Global cities, work and family collectivism and work-family conflict in India

摘要

Purpose - The authors observe the impact of certain aspects of globalization on the work-family interface in India. Specifically, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of life in Tier 1 (more globalized) vs Tier 2 (less globalized) cities, family/work collectivism and gender on work-family conflict (WFC) - both work interfering with family (WIF) conflict as well as family interfering with work (FIW) conflict. Design/methodology/approach - The study surveyed 628 young employees on cultural values of collectivism and WFC. Findings - Results suggest a main effect of tier in which Tier 1 city individuals experience more of both forms of WFC than Tier 2 city individuals. However, two- and three-way interactions between family/work collectivism and tier greatly moderate the main effect Interactions indicate that family collectivism decreased WIF more for Tier 1 as compared to Tier 2 cities and work collectivism decreased FIW more for Tier 2 as compared to Tier 1 cities. The results suggest that high family collectivism creates high conflict for those who are low on work collectivism and high family collectivism creates low conflict for those who are high on work collectivism. Research limitations/implications - The paper provides great insight into globalization and WFC within the context of cultural values. The paper calls for further studies on globalization, work life enrichment and cultural values. Practical implications - The results build a case for more paid and organizationally supported interventions for work-life balance in India. Originality/value - Large scale institutional changes, such as globalization, call for a reexamination of cultural dynamics. This study heeds the call and examines WFC in the context of rapid economic and social transformation occurring in India by bridging globalization, cultural change and WIF/FIW.