Abstract
Purpose
In this study we evaluate competing models of the direct and indirect effects of work interference with family (WIF) and family interference with work (FIW) on two turnover intentions relevant to scientists and engineers: (i) leaving R&D for non-R&D work within the same organization and (ii) leaving one’s organization for another one.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional design was used. Our sample consists of almost 500 scientists and engineers in dual-earner families and with dependent care responsibilities.
Findings
We find some support for the domain-specific predictors-to-outcomes model: FIW indirectly (but not directly) increases intentions to change organization through work dissatisfaction. Contrary to expectations from the stress management model we find neither direct nor indirect relationships between WIF and turnover intentions.
Implications
Our findings suggest that organizations that help employees manage the effects of FIW on work dissatisfaction may be able to reduce the turnover among their technical workforce.
Originality/value
The study examines an overlooked outcome of work-family conflict: turnover intentions. In addition, it provides much needed attention to the implications of workfamily conflict for scientists and engineers, who have received little attention in the work-family conflict literature despite longstanding efforts to understand the relationship between marriage, parenthood, and productivity in these fields.
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Notes
Social support is also thought to function as buffer, by alleviating the effect of stress on stress outcomes. There are few empirical studies on the role of support as a buffer in the context of work–family conflict (Kowalski and Beauvais 1999) but the results so far appear not to support the buffer hypothesis (Frone et al. 1995; Haar 2004). In separate analyses of our data, we found no buffer effect of colleague support or supervisor support in the relationship between FIW and turnover intentions, nor did we find a buffer effect in the relationship between WIF and turnover intentions.
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We thank the Center for Innovation Management Studies, formerly at Lehigh University, the Technology Management Research Center, at Rutgers University, and the Sloan Foundation for previous support of this research.
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Received and reviewed by former editor, George Neuman.
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Post, C., DiTomaso, N., Farris, G.F. et al. Work–Family Conflict and Turnover Intentions Among Scientists and Engineers Working in R&D. J Bus Psychol 24, 19–32 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-009-9089-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-009-9089-1