WORK-HOME ROLE CONFLICT OF FEMALE ADMINISTRATORS IN

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS IN THE CENTRAL AND GREATER ACCRA

REGIONS OF GHANA.

by Janet A. Koomson.

(PhD)

BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

In Ghana, female professionals have two roles to perform:

1. primary role – domestic responsibilities

2. secondary role - professional duties

Domestic responsibilities

Child bearing and rearing responsibilities Domestic tasks - care of husband - child care

- cleaning - cooking- washing of clothing - taking care of the sick etc.

Professional duties

HeadmistressAssistant HeadmistressSenior HousemistressSubject Teacher

In Senior High Schools

Balancing these two roles might bring about a dilemma for the female administrator as conflict of loyalty often arises. With such conflicts, the administrator is bound to falter in one or the other of her roles, which might affect her productivity and output.

WHAT IS WORK- HOME ROLE CONFLICT?

Thompson (2003) defined role conflict as the extent to which experiences in the work role result in diminished performance in the family role. This definition explicitly recognizes that work-family conflict represents cross-role interference in performance

Greenhaus and Bentell (1985) define work home conflict as a form of inter-role inconsistency in which the role pressures from work and home domains are mutually incompatible in some respect.

Statement of the problem

Considering the problems of African women as they work outside the home, the study examined whether female administrators experienced any conflicts as they tried to balance their professional duties with their home responsibilities.

Research Questions

Is there an existence of work-home role conflict? What is the nature of the conflict?

What are the problems that work-home role conflict creates?

How do the problems of work-home role conflict affect administrator effectiveness and work output?

Research Questions-cont’d

How do the problems of work-home role conflict affect household responsibilities of the female administrator?

How do the school administrators manage work-home role conflict?

Hypothesis

Ho: There is no significant difference of work-home role conflict for the Headmistress, the Assistant Headmistress, and the Senior Housemistress.

H1 There is a significant difference in

work-home role conflict for the Headmistress, the Assistant Headmistress, and the Senior Housemistress.

Research Design

A descriptive survey -Hypothesis formulation and

testing -Analysis of relationships between

non-manipulative variables.

Sample

.  Headmistress- 18

Assistant Headmistress- 37

Senior Housemistress- 25

RESULTS AND FINDINGS

Research Question 1: Is there an existence of work-home role conflict? What is the

nature of the conflict?

That there was a work-home role conflict was evident from the findings. Majority of respondents had difficulty combining administrative work with home duties.

Table 1:Difficulty in Combining Administrative Work with Home Responsibility

Position Response Frequency %

Headmistress

Total

Often

No

13

6

19

68.4

31.6

100

Assistant Headmistress

Total

Often

No

29

7

36

80.6

19.4

100

Senior housemistress

Often

No

Total

21

4

25

84.0

16.0

100

Nature of Conflict

The nature of the conflict was such that, majority of female administrators will abandon their home responsibilities for their administrative work (see Table 2). This means that if the administrator has to make a choice, she would choose administrative work against household duties.

Table 2: Abandoning Household Work for Administrative Duties

Response No. %

Often 63 78.8

Seldom 17 21.2

Total 80 100.0

Research Question 2: What are the problems that work-home role conflict creates?

There was evidence that work-home role conflict created three main problems.

Periods of fatigue, Periods of emotional exhaustion Excessive time demands for both

administrative and household chores

Table 3: Problems of Work-Home Role Conflict

Periods of FatiguePeriods of Emotional Exhaustion

Excessive Time Demands

Often Seldom No % No %

Often Seldom No % No %

Often SeldomNo % No %

Headmistress 13 68.5 6 31.5

11 57.9 8 42.1

19 100 0 0

AssistantHeadmistress

29 80.6 7 19.4 29 80.6 7 19.4

33 91.7 3 8.3

SeniorHousemistress

17 68.0 8 32.0 16 64.0 9 36.00 24 96.0 1 4.0

Research Question 3: How do the problems of work-home role conflict affect

administrator effectiveness and work output?

That the problems of work-home role conflict affect administrative effectiveness and output was evidenced from the study.

An examination of the Table 4 indicates that, majority of respondents (63.0%) listed various effects of the problems of the conflict on administrative effectiveness and work output.

Table 4: Effects of Problems of Work-home role Conflict on Administrative Effectiveness

Effects) No %

Administrative work has to be deferred or slowed down

16 20.0

Stressful and lack of concentration 14 17.5

Too tired therefore neglect duties 5 6.3

Do extra time to finish uncompleted administrative work 4 5.0

Not available for consultation by students and teachers 3 3.8

Leaving administrative work undone to care for sick child 3 3.8

Late for work 3 3.8

Table 4 Continued:

Effects No %

No good supervision therefore teachers may shirk responsibilities 3 3.8

Delegate duties 2 2.5

Does not affect work 29 36.3

Total80 100

Research Question 4: How do the problems of work-home role conflict affect household responsibilities of the female administrator?

It was evident from the study that the problems of work-home role conflict not only affect administrative work but also household duties of the female administrator (see Table 5).

Table 5: Effects of Work-home Role Conflict on Home Responsibilities

Effects No %

Less responsibilities 17 21.3

Husband and children are neglected. No quality time with them

12 15.1

Have to abandon household chores and attend to students

8 10.0

Household problems are left for husband and children to solve 4 5.0

Abandon sick child and attend to administrative work 2 2.5

Household chores are left in the hands of house helps 1 1.3

Total 80 100

Research Question 5: How do the school administrators manage work-home conflict?

From the study it was realized that female administrators have found various ways and strategies, though not very successfully, at managing work home role conflict.

Table 6: Management of Work-home Role Conflict

Strategy Frequency %

Planning 23 28.8

Pursuing leisure 11 13.8

Help from house helps, children, husband and students

10 12.5

Delegation of duties 7 8.8

Table 6 Continued:

Strategy Frequency %

Distinction between administrative and household responsibilities 7

8.8.3

Bulking cooking and storing 7 8.8

Praying and reading the word of God 5 6.3

Use of time and labour saving devices 2 2.5

Table 6 Continued:

Strategy Frequency %

Doing most household chores during the weekends 2 2.5

Bulk purchasing 1 1.3

Eating well 1 1.3

Working late or early in the day

1 1.3

No response 3 3.8

Total 80 100.0

HYPOTHESIS

Ho: There is no significant difference of work-home role conflict for the Headmistress, the Assistant Headmistress, and the Senior Housemistress.

H1 There is a significant difference in work-

home role conflict for the Headmistress, the Assistant Headmistress, and the Senior Housemistress.

Chi- Square Test Result

Value df Asymp Sig (2-sided)

Pearson Chi-Square 1.639 2 0.429

Likelihood Ratio 1.610 2 0.447

Linear –by- Linear Association 1.453 1 0.228

N of Valid Cases 80

Reporting on hypothesis

Using 3x2 Independent Pearson Chi-square, (N=80, 2) =1.693,α = 0.429, there is no statistically significant difference among the headmistress, assistant headmistress and senior mistress in relation to work-home role conflict.

Thus the null hypothesis cannot be rejected.

CONCLUSIONS

Work-home role conflict exists, as women administrators try to balance administrative work with household activities

Work-home role conflict creates problems for female administrators

The problems of work-home role conflict affect their work output.

RECOMMENDATIONS Female administrators should go through formal

training in educational administration, as this will expose them to effective management skills in the performance of their duties.

Allowances and incentive packages should be provided for female administrators. Allowances for house helps should not only be given to Heads of schools, but also to Assistant Headmistresses and Senior Housemistresses

The reduction of teaching periods for Assistant Headmistresses and Senior House Mistresses

THANK YOU!