scaling back on international assignments: work and family...

Scaling Back on International Assignments: Work and Family Matter

Min Wan, Doctoral Student

Romila Singh, Ph.D.

Margaret Shaffer, Ph.D.

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Janice Joplin, Ph.D.

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Work and Family Researchers Network Conference

New York City

June 2014

Expatriate failure

Generally 4%-6% of all international assignments fail in any given year (Brookfield,2012)

The cost of a single failed expatriate assignment ranges between $250,000 and $1,000,000 (Vogel, Van Vuuren & Millard,2008)

A critical and broader window in understanding the phenomenon of expatriate failure is necessary (Shaffer & Harrison, 1998)

Psychological work withdrawal The withholding of work efforts for a period of time (Hanisch, 2002)

Represents a less drastic and (possibly less) irreversible form of coping with aversive work conditions or assignment stresses

Introduction

Examine how work and family factors trigger expatriate psychological work withdrawal

Uncover the role of work-family conflict as a possible intervening mechanism that links work and family demands with expatriate psychological work withdrawal

Research Purposes

Theoretical foundations Stressor-Strain Paradigm (Schaubroeck, Cotton, & Jennings, 1989)

Conservation of Resources Theory (Hobfoll,1989)

Spillover Theory (Edwards & Rothbard,2000)

Constructs Psychological work withdrawal (Hanisch,2002)

Work demands (i.e., Travel commitment, time stress, and work maladjustment)

Family demands (i.e., Childcare hours, parental demands, and spouse maladjustment)

Work-family conflict (Greenhaus & Beutell, 1985)

Theoretical Foundations & Constructs

Hypothesized Model

Work demands Travel commitment Time stress Work maladjustment

Family demands Childcare hours Parental demands Family maladjustment

WIF

FIW

Psychological work withdrawal

Main effects:

Mediating effects:

Main Effects



WIF

FIW


H1a-c: Work demands in the form of (a) travel commitment, (b) time stress and (c)work maladjustment will have a positive influence on WIF. H2a-c: Family demands in the form of (a) time commitment to childcare, (b) parental demands and (c) spouse maladjustment will have a positive influence on FIW. H3a-b: Both (a) WIF and (b) FIW will have a positive influence on expatriate psychological work withdrawal.

Mediating Effects (1)



WIF

FIW


H 4-a: WIF will mediate the relationship between work demands and psychological work withdrawal. H4-b: FIW will mediate the relationship between family demands and psychological work withdrawal.


WIF

FIW


H 5-a: FIW will mediate the relationship between WIF and psychological work withdrawal. H5-b: WIF will mediate the relationship between FIW and psychological work withdrawal.




WIF

FIW


H 6-a: WIF and FIW will sequentially mediate the relationships between work demands and psychological work withdrawal following the path: Work Demands->WIF->FIW->Psychological Work Withdrawal. H6-b: WIF and FIW will sequentially mediate the relationships between family demands and psychological work withdrawal following the path: Family Demands->FIW->WIF->Psychological Work Withdrawal.

Sample

Random sample of members (121) and their spouses (79) of social organizations for expatriates in Hong Kong

92% were males

Average age was 45

78 % had at least a bachelor’s degree

Expatriates had a median of one child on assignment

Established and validated measures used

Controls: Age, working hours, and cultural novelty

Sample & Measures

Table 1: Results (Main Effects)

WIF (S)WIF FIW Psych. work withdrawal

Work demands

Travel commitment .21** .19* -.03

Time stress .43*** .32** .14

Work maladjustment .19* .01 .27**

Family demands

Childcare hours .23* .27*

Parental demands - .00 -.13

Spouse maladjustment .33*** .19*

Work-family conflict

WIF -.03

FIW .48***

Table 2: Results (Mediating Effects)

Main effects on Psych. work withdrawal

Main effects of WFC on Psych. work

withdrawal

Mediated effects

Work demands

Travel commitment -.03 -.08

Time stress .14 .03

Work maladjustment .27** .25**

Family demands

Childcare hours .27* .16

Parental demands -.13 -.09

Spouse maladjustment .19* .05

Mediators

WIF .26* .21

FIW .47*** .43***

Table 3: Results (Mediating Effects)

Main effect on Psych. work withdrawal

Main effect of WFC on Psych. work

withdrawal

Mediated effects

Work domain

WIF .26* -.03

Mediator

FIW .47*** .48***

Family domain

FIW .47*** .48***

Mediator

WIF .26* .03

Table 4: Results (Sequentially Mediating Effects)



WIF

FIW


H 6-a: WIF and FIW will sequentially mediate the relationships between work demands and psychological work withdrawal following the path: Work Demands->WIF->FIW->Psychological Work Withdrawal (Supported). H6-b: WIF and FIW will sequentially mediate the relationships between family demands and psychological work withdrawal following the path: Family Demands->FIW->WIF->Psychological Work Withdrawal (Not supported).

Domain specific work and family demands influence WIF and FIW respectively

FIW is positively related to psychological work withdrawal

FIW mediates the relationship between family demands (i.e., childcare hours and spouse maladjustment) and psychological work withdrawal

WIF and FIW sequentially mediate work demands (i.e., travel commitment, time stress, and work maladjustment) and psychological work withdrawal

Discussion

Cross-sectional data

Common method variance

Small sample size

Limitations

Domain specific demands and work-family conflict explain the phenomenon of expatriate psychological work withdrawal

FIW is more influential than WIF in explaining the relationship between family demands and expatriate psychological work withdrawal

WIF and FIW provide a sequential mediated pathway from work demands to expatriate psychological work withdrawal

Contributions

Thank you!

Questions?

Table 4: Sequentially Mediating Effects

Effect SE BC CI (Lower) BC CI (Higher)

Travel commitment->WIF->FIW->Psych. work withdrawal

.0039 .0019 .0012 .0089

Time stress ->WIF->FIW->Psych. work withdrawal

.0506 .0185 .0245 .1047

Work maladjustment-

>WIF->FIW->Psych. work withdrawal

.0263 .0136 .0666 .0067

Psychological work withdrawal (Price & Harrison, 1993)

Work-family conflict (Carlson, Kacmar,& Williams,2000)

Work demands Travel commitment - Average number of days each month for travel on business

Time stress (Matteson & Ivancevich, 1987)

Work maladjustment (Black & Stephens ,1989)

Family demands Childcare hours - Number of hours spending on caring for children

Parental demands - Number and age of children (Bedeian, Burke, & Moffett , 1998)

Spouse maladjustment (Shaffer & Harrison, 2001)

Measurement

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