work environment
helps the employees to develop specific career goals, improve
4.4. Theoretical and practical implications career-relevant skills, and widen their career-related networks. The
enhancement of career competencies may in turn lead to high lev-
The findings of this study indicate that a work-family support- els of job involvement and commitment among the work force.
ive supervisor contributes positively to career competencies, job As career competencies works as a mediator between hotel career
involvement, and job satisfaction. In addition to the direct influ- management to employees’ career satisfaction and job satisfaction
ence on job involvement and job satisfaction, career competencies (Kong et al., 2012).
also play the roles of mediators. The results provide both academic
and practical implications.
Theoretically, this study contributes to the literature by examin- 5. Limitation and future research
ing the influence of a work-family supportive environment on both
career issues and job involvement. It represents a more balanced One limitation of this study is its use of convenience samp-
approach to theoretical development by exploring work-family ling method. Given that the participants were selected according
balance issues in China. The findings enrich career systems by to their accessibility, they may not have reflected a reasonably
revealing the family-related factors on career competencies. This broad sample of hotel employees. Future studies are encouraged
study can serve as a foundation for future research that further to explore work-life balance issues by using probability sampling
explores the influence of family support policies on both career methods. Another limitation is the use of self-reported data in the
and job outcomes. cross-sectional design. All participants filled out the questionnaire
by themselves. Thus, there might be a possibility that some of them
were not truthful. This problem can lead to the unreliability of the
0.52 data. Further study can explore employee perception on work-life
Job
balance issues and career competencies from other perspectives,
Involvement
0.64 such as supervisors or family members.
0.62 This study examined the mediating role of career competencies
Work-family Career as a whole construct. Future research could expand this study by
Supportive Competencies
0.37 further exploring the direct and mediating effects of the three com-
Supervisor
ponents: “knowing how,” “knowing whom,” and “knowing why.”
Job An interesting topic is to test whether their mediating roles would
Satisfaction be different for different competencies.
0.56
The presence of a work-family supportive supervisor is posi-
tively related to career and job outcomes. Therefore, determining
Fig. 2. Final structural model with the estimated path coefficients and significant which work-life balance approach contributes most to employees is
level. Note: Parameter estimates significant at p < 0.01. worthy for a future study. The findings provide detailed information
 H. Kong / International Journal of Hospitality Management 33 (2013) 304–309
for policy makers, and the specific designs help in meeting the
needs of employees. In addition, identifying the importance of fam-
ily friendly policies is useful for tailor-made policies.
Acknowledgement
The author thanks the Ministry of Education of the People’s
Republic of China, Planning Research Grant # 12YJA630051, for
providing support.
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