CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Job satisfaction is a measure of workers' contentment with their job, whether or not they like the

job or individual aspects or facets of jobs, such as nature of work or supervision. Job satisfaction

can be measured in cognitive (evaluative), affective (or emotional) and behavioral components.

Researchers have also noted that job satisfaction measures vary in the extent to which they

measure feelings about the job (affective job satisfaction) or cognitions about the job (cognitive

job satisfaction). Given the negative consequences of job dissatisfaction, an analysis of the

factors that determine this satisfaction or dissatisfaction is of great interest to managers and

directors in an organizational context, as such an analysis can facilitate and improve the creation

of programmes that are designed to increase job satisfaction and, as a result, reduce negative

behaviour. Among others, the characteristics of the job itself and the employees’ work values

have been identified as factors that may predict satisfaction and dissatisfaction. However, due to

the increased prevalence of work-family conflict among employees, it has aroused substantial

interest in researchers and business professionals (Grandey, Cordeiro, Crouter, 2005).

Role conflict occurs when the demands or expectations associated with one domain are

incompatible with the demands or expectations associated with the other domain (Greenhaus and

Beutell, 2005). There are two components or dimensions of work-family conflict: when activities

related to work interfere with family responsibilities and when activities related to the family

interfere with work responsibilities (Gutek, Searle, Klepa, 2011).

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Work-family conflict is considered to be an important issue in the workplace. In recent years,

there has been an increasing interest in the conflict between work and family life domains, and

the conflict experienced by individuals between their roles in the family and at work has been a

subject of interest (Grandey, Cordeino, and Crouter, 2005).

Job satisfaction is central to the work lives of employees and to the effective use of personnel

within organisations (Foster 2000). When satisfied at work, employees are likely to be more

stable, productive and accomplished towards organizational goals. Social workers who derive

satisfaction from their work are more committed and provide better services, than those who are

dissatisfied (Acker 2009). On the contrary, dissatisfaction and negative interactions between

individuals and their environments may contribute to lower job performance, more turnover or

intention to quit (Koeske and Koeske 2000). Social welfare services could be associated with

high demands in terms of time pressure, role ambiguity and work overload. The responsibilities

of social workers are potentially stressful, implying conflicting demands and complexity in tasks

(Halvorsen 2005). Since social service work often are associated with large caseloads, stress and

resources too limited to perform the jobs satisfactorily, the issues of motivation and job

satisfaction are important to consider.

While the findings obtained mainly in Western countries and the related theories refer to the

obvious relationship between work demands and work-family conflict (Spector, Allen,

Poelmans, Lapierre, Cooper, and Widerszal-Bazyl, 2007; Grandey, Cordeino, and Crouter,

2005), it is indicated that long working hours, duty and heavy work load have a direct influence

on work-family conflict (Boyar, Maertz, Mosley, andCarr, 2008). Thus, it is essential to establish

a successful balance between work and family domains so that several demands in both domains

could be met efficiently, and the required resources could be attained and used easily (Bass,

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Butler, Grzywacz, and Linney, 2008). In the light of the foregoing, this study attempts to

examine the effect of role conflict on job satisfaction among married women in some selected

Banks of Ikeja Area of Lagos Metropolis.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

There has been an increase in women’s participation in both the informal and formal sector of

the economy. This participation, especially in corporate organizations, whether in the private or

public sector, has not in any way diminished nor reduced the socio-cultural expectations from

them as wives and mothers. As the professional responsibilities of married women increase,

there is likely to be role conflict between professional responsibilities and domestic demand. The

experience of role conflict has been associated with negative health, psychological, social, and

work related outcomes. Role conflict is positively correlated with experienced stress level and

depression and negatively correlated with self-esteem. In the work place, role conflict is

negatively correlated with job commitment, job involvement participation in decision-making

and satisfaction with compensation, co-workers, and supervision. Also, role conflict has been

found to be positively associated with job satisfaction, on-the-job tension and intension to leave

an organization.

This is more probable for a married woman with very young children without assistance from

maids or relatives. Thus the question arises; does the role conflict between professional and

domestic responsibilities affect job satisfaction of married women? How do professional

responsibilities and domestic obligations interplay to influence job satisfaction among married

women? What aspects of professional responsibilities are likely to come in conflict with

domestic responsibilities and vice versa? These are the questions this study has set out to answer.

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Women are expected to keep the home front- take care of house chores, cook, care for the

children, and see to the general welfare of members of the family. These responsibilities require

time and energy. On the other hand, some job descriptions and professional responsibilities

require women to spend very long hours at work, with some of them coming home late at night.

In such a situation, a woman may be unable to meet up with her domestic responsibilities and

this may lead to conflict at the home front. When there is conflict at the home front, a woman

may be emotional and psychologically distraught, and this may in turn affect her performance

and productivity at the work place. When this happens, she may begin to receive queries and

poor performance evaluation, which in turn could begin to make her feel dissatisfied with the job

and willing to be absent from work or quit in search of better job opportunities that would give

them time to attend to domestic responsibilities at the home front.

Demand of child care could interfere with professional responsibilities at the work place,

especially with young women who have babies to care for. The need to go for immunization,

post-natal care and other medical care for the child may interfere with professional

responsibilities. In such circumstances, a female employee may not be able to perform optimally

and this may have a negative implication on her performance evaluation and thus make her

dampen her morale for the job and consequently lead to job satisfaction. In the event where such

employee do not want to quite outrightly, she may seek transfer to other units in the organization

where she could still care for her child without interfering with her professional responsibilities.

Married women have certain socio-cultural obligations to their spouses. They have to care for

their spouses –cook their food, do their laundries, and take care of other culturally expected

obligations expected of them. In a situation where these obligations and responsibilities become

daunting for a woman, it may interfere with professional responsibilities at the work place. In a

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situation where a woman has to be home in time to attend to the needs of her spouse, she may

have to leave some professional demands at work and this may have negative implications on her

ability to meet deadlines at work. When this becomes a recurrent phenomenon, it may lead to

poor evaluation of such employee and thus lead to frustration and dissatisfaction with the job.

In the light of foregoing, this study attempts an investigation of the effect of role conflict on job

satisfaction among married women in some selected Banks of Ikeja Area of Lagos Metropolis.

1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The general objective of the study is to examine the relationship between job satisfaction,

productivity and role conflict among married women. However, the specific objectives of the

study are;

1. To examine the relationship between job satisfaction and role conflict among married

women

2. To investigate the relationship between productivity and work-family conflict among

married women

3. To determine the significant difference of age on work-family conflict among married

women

4. To examine the joint effect of job satisfaction, productivity and role conflict among

married women

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1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

An investigation of the effect of role conflict on job satisfaction would help in bringing the

challenges of married women at the workplace to the fore a view to proffering ameliorative

measures. The findings of this study would be useful to policy makers and human resources

managers. With the findings from this study, they would be able to take appropriate measures in

mitigating against the challenges and pressure encountered by married women in effectively

striking a balance between home and career. This would ensure greater motivation of married

women at work, thus increasing their productivity. Also, an effective balance between home and

career would help married women in carrying out their domestic responsibilities effectively. This

has very vital implication for the stability of the family institution.

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The study examines the relationship between job satisfaction, productivity and role conflict. It

would focus on married women who work outside the home in corporate organization,

specifically in the banking sector. Married women from the banking sector in Ikeja local

government in Lagos state are the participants of this study. The variables are job satisfaction,

productivity and role conflict.

1.7 OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS

It is imperative to give conceptual definitions of concepts that will be used in the study. This will

be helpful in making the study explicit and at the same time give a thorough understanding of the

central concepts of the study.

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 1. Job Satisfaction: This refers to how content an individual is with his or job in terms of

aspects or facets of the job such as nature of work or supervision. Job satisfaction also

measures an individual’s feelings about the job (affective job satisfaction) or cognition

about the job (cognitive job satisfaction).

2. Work-Family Conflict: Work-family conflict is a form of role conflict, which occurs

when an individual has to juggle both work and family commitments. An example is a

mother who is also a vice president of company. She may need to work long hours at the

office and feel distressed and conflicted about whether she is putting enough time into her

work to achieve the best result and whether or not she is spending enough time with her

family. Another example of work/family conflict is deciding between having a family or

pursuing a fast track career.

3. Productivity: This is the effectiveness of productive effort, especially in industry, as

measured in terms of the rate of output per unit of input (Mostafa, 2003, Obisi, 2005).

4. Married: This refers to the status of being legally a wife or husband to a person. Being

married comes with some roles and responsibilities, especially on the part of female

employees who would be faced with the odious task of combining profession

responsibilities and domestic demands.

5. Spousal Support: for the purpose of this study, spousal support refers to the performance

of those household chores which are culturally imposed on the woman (wife) that the

spouse (husband) without minding his social position assists to accomplish for the family.

1.8 LITERATURE REVIEW

A review of related literature on the subject matter of this study is carried out in this chapter. The

review would reveal the findings of some scholars who have probed and investigated gender

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differentials in the workplace, the influence of work-family conflict on job satisfaction and how

it has influenced productivity. In the course of carrying out this review, issues considered are

factors promoting women involvement in formal employment, challenges faced by women

formal employment, interferences between work and family for married women, determinants of

work-family interferences, and coping strategies adopted by married women.

1.8.1 Concept of Work-Family Conflict (WFC)

Work-family conflict (WFC) continues to be a phenomenon of considerable interest to

researchers and practitioners across the world (Allen, French, Dumani, & Shockley, 2015). The

concept of WFC was proposed by Kahn, Wolfe, Quinn, Snoek, and Rosenthal (1964, p. 471)

who defined it as “the pressure coming from the roles in family and work, and being unable to

fulfill the demands of both roles”. This means that the involvement in either family or work roles

makes it difficult to achieve all the demands of the other. The term was further defined by

Greenhaus & Beutell, (1985) as a form of interrole conflict in which the role pressures from the

work and family domains are mutually incompatible in some respect whereby participation in the

work (family) role is made more difficult by virtue of participation in the family (work) role.

Kossek, Pichler, Bodner and Hammer (2011) also simply defined the term work-family conflict

as when the domains of work and home spillover into one another, causing conflict. This

suggests that it is unfeasible to expect work or family issues not to affect each other. Due to the

fact that dual-career families are increasing in number, greater conflict between family and work

roles is likely to arise (Livingston & Judge, 2008; Major, Fletcher, Davis, & Germano, 2008). It

is possible for working women to experience more conflict between family and work domains by

virtue of the combined demands of the two spheres (Aslam, Shumiala, Azhar, & Sadaquat, 2011;

Davidson & Burke, 2004).

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1.8.1.1 Dimensions of Work-Family Conflict

Typically, work-family conflict has been divided into three categories which are time-based

conflict, strain-based conflict and behaviour-based conflict (Ghislieri, Gatti, Molino & Cortese,

2017; Turliuca & Bulig, 2014; Zhang & Liu, 2011).

Time-Based Conflict

Conflict is likely to arise when the needed time for a particular role (either family or work role)

hinders a person from devoting adequate time to other duties an individual undertakes in the

family or work (Greenhaus & Beutell, 1985, Kalliath, Kalliath & Chan, 2017). Even though the

individual is likely to apportion his time, there will possibly be a reduction in the time for other

roles if too much time is assigned to a single role. Two main aspects are considered under time-

based conflict: the fulfillment of the demand of a role may be prevented by time strain in another

role; and the time strain in a particular role may affect or delay a person from fulfilling of the

responsibilities of another role.

Strain-Based Conflict

The tensions of two roles produce the second dimension of work-family conflict. Anxiety or

fatigue are the root causes of strain-based conflict. In other words, the execution of

responsibilities in one domain may be impeded by another domain’s anxiety (Pleck, Staines, &

Lang, 1980; Zhang & Liu, 2011). Work-family conflict will therefore be produced by any

pressure which result from roles at home or work.

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Behaviour-Based Conflict

The incompatibility between role-specific behaviours result in behaviour-based conflict. Role-

specific behaviours of one role make it difficult to fulfill the requirements of another. While it

may be required of an individual to be firm at work, his/her family may expect warm and

emotional interaction from the person (Kalliath et al., 2017, 370). Conflict arises in an event of

failure to fulfil the expectations of the roles (Kossek & Ozeki, 1999).

1.8.1.2 Antecedents of Work-Family Conflict

Since the introduction of work-family conflict construct, several researchers have examined its

causes. (Allen, Herst, Bruck, & Sutton, 2000; Adriel, 2013). An enormous number of possible

antecedents of WFC. These influential factors can be elaborated from three levels that is work

domain, non-work domain, and individual/demographic variables (Ahmad, 1996; Byron, 2005;

Zhang & Liu, 2011).

Work Domain Variables

These variables include workplace factors such as work stress, work character, family-friendly

policies/programs and exceedingly committed systems of work. The role theory can support the

effect of work character on work-family conflict. This is because the particular behaviour mode

of a specific role may not be in coordination variables in work character include working hours,

working initiative and profession character. Frone (2000) found working hours to be positively

related to work-family conflict. French et al. (2017) alluded to the fact that people’s management

mode on parameters of family and work is partially influenced by profession. Research shows

that work stress strongly correlates to work-family conflict (Adriel, 2013; Grzywacz & Marks,

2000; Wayne, Musisca, & Fleeson, 2004).). Employees in organisations that do not have family-

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friendly programs like telecommuting to increase flexibility may have a higher chance of

experiencing work-family conflict. Carnicer et al. (2004) found that with males, working

flexibility is positively correlated to work-family conflict. There are however some

disagreements on the impact of telecommuting on WFC (Zhang & Liu, 2011). Perry-Smith and

Blum (2000) alluded that due to the bundle nature of family-friendly programs, a single policy

cannot serve the full purpose that the whole package is supposed to serve.

Non-work Domain Variables

All the factors that deal with the family demands and other non-work factors make up these

variables. Family demand and stress, childcare responsibilities, and spousal influence are

examples of such variables. One of the reasons why demands from family affect WFC is that

satisfying those demands produces several stressors, such as role overload related to family role

involvement, role vagueness and role conflict. This can further lead to family-to-work conflict. A

study conducted in China by Luk and Shaffer (2005) indicated that the more children an

employee has, the greater the reduction in time and energy dedicated to work. The perception of

one’s spouse about work can also influence WFC (Zhang & Liu, 2011).

Demographic/Individual Variables

These variables include gender, lifetime employment status, marital status, level of education

and child status. Most of WFC researches have come down to gender differences. According to

Duxbury and Higgins (1991), the relationship between WFC and outcome variables varies

between females and males. Some researchers have claimed that females rather than males

experience more family-to-work conflict since they take up most; if not all domestic

responsibilities. (Carnicer et al., 2004). On the contrary, Perkins, Wesley and DeMeis, (1996)

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found work-to-family conflict to be higher with females than males. Furthermore, income and

work-family conflict have been found to have no significant correlation (Frone, Yardley, &

Markel, 1997). However, Frone (2000) identified a positive correlation between income and

work-to-family conflict. This may be attributed to the fact that as income increases, task may

also increase. With lifelong employment status coupled with amassed experience in firms, the

probability that workers feel conflict will reduce. Workers who experience high conflict may

possibly opt out of the organisation (Netemeyer et al, 1996). According to Cantwell and Sanik

(1993), WFC and level of education have a relationship probably because the level of education

can increase the behaviour of alienating family and joining organisations. The more educated

workers may gain more opportunities for promotion or expatriate assignments, which can

increase the likelihood of work-to-family conflict (Adams & Jex, 1999).

1.8.2 Concept of Job Satisfaction

Over the years, job satisfaction has gained the attention of researchers globally. It is one of the

most frequently investigated outcomes of WFC. The focus of most of such studies has been to

discuss the variables that influence employees’ job satisfaction which affects organisational

outcomes. (Simunic & Gregov, 2012; Lee, Lee & Li, 2012). The term has been defined in many

different ways. Locke (1969) first defined it as a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting

from the appraisal of one’s job or job experiences. This means that it is only the individual who

can tell whether or not he/she is satisfied. Abugre (2014) also defined job satisfaction as an

individual’s subjective feeling that reflects the extent to which his or her needs are met by the

job. This is in line with the definition of satisfaction given by Oliver (2014) stated above which

talks about needs and expectations. According to Zhao, Qu, and Ghiselli (2011), the degree to

which workers of an organisation have a positive attitude towards their job is termed as job

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satisfaction. They indicated that the level of satisfaction which is determined by the level of job

complexity and job importance differs from one individual to another. They noticed that job

satisfaction is directly linked to working conditions. Again, job satisfaction is affected by the

attitude and personality of workers. According to Abugre (2014), employees who have low

levels of job satisfaction may desire to pull out from their organisation if they are not empowered

to vary their job characteristics.

Lee et al. (2012) made an assertion that job satisfaction is directly connected to employee

performance and the overall organisational performance. Job satisfaction has two dimensions

which are affective reaction and cognitive appraisal.

1.8.3 Work-family conflict and Job Satisfaction

Work-family conflict influences a number of work-related attitudes (Ergeneli, Ilsev, &

Karapınar, 2010). Review from literature shows that one of the most critical work attitudes

related to WFC is job satisfaction (Martins, Eddleston, & Veiga, 2002). Many theories have been

proposed with regards to job satisfaction. It is postulated by one of such theories that individual

characteristics (e.g. dispositions and personality) and a job situation can result in job satisfaction

(Kim, 2005). Based on the interactive theories, it can be said that the level of WFC that

individuals experience and the extent to which their job is appraised as either satisfying or

dissatisfying by virtue of that conflict may depend on their evaluation of the situation (Ergeneli

et al., 2010; Grandey, Cordeiro, & Crouter, 2005). Several researchers across the globe have

thoroughly examined the relationship between work-family conflict and job satisfaction

(Almutairi, 2017; Kim, Choi, & Seong, 2012; Dartey-Baah, 2015; Rathi & Barath, 2013; Baral,

2016, Kinnunen, Feldt, Geurts, & Pulkkinen, 2006). These researches have been conducted on

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several professions including accountants (Bedeian et al., 1988; Pasewark & Viator, 2006),

restaurant employees (Boles and Babin, 1996), health workers (Thomas & Ganster, 1995),

elementary high school teachers and administrators, dual-career professionals (Duxbury &

Higgins, 1991). Some other studies relate to working adults (Adams & Jex, 1999), married

professional women (Ahmad, 1996; Aryee, 1992; Noor, 2003) and working mothers (Cardenas,

Major, & Bernas, 2004). Some of such studies found diverse results. For instance, Bedeian et al.

(1988) conducted a study that revealed that WIF was positively associated with job satisfaction

for married female accountants but negative for male counterparts. Again, a slightly weak but

positive correlation was found between FIW and job satisfaction by O’Driscoll, Ilgen, and

Hildreth (1992). Others also found no significant correlation between WFC and job satisfaction

(e.g. Aryee et al., 1999; Carlson & Kacmar, 2000; Thompson & Blau, 1993).

On the contrary, most of the results from such studies across different countries, cultures and

occupations have shown that job satisfaction may be detrimentally affected by work-family

conflict. For example, in the United States of America, Namasivayam and Mount (2004)

examined the relationships between work-family conflict, family-work conflict and job

satisfaction with a primarily (91%) Hispanic workforce in South Texas. The results of their study

indicated that employees who experienced work-to-family conflict had lower job satisfaction.

Mathis and Brown III (2008) also studied the relationship between work-family conflict and job

satisfaction with job-focused self- efficacy as a mediator. The results showed that WFC was

negatively related to job satisfaction. Again, the findings of a research by Armstrong, Atkin-

Plunk and Wells (2015) on correctional officers indicated that strain and behaviour-based work-

family conflict and family-work conflict were significantly related to job satisfaction. Again,

Wolpin, Burke and Greenglass (1991) found that work-family conflict had a negative

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relationship with work-life of an employee. In the Middle East, AlAzzam et al. (2017) also

conducted a study on Jordanian nurses seeking to examine the prevalence of WFC and the

relationship between WFC and job satisfaction. The results of the study revealed that nurses

were prone to experiencing work family conflict. Again, there was a negative and significant

relationship between work family conflict and job satisfaction. A similar study was conducted by

Anafarta (2011) in Turkey which had its results indicating that work to family conflict had a

negative relationship with job satisfaction while family-to-work conflict had no relationship with

job satisfaction. Still in Turkey, the influence that interpretive habits and gender has on the

relationship between work-family conflict and job satisfaction among academic personnel was

examined by Ergeneli et al. (2010). It was revealed that WFC had a negative association with job

satisfaction for stress-predisposed male employees. On the other hand, WFC and job satisfaction

were not related for males with low concentration on deficiency and stress-resilient interpretive

habits. Furthermore, even though there was a negative relation between WFC and job

satisfaction for employees who were females, those who were stress-resilient had the relationship

being much stronger. In Europe, Turliuc and Buliga (2014) conducted a study to find the

mediating effect of cognitions on the relationship between work-family conflict and job

satisfaction. Results from the research showed that cognitions did not mediate the relationship

between the direction of the conflict and job satisfaction.

Research in Asia on the relationship between work-family conflict and job satisfaction include a

study by Afzal and Farooqi (2014) on university employees in Pakistan which, like others

mentioned above, indicated that there was a negative relationship between work-family conflict

and job satisfaction. Baral (2016) also conducted a study in India on a sample of managerial and

professional women. The findings indicated that work-family conflict resulted in reduced job

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satisfaction. A similar study by Rathi and Barath (2013) on police personnel in India also

revealed that work-family conflict negatively correlated with job satisfaction. In China, Zhao et

al., (2011) examined the relationship of WFC and measures of satisfaction. It was revealed both

work interfering with family (WIF) and family interfering with work (FIW) had a significant

negative association with an individual’s affective reaction and cognitive appraisal.

1.8.4 Concept of Productivity

Mostafa (2003) sees productivity as one of the most important issues in both developed and

developing countries. Also in 1950 the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation

(OEEC) developed the following definitions of productivity: “Productivity is the quotient

obtained by dividing production output by one of the factor of production” (OEEC, 1950).

Productivity is one of the key measures of utilization of human and financial resources because it

is a strong indicator of efficient use of available resources and converts it to noticeable results.

Similarly, Nyshadham and Rao (2012) sees productivity as an overall measure of the ability to

produce a good or service. More specifically, productivity is the measure of how specified

resources are managed to accomplish timely objectives as stated in terms of quantity and quality.

Productivity may also be defined as an index that measures output (goods and services) relative

to the input labour, materials, energy, etc. used to produce the output. Two major ways to

increase productivity: increase the numerator (output) or decrease the denominator (input). A

similar effect would be seen if both input and output increase, but output increase faster than

input; or if input and output decrease, input will decrease faster than output.

Gupta (2002) is of the view that organizations have many options for use of the formula for

measure of productivity such as formula for labour productivity, machine productivity, capital

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productivity, energy productivity, and so on. A productivity ratio may be computed for a single

operation, a department, a facility, an organization, or even an entire country. Productivity is an

objective concept. It can also be used for tactical reasons such as project control or controlling

performance to budget. Productivity is also a scientific concept, and hence can be logically

defined and empirically observed. It can also be measured in quantitative terms, which qualifies

it as a variable. Therefore, it can be defined and measured in absolute or relative terms. However,

an absolute definition of productivity is not very useful; it is much more useful as a concept

dealing with relative productivity or as a productivity factor.

Productivity Commission (2002) described productivity as follows "Productivity is a comparison

between how much you have put into the projects in terms of manpower, material, machinery or

tools and the result you get out of the project. Productivity has to do with the efficiency of

production. Making Port Operations more productive means getting more output for less cost in

less time. Productivity is generally defined as the ratio of outputs to inputs.

Productivity = Outputs

Inputs

It is important to specify the inputs and outputs to be measured when calculating productivity

because there are many inputs, such as labour, materials, equipment, tools, capital, and design.

The conversion process from inputs to outputs associated with any operation is also complex,

influenced by the technology used, by many externalities such as government regulations,

weather, unions, economic conditions, management, and various internal environmental

components.

Employees/Labour Productivity

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The terms production and productivity are often used interchangeably. But there is difference

between the two. Production refers to the total output of all employees at a point in time.

Productivity refers to the output relative to the inputs per person or system with reference to a

point of time. In other words, productivity refers to the amount of goods and services produced

with the resources used. Productivity is measured with the help of a formula which runs as

follows:

Productivity = Quantity of goods and services produced

Amount of resource used

If it is required to know the result in percentage then it is to be multiplied by 100. It gives the

clear idea about the output because we are more familiar with percentage. Productivity is the

efficiency with which output is produced by a given set of inputs.

1.8 THEORETICAL REVIEW

Theories are a set of assumptions that provide the base upon which hypotheses can be generated

to test the relationship between variables. In this study, effect of role conflict on job satisfaction

is being explained, using Role theory, Spill Over theory and Rational Choice theory. These

theories provide the underlying principles on which this research is based.

ROLE STRAIN THEORY

Role strain theory posits that the demands experienced in one role (for example, work) take time

and energy away from demands experienced in another role (for example, family). Greenhaus

and Beutell (2005) refer to this type of role conflict, in which opposing pressures arise from

participation in different roles as inter-role conflict. Russell and Cooper (2012) found that while

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work stressors were positively linked with Work-Family-Conflict, family stressors were linked to

Family-Work-Conflict. Burke and Greenglass (2011) also make the point that research has

consistently demonstrated the link between work stressors and family functioning.

Role Strain refers to the felt difficulty in fulfilling role obligations. In contrast to role conflict,

where tension is felt between two competing roles, the tension in role strain comes from just one

role. If a mother were to find that she is unable to fulfill her obligations as defined by, say, an

overly demanding spouse (or religion, or child), she would experience role strain. The role

expectations may be beyond what she is able to achieve or may push her to the limits of her

abilities.

Due to behavioral and cognitive-affective tendencies, it is theorised that positive role balance

will lead to role ease and that negative role balance will lead to role strain (Marks and

MacDermid, 2006) – role ease and strain corresponding with role enhancement and conflict,

respectively. In the case of positive role balance, role conflict is either prevented or solved before

acute problems of role management become chronic; this is achieved by addressing the demands

of each role on time, with effort and attention. For example, avoiding unnecessary breaks, calls

and e-mails while working, prioritising job responsibilities, and updating one’s professional

skills, may substantially facilitate managing job responsibilities more efficiently so that the

employee’s work time does not cut into his or her allocated family time. In contrast, for

individuals of whom a negative role balance is typical, occasional incidents of role conflict are

likely to accumulate due to their indifference towards role-related tasks and duties, creating an

ongoing state of unfulfilled demands. For example, ignoring one’s spouse’s emotional concerns

and avoiding private life responsibilities, such as taking care of one’s children or household

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chores may, over time, escalate into constant and daily disagreements, which can also negatively

affect job satisfaction due to the consequential worsening of mood and concentration.

Tiedje and Coleman (2010) argued that women may perceive their work and family roles in

multiple, qualitatively different ways, and thus they based their typology on both the role conflict

and enhancement hypotheses. According to the conflict hypothesis, multiple roles with infinite

demands are likely to cause role strain and conflict for individuals because the resources they

have to meet these demands are finite and scarce (Goode, 1990). The core statement of the

enhancement hypothesis, in turn, is that multiple roles provide benefits in the form of privileges,

status security, psychological energy and personal growth which expand individual resources and

facilitate role performance (Sieber, 1994).More specifically, Tiedje and Coleman (2010)

regarded role conflict and role enhancement as independent dimensions, and therefore they

argued that it is possible to experience simultaneously either; high conflict and low enhancement,

high enhancement and low conflict, low conflict and low enhancement, or high conflict and high

enhancement. They found that regardless of the level of enhancement, women who experienced

high role conflict were more depressed and less satisfied as parents than women belonging to the

low conflict-high enhancement group.

SPILL-OVER THEORY

Spillover theory postulates the conditions under which the spillover between the work

microsystem and the family microsystem is positive or negative. In the Using Spill Over theory,

Coleman (2004) documents that if work-family interactions are rigidly structured in time and

space, then spillover in terms of time, energy and behavior is generally negative. Also, the notion

that work flexibility, which enables individuals to integrate and overlap work and family

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responsibilities in time and space, leads to positive spillover and is instrumental in achieving

healthy work and family balance.

Spill-over is a process whereby experiences in one role affect experiences in the other, rendering

the roles more alike. Research has examined the spill-over of mood, values, skills and behaviours

from one role to another (Edwards and Rothbard, 2000), although the most of this research has

focused on mood spill-over. The experiences resulting from spill-over can manifest themselves

as either positive or negative (Morris and Madsen, 2007). There are two interpretations of spill-

over (Edwards and Rothbard, 2000): (a) the positive association between life and work

satisfaction and life and work values (Zedeck, 1992) and (b) transference in entirety of skills and

behaviours between domains (Repetti, 1987) such as when fatigue from work is experienced at

home or when family demands interfere with work demands. In a study of spill-over, Williams

and Alliger (1994) used experience sampling methodology to examine mood-related spill-over

on a daily basis, finding suggested that working parents in their sample were more likely to bring

work-related emotions home than they were to transfer family-related emotions to the workplace.

Firstly, work-family conflict (WFC) refers to a situation where the pressures related to the work-

role have an unfavorable impact on the family role. Second, family-work conflict (FWC) refers

to a situation where the pressures of the family role have an unfavorable impact on the role

individuals have at work. An example of a (WFC-) spillover effect would be one in which an

individual experiences a need to compromise on leisure time (i.e. private domain) due to work

overload (i.e. work domain).

One theoretical framework that has been used to explain negative spillover is called the role

scarcity hypothesis. The main argument of this hypothesis is that since people have a limited,

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fixed amount of resources (e.g., energy, time), problems may arise when different roles draw on

these same resources. For example, when both family and work roles draw on the scarce

resource of time, it is likely that one of these roles is compromised due to a lack of available

time. A different framework, the role expansion hypothesis, has been used to explain positive

spillover. According to this hypothesis, individuals generate resources (e.g., positive mood,

skills) and opportunities from the multiple roles they are engaged in. These, in turn, can be used

in both life domains to improve functioning and promote growth.

RATIONAL CHOICE THEORY

According to the rational choice theory, individuals are motivated by their personal wants and

goals and are driven by personal desires. Since it is not possible for individuals to attain all of the

various things that they want, they must make choices related to both their goals and the means

for attaining those goals. Individuals must anticipate the outcomes of alternative courses of

action and calculate which action will be best for them. In the end, rational individuals choose

the course of action that is likely to give them the greatest satisfaction. One key element in

rational choice theory is the belief that all actions are fundamentally rational in character. This

distinguishes it from other forms of theory because it denies the existence of any kinds of action

other than the purely rational and calculative. It argues that all social action can be seen as

rationally motivated, however much it may appear to be irrational.

Central to all forms of rational choice theory is the assumption that complex social phenomena

can be explained in terms of the individual actions that lead to those phenomena. This is called

methodological individualism, which holds that the elementary unit of social life is individual

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human action. Thus, if social change and social institutions are to be explained, there is a need to

show how they arise as the result of individual action and interactions.

1.8.1 Theoretical Framework

The three theories invoked in the explanation of role conflicts are apt and relevant. In the light of

Role theory, the demands experienced in one role (for example, work) take time and energy

away from demands experienced in another role (for example, family). This type of role conflict

has been referred to as inter-role conflict. This theory brings to the fore the challenges married

women face in their bid to effective bring about a balance between domestic and professional

responsibilities.

The Spillover concerns the transmission of states of well-being from one domain of life to

another. This is a process that takes place at the intra-individual level, thus within one person but

across different domains. The experiences that are transferred from one domain to the other can

be either negative, or positive. Spillover effects apply to situations in which there is a form of

inter-role conflict. That is, being involved in a work-role may put strains on the family role, or

vice versa. This implies that an additional categorization can be made between two different

types of inter-role conflict.

Rational choice theory can be used to explain how married women balance home and career to

the end of ensuring job satisfaction. The theory assumes that individuals are motivated by their

personal wants and goals and are driven by personal desires. It proposes that they must make

choices related to both their goals and the means for attaining those goals and must anticipate the

outcomes of alternative courses of action and calculate which action will be best for them. In the

23
light of these assumptions and propositions, the ability of married women to adequately and

effectively balance home and career depends on their personal goals and desires and what they

consider as more important to them. If they consider their career advancement as more

important, they may make choices and decisions that would give more time for their career at the

expense of the home front. Conversely, married women who consider their home to be more

important than their career may make choices and decisions that would give more time to the

home front at the expense of their career. In the light of the assumptions of the rational choice

theory, it is best for married women to have a balanced view of the importance of their home and

career to be able to make choices that would help create a balance between their career and the

home front. This would ensure happiness at home and satisfaction at the workplace. Going by

the three theoretical orientations, the role theory can best explains the subject matter of the study

as it best brings the issues of role conflict experienced by married women at the workplace.

1.9 EMPIRICAL REVIEW

Rani and Muzhumathi (2012) investigated the intensity of work-family conflict creating

organisational role stress among working women in Chennai city. The data was collected from

491 respondents in all. They included 56 doctors, 153 bank officers, 83 lecturers and 199

engineers. The study clearly showed that stress among women was largely due to work- family

conflict. It was also found that among the organisational role stressors, role overload variable

contributed the maximum. The study also showed that women with low life satisfaction

experienced more stress.

Ramadoss and Rajadhyaksha (2012) tried to investigate gender differences in commitment to

various roles, work environment, work-family conflict, strain types and social support. Data was
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collected from 208 full- time working employees with school going children from the upper

strata of the society belonging to dual career families in Mumbai. Among all the roles,

occupational role commitment was found to be the most significant. It was also found that there

is a significant difference between men and women in job variety work to parent conflict and

energy based strain. It was further revealed that parents in urban areas find it very difficult and

challenging to balance their employment and parental responsibilities. In the study, men reported

more support from their supervisors, co-workers and extended family support in managing

occupational and parental responsibilities than women.

Aleena et al. (2012) collected the data through a questionnaire from 200 female teachers of

different schools to study the impact of work-family conflict on job performance while keeping

the organisation policy as a moderating variable. It was revealed that work-family conflict has a

negative impact on job performance; and regression analysis clearly showed that schools do not

try to moderate this relationship because in the absence of proper policies these schools fail to

give relief to the female school teachers to cope up with the issue of work-family conflict. The

research revealed that these schools need to improve their policies to increase female teachers‘

performance and enhance their motivation level which will ultimately reduce work life pressure

and strain.

Savarimuthu and Narayanan (2013) studied the impact of dependent child age on the work

family conflict faced by the working women in the IT industry of Bengaluru. Data was collected

from 176 respondents having children using a questionnaire. It was found that predictors of

work-family conflict differ at different parental stages. For the working mothers having children

below 2 years of age, family and colleague support were the two important factors that influence

25
the work family conflict in their lives. This is because of the long working hours, role overload,

and high stress. The parents having children in the age group of 2 to 5 years feel job

involvement, family and colleague support to be the influencing factors of work-family conflict.

However, for the parents having children in the age group of 6-10 years, job involvement was

found to have predictive qualities in relation to work-family conflict. The relationship was found

to be positive so as working mothers become more involved in their job, they are likely to

experience higher levels of work-family conflict.

Devi and Rani (2013) studied the correlation between work-life conflict and life-work conflict

and work-life balance. A survey was conducted among women working in BPO companies in

Chennai. For this purpose, data from 711 female respondents was collected. The study revealed

that there is a negative relationship between conflict and balance. It was also found that marital

status and family status have a significant influence on work-life balance. It is found that having

children at home influences work-life conflict and as a result work-life balance also gets

disturbed. It is clearly found that life-work conflict is the most important factor influencing

work-life balance. BPO organisations should strive to start child care programmes, family leave

policies and flexible timings which will help in reducing such conflicts.

Gamage (2013) conducted a survey on 50 practising lawyers in Sri Lanka. The research study

revealed that there exists a negative significant correlation between Sri Lanka work-life conflict

and job satisfaction of practising lawyers in Sri Lanka. The relationship between work-life

conflict and family satisfaction of practising lawyers was also found to be negative. It was also

revealed that a higher degree of job satisfaction and family satisfaction existed among male

rather than female practising lawyers.

26
Nomaguchi and Johnson (2013) analysed the data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-

being Study (N = 3,165), and found that work-family conflict is related to mothers‘ less than

fathers‘ stress; and non-standard schedule is related to less stress for mothers only. Current

employment status which is found not to be permanent and work-family conflict are the strongest

predictors of fathers’ but not mothers‘ stress. Results suggest that securing a job with flexible

scheduling is important to reduce parenting stress among working class parents regardless of

gender.

1.10 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following research questions were asked to elicit information for data generation for this

study;

1. Would there be a relationship between job satisfaction and work-family conflict among

married women?

2. Would there be a relationship between productivity and work-family conflict among

married women?

3. Would there be a significant difference of age on work-family among married women?

4. Would there be a joint effect of job satisfaction, productivity and role conflict among

married women?

1.11 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

The hypotheses are stated as follows;

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1. There would be a significant relationship between job satisfaction and work-family

conflict among married women.

2. There would be a significant relationship between productivity and work-family conflict

among married women.

3. There would be a significant difference of age on work-family conflict among married

women such that the higher the age, the lesser the work-family conflict.

4. There would be a joint effect of job satisfaction, productivity and role conflict among

married women.

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