Work-Life Conflict
The antecedents of work-life conflict are new forms of work and gendered organisational cultures. The most common type of conflict is time-based. The time in which one role is played affects the play of another role (Lewis & Cooper, 1999). With industrialisation, people are working longer hours and the boundaries between work and life are becoming increasingly blurred (Humbert & Lewis, 2008). Work encroaches on family time, and work is done during family time. Work encroaches on home space and the form of work changes so that people can bring work back home and work remotely from home. Long, intense hours and blurred boundaries between work and home can create work-life conflict (Baines et al., 2003). Oliver and Amira work nine to ten hours a day and sometimes bring work home, reducing the time they spend with their children, which creates a work-life conflict for them. Amira usually travels out of town two to three days a week, sometimes for longer periods of time due to weather or flights.
The second type of conflict is behaviour-based. Behaviour at work is inappropriate to use in life, and conversely, behaviour in life is inappropriate to use at work (Haas et al., 2002). The third type of conflict is stress-based. The stress felt in one role affects the other role and can have an emotional impact. Managers use a gendered organisational culture to control the boundaries of employees' work and life(Humbert & Lewis, 2008). In social situations, men work long hours to gain a greater sense of achievement and control, while the responsibility of caring for children at home is the responsibility of women, who are motivated by a sense of responsibility to spend more time at home (McMillan et al., 2001). They spend excessive hours both at work and at home, sacrificing their free time and social time, which can lead to work life conflicts. Amira takes up a lot of time at work, so by spending the rest of her time at home, she sacrifices her social time and time out with friends to relax.
Work-life conflict is a form of conflict between roles. People playing a role in one area have a bad influence on the development of a role in another area. The conflict is reciprocal; conflict in the work role affects the life role and conflict in the life role affects the work role (Lewis, 1991).
The antecedents of work-life conflict are new forms of work and gendered organisational cultures. The most common type of conflict is time-based. The time in which one role is played affects the play of another role (Lewis & Cooper, 1999). With industrialisation, people are working longer hours and the boundaries between work and life are becoming increasingly blurred (Humbert & Lewis, 2008). Work encroaches on family time, and work is done during family time. Work encroaches on home space and the
Psychological Contract
