An examination of work and personal life conflict, organizational support, and employee health among international expatriates

Transcription

1 International Journal of Intercultural Relations 25 (2001) An examination of work and personal life conflict, organizational support, and employee health among international expatriates Elisa J. Grant-Vallone a, *, Ellen A. Ensher b a Psychology Department, College of Arts and Sciences, California State University, San Marcos, San Marcos, CA 92096, USA b Department of Business, College of Business, Loyola Marymount University, 7900 Loyola Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90045, USA Abstract This study analyzes the effect of two types of work and personal life conflict and organizational support on expatriate employees mental well-being. Survey data were obtained from a culturally diverse sample of 118 employees working in Europe. Overall, employees reported higher levels of work interfering with their personal life, than personal life interfering with their work. Results demonstrated that work personal life conflict was related to employees depression and anxiety and personal work life conflict was related to employees concern for their health. Organizational support had significant main effects on well-being and conflict; however, organizational support did not buffer the effects of conflict on expatriates well-being. Although organizations are often concerned with the reduction of personal life interfering with work for expatriates (e.g., spouse employment, schooling for children), this study suggests that organizations should also concerned with how work is interfering with expatriates personal lives (e.g., reevaluate extensive travel, long hours.) Thus, programs that address both types of conflict are imperative to retain high quality employees. Finally, this study suggests that informal types of organizational support (e.g., a perception that the organization is concerned with one s personal life) are important for expatriate success, and should be incorporated into expatriate programs. # 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Work personal life conflict; Employee well-being; Expatriate employees; Organizational support; Work family balance; International employees *Corresponding author. Tel.: ; fax: addresses: evallone@mailhost1.csusm.edu (E.J. Grant-Vallone), enshere@lmumail.lmu.edu (E.A. Ensher) /01/$ - see front matter # 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: S (01)

2 262 E.J. Grant-Vallone, E.A. Ensher/International Journal of Intercultural Relations 25 (2001) Introduction In recent decades, significant changes have occurred in both the work and family lives of individuals in developed nations throughout the world. The increased numbers of women, dual earner couples, and single parents in the workforce coupled with significant changes in gender and family roles have begun to highlight issues surrounding work and family balance (Googins, Griffin, & Casey, 1994; Hogg & Harker, 1993; Lewis, 1997). In addition, employees today are more likely to express a strong desire to have a harmonious balance between career, family life, and leisure activities (ILO, 1992; Offermann & Gowing, 1990; Zedeck & Mosier, 1990). Finally, the globalization of the workforce is one of the most significant trends that will affect workers in the next century (Ivancevich, 1998; Mondy & Noe, 1996). Thus, not only are many employees struggling with balancing work and family domestically, but many workers face the added challenge of working and living abroad as expatriates. The significant demographic and attitudinal changes of employees, as well the increased number of international assignments, illustrate the urgency for organizations to address work and family issues as a fundamental business concern. Although the response to work and family issues varies significantly between different countries and organizations, many innovative US and European organizations recognize these concerns and have started to implement work/family initiatives that are intended to helpemployees cope with role conflict (Friedman & Galinsky, 1992; Harker, 1996; Hogg & Harker, 1993; Lewis, 1997). In addition, international organizations, such as the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the European Union have begun to address work and family issues on an international level and suggest an increased need for national policies. An ILO convention, that was adopted in 1981, states that is necessary for organizations to help employees to balance their work and family demands (Lewis, 1997). Although spouse and family issues are often considered in research on expatriate employees, it is less common to specifically focus on the interaction between work and personal life roles (e.g., work personal life role conflict). Furthermore, many studies of expatriate employees focus on business outcomes (e.g., early departure, job satisfaction, and performance) rather than on the health and well-being of expatriates. The purpose of this current study is (1) to further integrate research on work and family issues and expatriate employees (2) to examine the reciprocal nature of work and personal life conflict and the effect on expatriates health and well-being, and (3) to explore the critical role that organizations can play in the reduction of conflict for expatriate employees Work/personal life conflict To better understand the experiences of expatriate employees, it is useful to first consider work and family issues in general. Work and family conflict reflects a mutual incompatibility between the demands of the work role and the demands of the family role (Parasuraman & Greenhaus, 1997). Researchers have recently stressed two aspects of the work and family conflict literature that need further

3 E.J. Grant-Vallone, E.A. Ensher/International Journal of Intercultural Relations 25 (2001) consideration. First, the importance of making a distinction between two conceptually different types of conflict has been suggested. Specifically, work interferes with personal issues or family life (e.g., a business meeting interferes with a family dinner) differently than personal issues or family life interfere with work life (e.g, a child s school holiday interferes with a scheduled work conference). Although there is a positive reciprocal relationship between these two types of conflict, based on research conducted in the US, employees report significantly higher levels of work family conflict than family work conflict (Frone, Russell, & Cooper, 1992a, b; Gooler, 1996). Second, although most research focuses on family life, recent evidence (e.g., Galinsky, Bond, & Friedman, 1996) suggests that even employees without traditional families (e.g, non-parents and single employees) experience conflict between their roles and should be included in research. Thus, rather than focusing on general work family conflict, it seems beneficial to consider the broader aspects of both work personal life conflict as well as personal work life conflict. Although conflict between work and personal life appears to be of concern for domestic and international employees in developed countries throughout the world, much of what is knows about its prevalence and impact is based on research conducted in the United States. For example, in a recent study, Googins and his colleagues (1994) found that nearly half of the US employees in their sample, reported that they feel rushed and do not have enough time for themselves often or most of the time. Similarly, in a study of 2958 wage and salaried workers, Galinsky and her colleagues (1996) found that a majority of parents and non-parents experienced at least some conflict between their roles. There are real costs related to work and family conflict for employees and organizations. In general, there is evidence that the conflict related to work and personal demands can lead to negative health outcomes for employees and may decrease organizational comittment and job satisfaction, and increase burnout (e.g., Burke, 1988; Thomas & Ganster, 1995). Detrimental health outcomes encompass both physical health (e.g., somatic complaints, blood cholesterol) and mental wellbeing (e.g., stress, depression, vitality/energy, life satisfaction). For example, researchers found that both types of conflict were positively and indirectly related to depression and that family work conflict longitudinally predicted poor physical health (Frone et al., 1992a; Frone, Russell, & Cooper, 1995). Work family conflict has been linked to lower levels of perceived life satisfaction for US workers living with at least one family member (Adams, King, & King, 1996). Aryee (1992) found a similar result in a study that examined the antecedents and outcomes of three types of conflict (job spouse, job parent, and job homemaker) for professional women in Singapore. Specifically, job spouse conflict and job parent conflict was negatively related to life satisfaction International employees Negative effects of work and family conflict may be even more prevalent for employees on international assignments and may influence expatriates to leave their assignments early. The costs of failing to adapt to international assignments for

4 264 E.J. Grant-Vallone, E.A. Ensher/International Journal of Intercultural Relations 25 (2001) organizations and individuals provide compelling evidence that it is important to increase our understanding of the factors that affect expatriates psychological wellbeing. Findings are mixed regarding the failure rate of U.S. expatriates, as some authors report rates as high as 40% (Black & Stephens, 1989), more recent evidence suggests that failure rates for expatriates may actually be closer to 10 20% (Black, Gregersen, & Mendenhall, 1992; Black & Gregerson, 1999). However, Baumgarten (1995) cautions that expatriate failure rates should be interpreted carefully since percentage rates do not include expatriates who are not performing satisfactorily, but do not return home early. Costs to the organization for an individual returning home prematurely have been estimated to range from $100,000 to $500,000 (Black, Gregersen, & Mendenhall, 1992; Greengard, 1999), and nearly 20% left their organization to work for a competitor after returning home (Black & Gregerson, 1999). For individuals, failure to perform effectively in an overseas assignment can result in a myriad of personal costs including loss of reputation and decreased selfesteem, leading to increased stress and depression (Abe & Wiseman, 1983; Bardo & Bardo, 1980; Black, 1990; Ratiu, 1983). Previous research has examined why employees fail in their international assignments. Predictors of failure include: inadequate selection measures and processes, lack of personality fit, lack of or inadequate training for the worker and his or her family, and lack of support while abroad (Feldman & Thomas, 1992; Mendenhall & Oddou, 1985; Tung, 1988). However, one of the most important reasons why expatriate workers fail is related to the conflict that arises between work and family (Arthur & Bennet, 1995; Black & Stephens, 1989; Harvey, 1985; Tung, 1982). These studies have found that the spouse s support to move abroad and ability to adjust to the new environment is one of the most critical predictors of expatriates successful relocation. Often times, employees on international assignments experience excessive demands in both work and personal life. Because they are living and working in a new environment, they often have high levels of work demands at a time when they also experience high levels of family demands. As a result, international employees are likely to experience a great deal of conflict because of the competing demands between their work and family lives. Some of the symptoms that result for the relocated worker may include increased use of drugs and alcohol, causing decreased job performance and organizational effectiveness (Harvey, 1985, Black et al., 1992). Previous research has indicated that relocating overseas can cause stress on a marriage and lead to divorce, particularly for marriages that are already weak (Harris, 1979; Harvey, 1985; Tung, 1988). Based on interviews with 35 international business people, Osland (1995) suggests that unlike domestic jobs, an international assignment is more of a family affair. For example, if an employee is distracted from work by personal issues, it can have a significant impact on his or her work performance and length of stay. The importance of providing expatriates families with assistance, such as cultural and language training, early visits to the country, and realistic expectations are clear (Osland, 1995). However, this type of support addresses only one type of conflict (e.g., personal work life conflict). The impact that an expatriates work life, once in

5 E.J. Grant-Vallone, E.A. Ensher/International Journal of Intercultural Relations 25 (2001) the country, may have on his or her family life is not typically explored (e.g., work personal life conflict). The competing demands confronting the expatriate employee suggest that both types of conflict will be prevalent for expatriates and will have an impact on their experiences. Thus, the following hypotheses are proposed. H1. Work personal life conflict and personal work life conflict will be positively related to expatriate employees depression. H2. Work personal life conflict and personal work life conflict will be positively related to expatriates employees anxiety. H3. Work personal life conflict and personal work life conflict will be positively related to expatriates employees concern with their health Organizational support Employees who transfer to a foreign country for employment often lose the social networks and extended family that are more readily available in an employee s home country. This lack of external support suggests that organizations play a critical role in helping employees to adjust to the new country and cope with the difficulties of international assignments. The support offered by an organization can play the most critical role in the success of employees international assignments (Feldman & Thomas, 1992; Gregersen & Black, 1990; Harris, 1986; Tung, 1988). Support, which would be important to expatriates, can include tangible support (e.g., language classes, relocation assistance) as well as a general concern for expatriates health, well-being, and balance between work and personal life. The majority of research on social support in general has focused on the process by which it works. Specifically, Fisher (1985) summarizes the expected relationships between social support and stress and outcomes. First, it is expected that there is a main effect of support on both stress (e.g., work personal work life conflict) and outcomes (e.g., depression) such that individuals with higher levels of support experience fewer negative outcomes. Specifically, due to increased positive interactions, social support is beneficial regardless of whether or not an individual is experiencing high levels of stress. Second, it is hypothesized that support may facilitate successful coping during stressful situations, such that it buffers the effects of stress (Fisher, 1985). In the buffering model, it is proposed that social support interacts with stressors such that a stressful situation has less of a negative impact for those who receive high levels of support. This may occur because social support provides individuals with better resources or information to help them cope with problems (see Cohen and Wills (1985) for further discussion). Numerous studies demonstrate the positive main effects of social support in general (e.g., Cohen & Wills, 1985) and more specifically at work (e.g., Billings & Moos, 1982; Parasuraman, Greenhaus, & Granrose, 1992). Furthermore, social support has been found to be positively related to expatriates adjustment, satisfaction and retention (Abe & Wiseman, 1983; Black et al., 1992; Hawes & Kealey, 1981; Mendenhall & Oddou, 1985). In a study conducted with expatriates in Brazil, Brein and David (1973) found that host national mentors were an important

6 266 E.J. Grant-Vallone, E.A. Ensher/International Journal of Intercultural Relations 25 (2001) source of socialization and support. In a more recent study, Black (1990) found that US expatriates with higher levels of social support from their co-workers experienced increased work adjustment and decreased role ambiguity and role conflict. One specific type of social support that is particularly relevant for expatriate employees is organizational level support. Research on organizational support in general has shown that employees develop global beliefs concerning the extent to which the organization values their contributions and cares about their well-being (Eisenberger, Huntington, Hutchinson, & Sowa, 1986). Research has shown that employees who perceive their organization is supportive are more likely to be committed to fulfilling their role within the organization. Thus, organizational support has main effects on outcomes such as reduced absenteeism, increased conscientiousness, commitment, and innovation (Eisenberger et al., 1986; Eisenberger, Fasolo, & Davis-La-Mastro, 1990). Organizational level support appears to be important when considered specifically within the context of family support environments. It could defined to include both increased corporate awareness and support of work and family issues as well as general concern for the well-being of employees (e.g., Families & Work Institute, 1993). For example, employees perception of organizational sensitivity to work and family issues is based on how concerned and responsive the organization is to relevant issues (e.g., child or elder care concerns). Few studies have specifically examined the main effects of organizational support specific to work and family issues; however, research in this area is promising. In a study that examined various types of work and family support, Gooler (1996) found that perceived organizational support was the strongest predictor of increased job satisfaction and decreased turnover. Similarly, in a study of Johnson & Johnson employees, researchers at the Families and Work Institute (1993) found that a perception of support by supervisors and the overall work environment was related to ease in balancing work and family life and company loyalty. Thus, the following main effects of organizational support were proposed: H4. Organizational support will be negatively related to expatriate employees depression, anxiety, and concern for health. H5. Organizational support will be negatively related to expatriates perceived work personal life conflict and perceived personal work life conflict. Although there is past evidence for main effects of different types of social support, there has been contradictory evidence regarding the buffering model of social support. Social support was not found to buffer the effects of stress in the workplace (Ganster, Mayes, & Fusilier, 1986) or the effects of role stressors on well-being (Parasuraman, Greenhaus, & Granrose, 1992); however, several studies have demonstrated buffering effects (e.g., Fusilier, Ganster, & Mayes, 1987). Gooler (1996) found that higher levels of resource availability moderated the relationship between work family conflict and job satisfaction, such that those with resource support reported being more satisfied with their jobs only if they also experienced high levels of work affecting family conflict. In contrast, resource availability did not moderate the relationshipbetween work affecting family conflict and turnover,

7 E.J. Grant-Vallone, E.A. Ensher/International Journal of Intercultural Relations 25 (2001) absenteeism, or lateness. To better understand buffering effects of organizational support, the following research question was explored: Q1. Does organizational support moderate the relationship between conflict and depression, anxiety, and concern for health such that conflict will have more detrimental effects for those with low levels of support. In conclusion, this study is unique in several respects. First, we draw from two bodies of literature (US work/family balance and expatriate adjustment and retention) to better understand how both work affecting family conflict and family affecting work conflict are related to expatriates well-being. Second, this study includes a diverse sample of international employees that increases the external validity of the findings. Finally, we examine how organizational support decreases the negative effects of work and personal life conflict. 2. Method 2.1. Sample The 118 participants in this study worked at an international agency affiliated with the United Nations located in Geneva, Switzerland. The agency employed approximately 800 staff members. The majority of the respondents (67%) were from various European countries; the next largest group was 15% from North America; the remaining 18% were from a wide range of areas including Africa, South America, and Asia. The median number of years in which an individual had lived in Geneva was relatively high at 10 years. While this sample may not be representative of the traditional expatriate employee, their cultural diversity provides enhanced external validity and important information about non-american international employees. On average, participants were 44 years old. In terms of marital status, 67% were married; 12% were single; 14% were divorced or separated and 7% reported other and typically indicated that they were living with another individual. The majority of respondents had at least one child: 21% had one child; 31% had 2 children; 17% had three or more children. About half of the respondents had a child living at home with them. Considering their work situation, half of the respondents were classified in general service occupations (e.g., secretary) and the other half was in professional occupations (e.g., officer). On average, employees worked 44 hours per week and professional employees traveled for business reasons an average of 4 days per month Procedure A random sample of employees was selected from the organization phone directory. Surveys were sent to participants through the organization s inter-office mail system and were returned to the researcher by the same method. Participants

8 268 E.J. Grant-Vallone, E.A. Ensher/International Journal of Intercultural Relations 25 (2001) were ensured of the confidentiality of their responses and all surveys were distributed and returned in sealed envelopes. A follow-up reminder letter was sent to all participants after two weeks. A total of 400 surveys were distributed, and a 30% response rate was achieved. This response rate appeared to be acceptable given that the survey was lengthy (9 pages) Measures The survey questionnaire contained items that measured general demographic characteristics as well as a number of instruments measuring conflict between work and personal life, organizational support, depression, and vitality. All items were coded so that a higher score indicated a higher level of the construct being measured. For descriptive statistics, reliability coefficients, and inter-item correlations refer to Table Professional and personal life conflict Two types of conflict were measured with a validated scale of work and family conflict (Netemeyer, Boles, & McMurrian, 1996). The terms personal and professional life were used so that employees who were not considered to have families in the traditional sense could still be included. At the start of the survey, personal life was defined to include any activities with your spouse/partner, family responsibilities, volunteer activities, sports, and/or hobbies. There were a total of 10 items that measured an employee s perceived conflict between personal and professional life. Specifically, five items measured the degree to which an individual s professional life interfered with his or her personal life (work personal life conflict). Example items included the amount of time my job takes up makes it difficult to fulfill my responsibilities in my personal life and due to Table 1 Means, standard deviations, a coefficients, and zero-order correlations a Variables Mean SD Number of children } 2. Years living in Geneva } 3. Work}personal conflict a (0.89) 4. Personal}work conflict b (0.86) 5. Organizational support a 0.06 (0.86) 6. Anxiety c a (0.84) 7. Concern for health b 0.21 b 0.30 a 0.40 a } 8. Depression c a 0.72 c 0.38 a (0.81) a p b p c p

9 E.J. Grant-Vallone, E.A. Ensher/International Journal of Intercultural Relations 25 (2001) professional activities, I have to change plans in my personal life. These items had good internal consistency (a=0.89). The second measure of conflict, personal-work life conflict, was also measured with five items that had high internal consistency (a=0.86). Sample items include: Things I want to do at work do not get done because of demands in my personal life and Strain in my personal life interferes with my ability to perform professional duties. Responses to these items were rated on a four-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly agree) to 4 (strongly disagree) Organizational support Organizational support was defined as the degree to which employees perceived that their organization was concerned with their health and well-being as well as with the reduction of conflict between employees personal and professional life. These items were developed for a past research study and were found to have good internal consistency (Donaldson, 1994). These items also had high reliability in the current study (a=0.86). Four items, such as my organization values healthy workers and my organization tries to relieve some of the burden faced by two career families and single parents were included. Responses were provided on a four-point scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree Employee well-being Employees subjective well-being was assessed with items from the General Well- Being Schedule. This measure has been used extensively in research and has been found to have good psychometric properties (McDowell & Newell, 1987; Andrews & Robinson, 1991; Donaldson, 1991). Although this measure was developed in the United States, past research has demonstrated substantial similarities in the structure of perceptions of well-being among the European countries and between them and the United States (Andrews & Ingelhart, 1979, cited in Andrews & Robinson, 1991). This study focused on three different aspects of well-being: anxiety, depression and concern for one s health. Depression was measured with three items that had high internal consistency (a=0.81). Items included, have you felt so sad, discouraged, hopeless, or have had so many problems that you wondered if anything was worthwhile, and have you felt down-hearted? An individual s anxiety level was measured with four items such as Have you been anxious, worried, or upset, and how relaxed or tense have you been?. These items had good internal consistency (a=0.84). Employees concern for health was measured with one item that asked, Have you been bothered by any illness, bodily disorder, pains, or fears about your health Data analysis First means, standard deviations, internal consistency coefficients, and intercorrelations were computed for all variables. Next, a series of hierarchical regression analyses were run to test the hypotheses (Cohen & Cohen, 1983). Based on past

10 270 E.J. Grant-Vallone, E.A. Ensher/International Journal of Intercultural Relations 25 (2001) research findings, several demographic variables were entered as control variables on the first stepof the regression equation (gender, marital status, number of children, and time living abroad). In order to test the first three hypotheses, and examine the effects of work personal life conflict and personal work life conflict on depression, anxiety, and concern with health, the two types of conflict were entered on the second stepof the regression equation. The unique contribution of these variables to each outcome was examined in the analyses. To test hypothesis 4, which predicted that organizational support would be negatively related to each of the detrimental health effects, organizational support was entered on the third step of the regression equation. The unique effect of organizational support on each health outcome was considered. To examine the buffering effects of organizational support, the product of both types of conflict and organizational support were entered as interaction terms in the last stepof this regression equation predicting health outcomes. Finally, to test hypothesis 5, which predicted that organizational support would be related to both types of conflict, a separate regression analysis was conducted in which organizational support was used as a predictor and work personal life conflict and personal life -work conflict were entered as the dependent variables. 3. Results Overall, employees reported much higher levels of work personal life conflict than personal work life conflict. Specifically, 60% of participants reported that their work life interfered with their personal life on a regular basis, while only 20% of participants perceived that their personal life interfered with their work life. Considering organizational support, almost half of employees perceived that their organization was sensitive to work and personal life issues. Table 1 includes a summary of descriptive statistics and an intercorrelation matrix Effects of conflict on employee well-being To test the first hypothesis, that predicted that both types of conflict would negatively predict depression, hierarchical regression was used. There was support for this hypothesis. Work personal life conflict and personal work life conflict were entered after the control variables (gender, marital status, number of children, and length of stay). In support of hypothesis 1, there was a significant incremental change in R 2 when the two conflict variables were entered into the regression equation (DR 2 =0.12, F=6.83, p50.01) that predicted employees depression. However, in the final equation only, work personal life conflict was a significant predictor (b=0.26, p50.05). Hypothesis 2 predicted that both types of conflict would be related to employees anxiety level. This hypothesis was supported using hierarchical regression. There was a significant incremental change in R 2 when the two types of conflict were entered into the regression equation (DR 2 =0.25, F=17.90, p50.001). In the final equation,

11 E.J. Grant-Vallone, E.A. Ensher/International Journal of Intercultural Relations 25 (2001) work personal life conflict was significantly related to vitality (b=0.46, p50.001); however, personal work life conflict was not. Hypothesis 3 predicted that both types of conflict would be related to employees perceived concern for their health. This hypothesis was supported. There was a significant incremental change in R 2 when the two types of conflict were entered into the regression equation (DR 2 =0.08, F=4.54, p50.05). Unlike the other outcome variables, in the final equation, work personal life conflict was not significantly related to employees concern for their health; however, personal work life conflict significantly predicted concern for health (b=0.22, p50.05). Refer to Table 2 for results of regression analyses Main effects of organizational support Hypothesis 4 predicted that organizational support would significantly predict employee well-being. To test this hypothesis, organizational support was entered on the third stepof the regression equation (after the control variables at step1 and work personal and personal work life conflict variables at step 2). This hypothesis was supported. Organizational support was a significant predictor of all three measures of employee well-being. Specifically, organizational support explained a significant amount of variance in depression, over and above the control variables Table 2 Hierarchical regression analyses for conflict and organizational support predicting employees depression and vitality a Variables Depression Anxiety Concern for health DR 2 b DR 2 b DR 2 b Step Gender Marital status Number of children Years in Geneva Step a 0.25 b 0.08 c Work personal life conflict 0.26 c 0.46 b 0.08 Personal work life conflict a Step c 0.05 a 0.07 a Organizational support 0.24 a 0.21 c 0.27 a Step Organizational support * work personal conflict Organizational support * personal work conflict a p b p c p50.05.

12 272 E.J. Grant-Vallone, E.A. Ensher/International Journal of Intercultural Relations 25 (2001) and both measures of conflict (DR 2 =0.06, F=7.86, p50.01). Organizational support significantly predicted employees anxiety level (DR 2 =0.05, F=7.54, p50.01). Finally, organizational support significantly predicted employees perceived concern with their health (DR 2 =0.07, F=8.66, p50.01). Refer to Table 2 for results of regression analyses. Hypothesis 5 predicted that organizational support would be negatively related to both types of conflict. This hypothesis received mixed support. Specifically, organizational support significantly predicted employees work personal life conflict over and above demographic variables (DR 2 =0.06, F=7.49, p50.01). Those who perceived higher levels of organizational support were less likely to report high levels of work personal life conflict. However, organizational support did not have a main effect on personal work life conflict. The results of the regression analyses are presented in Table Buffering effects of organizational support Finally, the research question was explored by examining the buffering (moderator) effects of organizational support. Two interaction terms (work personal life conflict * organizational support; personal work life conflict * organizational support) were entered into the regression equation on the last step. The incremental change in R 2 was not significant when the interaction terms were entered into the regression equation for any of the well-being outcomes. Thus, no support for moderator effects was determined with regression analyses. Because of the low power to detect moderator effects using regression analyses, correlation analyses was also used. When sub-samples of employees (e.g., those with low and high support) were compared there was no evidence for buffering effects. Table 3 Hierarchical regression analyses for organizational support predicting employees work personal life conflict and personal work life conflict a Variables Work personal life conflict Personal work life conflict DR 2 b DR 2 b Step a 0.02 Gender 0.25 b 0.13 Marital status Number of children Step b 0.01 Organizational support 0.24 b 0.05 a p b p50.01.

13 E.J. Grant-Vallone, E.A. Ensher/International Journal of Intercultural Relations 25 (2001) Discussion In general, the results of this study suggest that expatriate employees perceive that their work life interferes with their personal life more extensively than their personal life interferes with their professional life. The majority of employees who participated in this study suggested that their work hours, extensive travel, and professional demands negatively affected their personal life and family responsibilities. Furthermore, the spillover between work and personal life had serious implications for employees mental well-being. Employees who perceived high levels of work personal life conflict reported higher levels of depression and anxiety and employees with high levels of personal work life conflict were more likely to be concerned with their health. Organizational support had several important effects on employees. Employees who perceived that their organization offered a supportive environment reported lower levels of depression, anxiety, concern for their health, and work personal life conflict. However, there was no evidence of buffering effects. Although the results of this study provide important insights into work and personal life issues for expatriate employees, several study limitations should be noted. First, this study was based on a relatively small sample of employees from a single organization. Although the expatriate employees in the sample were from a diverse range of countries, the small sample size limited the power to detect results and the use of one organization limited the generalizability of the findings. Furthermore, this groupof expatriates was unique with regards to length of stay, position within the organization, and multinational backgrounds. Expatriates typically are on assignment for no more than five years, and are frequently in managerial positions (Tung, 1987). Future research that examines both types of conflict between work and personal life for expatriate employees from a wide sample of countries and different types of organizations, including multinationals, not-for-profits, and government agencies is needed. Another valuable extension of this research would be to compare expatriates experiences with work and family balance to a control group of native employees. This would enable us to determine if the issues of work family balance and organizational support operate differently for expatriates than for those working in their own country. Further, the country characteristics and the degree of similarity of the Swiss culture and organization as compared to an expatriates home country or organization are likely to be related to the extent of conflict experienced. A second limitation was that this study focused on only one type of perceived organizational support. While employees were asked about the level of concern that was demonstrated within their organization, further research that considers multiple sources and types of support is needed. Formal organizational policies (e.g., flextime, maternity leave) as well as informal aspects of the organizational environment should be examined. Despite its limitations, this study made several important research contributions. While past research has demonstrated that one of the key reasons why expatriate employees fail is due to conflict that arises between work and family

14 274 E.J. Grant-Vallone, E.A. Ensher/International Journal of Intercultural Relations 25 (2001) (Arthur & Bennet, 1995; Black & Stephens, 1989), spillover from family to work life (personal work life conflict) is typically focused upon. Given the drastic changes that expatriate employees face in their personal lives, it seems evident that their personal lives would have a significant influence on their work responsibilities. The finding that expatriates reported lower levels of personal work life conflict than work personal life conflict has important implications for expatriate assignments. These findings strongly suggest that it is not expatriates personal life which is impeding on their work responsibilities but vice versa. It is important to note that this relationship was an even more significant problem for employees who had been on assignment for fewer years. The results of this study suggest that expatriates continue to grapple with work personal life conflict even after years on an assignment. Like much of the research on work life and expatriates, the use of self-report data and a cross-sectional design in this study is problematic and can contribute to problems with self report bias and common method variance. However, authors have recently noted that self report data is tolerable when it measures individual s self-perceptions, such as the variables of interest in this study (Maurer & Tarulli, 1994; Spector, 1994). Furthermore, Grant-Vallone and Donaldson (1998) recently found that when multiple sources of data were utilized to examine the effects of work family conflict on personal and organizational outcomes, analyses yielded similar results when both self-reports and co-worker reports were analyzed. This provides evidence that self-reports are acceptable measures of work family conflict and employee health and well-being. Further considerations of these issues, and research that incorporates multiple perspectives and a longitudinal design, would be a useful extension of this line of research. Consistent with past research conducted in the US, this study suggested that it is not adequate to discuss the competing demands of work and personal life, without differentiating between the influence that one role has on the other. That is, work affects employees personal life differently than employees personal life affects work and should be measured as separate constructs (e.g., Frone et al., 1992a; Frone, Russell, & Barnes, 1996; Netemeyer et al., 1996). Similarly, this study provided evidence that each type of conflict has differential impacts on key outcomes. For example, personal work life conflict significantly predicted employees concern for their health, but work personal life conflict predicted anxiety and depression. Future research should consider how each type of conflict also affects organizational outcomes such as attendance, performance, turnover, and job satisfaction. Furthermore, previous research has found that Western European expatriates typically have higher rates of retention and adjust more effectively to their international assignments than their US counterparts (see Tung, 1987). However, as this study indicates, even these relatively well-adjusted workers still experience work personal life conflict, which has detrimental effects on their well-being. This finding suggests that conflict between work and family continues to be a challenge for expatriates regardless of their in-country tenure or citizenship. The need for organizations to address work and personal life issues as a real concern for expatriate employees is clear.

15 E.J. Grant-Vallone, E.A. Ensher/International Journal of Intercultural Relations 25 (2001) This study was one of the first to explore the effects of organizational level support on work and family conflict for expatriate employees. An informal source of support rather than formal organizational policies was considered in order to determine how the larger organizational context (and support systems) may influence work and family issues for the expatriate employee. Consistent with past research, the main effects of support were stronger than the buffering effects (Ganster et al., 1986; Parasuraman et al., 1992; Gooler, 1996). Since employees experienced high levels of work personal life conflict, it is an important finding that there was a main effect of support on work personal conflict. Future research should also consider the effects of organizational support on important organizational outcomes such as expatriate retention, performance, and career success. There are several important practical implications of this study. The finding that both types of conflict affect the well-being of employees highlights the importance of interventions for human resources professionals. First, in terms of selection, potential expatriate employees could be assessed, among other criteria, on their vulnerability to work personal life conflict and depression. In regards to training, managers could be prepared to recognize the telltale early indicators of employees depression and could intervene appropriately. In addition, increasing the selfawareness of expatriates by training them to be aware of their own early indicators of problems could be helpful as well. Perhaps, most importantly, it is critical that organizations have support programs in place to assist expatriate employees in balancing their work and personal life. Based on this research, it is evident that support programs that address both types of work and family conflict are sorely needed in order to retain quality expatriate employees. Interventions that are targeted to reduce work personal life conflict would be significantly different than interventions targeted to personal life work conflict. For example, typical expatriate preparation may include helpful information that addresses: school for children, activities/job for spouse, language training, cultural training (Fontaine, 1989; Osland, 1995), but a program designed to reduced work personal life conflict would address different concerns. For example, reductions in travel early on in the assignment, reduced or flexible work hours, and capability to work at home are more likely to reduce work personal life conflict. Organizational support programs which are targeted to reduce negative spillover from work to personal roles will increase expatriates well-being, and will likely affect performance, satisfaction, and retention. References Abe, H., & Wiseman, R. L. (1983). A cross-cultural confirmation of the dimensions of intercultural effectiveness. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 7, Adams, G. A., King, L. A., & King, D. W. (1996). Relationshipof job and family involvement, family social support, and work family conflict with job and life satisfaction. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81,

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