Qualitative Case Study Exploring Why Individual Performance Is Adversely Affected By Work-Family Conflict.

摘要

Organizations that exemplify zero-tolerance for mission failure in the performance of multifaceted, time-sensitive, and worldwide support activities acknowledge a multiplicity of barriers to task fulfillment encountered by employees. In a workplace characterized by increasingly complex commitments, leaders require an increased understanding of all impediments to employee performance. Utilizing role theory and the sub-fields of work-role conflict theory and rational theory, this qualitative single case study explored how work-family conflict adversely affects performance from the perspective of individual employees and managers within a Department of Defense unit. The study location was chosen for its proximity, unique workplace culture, strict adherence to structure, and regimented employee behavior. Passive recruitment was used to identify participants. The population consisted of 10 individuals representing civilian DoD employees and managers in several occupational specialties, backgrounds, and years of service. Data was collected through face-to-face interviews using an in-depth, open-ended interview script to discover experiences and perceptions. The dialogue provided a rich, thick description of findings. Since access to DoD data to identify potentially different interpretations or get a broader view was constrained, public documents that described DoD workforce efficiency, mission preparedness, and quality of life programs informed participants and helped crystallize the findings. Thematic coding and analysis of the data identified critical themes including formal communication, virtual workplace enhancements, and personal dispositional attributes. From these and other emergent themes and synthesis, an integrated strategy is suggested to reduce the adverse effects of work-family conflict on individual performance. The findings of this study identified performance barriers and will enable additional theory-building and scholarship into factors that affect workplace and workforce outcomes. Future research should investigate differences in how formal and informal communication is perceived by employees, study the quality of virtual workplace enhancements on work-family conflict, and explore how personal or dispositional attributes affect managers' and employees' performance effectiveness.