Capturing a More Complete View of Employees' Lives Outside of Work: The Introduction and Development of New Interrole Conflict Constructs

• Published in: Personnel psychology 2015-06, Vol.68 (2), p.235-282
• Main Authors: Wilson, Kelly Schwind, Baumann, Heidi M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Employees; Occupational health; Quality of work; Roles; Studies; Work life balance
• ISSN: 0031-5826; 1744-6570
• DOI: 10.1111/peps.12080

This research introduces 4 new constructs that reflect interrole conflict (i.e., work‐to‐personal, personal‐to‐work, family‐to‐personal, and personal‐to‐family conflict) and provide a more complete view of the roles and responsibilities employees experience outside of work. An integration of interrole conflict literature and research on work and nonwork roles or domains highlights the importance of considering an individual's personal domain, which includes activities one pursues because of his or her own interests (e.g., friends, hobbies, community). Unfortunately, without conflict measures pertaining to this new role, researchers cannot clearly understand how roles other than family interfere with individuals’ work role including how interrole conflict impacts employees who do not have significant responsibilities in the family domain. Five phases of research across 4 separate samples were conducted in order to develop measures for the 4 new conflict constructs and to examine relationships with important work, family, life, and health outcomes. Findings from multisource data, including self‐rated, coworker‐rated, as well as single and nonsingle participants, show that the 4 new forms of interrole conflict have significant implications for employees and organizations.