A STUDY ON MIDDLE-CLASS MARRIED FEMALE TELEWORKERS: THE EFFECT OF WORK-LIFE CONFLICT ON JOB SATISFACTION: A STUDY ON WORK-FAMILY CONFLICT, JOB SATISFACTION AND INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION SATISFACTION

Year 2023, , 232 - 233, 30.07.2023

Yavuz Selim Balcıoğlu , Melike Artar , Prof. Dr. Oya Erdil

https://doi.org/10.17261/Pressacademia.2023.1797

Abstract

Purpose- Telework is seen as one of the most common forms of work after the Covid-19 pandemic (Carvalho et al.,2021). However, it is an undeniable fact that teleworking brings with it different obligations when it comes to gender roles. Although working remotely is considered an advantage for women in traditional societies, the opposite results are obtained in researches (Gálvez, Tirado & Martínez, 2020). Studies show that married women have increased responsibilities at home while working remotely. Married women both do housework or child care and fulfill their job responsibilities. This role conflict, on the other hand, causes work-family conflict to a large extent in women (Van der Lippe & Lippényi, 2020). The conflict between work and family is when the wishes of the individual are not met in both areas of his life: at work and in his personal life (Solís, 2016). The theory of Clark's boundary states that individuals have two worlds, a personal world and a professional world(Clark, 2000). The theory separated work and family as two separate disciplines (Igeltjørn and Habib, 2020). The individual must mold and alter himself as he transitions between his professional and family lives. Boundary theory recognizes the significance of the path individuals take to maintain the boundary between work and personal space. Despite being considered separate entities, "family" and "work" have an indirect relationship that directly affects one another (Rodríguez-Modroño & López-Igual, 2021). On the other hand, we think that the presence of positive feelings towards the job of the employee may have an effect on this negative relationship (Lizana & Vega-Fernadez, 2021). Therefore, within the scope of the study, the relationship between work-private-life conflict and job satisfaction of married women will be examined and the mediating effect of job satisfaction will be examined.
Methodology- The study's questionnaire, it was applied to 271 married female teleworkers in public and private sectors. The data obtained from the questionnaires were analyzed with SPSS 23 statistical package software. In this research, machine learning models and techniques based on transformers were used.
Findings- The findings indicated that (1) married female teleworkers’ work-family conflict is negatively associated with Interpersonal Communication Satisfaction (2) job satisfaction mediate the relationship between work-family conflict and interpersonal Communication Satisfaction Finally, theoretical and managerial implications have been discussed.
Conclusion- The difficulties experienced by married women n while working remotely are multifaceted and complex. Balancing the demands of their professional lives along with fulfilling the needs of their families has become increasingly strenuous, as the boundaries between work and home life have become blurred with remote work situations (Abendroth & Reimann, 2018). The pressure to meet deadlines and participate in virtual meetings has soared to new levels with constant interruptions from children who need attention, guidance, and care throughout the day. Furthermore, the responsibility often falls on the shoulders of these women to balance household chores and caregiving duties in tandem with their professional obligations (Çoban, 2022). This added weight can have a significant impact on their mental health and overall well-being, leading some women to suffer from increased levels of stress, burnout, and anxiety.
However, we observed that positive feelings towards work are of critical importance in the removal of this pressure on married women. Rewarding women in the workplace or receiving incentives to have positive feelings for their work will reduce their negative feelings at work. On the other hand, we argue that the fact that women who work remotely complete their work regardless of working hours will also have a positive effect.

Keywords

Telework, woman, work-family conflict, interpersonal communication, job dissatisfaction

References

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