Supervisor Support Buffers Daily Psychological and Physiological Reactivity to Work‐to‐Family Conflict

• Author: Soomi Lee,Katie M. Lawson,Kimberly N. Walter,Phyllis Moen,Kelly D. Davis,David M. Almeida
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12252
• Published date: 01 February 2016
• Date: 01 February 2016

D M. A, K D. D,  S L Pennsylvania State University

K M. L Ball State University

K N. W University of Connecticut

P M University of Minnesota

Supervisor Support Buffers Daily Psychological and

Physiological Reactivity to Work-to-Family Conict

Using a daily diary design, the current

study assessed within-person associations

of work-to-family conict with negative affect

and salivary cortisol. Furthermore, the authors

investigated whether supervisor support mod-

erated these associations. Over 8 consecutive

days, 131 working parents employed by an

information technology company answered

telephone interviews about stressors and mood

that occurred in the previous 24 hours. On

Days 2–4 of the study protocol, they also

provided 5 saliva samples throughout the

day that were assayed for cortisol. Results

indicated a high degree of day-to-day uctua-

tion in work-to-family conict, with employed

parents having greater negative affect and

poorer cortisol regulation on days with higher

work-to-family conict compared to days when

they experience lower work-to-family conict.

These associations were buffered, however,

when individuals had supervisors who offered

support. Discussion centers on the use of

Department of Human Development and Family Studies,

The Pennsylvania State University,0422 Biobehavioral

Health Building, University Park, PA16802

(dalmeida@psu.edu).

This article was edited by Robert Crosnoe.

Key Words: conict, diary methods, health, social support,

spillover,stress.

dynamic assessments of work-to-family conict

and employee well-being.

Work-to-family conict, or stress produced

when demands from work interfere with family

responsibilities, has continued to rise in the

United States (Edwards & Rothbard, 2000;

Greenhaus & Beutell, 1985; Nomaguchi, 2009).

This increase is disconcerting given that this

type of stress can take a toll on employees’

psychological and physical health. Workerswho

report higher average levels of work-to-family

conict (WTFC) are more likely to experience

symptoms of depression and anxiety (Green-

haus, Allen, & Spector, 2006), to have poorer

sleep (Berkman, Buxton, Ertel, & Okechukwu,

2010), and to be at higher risk for obesity

(Grzywacz, 2000) and high cholesterol (Thomas

& Ganster, 1995) than employees who report

lower WTFC. The present study extends this

research by examining the daily psychological

and physiological reactivity to WTFC. In addi-

tion, we examine the extent to which supervisor

support is a resource that can help manage this

reactivity.

W–H R P

This study is informed by the Work–Home

Resources Model (W-HR; ten Brummelhuis &

Journal of Marriage and Family 78 (February 2016): 165–179 165

DOI:10.1111/jomf.12252