Abstract
Prior studies have identified people’s type of employment (i.e., self-employed versus employee) as a potentially significant factor impacting work-family conflict. However, they have failed to provide a clear picture of the subject and produced inconsistent findings. This study addresses these problems by examining the causal effect of type of employment on work-family conflict. Theoretically we investigate whether individual characteristics shape the choice of type of employment and consequently the level of conflict, or whether it is the type of employment itself that shapes the level of conflict? The study uses data from 2008 to 2020 from the PAIRFAM survey, which is a German longitudinal survey. The analysis examines the causal impact of type of employment on work-to-family and family-to-work conflict using two main statistical techniques: (1) a did matching technique that compares similar individuals in two different groups over time, and (2) a random effects technique that examines the relationship between differences within and between the respondents with changes in work-family conflict at different time points. The results show that type of employment affects family-to-work conflict but not work-to-family conflict. Specifically, both types of self-employed individuals (with employees and without employees) experience family-to-work conflict than employees do.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data Availability
The study relies on PAIRFAM data: https://www.pairfam.de/en/.
Notes
The model includes all independent variables described above, expect for the frequency of working from home and the flexibility of working hours. The association of these variables can only be estimated using OLS regression, as they were measured only in one wave. Results show that the frequency of working from home is negatively associated with both FWC but not with WFC and that the flexibility of working hours was not associated with both directions of the conflict. The models revealed a similar association of type of employment with both types of conflict.
The result of the Hausman test was not significant (0.17), which means that the differences in the coefficients are systematic, where the analysis should focus on the differences between the respondents.
References
Allen, T. D., French, K. A., Dumani, S., & Shockley, K. M. (2020). A cross-national meta-analytic examination of predictors and outcomes associated with work–family conflict. Journal of Applied Psychology, 105(6), 539.
Anabi, O. (2017). New Masculinity, Father Involvement, and the Work-Family Interface. (Doctoral dissertation, Bar-Ilan University).
Anderson, S. E., Coffey, B. S., & Byerly, R. T. (2002). Formal organizational initiatives and informal workplace practices: Links to work–family conflict and job-related outcomes. Journal of Management, 28(6), 787–810.
Annink, A., & den Dulk, L. (2012). Autonomy: The panacea for self-employed women’s work-life balance? Community Work & Family, 15(4), 383–402.
Annink, A., den Dulk, L., & Steijn, B. (2016). Work–family conflict among employees and the self-employed across Europe. Social Indicator Research, 126, 571–593.
Badawy, P., & Schieman, S. (2020). Control and the health effects of work–family conflict: A longitudinal test of generalized versus specific stress buffering. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 61(3), 324–341.
Bernhardt, J., Recksiedler, C., & Linberg, A. (2022). Work from home and parenting: Examining the role of work-family conflict and gender during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Journal of Social Issues.
Bettac, E. L., & Probst, T. M. (2021). Work–family conflict, sleep, and health: A comparison of traditional and self-employed workers. International Journal of Manpower, 42(2), 240–259.
Bjuggren, C. M., Johansson, D., & Stenkula, M. (2012). Using self-employment as proxy for entrepreneurship: Some empirical caveats. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 17(3), 290–303.
Bozzon, R., & Murgia, A. (2021). Work-family conflict in Europe. A focus on the heterogeneity of self-employment. Community Work & Family, 24(1), 93–113.
Byron, K. (2005). A meta-analytic review of work–family conflict and its antecedents. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 67(2), 169–198.
Caliendo, M., Fossen, F. M., & Kritikos, A. (2011). Personality Characteristics and the Decision to Become and Stay Self-Employed. (DIW Berlin Discussion Paper No. 1113). Retrieved September 11, 2022, from SSRN website: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1793171.
Caudron, T. (2000). A study of self-employment: Who do men and women enter into and exit from self-employment? A theoretical and empirical discussion using the panel study of income dynamics. (Doctoral dissertation, Baltimore University).
Cohen, R. L. (2019). Spatio–temporal unboundedness: A feature, not a bug, of Self-Employment. American Behavioral Scientist, 63(2), 262–284. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764218794781.
Cooper, M. (2000). Being the go-to guy: Fatherhood, masculinity, and the organization of work in Silicon Valley. Qualitative Sociology, 23(4), 379–405.
Dale, A. (1986). Social-class and the self-employed. Sociology, 20(3), 430–434.
Dinh, H., Martin, A., Leach, L., et al. (2021). Is self-employment a good option? Gender, parents and the work-family interface. Sex Roles, 84, 731–746.
Eichhorst, W., & Marx, P. (2011). Reforming german labour market institutions: A dual path to flexibility. Journal of European Social Policy, 21(1), 73–87.
Esping-Andersen, G. (1990). The three worlds of welfare capitalism. Princeton University Press.
Fahlén, S. (2014). Does gender matter? Policies, norms and the gender gap in work-to-home and home-to-work conflict across Europe. Community Work & Family, 17(4), 371–391.
Ferrín, M. (2021). Self-employed women in Europe: Lack of opportunity or forced by necessity?. Work Employment and Society, 09500170211035316.
Fleckenstein, T. (2011). The politics of ideas in welfare state transformation: Christian democracy and the reform of family policy in Germany. Social Politics, 18(4), 543–571.
Frone, M. R., Russell, M., & Cooper, M. L. (1992). Antecedents and outcomes of work–family conflict: Testing a model of the work–family interface. Journal of Applied Psychology, 77, 65–78.
Fu, C. K., & Shaffer, M. A. (2001). The tug of work and family: Direct and indirect domain-specific determinants of work-family conflict. Personnel Review, 30(5), 502–522.
Gangl, M. (2006). Scar effects of unemployment: An assessment of institutional complementarities. American Sociological Review, 71(6), 986–1013.
Gold, M., & Mustafa, M. (2013). Work always wins’: Client colonisation, time management and the anxieties of connected freelancers. New Technology Work and Employment, 28(3), 197–211.
Greenhaus, J. H., & Beutell, N. J. (1985). Sources of conflict between work and family roles. Academy of Management Review, 10(1), 76–88.
Greenhaus, J. H., & Parasuraman, S. (1986). Vocational and organizational behavior, 1985: A review. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 29(2), 115–176.
Hagqvist, E., Toivanen, S., & Bernhard-Oettel, C. (2018). Balancing work and life when self-employed: The role of business characteristics, time demands, and gender contexts. Social Sciences, 7(8), 139–158.
Halaby, C. N. (2004). Panel models in sociological research: Theory into practice. Annual Review of Sociology, 30, 507–544.
Hall, P. A., & Soskice, D. (2001). An introduction to varieties of capitalism. op cit, 21–27.
Jacobi, L., & Kluve, J. (2007). Before and after the Hartz Reforms. The performance of active labor market policy in Germany. Journal for Labor Market Research, (40), 45–64.
Jamal, M. (1997). Job stress, satisfaction, and mental health: An empirical examination of self-employed and non-self-employed Canadians. Journal of Small Business Management, 35(4), 48–57.
Johansson Sevä, I., & Öun, I. (2015). Self-employment as a strategy for dealing with the competing demands of work and family? The importance of family/lifestyle motives. Gender Work & Organization, 22(3), 256–272.
Kim, D. Y. (2006). Stepping-stone to intergenerational mobility? The springboard, safety net, or mobility trap functions of korean immigrant entrepreneurship for the second generation 1. International Migration Review, 40(4), 927–962.
König, S., & Cesinger, B. (2015). Gendered work–family conflict in Germany: Do self-employment and flexibility matter? Work Employment and Society, 29(4), 531–549.
Kösters, L., & Smits, W. (2022). Genuine’ or ‘Quasi’ Self-Employment: Who can tell? Social Indicators Research, 161(1), 191–224.
Kühner, C., Rudolph, C. W., Derks, D., Posch, M., & Zacher, H. (2023). Technology-assisted supplemental work: A meta-analysis. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 103–861.
Le, A. T. (1999). Empirical studies of self-employment. Journal of Economic Surveys, 13(4), 381–416.
Lewin-Epstein, N., & Yuchtman-Yaar, E. (1991). Health risks of self-employment. Work and Occupations, 18(3), 291–312.
Loscocco, K. A. (1997). Work–family linkages among self-employed women and men. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 50(2), 204–226.
Maume, D. J., & Houston, P. (2001). Job segregation and gender differences in work-family spillover among white-collar workers. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 22(2), 171–189.
Miller, B. K., Wan, M., Carlson, D., Kacmar, K. M., & Thompson, M. (2022). Antecedents and outcomes of work-family conflict: A mega-meta path analysis. Plos One, 17(2), e0263631.
Naffziger, D. W., Hornsby, J. S., & Kuratko, D. F. (1994). A proposed research model of entrepreneurial motivation. Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, 18(3), 29–43.
Nohe, C., Meier, L. L., Sonntag, K., & Michel, A. (2015). The chicken or the egg? A meta-analysis of panel studies of the relationship between work?family conflict and strain. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(2), 522.
Nomaguchi, K., & Fettro, M. N. (2019). Childrearing stages and work–family conflict: The role of job demands and Resources. Journal of Marriage & Family, 81(2), 289–307.
Oren, L. (2012). Job stress and coping: Self-employed versus organizationally employed professionals. Stress and Health, 28(2), 163–170.
Parasuraman, S., & Simmers, C. A. (2001). Type of employment, work–family conflict and well-being: A comparative study. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 22(5), 551–568.
Reynolds, J., & Renzulli, L. A. (2005). Economic freedom or self-imposed strife: Work-life conflict, gender, and self-employment. In L. A. Keister (Ed.), Entrepreneurship (research in the sociology of work) (pp. 33–60). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Rotondo, D. M., Carlson, D. S., & Kincaid, J. F. (2003). Coping with multiple dimensions of work-family conflict. Personnel Review, 32(3), 275–296.
Rynarzewska, A. I. (2012). Comparison of Independent and Employed Public Relations Practitioners on Key Variables. (Doctoral dissertation, Florida State University).
Sharma, S. (2017). Work centrality and its relationship to work life balance. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research, 15(4), 249–259.
Shockley, K. M., Shen, W., DeNunzio, M. M., Arvan, M. L., & Knudsen, E. A. (2017). Disentangling the relationship between gender and work–family conflict: An integration of theoretical perspectives using meta-analytic methods. Journal of Applied Psychology, 102(12), 1601–1635.
Trappe, H., Pollmann-Schult, M., & Schmitt, C. (2015). The rise and decline of the male breadwinner model: Institutional underpinnings and future expectations. European Sociological Review, 31(2), 230–242.
Tuttle, R., & Garr, M. (2009). Self-employment, work–family fit and mental health among female workers. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 30, 282–292.
Voydanoff, P. (1988). Work role characteristics, family structure demands, and work/family conflict. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 50(3), 749–761.
Waismel-Manor, R. (2005). The best of both worlds? Work, family life and self-employment. (Doctoral dissertation, Cornell University).
Williams, J. (2001). Unbending gender: Why family and work conflict and what to do about it. Oxford University Press.
Wilson, F., Marlino, D., & Kickul, J. (2004). Our entrepreneurial future: Examining the diverse attitudes and motivations of teens across gender and ethnic identity. Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, 9(3), 177–197.
Wüest-Baumeler, F., Hirschi, A., & Steiner, R. S. (2023). Work-nonwork interface and career success: Examining behavioural and affective linking mechanisms. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 1–13.
Young, M., Milkie, M. A., & Schieman, S. (2023). Mother-father parity in work-family conflict? The importance of selection effects and nonresponse bias. Social Forces, 101(3), 1171–1198.
Zhu, L. (2010). Re-examining the effects of employment mode on work-family conflict: A mediated moderation model (Doctoral dissertation, Purdue University).
Funding
No funds, grants, or other support was received.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by [Fadi Omar], [Asaf Levanon] and [Ronit Waismal-Manor]. The first draft of the manuscript was written by [Fadi Omar] and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors have no financial or proprietary interests in any material discussed in this article.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Appendices
Appendix A
Statements and Cronbach’s alpha for index variables | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Variables | Statements | Scale | Cronbach’s alpha levels |
Work-to-family conflict | 1. Personal life gets short shrift | 1 (Not at all) to 5 (Absolutely) | 0.73 |
2. Often have to think on my work | |||
3. Difficult to relax at home after strains of the job | |||
4. Difficult to relax at home after strains of the job | |||
Family-to-work conflict | 1. Have problems to focus on my work | 1 (Not at all) to 5 (Absolutely) | 0.77 |
2. Lacking time for my job due to private appointments | |||
3. Time for partner etc. restrains me from engaging more in work | |||
4. Conflicts in private life impair my job performance | |||
Extraversion | 1. I am usually modest and reserved | 1 (Absolutely incorrect) to 5 (Absolutely correct) | 0.73 |
2. I get enthusiastic easily and can motivate others easily | |||
3. I tend to be the strong and silent type | |||
4. I am extroverted | |||
Openness | I am interested in many different kinds of things | 1 (Absolutely incorrect) to 5 (Absolutely correct) | 0.64 |
I am intellectual and like to contemplate things | |||
I am very imaginative | |||
I appreciate artistic and aesthetic impressions | |||
I am hardly interested in art | |||
Appendix B
Means and standard deviations for ordinal or ratio factors and percentages for categorical factors before and after propensity score analysis | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Before | After | |||||||
E | S.E1 + S.E 2 | S.E 1 | S.E 2 | E | S.E1 + S.E 2 | S.E 1 | S.E 2 | |
Ordinal or ratio factors | ||||||||
Age | 29.92 (8.50) | 29.11 (9.37) | 33.90 (7.37) | 33.50 (7.55) | 35.13 (7.19) | 37.03 (6.67) | 36.75 (6.56) | 38.15 (7.10) |
Number of kids | 0.64 (0.98) | 0.70 (1.04) | 0.96 (1.13) | 1.05 (1.26) | 1.27 (1.09) | 1.47 (1.13) | 1.41 (1.10) | 1.74 (1.20) |
Extraversion | 0.00 (0.77) | 0.03 (0.81) | 0.27 (0.76) | 0.20 (0.69) | 0.04 (0.74) | 0.27 (0.72) | 0.29 (0.75) | 0.23 (0.64) |
Openness | -0.06 (0.87) | 0.01 (0.92) | 0.56 (0.91) | 0.21 (0.85) | -0.05 (0.86) | 0.60 (0.76) | 0.67 (0.89) | 0.28 (0.71) |
Taking risk | 3.82 (1.39) | 3.81 (1.39) | 4.05 (1.33) | 4.53 (1.00) | 3.66 (1.40) | 4.29 (1.29) | 4.22 (1.34) | 4.58 (1.01) |
Years of education | 12.76 (3.55) | 10.64 (5.53) | 13.96 (3.79) | 14.05 (3.51) | 13.79 (1.29) | 15.56 (2.89) | 15.39 (2.86) | 16.24 (1.01) |
Weekly working hours | 33.56 (15.20) | 17.68 (22.56) | 30.22 (20.37) | 44.55 (21.06) | 32.52 (13.02) | 31.37 (18.56) | 29.70 (17.73) | 38.15 (20.44) |
Level of mother School education | 3.99 (1.88) | 3.83 (1.98) | 4.40 (2.17) | 4.14 (1.98) | 3.82 (1.91) | 4.73 (2.10) | 4.75 (2.15) | 4.64 (1.91) |
Level of father School education | 4.16 (1.98) | 4.02 (2.08) | 4.66 (2.16) | 4.10 (2.17) | 4.02 (2.03) | 4.92 (2.10) | 5.04 (2.04) | 4.46 (2.26) |
Categorical factors | ||||||||
Occupational status-High | 43.33% | 24.20% | 39.73% | 20.87% | 58.33% | 53.80% | 55.69% | 46.15% |
Migration status-No | 73.89% | 47.69% | 75.52% | 73.06% | 81.66% | 78.68% | 79.11% | 76.92% |
Sex-Male | 45.93% | 48.16% | 44.04% | 66.32% | 34.57% | 35.02% | 30.37% | 53.84% |
Unemployment in the past-Yes | 0.84% | 3.76% | 1.28% | 0.00% | 1.12% | 1.01% | 1.26% | 0% |
Young kids-Yes | 21.95% | 29.11% | 25.87% | 26.34% | 12.22% | 15.22% | 17.08% | 7.69% |
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Omar, F., Levanon, A. & Waismel-Manor, R. The Causal Effect of Type of Employment on Work-Family Conflict. Soc Indic Res 170, 713–730 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-023-03213-7
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-023-03213-7