Work/non-work conflict is important because it tells us about the well-being of individuals and more generally of a particular workplace or organization. Important progress has been made in research literature on the importance of structural policies designed to assist workers to meet competing demands to be at work and at home. More information is needed into organizational influences on the emotional aspects of work/non-work conflict. Based on a survey of over 900 employees, we use factor, correlation and multiple regression analyses to find that exacerbation in work/non-work conflict is a result of high workload pressure, long working hours, unsupportive management and weak employee control, especially control over workload and when employees can take time off.
Abs (2000) Labour Force Status and other Characteristics of Families, Catalogue No. 6224.0, June. Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics.
2.
Allan, C. (1998) `The Elasticity of Endurance: Work Intensification and Workplace Flexibility in the Queensland Public Hospital System', New Zealand Journal of Industrial Relations23(3): 133—51.
3.
Barton, J. and S. Folkard, S. (1991) `The Response of Day and Night Nurses to Their Work Schedules', Journal of Occupational Psychology64: 207—18.
4.
Berg, P., A.L. Kallenberg and E. Appelbaum (2003) `Balancing Work and Family: The Role of High Commitment Environments', Industrial Relations42(2): 168—88.
5.
Bohle, P. and A. Tilley (1989) `The Impact of Nightwork on Psychological Well-being ', Ergonomics32: 1089—99.
6.
Bond, J., E. Galiski and I. Swanberg (1998) The 1997 National Study of the Changing Workplace . New York: Families and Work Initiative .
7.
Buchanan, J. and L. Thornwaite (2001) Paid Work and Parenting: Charting a New Course for Australian Families. Sydney: ACIRRT.
8.
Campbell, I. (2002) `Extended Working Hours in Australia', Labour and Industry13(1): 91—110.
9.
Charles, N. and D. Brown (1981) `Women, Shiftwork and the Sexual Division of Labour ', Sociological Review29: 685—704.
10.
Charlesworth, S., I. Campbell, B. Probert, J. Allan and L. Morgan (2002) `Balancing Work and Family Responsibilities: Policy Implementation Options', A report for the Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC) and Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development . Melbourne: CASR.
11.
Dempster, F. (2003) `Family and Work: Issues and Risk across the Life Course', paper presented to 8th Australian Institute of Family Studies conference — Steps Forward for Families: Research Policy and Practice, Melbourne, February.
12.
Dfcs and Dewr(Department of Family and Community Services and Department of Employment and Workplace Relations) with the assistance of the Work and Family Life Consortium (2002) OECD Review of Family Friendly Policies: The Reconciliation of Work and Family Life, Australia's Background Report. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia.
13.
D'Souza, R.M., L. Strazdins, L.L.-Y. Lim, D.H. Broom and B. Rodgers (2003) `Work and Health in a Contemporary Society: Demands, Control and Insecurity', Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health57: 849—54.
14.
Duxbury, L. (2003) `Work—Life Conflict in Canada in the New Millennium', The Sydney Papers15(1): 78—97.
15.
Evans, J. (2001) Firm's Contribution to the Reconciliation between Work and Family Life, Labour Market and Social Policy Occasional Papers No. 48. Paris: OECD.
16.
Gadbois, C. (1981) `Women on Nightwork: Interdependence of Sleep and Off-thejob-Activities', pp. 223—7 in A. Reinberg, N. Vieux and P. Andlauer (eds) Night and Shiftwork: Biological and Social Aspects . Oxford: Pergamon Press.
17.
Golden, L. and D. Figart (2000) `Doing Something about Long Hours', Challenge43(6): 15—37.
18.
Gray, M. and J. Tudball. (2002) Family-friendly Work Practices: Differences within and between Workplaces, Australian Institute of Family Studies, Research Report No. 7. Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.
19.
Greenhaus, J.H. and N.J. Beutell (1985) `Sources of Conflict between Work and Family Roles ', Academy of Management Review10: 76—88.
20.
Group of 151 Australian Industrial Relations, Labour Market, and Legal Academics (2005) Research Evidence about the Effects of the `Work Choices' Bill, Submission to the Inquiry into the Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices) Bill 2005, Senate Employment, Education and Workplace Relations Committee, Canberra, November.
21.
Gutek, B.A., L. Repetti and D.L. Silver (1988) `Non-work Roles and Stress at Work', pp. 141—76 , in C.L. Cooper and R. Payne (eds) Causes, Coping and Consequences of Stress at Work. Toronto: John Wiley and Sons.
22.
Jackson, S.E., S. Zedeck and E. Summers (1985) `Family Life Disruptions: Effects of Job-induced and Emotional Interference', Academy of Management Journal28(3): 574—86.
23.
Janssen, N. and F. Nijhuis (2004) `Associations between Positive Changes in Perceived Work Characteristics and Change in Fatigue', Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine46(8): 866—75.
24.
Kahn, R.L. and P. Byosiere (1992) `Stress in Organisations', pp. 571—650 in M.D. Dunnette and L. Hough (eds) Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology , 2nd edn. Mountain View, CA : Consulting Psychologists Press.
25.
Kossek, E.E. and V. Nichol (1992) `The Effects of Onsite Childcare on Employee Attitudes and Performance', Personnel Psychology48: 271—88.
26.
Leslie, L.A., E.A. Anderson andM.P. Branson (1991) `Responsibility for Children: The Role of Gender and Employment', Journal of Family Issues12(2): 197—210.
27.
Lewis, S. (1997) ` “Family Friendly” Employment Policies: A Route to Changing Organizational Culture or Playing About at the Margins ?', Gender, Work and Organization4(1): 13—23.
28.
Lewis, S. (2001) `Restructuring Workplace Cultures: The Ultimate Work—Family Challenge?', Women in Management Review16(1): 21—9.
29.
Loscocco, K.A. and A.R. Roschelle (1991) `Influences on the Quality of Work and Nonwork Life: Two Decades in Review', Journal of Vocational Behavior39: 182—225.
30.
Loudoun, R.J. and P.L. Bohle (1997) `Work/non-work Conflict and Health in Shiftwork: Relationship with Marital Status and Social Support', International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health3(suppl. 2): S71—S77.
31.
McCampbell, A.S. (1996) `Benefits Achieved through Alternative Work Schedules ', Human Resource Planning19(31): 30—37.
32.
Meneghan, E. and E. Mervis (1984) `Coping with Occupational Problems: The Limits of Individual Efforts', Journal of Health and Social Behavior25: 406—23.
33.
National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health (NCEPH) (2003) Health for Life: Report from the Pilot Study. Canberra: Australian National University.
34.
Parker, D.F. and T.A. DeCotiis (1983) `Organizational Determinants of Job Stress', Organizational Behavior and Human Performance32: 160—77.
35.
Peetz, D., K. Townsend, B.Russell, C.Houghton andC. Allan (2003) `Race Against Time: Extended Hours in Australia', Australian Bulletin of Labour29(2): 126—42.
36.
Pisarski, A., P. Bohle and V. Callan (1998) `Effects of Coping Strategies, Social Support and Work/non-work Conflict on Shift Worker's Health', Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health24(suppl. 3): 141—6.
37.
Pocock, B. (2001) The Effects of Long Hours on Family and Community Life: A Survey of Existing Literature. Brisbane: QueenslandDepartment of Industrial Relations.
38.
Pocock, B. (2003) The Work/Life Collision. Sydney : The Federation Press.
39.
Pocock, B. (2006) The Labour Market Ate My Babies. Sydney: The Federation Press.
40.
Pocock B. and Clarke J. (2004) Can't Buy Me Love? Young Australians' Views on Parental Work, Time, and Guilt and their own Consumption, Discussion Paper No. 61. Canberra: Australia Institute.
41.
Quinlan, M. (1993) `The Industrial Relations of Occupational Health and Safety', pp. 140—70 in M. Quinlan (ed.) Work and Health. Melbourne: Macmillan Education Australia.
42.
Robson, M. and A. Wedderburn (1990) `Women's Shiftwork and their Domestic Commitments', pp. 137—42 in G. Costa, G. Cesana, K. Kogi and A. Wedderburn (eds) Shiftwork: Health, Sleep and Performance. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.
43.
Roman, P.M. and T.C. Blum (1993) `Work Family Conflict and Employer Responsibility', pp. 299—326, in R.T. Golembiewski (ed.) Handbook of Organizational Behavior. New York : Mancel Dekker Inc.
44.
Russell, G., P. Hwang and L. Hass (2000) `Conclusion', in G. Russell, P. Hwang and G. Hass (eds) Organizational Change and Gender Equity: International Perspectives on Fathers and Mothers at the Workplace . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
45.
Shinn, M., M. Rosario, H. Morch and D.E. Chesnut (1984) `Coping with Job Stress and Burnout in the Human Services', Journal of Personality and Social Psychology46: 864—76.
46.
Sparks, K., C. Cooper, Y. Fried and A. Shirom (1997) `The Effects of Hours of Work on Health: A Meta-analytic Review', Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology70(4): 391—9.
47.
Squirchuk, R. and J. Bourke (1999) `Gender Equity: From Equal Opportunity in Employment to Family-friendly Policies and Beyond', pp. 119—34, in L. Hass, P. Hwang and G. Russell (eds) Organisational Change and Gender Equity: International Perspective on Fathers and Mothers at the Workplace . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
48.
Staines, G.L. and J.H. Pleck (1984) `Nonstandard Work Schedules and Family Life', Journal of Applied Psychology69(3): 315—23.
49.
Theorell, T. and R. Karasek (2000) `The Demand-control-support Model and CVD', pp. 78—83 in P.L. Schnall, K. Belkiæ, P. Landsbergis and D. Baker (eds) The Workplace and Cardiovascular Disease, Occupational Medicine: State of the Art Reviews15(1). Philadelphia, PA: Hanley and Belfus.
50.
Topf, M. (1992) `Stress Effects of Personal Control over Hospital Noise', BehavioralMedicine18(2): 84—94.
51.
Voydanoff, P. (1988) `Work Role Characteristics, Family Structure Demands, and Work/family Conflict', Journal of Marriage and the Family54: 749—61.
52.
Watson, I., J. Buchanan, I. Campbell and C. Briggs (2003) Fragmented Futures: New Challenges in Working Life . Sydney: The Federation Press.
53.
White, N. and M. Bray (2003) `The Changing Role of Nursing Unit Managers: A Case of Work Intensification?', Labour and Industry14(2): 1—20.
54.
Willis, E. (2002) `Enterprise Bargaining and Work Intensification: An Atypical Case Study from the South Australian Public Hospital Sector', New Zealand Journal of Industrial Relations27(2): 221—32.
55.
Zetlin, D. and G. Whitehouse (1998) `Balancing Work and Family Commitments: Developments in Innovative Organisations', AustralianJournal of Early Childhood, 2(3): 9—13.
