Changing Work and Work-Family Conflict in an Information Technology Workplace: Evidence from the Work, Family and Health Network

Erin Kelly, University of Minnesota
Phyllis Moen, University of Minnesota
J. Michael Oakes, University of Minnesota
Cassandra Okechukwu, Harvard University
Kelly Davis, Pennsylvania State University
Ellen Kossek, Purdue University
Ginger Hanson, Kaiser Permanente
Frank Mierzwa, RTI International
Lynne M. Casper, University of Southern California

Research suggests that schedule control and supervisor support for family and personal life are key work resources for managing work-family conflict, but existing data and designs have made it difficult to identify the effects of these resources. This analysis utilizes a group-randomized trial in which some units in an information technology (IT) workplace participated in an initiative designed to modify the social environment of the workplace. We find statistically significant, though modest, improvements in employees’ work-family conflict and larger changes in schedule control and supervisor support for family and personal life. We find no evidence that this intervention increased work hours or perceived job demands and subgroup analyses suggest the intervention brings greater benefits to those employees with greater need. [Note: This paper is being submitted along with others from the Work, Family, and Health Study.]