Work-Family Stress Work-Family Stress and Safety: Clarifying and Safety: Clarifying

the Connectionsthe Connections Leslie B. Hammer, Ph.D.Leslie B. Hammer, Ph.D.

Presented at the CROET-OHP SeminarPresented at the CROET-OHP SeminarWork-Family Stress: Implications for Safety Work-Family Stress: Implications for Safety

and Healthand Health November 7, 2008November 7, 2008

Outline of TalkOutline of Talk

Work context and Socio-demographic Work context and Socio-demographic changes in the workforcechanges in the workforce

Occupational Safety and Health and Occupational Safety and Health and workplace stressorsworkplace stressors

Occupational Health PsychologyOccupational Health Psychology Connecting OSH to Work and FamilyConnecting OSH to Work and Family Safety as an antecedent and consequence Safety as an antecedent and consequence

of Work-family conflictof Work-family conflict Work-Family and Primary PreventionWork-Family and Primary Prevention

Changing Context of WorkChanging Context of Work

Faster product cycles

Global Markets/Global Competition

Technological Change

Sector shifts (e.g., growth of service & high tech)

Socio-demographic ChangesSocio-demographic Changes

More Dual-Earner Couples

More Older Workers

More Women in the Workforce

More Diversity in the Workforce

Occupational Safety & HealthOccupational Safety & Health

OSHA 1970 was mandated to “assure as far as OSHA 1970 was mandated to “assure as far as possible safe & healthful working conditions for possible safe & healthful working conditions for every working male & female in the nation”every working male & female in the nation”

Engineering, public health, industrial hygiene, Engineering, public health, industrial hygiene, epidemiology, & more recently, organizational epidemiology, & more recently, organizational behavior, management, & social sciences behavior, management, & social sciences contribute to understanding ways of improving contribute to understanding ways of improving safetysafety

Potential Workplace Potential Workplace Stressors Related to SafetyStressors Related to Safety

1.1. Physical demandsPhysical demands

2.2. Task demandsTask demands

3.3. Role DemandsRole Demands

4.4. InterpersonalInterpersonal demandsdemands

Work-family conflict is linked to stressWork-family conflict is linked to stress Stress is linked to safetyStress is linked to safety

Related to safety

What is Occupational Health What is Occupational Health Psychology (OHP)?Psychology (OHP)?

The application of psychology to improving The application of psychology to improving the quality of work life and to protecting the quality of work life and to protecting and promoting the safety, health and well-and promoting the safety, health and well-being of workers. being of workers.

• Sauter, Hurrell, Fox, Tetrick, & Barling, 1999Sauter, Hurrell, Fox, Tetrick, & Barling, 1999

Distinctive Features of OHPDistinctive Features of OHP

OHPIndividual Work

Environment

Work-FamilyInterface

Connecting Occupational Safety Connecting Occupational Safety and Health to Work-Family Issuesand Health to Work-Family Issues

The work-family interface is important in The work-family interface is important in understanding ways of improving safety understanding ways of improving safety and reducing stress on the joband reducing stress on the job

Why Study Work-Family Conflict Why Study Work-Family Conflict and Safety?and Safety?

Work-family conflict is a safety Work-family conflict is a safety hazardhazard

Work-Family Conflict: Work-Family Conflict: ResearchResearch

Antecedents of Work-family ConflictAntecedents of Work-family Conflict

- Work-related- Work-related

- Family-related- Family-related

*********SAFETY*********************SAFETY************

Outcomes of Work-family ConflictOutcomes of Work-family Conflict

- Work-related- Work-related

- Family-related- Family-related

- Health and well-being related- Health and well-being related

********SAFETY***************SAFETY*******

Safety as an Antecedent of WFCSafety as an Antecedent of WFC

higher levels of perceived safety climate higher levels of perceived safety climate were related to lower levels of work-to-were related to lower levels of work-to-family conflict (Grzywacz, Arcury, Marin, family conflict (Grzywacz, Arcury, Marin, Carrillo, Burke, Coates, & Quandt, 2007), Carrillo, Burke, Coates, & Quandt, 2007),

Safety as a ConsequenceSafety as a Consequence

Cullen & Hammer (2007) Daniels, Hammer, Truxillo (2008)Daniels, Hammer, Truxillo (2008) Hammer, Kossek, Anger,Bodner, & Hammer, Kossek, Anger,Bodner, &

Zimmerman, 2008Zimmerman, 2008

Family-to-WorkConflict

Safety Performance

Work-to-FamilyConflictWork

Performance Norms

Work Overload

Models Tested

Cullen & Hammer (2007):

Connecting MechanismsConnecting Mechanisms

Daniels, Hammer, Truxillo (2008): Daniels, Hammer, Truxillo (2008):

Family-to-Work Conflict

WorkplaceCognitive

Failure

SafetyPerformance

Intervention EffectsIntervention Effects

Hammer, Kossek, Anger,Bodner, & Hammer, Kossek, Anger,Bodner, & Zimmerman, 2008Zimmerman, 2008

*Higher scores on the safety compliance measure reported by *Higher scores on the safety compliance measure reported by experimental group compared to control groupexperimental group compared to control group

Work-FamilySupervisor Training

SafetyPerformance

WFC Reduction and Primary WFC Reduction and Primary PreventionsPreventions

increasing control over when and where increasing control over when and where work is done helps to alleviate such stress work is done helps to alleviate such stress (e.g., Kelly & Moen, 2007), (e.g., Kelly & Moen, 2007),

providing supervisor support for work and providing supervisor support for work and family can reduce work-family conflict family can reduce work-family conflict (Hammer et al., 2008) (Hammer et al., 2008)

Family Supportive Supervisory Behaviors Family Supportive Supervisory Behaviors (Hammer, Kosek, Yragui, Bodner, & (Hammer, Kosek, Yragui, Bodner, &

Hanson, in press)Hanson, in press)

Emotional Support for familyEmotional Support for family

Instrumental Support with scheduling Instrumental Support with scheduling conflictsconflicts

Role ModelingRole Modeling

Creative Work-Family ManagementCreative Work-Family Management

How to Alleviate W-F ConflictHow to Alleviate W-F ConflictFormal & Informal SupportsFormal & Informal Supports

Child/elder care resource & referral services, Child/elder care resource & referral services, flexible work scheduling, job sharing, perceived flexible work scheduling, job sharing, perceived managerial support, work-family climate for managerial support, work-family climate for sharingsharing

Family-Friendly CultureFamily-Friendly Culture If the overarching org. If the overarching org. philosophy is sensitive to the family needs of philosophy is sensitive to the family needs of employeesemployees

Managerial Work-Family Training—WFH Managerial Work-Family Training—WFH Network StudyNetwork Study

Work, Family, and Work, Family, and Health Network StudyHealth Network Study

- 5-year multisite, randomized field experiment, 5-year multisite, randomized field experiment, funded by the NIH and CDCfunded by the NIH and CDC

- Intervention: to increased control over work Intervention: to increased control over work schedule, increased supervisor support, and schedule, increased supervisor support, and supervisor self-monitoringsupervisor self-monitoring

- Outcomes: work, safety, and health outcomes for Outcomes: work, safety, and health outcomes for workers and their familiesworkers and their families

- http://www.kpchr.org/workplacenetwork/http://www.kpchr.org/workplacenetwork/

Summary

Work and family are two of the most Work and family are two of the most important areas in adult lives, and the important areas in adult lives, and the more that is known about the difficulties more that is known about the difficulties integrating these two roles, the more integrating these two roles, the more progress can be made towards reducing progress can be made towards reducing the negative outcomes on safety and the negative outcomes on safety and health of workershealth of workers