Mechanisms linking acculturation, work–family conflict, and subjective well‐being among Chinese immigrants in New Zealand

• Author: Maree Roche,Sudong Shang,Michael P. O'Driscoll
• Published date: 01 September 2018
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21890
• Date: 01 September 2018

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Mechanisms linking acculturation, work–family conflict,

and subjective well-being among Chinese immigrants

in New Zealand

Sudong Shang | Michael P. O'Driscoll | Maree Roche

School of Psychology, University of Waikato,

New Zealand

Correspondence

Sudong Shang, School of Psychology,

University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105,

Hamilton 3240, New Zealand.

Email: ss447@students.waikato.ac.nz;

sudongshang@gmail.com

Abstract

Work–family conflict (WFC) research has focused almost exclusively on nonimmigrant popula-

tions. To expand the understanding of WFC among immigrants, this longitudinal study (six-

month time lag) aimed to investigate the mechanisms linking acculturation, strain-based WFC,

and subjective well-being. In order to do this, two theory-based mediation models were devel-

oped and tested on a sample of 264 Chinese immigrants working in New Zealand using struc-

tural equation modeling. Results show that subjective well-being mediated the effect of

acculturation on strain-based WFC, and acculturation did not directly influence strain-based

WFC. Furthermore, evidence was found for reciprocal relationships between strain-based WFC

and subjective well-being, as well as for the same-domain perspective. Strain-based work inter-

fering with family and strain-based family interfering with work (two directions of strain-based

WFC) have significant effects on work-related and family-related well-being, respectively, and

vice versa. Overall, the present study provides an appropriate platform for future work–family

research on immigrant populations and offers practical prescriptions for human resource man-

agers to operate successfully within a diverse workplace.

KEYWORDS

acculturation, Chinese immigrants in New Zealand, mediation, subjective well-being, work–

family conflict

1|INTRODUCTION

Although work–family issues have been widely researched in many

countries over the past 30 years, organizations are still confronting

the challenge of a changing global reality, including frequently

increasing migration. Immigrants are exposed to a new culture that

may be very different from their home cultures, and working envi-

ronments are even more diverse. Most previous work–family studies

assume that individuals function only within their own cultures and

overlook the impacts of acculturation. Acculturation generally refers

to the process of immigrants adapting to a new culture (Berry,

2002). Prior research has suggested that individuals influenced by

different cultures may have different work–family experiences

(e.g., Aycan, 2008; Powell, Francesco, & Ling, 2009). Therefore, the

work–family experiences of immigrants, who are always juggling

their home and host cultures (Li, 2011), may be more complex than

nonimmigrants.

Acculturation is an inevitable journey for immigrants and can

exert a considerable impact on their work, family, and even subjective

well-being (Suárez-Orozco & Suárez-Orozco, 2010). Grzywacz

et al. (2007) stated that acculturation might play a critical role when

work-family theories are applied to immigrant populations, but only

recently has the role of acculturation received the attention of work–

family researchers. Olson, Huffman, Leiva, and Culbertson (2013)

found that social-based acculturation but not language-based accul-

turation could directly contribute to WFC, which provided some

insight into the role of acculturation in work–family experiences

among immigrants. However, social-based acculturation may transfer

DOI: 10.1002/hrm.21890

Hum Resour Manage. 2018;57:1097–1109. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/hrm © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 1097