Working Paper No.

123/2012
Work-Family Confict and Job and Family
Satisfaction: Moderating Efect of Social
Support among Police Personnel
Neerpal Rathi
Barath M
May 2012
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Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham,
University
Amritanagar, Ettimadai
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Tamil Nadu, India
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Published
Work-Family Confict and Job and Family
Satisfaction: Moderating Efect of Social
Support among Police Personnel
Abstract
Work and family roles demand a great deal of time and energy from individuals in ful-
flling multiple responsibilities in each role. Balancing multiple roles can increase the
interpersonal and intrapersonal confict among individuals, which further can lead to
work-family confict. The present study investigates the relationship between work-fam-
ily confict (work-to-family and family-to-work confict) with job satisfaction and fam-
ily satisfaction among police personnel. Moreover, this study explores the moderating
efect of social support on the relationship of work-family confict dimensions with job
and family satisfaction. Existing scales were used to measure the variables. The results of
the study indicate work-to-family confict and family-to-work confict to be negatively re-
lated with job and family satisfaction. Social support from work colleagues was observed
to moderate the relationship of work-to-family and family-to-work confict with family
satisfaction. Implications and limitations of the study are discussed. The paper concludes
with views that organizational leaders should focus on understanding: (a) the demands
of work roles on family roles and vice versa and (b) the infuence of these, sometimes in-
compatible, demands on individual and organizational outcomes.

Keywords: Work-family confict, work-to-family confict, family-to-work confict,
job satisfaction, family satisfaction, social support
JEL Classifcation Number: M10, M12, M19
5
Introduction
Work and family domains are two most signifcant constituents of an individuals life.
To fulfll multiple responsibilities in work and family domain require a large amount
of time and energy. Quite often, balancing multiple roles across the two domains
can increase the interpersonal and intrapersonal confict among individuals, which
further can cause work-family confict. Work-family confict is a form of inter-role con-
fict in which the demands from one domain (work or family) are incompatible with
role demands stemming from another domain (family or work) (Greenhaus & Beutell,
1985). The extant literature demonstrates that work-family confict is a two-dimen-
sional construct where: the frst dimension indicates the confict arising when work
roles interfere with family roles (work-to-family confict) and the second dimension
refers to the confict arising when family-related roles interfere with work-related
roles (family-to-work confict) (Kossek & Ozeki, 1998).
From a variety of studies, conducted across diferent countries and cultures, it has
been observed that a high level of work-family confict may have detrimental conse-
quences for employees as well as for the organization. Specifcally, research indicates
that work- family confict is related to increased turnover intentions and reduced job
satisfaction, organizational commitment, and family satisfaction among employees
(Lu et al., 2010; Karatepe & Kilic, 2007; Kossek & Ozeki, 1998; Spector et al., 2007).
The association of work-family confict with job and family satisfaction and other re-
lated outcomes has been extensively investigated among participants representing
a variety of occupations, such as hotel employees, social workers, college professors,
software workers etc. (e.g., Grandey, Cordeiro, & Crouter, 2005; Karatepe & Kilic, 2007;
Namasivayam & Zhao, 2007; Scholarios & Marks, 2004). However, the relationship of
work-family confict with various individual and organizational outcomes among po-
lice personnel remains relatively unexplored, particularly in the Indian context.
Work-Family Confict and Job and Family
Satisfaction: Moderating Efect of Social
Support among Police Personnel
Neerpal Rathi*
Barath M**
* Assistant Professor, OB and HRM Area, Amrita School of Business, Amrita University, Ettimadai, Coimbatore- 641112,
Tamil Nadu, INDIA, Email: neerpal.r@gmail.com, neerishere@yahoo.co.in, Mobile: +91-8056450174
** MBA Student, Amrita School of Business, Amrita University Ettimadai, Coimbatore
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Working Paper No.123/2012
Police work has been regarded as one of the most stressful occupations in the world
(Anshel, 2000). Research shows that police personnel face a variety of problems in
their jobs, such as heavy work load, irregular duty hours, contact with criminals, and
injury during duty (Saha, Sahu, & Paul, 2010). Because of the nature of their job, po-
lice personnel sufer from mental illness and unsatisfactory marriage and family lives
(Staines & Pleck, 1984). Moreover, police personnel are required to work on diferent
schedules like in day and night shifts, even on weekends and holidays. Such work
schedule left police personnel with reduced time for their family members and to
fulfll family responsibilities, thus causing a sense of work-family confict among po-
lice personnel.
Though there a few studies that have explored the association of work-family con-
fict with job satisfaction among correctional ofcers in the Asian context (Hsu, 2011;
Lambert, Hogan, & Barton, 2002), however, to our knowledge, no study has investi-
gated the relationship of work-family confict with job satisfaction and family satis-
faction among police personnel in India. Due to the nature of the work in the police
department, it seems important to study the phenomenon of work-family confict
and its consequences among police personnel. Hence, the present study aims to
mitigate this gap in research by exploring the relationship of work-family confict
(work-to-family confict and family-to-work confict) with job satisfaction and family
satisfaction among police personnel in India. Moreover, this study investigates the
moderating efect of social support from co-workers on the relationship between
work-family confict dimensions and job and family satisfaction.
Literature Review
The Concept of Work-Family Confict
Due to the changing nature of work and the workforce, more and more employees
these days are getting exposed to work-family confict. Greenhaus and Beutell (1985)
defned work-family confict as a form of inter-role confict in which the role pres-
sures from the work and family domains are mutually incompatible in some respect.
That is, participation in the work (family) role is made more difcult by virtue of par-
ticipation in the family (work) role (p. 77). Greenhaus and Beutell (1985) further ar-
gued that confict can occur when: (a) time devoted to the requirements of one role
makes it difcult to fulfll requirements of another, (b) strain from participation in
one role makes it difcult to fulfll requirements of another, or (c) specifc behavior
required by one role makes it difcult to fulfll requirements of another.
An analysis of the extant literature reveals that work-family confict is a bidirectional
construct i.e., work can interfere with family roles (work-to-family confict) and family
7
Neerpal Rathi and Bharat M: Work Family Conict and Job
can interfere with work roles (family-to-work confict) (Grandey et al., 2005; Judge,
Ilies, & Scott, 2006; Kossek & Ozeki, 1998; Netemeyer, Boles, & McMurrian, 1996). Ac-
cording to Netemeyer et al. (1996), work-to-family confict refers to a form of inter-
role confict in which the general demands of, time devoted to, and strain created
by the job interfere with performing family-related responsibilities, while family-to-
work confict refers to a form of inter-role confict in which the general demands of,
time devoted to, and strain created by the family interfere with performing work-
related responsibilities.
Several researchers have investigated the individual and organizational outcomes
of work-to-family and family-to-work confict. In most of the studies, it has been ob-
served that work-to-family and family-to-work confict negatively infuence various
individual and organizational outcomes, such as job performance, job satisfaction,
turnover intentions, and family satisfaction (Grandey et al., 2005; Judge et al., 2006;
Netemeyer, Brashear-Alejandro, & Boles, 2004).
Job Satisfaction and Family Satisfaction
Job satisfaction is defned as a pleasurable emotional state that results from an indi-
vidual appraisal of ones job (Locke, 1969). According to Brief (1998), job satisfaction
is an internal state that is expressed by afectively and/or cognitively evaluating an
experienced job with some degree of favor or disfavor. Family satisfaction, on the
other hand, may be defned as the degree to which family members feel happy and
fulflled with each other. Researchers have proposed that both job and family satis-
faction are evaluative states that vary substantially over time (Judge et al., 2006; Ilies
& Judge, 2002). The extant literature in management and I/O psychology indicates
that job satisfaction has signifcant implications for organizations, and contributes to
enhancing overall organizational efectiveness. It has been observed that job satis-
faction produces many favorable organizational outcomes, such as lower absentee-
ism and turnover rate and increased job performance, organizational commitment,
customer satisfaction, and organizational citizenship behavior (Judge, Thoresen,
Bono, & Patton, 2001; Kinicki, McKee-Ryan, Schriesheim, & Carson, 2002).
In addition to exploring the individual and organizational consequences of job sat-
isfaction, researcher have proposed and investigated several antecedents of job sat-
isfaction. From a variety of job satisfaction antecedents, job characteristics and the
disposition of employees have been identifed as the signifcant predictors. In addi-
tion, work- family confict is identifed as an important predictor of job satisfaction.
Researchers argued that individuals who experience work-family confict generally
seem unsatisfed with their jobs (Grandey et al., 2005; Hsu, 2011; Judge et al., 2006;
Namasivayam & Zhao, 2007).
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Working Paper No.123/2012
For instance, in a meta-analytic study, Kossek and Ozeki (1998) reported a consistent
negative relationship between both dimensions of work-family confict i.e., work-to-
family confict and family-to-work confict and job satisfaction. Kossek and Ozeki for-
ward the view that reducing employees inter-role confict can lead to an enhanced
level of job satisfaction. In a longitudinal research, Grandey and her colleagues (2005)
found that work-to-family and family-to-work confict are negatively associated with
the job satisfaction. However, in their study, work-to-family confict was observed to
show stronger correlation with job satisfaction than family-to-work confict.
The association between work-family confict and job satisfaction can better be un-
derstand with the help of role theory. Role theory assumes that individuals maintain
multiple identities and confict results when the demands of these identities inter-
fere with one another (Baldwin, Ellis, & Baldwin, 1999). Accepting the existence of
multiple identities in an individuals life, Grandey et al. (2005) proposed that among
various roles, work and family roles are the two most important life roles for most
people and incompatibility between them may create tension and negative feelings.
For instance, if family role is highly signifcant for an individual and an important part
of ones identity, then a perception on part of the individual that work is draining
time and energy needed for the family role (work-to-family confict) may create a
sense of threat to ones self (Grandey et al., 2005, p. 317). Research literature suggests
that if work is considered to be the source of this interference then the employee
may develop a negative attitude towards his or her job, resulting in lower job satis-
faction (Grandey et al., 2005; Judge et al., 2006).
On the other hand, if work role is highly valued by an individual and is an impor-
tant part of that individuals identity, then the individuals perception that family is a
threat to work time and energy may create a negative attitude toward family since
family is considered as the source of interference, which further can result in lower
family satisfaction (Grandey et al., 2005). The notion that work-to-family and family-
to-work confict may have negative infuence on job and family satisfaction was also
supported by the research carried out by Judge and his colleagues (2006). In their re-
search, Judge et al. (2006) observed that work-to-family and family-to-work confict
are negatively associated with job and marital satisfaction. Judge et al. (2006) further
proposed that the confict resulting from the incompatibility between work and fam-
ily roles infuences the satisfaction from the role being impeded, causing lower job
and marital satisfaction. Several other studies have also reported that work-to-family
and family-to-work confict are negatively associated with job satisfaction (Karatepe
& Kilic, 2007; Karatepe & Sokmen, 2006; Netemeyer et al., 1996; Spector et al., 2007)
and family satisfaction (Lu et al., 2010; ODriscoll,Brough, & Kalliath, 2004). Based
upon this, the following hypotheses are proposed:
9
Neerpal Rathi and Bharat M: Work Family Conict and Job
Hypothesis 1: Work-to-family confict will be negatively correlated with both job
satisfaction and family satisfaction.
Hypothesis 2: Family-to-work confict will be negatively correlated with both job
satisfaction and family satisfaction.

Moderating Efect of Social Support
Not many researchers have investigated the moderating efect of social support, par-
ticularly co-worker support, on the relationship of work-to-family and family-to-work
confict with job and family satisfaction. Nevertheless, the results of a few studies
carried out in this direction indicate that social support acts as a moderator in the
relationship between work-family confict and job and family satisfaction (e.g., Hsu,
2011; ODriscoll et al., 2004). Researchers argued that social support acts like a bufer
and infuences the relationship between work-family confict and job satisfaction.
For instance, Boles and Babin (1996) maintained that perceived co-worker involve-
ment and supervisory support reduce work stress and enhance job satisfaction. In
a cross-cultural study, conducted on Taiwanese and British employees, Lu and col-
leagues (2010) found social support received at work to have a moderating efect on
the relationship of work-family confict with job and family satisfaction.
In another research, Hsu (2011) found a signifcant interaction efect of supervisor
support on the relationship between work-family confict and job satisfaction. Ex-
plaining the positive efect of social support, Kamerman and Kahn (1987) contended
that social support received at the workplace helps in integrating work-family roles,
which may reduce inter-role confict and can lead to higher job satisfaction. In a lon-
gitudinal study, ODriscoll and colleagues (2004) found that support from work col-
leagues moderated the relationship of work-to-family and family-to-work confict
with job satisfaction and family satisfaction. Accordingly, the followings hypotheses
are proposed:
Hypothesis 3: Social support from coworkers will moderate the relationship between
work-to-family confict and job satisfaction and family satisfaction.
Hypothesis 4: Social support from coworkers will moderate the relationship between
family-to-work confict and job satisfaction and family satisfaction.
Figure 1 shows this proposed research model representing the hypothesized rela-
tionships among the studied variables mentioned above.
Insert Figure 1 about here
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Working Paper No.123/2012
Methodology
Sample
Data used in the present study were collected from police personnel based in the
southern part of India. In the data collection process, frst, the commissioner of po-
lice was approached with a request to seek permission for collecting the data. The
police commissioner was informed about the objective of the study and was assured
that collected data would be used only for the research purpose. When permission
was granted for data collection, survey questionnaires were hand delivered to the
police personnel. They too were informed about the objective of the study and were
assured regarding confdentiality of their responses. A total of 255 police person-
nel were contacted and requested to complete the questionnaires. From these, 148
returned the completed questionnaires, thus making a response rate of 58 per cent.
Out of a total of 148 participants, 120 respondents (81 per cent) were male, while
28 participants (19 per cent) were female. Based on age of the respondents, it was
observed that 78 participants (53 per cent) fall in age range of 30 years or below, 53
participants (36 per cent) were between 31 to 40 years, and 17 respondents (11 per
cent) were in the age range of 41 years or above.
Measures
Existing scales were used to measure the constructs investigated in the current study.
The measures used in this study consisted of items with response options ranging,
unless otherwise indicated, from 1 for strongly disagree to 7 for strongly agree.
Work-to-family confict: Work-to-family confict was assessed using the fve items ad-
opted from the work of Netemeyer et al. (1996). It measures the employee percep-
tion of the degree to which work interferes with family life. A sample item from the
work-family confict scale is: Things I want to do at home do not get done because
of demands my job puts on me. Cronbachs alpha for work-to-family confict scale
was found to be .87.
Antecedents Consequences
Work-to-family confict
Family-to-work confict
Job satisfaction
Family Satisfaction
Social support
Moderator
Figure 1: Proposed research model
11
Neerpal Rathi and Bharat M: Work Family Conict and Job
Family-to-work confict: Five items from the scale developed by Netemeyer et al.
(1996) were employed to measure the family-to-work confict. A sample item from
the family-to-work confict scale is: My home life interferes with my responsibili-
ties at work such as getting to work on time, accomplishing daily tasks, and working
overtime. Reliability coefcient of .70 was found for family-to-work confict scale.
Job satisfaction: Job satisfaction was assessed using the 3-items general job satisfac-
tion subscale, part of the job diagnostic survey (JDS) (Hackman & Oldham, 1975). The
3-items general job satisfaction subscale of the JDS measures the extent to which an
employee is satisfed and happy with the current job (Hackman & Oldham, 1975). The
items included statements such as I am generally satisfed with the kind of work I do
in my job. Reliability coefcient of .76 was found for job satisfaction scale.
Family satisfaction: To measure the family satisfaction of respondents, a shortened
version of Brayfeld and Rothes (1951) job satisfaction scale was used. This shortened
version consisted of total fve items. In the modifed version of the scale, the word
work was replaced with the term family life. A few other researchers have also
used measure modifcation of this nature (Aryee, Luk, Leung, & Lo, 1999). For family
satisfaction scale, participants were asked to respond using a fve-point Likert-scale
ranging from 1 for strongly disagree to 5 for strongly agree. A sample item from the
family satisfaction scale is, I fnd real enjoyment in my family life. Cronbachs alpha
for family satisfaction scale was found to be .62.
Social support: The extent to which respondents experienced social support from
their work colleagues was assessed with the help of measure adopted from ODriscoll
et al. (2004). This measure consists of four items. Respondents were asked how often,
over the previous three months, they have received four diferent types of support
from their colleagues: helpful information or advice (informational support), sympa-
thetic understanding and concern (emotional support), clear and helpful feedback
(feedback support), and practical assistance (practical support). A six-point frequen-
cy response scale was used, where 1 = never and 6 = all the time. A reliability coef-
fcient of .60 was found for the social support scale.
Results
Means, standard deviations, intercorrelations, and reliability coefcients of the study
variables are reported in Table 1. A perusal of the results presented in Table 1 indi-
cates a negative and signifcant relationship between work-to-family confict and job
satisfaction (r = -.31; p < .01), while no signifcant relationship was found between
work-to-family confict and family satisfaction. This refects that hypothesis 1 was
partially supported by the fndings of the study. Furthermore, a negative and signif-
cant correlation was found between family-to-work confict and family satisfaction
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Variables Mean SD 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1. WFC 20.43 6.25 (.87)
2. FWC 17.96 5.11 .61** (.70)
3. Job 5.84 3.07 -.31** -.29** (.76)
Satisfaction
4. Family 7.93 2.69 -.06 -.12 .47** (.62)
Satisfaction
5. Social 9.57 2.56 -.04 -.04 .20* .25** (.60)
Support
6. Age 1.59 .68 .01 -.07 -.19* .01 -.04 -
7. Gender 1.19 .39 .14 .09 .05 .04 .10 -.06 -
Table1: Means, standard deviations, intercorrelations, and reliability
coefcients of the study variables
*p <.05; ** p <.01; SD = Standard Deviation; WFC = Work-to-family confict; FWC = Family-to-work
confict
Moderated hierarchical regression analysis was used to investigate the moderating
efect of social support from coworkers on the relationship of work-to-family and
family-to-work confict with job satisfaction and family satisfaction. Table 2 presents
the results of the moderated regression analysis. Hypothesis 3 assumed that social
support from co-workers will moderate the relationship between work-to-family
confict and job and family satisfaction. The results reported in Table 2 show signif-
cant interaction efect of social support on the relationship between work-to-family
confict and family satisfaction ( = .24; p < .01), while in case of the relationship be-
tween work-to-family confict and job satisfaction no signifcant moderating efect
of social support was observed. Hence, hypothesis 3 was accepted partially. Finally,
the results of the study indicate a signifcant moderating efect of social support on
the relationship of family-to-work confict with family satisfaction ( = .15; p < .10),
whereas social support was not found to have any signifcant interaction efect on
the relationship between family-to-work confict and job satisfaction. Thus, hypoth-
esis 4 was also partially supported by the fndings of the study.
(r = -.29; p < .01). A negative relationship was also observed between family-to-work
confict and job satisfaction (r = -.12; not signifcant). Thus, hypothesis 2 was also par-
tially accepted. The results of the study further indicate that work-to-family confict
has a stronger correlation with job satisfaction than family-to-work confict.
13
Neerpal Rathi and Bharat M: Work Family Conict and Job
Independent Variables t R t R
Model 1: Main Efects .13** .07**
WFC -.31 -3.93** -.05 -.63
Social Support .19 2.42* .25 3.11**
Model 2: Interaction Efects .15 .12**
WFC -.33** -4.15** -.09 -1.13
Social Support .14 1.67 .16 1.83
WFC x Social Support .13 1.49 .24 2.82**

Model 1: Main Efects .12** .07**
FWC -.29 -3.71** -.10 -1.30
Social Support .19 2.41* .25 3.09**
Model 2: Interaction Efects .13 .10
FWC -.27 -3.35** -.07 -.79
Social Support .17 2.2* .22 2.72**
FWC x Social Support .07 .91 .15 1.85
Table 2: Moderated regression analysis

Dependent Variables

Job Satisfaction Family Satisfaction
*p <.05; ** p <.01; p <.10; WFC = Work-to-family confict; FWC = Family-to-work confict
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Discussion
The current research aimed to investigate the relationship of work-family confict
(work-to-family confict and family-to-work confict) with job satisfaction and fam-
ily satisfaction among police personnel in India. Moreover, this study intended to
explore the moderating efect of social support from co-workers on the relationship
between work-family confict and job and family satisfaction. Similar results have
also been observed in many other studies (e.g., Judge et al., 2006; Lu et al., 2010;
ODriscoll et al., 2004; Spector et al., 2007), indicating a support for the fndings of this
study that indicate that work-to-family and family-to-work confict are negatively as-
sociated with job satisfaction and family satisfaction.
The results of the study reveal that a perception on employees part that demands
of their work roles interfere with family roles may negatively infuence their attitudes
toward the job, and can cause reduced job satisfaction. Particularly, in jobs like the
police work, which possess characteristics, such as heavy work load, stressful working
environment, irregular and infexible work schedule, and long working hours (Saha
et al., 2010), police personnel are left with limited time, for their family members and,
to fulfll family responsibilities. This may lead to work-to-family confict among police
personnel, which further can result in a negative attitude toward their job since work
is perceived to interfere with family roles. Emphasizing on the infuence of work-to-
family confict on job satisfaction, Grandey et al. (2005) proposed that the more the
work interferes with family life, the more dissatisfed the employee will be (p. 310).
Moreover, family-to-work confict was observed to have a negative infuence on fam-
ily satisfaction. This indicates that when family is perceived as a source of interfer-
ence in work roles then it may lead to negative attitudes toward family, since family
demands are assumed to drain time and energy required for work roles. Grandey et
al. (2005) argued that family-to-work confict represents a perception that the family
is viewed as a threat to work time and energy and, thus, is more likely to develop a
negative attitude among employees toward their family. Based upon these fndings,
it may be argued that by reducing the confict arising because of incompatibility be-
tween work roles and family roles, employees job satisfaction and family satisfaction
may be enhanced.
Finally, the research indicates that receiving social support from co-workers signif-
cantly moderated the relationship of work-to-family and family-to-work confict with
family satisfaction, but not with job satisfaction. These fndings got mixed support
from the previous research. For instance, a longitudinal study by ODriscoll et al.
(2004) sh owed that support from work colleagues consistently moderated the re-
lationship between work-to-family confict and family satisfaction. However, in their
research, support from work colleagues was not found to moderate the association
15
Neerpal Rathi and Bharat M: Work Family Conict and Job
between family-to-work confict and job and family satisfaction. ODriscoll and col-
leagues (2004) maintained social support acts as a bufer by reducing the negative
efects of work-family confict. The results of this study also indicate that social sup-
port received from coworkers may be benefcial for employees since it may lessen
the negative efects of work-family confict.
Practical Implications
The fndings of the present study may have certain implications for employees as
well as for organizations, especially for the police department. The results of the
study indicate that work-family confict (work-to-family and family-to-work confict)
negatively infuences police personnels attitudes toward their job and family, which
is evident from a negative relationship between the variables. Police job requires po-
lice personnel to work for longer hours, even sometimes on weekends and holidays.
Their work requirement drained time and energy that they could have used to fulfll
their family responsibilities, thus causing work-family confict. It may be suggested
that higher authorities in the police department should take necessary action to
minimize the work-family confict among police personnel, since work-family confict
may have detrimental consequences for employees as well as for the organization.
One way to reduce work-family confict may be by scheduling the working hours in
such a way that police personnel have sufcient time for wife/husband, children, and
other family members, and can fulfll their family and social responsibilities.
It may also be suggested that in order to enhance police personnels job and family
satisfaction, individuals and organizations should collaboratively work to alleviate
work-family confict. One way to achieve this objective may be to provide adequate
social support to police personnel at work. Senior members in the department
should adopt a few measures which provide opportunity for employee to interact
and discuss various work-related (sometimes may be personal, if they feel comfort-
able) issues with their colleagues and superiors. It may be helpful in alleviating some
of the problems that police personnel face at workplace. Previous research also indi-
cates that social support received at work is benefcial for employees since it helps in
reducing work-family confict (e.g., Hsu, 2011; Lu et al., 2010; ODriscoll et al., 2004).
Limitations of the Study
The present research has a few limitations that must be addressed. First, the study
used a homogenous sample with participants working in a police department.
Hence, the fndings of this study have limited applications for other sectors and it
is difcult to claim that fndings of this study can be generalized across other indus-
tries or sectors. Second, for the present study data were collected from the police
16
Working Paper No.123/2012
personnel based in a particular region of the country. Consequently, it is difcult to
conclude that the sample used in the study is a representative sample of the country
or the occupation studied. For a better representation of the country and the occu-
pation, data should be collected from diferent parts of the country.
Finally, the constructs investigated in the current research, namely work-to-family
confict, family-to-work confict, job satisfaction, family satisfaction, and social sup-
port from co-workers were measured using the self-report method. It has been ar-
gued that in case of self-report measures social desirability bias is a major concern
for researchers. Social desirability bias occurs when respondents tend to over-report
admirable attitudes and/or behaviors, presenting themselves favorable with respect
to current social norms and standards, and under-report attitudes and behaviors that
they feel are not socially acceptable or respectable (Zerbe & Paulhus, 1987). There-
fore, it may be assumed that in this research too, responses of the participants may
be infuenced by social desirability bias.
Conclusion
Police personnel face a variety of problems in their jobs because of the nature of
the work they perform. Moreover, they often experience work-family confict due
high job demands and the incompatibility felt between work roles and family roles.
Since work-family confict may have detrimental consequences for employees and
their organizations, it is important for organizational leaders or higher authorities
to understand the nature of work-family confict and its impact on police personnel.
The present study contributes in this direction and provides valuable insights into
understanding the work-family confict and its consequences among police person-
nel. This understanding may be helpful for the police departments to take necessary
action in order to alleviate work-family confict and its negative consequences.
17
Neerpal Rathi and Bharat M: Work Family Conict and Job
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