Buffering Work - Family Conflict

There are many factors that buffer work-family conflicts. All of these factors are related to one another in some sort of way. Eckenrode and Gore have developed a more elaborate model that builds on the concepts of spillover and crossover to show how work-related factors may affect family processes and vice versa (Wallen, 2002). Everything that happens in a person's life can have some sort of effect on their lives. Mediating factors are the pathways through which stress affects a family member's or a worker's well-being.

If a particular work stress produces marital conflict, that work stress is more likely to have a negative effect on the psychological well-being of family members than if it does not result in family conflict or results in increased martial cohesion. This goes to say that if someone is having a bad day then it is more than likely to affect everything they are doing. There are people that are able to handle their situations and not let it affect the other aspects of their lives. Being able to handle conflicts and keep them separate is important to be able to balance work and family. Moderating factors can refer to conditions or circumstances that buffer individuals from stress.

Having a social support is an example of a moderator of family stress and can help balance the stress of family and work. As long as there is adequate social support, a stressful family event is less likely to result in negative outcomes at work. Social support may be gained in the workplace as well as outside of work. A good source for friendships for both men and women is at the workplace and support from coworkers has been found to be negatively related to role strain. There are times when stress may spill over from work to home and from home to work as well.

A problem that may occur for families with children that have no child care is that there are higher rates of absenteeism from work than parents of children in day care. If there are

unreliable arrangements then a parent may miss work or spend much work time on the phone making arrangements for the child to be taken care of. This is a factor that can spill over from family to work and there are stress factors that may cross over from work to family as well. The boundary between home and work is permeable, but Eckenrode and Gore point out that families differ with respect to how easily this barrier is crossed (Wallen, 2002).

A family in which both spouses work for pay outside the home will probably maintain a much clearer and more impenetrable boundary between work and home than a family that runs a home-based business. A good way to make sure that boundary of work and family is not penetrable is by not making their number available to their supervisor or colleagues at work. That way work will not intrude on the employee's family time. Family composition is a significant factor in moderating both