Personality and demographic predictors of work-family interface in local government workers

The aim of the study was to find out whether and how personality and demographic factors interact in shaping the relationship between work and family in the local government employees. The participants (N=100) were male (33) and female (67) workers of a local government office aged between 26 and 66 years (M=45.0 years; SD=10.4 years). Work-family interface was assessed using Work-Family Spillover Scale and personality traits were measured by NEO-Five Factor Inventory. Multivariate regression analyses (stepwise method) and bivariate correlation analyses were applied in order to find out the determinants of the work-family interface. The results have shown that work- family relationship was determined by both personality and demographic variables and their interactions (weak or moderate fit). Work-family conflict was explained by openness to experience (negative relationship) and positive interaction of neuroticism and having small children, and age and sex (weak fit of the model). Family-work conflict was explained (moderately) by agreeableness (negative), interaction of neuroticism and having small children (positive) and conscientiousness (negative). Work-family facilitation was determined (weak fit) by interactions of sex, having small children, neuroticism and agreeableness and separately by conscientiousness. Family-work facilitation was determined (moderate fit) by extraversion (positive) and interactions of sex and agreeableness (negative in females) and conscientiousness (positive in males). The results showed that in the population of local government workers dominated by women in early and middle adulthood, the relationships between work and family were determined by interaction of personality and demographic variables

Work-family relationship, burnout and health among shift working municipal police officers

Nowadays the number of non-standard shift work systems increases. Shift work itself creates particular conditions for functioning of the family and could be the source of both: conflicts and crisis in professional, family and personal domains of worker’s life. Therefore it is necessary to find an effective way of balancing family and work life. The aim of this study is to present result of research of 90 married male municipal police officers. 86,5% of them had at least one child in the household. They were employed in slow and fast rotating shift work systems with respectively: 8- and 12-hour shifts. Means of age and work experience were 37,2 years (SD=7.1) and 10.7 years (SD=6.5). The research has focused on work/family and family/work facilitation and conflict (Work-Family Spillover, Grzywacz & Marks, 2000), burnout (Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey) and job satisfaction (Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire). In this study subjective health was measured with regard to digestive and cardiovascular symptoms. The research results show that exhaustion (important element of burnout) could be explained in a great proportion (R²=60%) by work/family conflict, work/family facilitation and family/work conflict. Among the three of them the strongest predictor of exhaustion is work/family conflict, described as negative job bearing on family life. Exhaustion leads to decrease of job satisfaction and decrease of subjective health and therefore the conflicts among the family and work roles could result in poorer health. The findings of this stuffy suggest that it is crucial for shift workers employed in non-standard shift work systems to balance work and family domains