Finding time over time: Longitudinal links between employed mothers' work-family conflict and time profiles.
Drawing upon the Work-Home Resources model (ten Brummelhuis & Bakker, 2012), this study examined the links between work-family conflict and employed mothers' profiles of time resources for work and parenting roles. Using a person-centered latent profile approach, we identified 3 profiles of time use and perceived time adequacy in a sample of mothers employed in the extended-care industry (N = 440): a Work-Oriented profile, characterized by spending relatively more time at work, perceiving lower time adequacy for work, spending less time with children, and perceiving lower time adequacy for children; a Parenting-Oriented profile, characterized by the opposite pattern; and a Role-Balanced profile, characterized by average levels across the 4 dimensions. Mothers in the Work-Oriented profile reported greater work-to-family conflict and family to-work conflict than those in the Role-Balanced and Parenting-Oriented profiles. Greater work-to-family conflict was linked to membership in the Work-Oriented profile, net of personal, family, and work characteristics. Longitudinal latent profile transition analysis showed that increases in work-to-family conflict across 12 months were linked to greater odds of moving toward the Work-Oriented profile (relative to staying in the same profile), whereas decreases in work-to-family conflict were linked to greater odds of moving toward the Parenting-Oriented profile. Results illuminate the heterogeneity in how employed mothers perceive and allocate time in work and parenting roles and suggest that decreasing work-to-family conflict may preserve time resources for parenting. Intervention efforts should address ways of increasing employees' family time resources and decreasing work-family conflict. (PsycINFO Database Record
Department of Biobehavioral Health, Pennsylvania State University.
Soomi
S
Lee
Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Pennsylvania State University.
Susan M
SM
McHale
Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Pennsylvania State University.
Ann C
AC
Crouter
Department of Psychology, Portland State University.
Leslie B
LB
Hammer
Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Pennsylvania State University.
David M
DM
Almeida
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D004651:Employment / Q000523:psychology*; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D009726:Nurses / Q000523:psychology*; D000072358:Work-Life Balance