Employees and Work-Life Resources: Influences on Attraction, Spillover, and Commitment

Jennifer Lee Gibson

Advisor: .

March 12, 2006, 07:00 PM to 07:00 PM

Abstract:

The purpose of these studies was to evaluate the role of family-supportive organizational policies in influencing job seeker and job incumbent attitudes and intentions. Given the cost of offering family-related benefits and popular support for doing so, this is an area that requires empirical research. However, the literature has yet to offer compelling evidence regarding the positive and negative outcomes associated with providing family-friendly supports. In order to examine this issue, Study 1 applied a policy-capturing approach to evaluate the impact of family-supportive benefits on job pursuit intentions of students in their last year of college. The following five job vacancy characteristics were manipulated: salary, promotional opportunity, person-organization fit, flexible work arrangements, and dependent care supports. Results indicated that all of the vacancy characteristics were positively related to job pursuit intentions except for dependent care supports and that life role salience measures pertaining to parent, spouse, and work roles moderated the effects of promotional opportunity, flexible work arrangements, and dependent care supports. Study 2 tested a model of how benefits influence negative work-family spillover and organizational commitment through social support and personal control perceptions of employees. Results indicated that benefit availability and use were not strongly related to support variables but that family-supportive organization perceptions and perceived organizational support were positively related to affective commitment. Predictions regarding benefits and decision latitude received mixed support. Benefit use predicted resource dependence which, counter to expectations, was not related to continuance commitment. As hypothesized, benefit use was associated with increased control over the work-family interface and decreased work-family conflict. Together, the findings of these studies describe the potential impact of family-friendly supports on job seekers and job incumbents. Implications for practice are discussed.