Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Intersection of Gender and Work–Family Guilt

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Gender and the Work-Family Experience

Abstract

Guilt arising from attempting to balance work and family has been a frequent topic of interest in the media and the organizational behavior literature. Despite this, until recently, research on work-family guilt (WFG) was limited. This chapter reviews the qualitative and quantitative empirical evidence pertaining to the intersection of gender and WFG. It begins by defining WFG and discussing issues of measurement, including measurement equivalence for gender. The antecedents and outcomes of WFG are discussed, as are inter-relationships between work-to-family guilt, family-to-work guilt and work-family conflict and facilitation. Subsequently, the chapter reviews how WFG and its antecedents and consequences in the work and family domains relate to various aspects of gender. These include differences due to biological gender (i.e., whether someone is a man or a woman), gender-role orientation (i.e., instrumental/ expressive personality characteristics), gender-role attitudes (i.e., traditional/egalitarian), gender-role values, and gender-role behaviors. The chapter also examines the role of culture as a moderating variable, and concludes with a critique of the literature and a discussion of implications for theory, research and practice.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Project 3535 is a collaborative investigation of the W–F interface among employed married/cohabiting parents in ten countries (i.e., Australia, Canada, China, India, Indonesia, Israel, Spain, Taiwan, Turkey, and the USA). The contributions of the members of the Project 3535 research team to this chapter are gratefully acknowledged. The team consists of: Dr. Zeynep Aycan, Dr. Roya Ayman, Dr. Anne Bardoel, Dr. Tripti Desai, Dr. Anat Drach-Zahavy, Dr. Leslie B. Hammer, Dr. Ting-Pang Huang, Dr. Karen Korabik, Dr. Donna S. Lero, Dr. Artiwadi Mawardi, Dr. Steven Poelmans, Dr. Ujvala Rajadhyaksha, Dr. Anit Somech, and Dr. Li Zhang.

  2. 2.

    Physical gender (whether someone is, or considers themselves to be, a man or a woman) refers to the psychological ramifications of biological sex (whether someone is biologically male or female). This terminology avoids assumptions of biopsychological equivalence (equating sex and gender with one another) and biological essentialism (the belief that behavior is solely attributable to biological causes). In self-report studies, physical gender is not directly observed, rather it is assessed by proxy as a demographic category. For simplicity’s sake, in this chapter the term gender is used to refer to physical and demographic gender in contrast to the term gender-role which is used to refer to gender-role orientation, attitudes, ideology, etc.

References

  • Aycan, Z., & Eskin, M. (2005). Relative contribution of childcare, spousal, and organizational support in reducing work–family conflict for males and females: The case of Turkey. Sex Roles, 53, 453–471.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ayman, R., & Antani, A. (2008). Social support and work–family conflict. In K. Korabik, D. S. Lero, & D. L. Whitehead (Eds.), Handbook of work–family integration: Research, theory, and best practices (pp. 287–304). San Diego: Elseiver.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Banarjee, S. (1–3 Nov 2003). Double standards. Businessline.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bardoel, A. (April 2004). Work family conflict in Anglo-Saxon and European cultural context: The case of Australia. Paper presented at the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Chicago, Illinois, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bort, J., Pflock, A., & Renner, D. (2005). Mommy guilt: Learn to worry less, focus on what matters most, and raise happier kids. New York: American Management Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bui, L. S. (1999). Mothers in public relations: How are they balancing career and family? Public Relations Quarterly, 44, 23–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chapman, F. S. (Feb 1987). Executive guilt: Who’s taking care of the children? Fortune, 115 (4), 30–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chappell, D. B., Korabik, K., & McElwain, A. (June 2005). The effects of gender-role attitudes on work–family conflict and work–family guilt. Poster presented at the Canadian Psychological Association, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conlin, M. (2000). The new debate over working moms: As more moms choose to stay home, office life is again under fire. Business Week, 3699, 102–104.

    Google Scholar 

  • Daly, K. J. (2001). Deconstructing family time: From ideology to lived experience. Journal of Marriage and Family, 63, 283–294.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Desai, T. P., & Rajadhyaksha, U. (April 2004). Work family conflict in the Asian cultural context: The case of India. Paper presented at the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Chicago, Illinois, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Drach-Zahavy, A., & Somech, A. (April 2004). Work family conflict in the Middle Eastern cultural context: The case of Israel. Paper presented at the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Chicago, Illinois, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elvin-Nowak, Y. (1999). The meaning of guilt: A phenomenological description of employed mothers’ experiences of guilt. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 40, 73–83.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ewles, G., Korabik, K., & Lero, D. S. (June 2013). Work–family guilt: The role of overload and control. Poster presented at the Canadian Psychological Association, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ewles, G., Korabik, K., & Lero, D. S. (June 2014). Social support and work–family guilt: The role of gender differences. Poster presented at the Canadian Psychological Association, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glavin, P., Scheiman, S., & Reid, S. (2011). Boundary spanning work demands and their consequences for work and psychological distress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 52, 43–57.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Guendouzi, J. (2006). “The guilt thing”: Balancing domestic and professional roles. Journal of Marriage and Family, 68, 901–909.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hochwarter, W. A., Perrewé, P. L., Meurs, J. A., & Kacmar, C. (2007). The interactive effects of work-induced guilt and ability to manage resources on job and life satisfaction. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 12, 125–135.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hoffman, M. L. (1982). Development of prosocial motivation: Empathy and guilt. In N. Eisenberg (Ed.), The development of prosocial behaviour. New York: Academic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huang, T. P. (Aug 2004). Work–family conflict of employees in business organizations in Taiwan. Paper presented at the International Association of Cross-Cultural Psychology, Xi’an, China.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ishaya, N., Ayman, R., & Korabik, K. (April 2013). Why so much guilt? Investigating how overload hurts, and why control may help. Paper presented at the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Houston, Texas, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kochanska, G., Gross, J., Lin, M., & Nichols, K. (2002). Guilt in young children: Development, determinants, and relations with a broader system of standards. Child Development, 73, 461–482.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Korabik, K. (July 2005). Alleviating work–family conflict for women managers in a global context. Paper presented at the Eastern Academy of Management, Cape Town, South Africa.

    Google Scholar 

  • Korabik, K., & Lero, D. S. (Aug 2004). A cross-cultural research project on the work–family interface: Preliminary findings. Paper presented at the International Association of Cross-Cultural Psychology, Xi’an, China.

    Google Scholar 

  • Korabik, K., & McElwain, A. (April 2011). The role of work–family guilt in work–family conflict. Paper presented at the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Chicago, Illinois, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Korabik, K., & van Rhijn, T. R. (May 2014). Examining the cross-cultural measurement equivalence of work–family interface measures. Paper presented at the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Korabik, K., McElwain, A., Warner, M., & Lero, D. S. (July 2007). The impact of coworker support and resentment on work–family conflict. Paper presented at IESE Conference on Work and Family, Barcelona, Spain.

    Google Scholar 

  • Korabik, K., Lero, D. S., & Whitehead, D. L. (Eds). (2008a). Handbook of work–family integration: Research, theory, and best practices. San Diego: Elseiver.

    Google Scholar 

  • Korabik, K., McElwain, A., & Chappell, D. B. (2008b). Integrating gender-related issues into research on work and family. In K. Korabik, D. S. Lero, & D. L. Whitehead (Eds), Handbook of work–family integration: Research, theories, and best practices (pp. 215–232). San Diego: Elsevier.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Korabik, K., McElwain, A., & Lero, D. S. (Nov 2009). Does work–family guilt mediate relationships between work–family conflict and outcome variables? Paper presented at the Work, Stress and Health Conference, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kossek, E., Pichler, S., Bodner, T., & Hammer, L. (2011). Workplace social support and work–family conflict: A meta-analysis clarifying the influence of general and work–family-specific supervisor and organizational support. Personnel Psychology, 64, 289–313.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kubany, E. S. (1994). A cognitive model of guilt typology in combat-related PTSD. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 7, 3–19.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kubany, E. S., Haynes, S. N., Abueg, F. R., Manke, F. P., Brennan, J. M., & Starhura, C. (1996). Development and validation of the Trauma-Related Guilt Inventory (TRGI). Psychological Assessment, 5, 428–444.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kubany, E. S., & Watson, S. B. (2003). Guilt: Elaboration of a multidimensional model. The Psychological Record, 53, 51–90.

    Google Scholar 

  • Livingston, B. A., & Judge, T. A. (2008). Emotional responses to work–family conflict: An examination of gender role orientation among working men and women. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93, 207–216.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Martinez, P., Carrasco, M. J., Aza, G., Blanco, A., & Espinar, I. (2011). Family gender role and guilt in Spanish dual earner families. Sex Roles, 65, 813–826.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mawardi, A. (April 2004). Work–family conflict in an Asian cultural context: The case of Indonesia. Paper presented at the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Chicago, Illinois, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • McElwain, A. (2008). An examination of the reliability and validity of the Work–family Guilt Scale. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation), University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

    Google Scholar 

  • McElwain, A., & Korabik, K. (2004). Work–family guilt. In M. Pitt-Catsouphes & E. Kossek (Eds.). Work and Family Encyclopedia Online. Chestnut Hill, MA: Sloan Work and Family Research Network. Retrieved February 16, 2009, from http://wfnetwork.bc.edu/encyclopedia_entry.php?id=871&area=All.

  • McElwain, A., Korabik, K., & Chappell, D. B. (Aug 2004). Beyond gender: Re-examining work–family conflict and work–family guilt in the context of gender-role orientation. Paper presented at the International Society for the Study of Work and Organizational Values, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • McElwain, A., Korabik, K., & Chappell, D. B. (June 2005a). The work–family guilt scale. Poster presented at the Canadian Psychological Association, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

    Google Scholar 

  • McElwain, A., Korabik, K., & Chappell, D. B. (June 2005b). The impact of work–family conflict on work–family guilt. Poster presented at the Canadian Psychological Association, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

    Google Scholar 

  • McElwain, A., Korabik, K., & Lero, D. S. (June 2007). Coping mechanisms in work–family conflict. Paper presented at the Canadian Psychological Association. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

    Google Scholar 

  • Napholz, L. (2000). Balancing multiple roles among a group of urban midlife American Indian working women. Health Care for Women International, 27, 255–266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nevill, D., & Damico, S. (1977). Developmental components of role conflict in women. The Journal of Psychology, 95, 195–198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Offer, S., & Schneider, B. (2011). Revisitng the gender gap in time use patterns: Multitasking and well-being among mothers and fathers in dual-earner families. American Sociological Review, 76, 809–833.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pollock, E. J. (10–13 March 1997). Work and family (a special report): Regaining a balance—This is home; This is work. Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition).

    Google Scholar 

  • Rajadhyaksha, U., Huang, T. P., Mawardi, A., & Desai, T. P. (July 2011). Gender-role ideology, work–family overload, conflict and guilt: Examining a path analysis model in three Asian countries. Paper presented at the International Association of Cross-Cultural Psychology, Istanbul, Turkey.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seagram, S., & Daniluk, J. C. (2002). It goes with the territory: The meaning and experience of maternal guilt for mothers of preadolescent children. Women and Therapy, 25, 61–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shields, S. A. (2013). Gender and emotions: What we think we know, what we need to know, and why it matters. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 37, 423–435.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simon, R. W. (1995). Gender, multiple roles, role meaning, and mental health. Journal of Health and Social Behaviour, 36, 182–194.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Velgach, S., Ishaya, N., & Ayman, R. (April 2005). A multi-method approach to investigate work–family conflict. Paper presented at the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Los Angeles, California, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zahn-Waxler, C., & Kochanska, G. (1988). The origins of guilt. In R. A. Thompson (Ed.), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation: Vol. 36. Sociometric Development (pp. 183–258). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zahn-Waxler, C., Kochanska, G., Krupnick, J., & McKnew, D. (1990). Patterns of guilt in children of depressed and well mothers. Developmental Psychology, 26, 51–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Families, Work and Well-Being, University of Guelph, N1G2W1, Guelph, ON, Canada

    Karen Korabik PhD

Authors
  1. Karen Korabik PhD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Karen Korabik PhD .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Psychology and Management, Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York, USA

    Maura J. Mills

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Korabik, K. (2015). The Intersection of Gender and Work–Family Guilt. In: Mills, M. (eds) Gender and the Work-Family Experience. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08891-4_8

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation