1. Self-Employment and Work-Family Conflict: The Moderating roleSelf-Employment and Work-Family Conflict: The Moderating role
of Core Self-Evaluationsof Core Self-Evaluations
Anuradha Anantharaman, B.A., Thomas Breen, B.A., Masha Statkevich, B.A., Justin Sprung, Ph.D.Anuradha Anantharaman, B.A., Thomas Breen, B.A., Masha Statkevich, B.A., Justin Sprung, Ph.D.
Luther College, Decorah, IowaLuther College, Decorah, Iowa
Email: statma01@luther.eduEmail: statma01@luther.edu oror spruju01@luther.eduspruju01@luther.edu
Midwestern Psychological Association
87th
Annual Meeting
April 30th
- May 2nd
, 2015
PurposePurpose
The purpose of this study was to examine whether self-employment
influences workers’ experience of work-family conflict. The conflict
that can arise between work and family is an important issue in
modern society and it represents a significant concern for a large
portion of the population. Previous research has provided evidence
that self-employed individuals are more likely to have higher levels of
income, be married, and have greater job autonomy, each of which
has been shown to be negatively associated with work-family conflict
(Hundley, 2001). As such, we expected to confirm previous research
showing that self-employed workers would experience less work-
family conflict compared to non-self-employed individuals, as they
generally have more control and autonomy over their work and
leisure schedules. We also decided to examine whether core-self
evaluations would interact with employment type in determining
work-family conflict. Core self-evaluations are broadly defined as an
overarching, fundamental perception that individuals have of
themselves as worthy or competent people (Judge, Locke, Durham,
& Kluger, 1998). This construct has been shown to be an important
variable to consider regarding workplace outcomes. In the context of
the current study, we believe that being self-employed may only
reduce work-family conflict for workers who have a positive
evaluation of themselves and their general abilities (i.e., a positive
core self-evaluation).
HypothesesHypotheses
Hypothesis 1: Self-employed workers would experience less work-
family conflict compared to non-self-employed individuals
Hypothesis 2: Core self evaluations would interact with employment
type in determining work family conflict
MethodMethod
ParticipantsParticipants
•408 entrepreneurs (70% male) participated in an online survey.
•Mean age of participants was 50.94 (SD = 11.52).
•27% of participants were self-employed.
MeasuresMeasures
•Work-Family Conflict was measured with the Work-Family Conflict
Scale (α= .92; Carlson, Kacmar, & Williams, 2000).
•Core self evaluations (CSE) were measured using the Core Self-
Evaluations Scale (α= .82; Judge, Erez, Bono & Thoresen, 2003).
DiscussionDiscussion
Consistent with prior studies, our findings show that people
with high core self-evaluations tend to experience lower levels
of work-family conflict. Meanwhile, we also found that
employment type does not seem to have a direct effect on
work-family conflict. As such, self-employment, alone, does
not seem to be beneficial in terms of reducing work-family
conflict.
Our significant interaction demonstrated that the tendency for
core self-evaluations to reduce work-family conflict was
greater for individuals who were not self-employed. As such,
having a high core self-evaluation seems to be less important
for reducing work-family conflict among self-employed
individuals. This suggests that non self-employed workers may
lack the resources that self-employed people have (i.e.,
autonomy, flexible scheduling), thereby increasing the
importance of having high core self-evaluations for reducing
and/or dealing with work-family conflict.
This is the first study to examine the interaction of
employment type and core self-evaluations. Accordingly,
future work should replicate these findings before firm
conclusions are made. In addition, another direction for future
research is to examine the specific qualities of self-employed
versus non self-employed work (i.e., autonomy, higher level of
income) that may be contributing to our current findings.
ReferencesReferences
Carlson, D.S., Kacmar, K.M., & Williams, L.J. (2000).
Construction and initial validation of a multidimensional
measure of work-family conflict. Journal of Vocational
Behavior, 56, 249-276.
Hundley, G. ( 2001). What and when are the self-employed
more satisfied with their work? Industrial Relations, 40,
293– 316.
Judge, T., Erez, A., Bono, J., & Thoresen, C. (2003). The Core
Self-Evaluations Scale: Development Of A Measure.
Personnel Psychology, 56(2), 303-331.
Judge, T. A., Locke, E. A., Durham, C. C., & Kluger, A. N.
( 1998). Dispositional effects on job and life satisfaction:
The role of core evaluations. Journal of Applied Psychology,
83, 17– 34.
ResultsResults
The results were analyzed using Two-way Analysis of Variance.
Results showed a significant main effect for core self-evaluations, as
individuals with high core self-evaluations reported lower work-
family conflict (M = 2.04, SD = .53) than those with low core self-
evaluations (M = 2.49, SD = .58). Although there was no main effect
for employment type, there was a significant interaction between
employment type and core self-evaluations in predicting work-family
conflict (F(3, 405) = 4.81, p < .05). The interaction can be viewed in
Figure 1.
Figure 1: The interaction effect of core self evaluations
and employment type in predicting work-family conflict