Work–family conflict and strain : Revisiting theory, direction of causality, and longitudinal dynamism

Abstract

Does work-family conflict (WFC) cause psychological strain or vice versa? How long do these effects take to unfold? What is the role of persistent WFC (or strain) levels in these processes? Prior research has left some of these questions open: Our systematic review reveals that WFC-strain studies have primarily used short (e.g., hours) or long (e.g., years) measurement lags, leaving mid-long lags underexplored. Moreover, while many work-family theories imply long-term effects, prior longitudinal research has often relied on cross-lagged panel models that assume effects to be solely within-person, not considering persistent between-person differences. We tested this assumption in five three-wave survey studies (N = 26,133) with varying lags (1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 6 months, 1 year) and found it to fail in all cases. Employing the random intercept crossed-lagged panel, a new approach in WFC research, our results indicate that the effects between WFC and strain (exhaustion, perceived stress, and affective rumination) depend primarily on longer-term WFC (or strain) levels. In contrast, short-term deviations from these levels (within-person effects) play a minor role. These findings suggest that the effects between WFC and strain may be more persistent than previously assumed, opening avenues for further theoretical and empirical development.