Cross-Cultural Work-Family
Interfaces:
Work-Family Conflict
-- China and Mexico
Presented by :
Sophorn Cheam
Debbie Leung
HuiYi Hung
Lillian Ramos
Catherine Xu
Cross-Cultural Work-Family
Interfaces: - Work-Family Conflict
 Outline:
• Definition of Work-Family Conflict
• Causes of Work Family Conflict
• Work-Family Policies
• Approaching Differences
• Concerns Rise from Differences
Work-Family Conflict Defined
 Work and family demands become imbalanced
 Differences & conflict of dual breadwinners &
traditional family roles
 Identity Theory
•
-- Burke, 1996; Thoits, 1991
Women: professional life vs. traditional role
 Job stressors, job involvement leads to job
distress and depression
Countries Comparison
Pop.
per capita
Countries
Growth
GNP
Rate
Type of
Economy
Family
Culture
Mexico
5,070
1.2-1.4%
Service
Patriarchal
authoritarian
China
840
0.7%
Manufacturing
Utiliarianistic
familism
Source: The Macro-environment and Work-Family Conflict:
Development of a Cross Culture Comparative Framework
Mexico
 Traditional family- “patriarchal-authoritarian,”
– meaning that family is important & father has domination
over entire family.
 Females role is at home.
•
When the requirement to have the woman become a mother
and employee increases the stress because it’s not a cultural
norm to have women work.
 Low per capita GNP, depends on a service related
economy, relatively high population growth rate
creates largest amount of strain on families.
China
 Chinese tradition is “utilitarianistic familism,”
• which is a tendency to place family interests above
those of the individual.
 Work role is a means to an end, the end is the
family’s financial security
 Low per capita GNP, country depends on
manufacturing related economy, largest population
can be an indication of economic strain on families.
Causes of Work-Family Conflict &
Family-Work Conflict
 Time devoted to one role makes it difficult to participate
in another role
 WIF: Higher the position, greater the responsibilities
•
This would lead to more time away from the family
 FIW: Chores and family commitments would intrude on
time needed to successfully complete tasks on the job
 The bottom line: STRESS
Work Interfering with Family
(WIF)
 Driven by the MNE’s need for the almighty
“buck” and the ever-present threat of being
called back prematurely
 Expatriate would feel pressure to put the time
in at work.
Family Interfering with Work
(FIW)
 Being away from the familiar scenes of home
and friends
 Family members need more support to help
them through the “critical part” of adjustment.
Health Concerns
 Several studies have linked these two types of
conflicts with:
• Increased occurrence of hypertension, alcoholism,
•
depression, psychological illness and
A general dissatisfaction with life
 Resulting in high turnover, absenteeism, low
morale and poor performance.
In the War of Work-Family
Balance…
 Retention strategies used by the best U.S.
corporations:
•
Money
 Unfortunately, there’s
something that money
cannot buy!!
A Better Solution….
 Family-friendly benefits:
• Impact of job stress on
family life and health
• Influence employees’
decisions to stay or leave
Why is Family-Friendly Policy
Important?
 Full-time employees work longer on average
than 20 years ago
 51% of families with children have 2 working
parents, which is a 54% increase since 1977
(Abram, 2004).
What do the U.S. Firms Do Now?
CISCO
On-site store, dry cleaning service, a
fitness center.
4 on-site childcare centers in New Jersey
Merck & Co. and Pennsylvania with capacity of 900
children.
Spent 4.5 million in 2003 to expend its SC
S.C. Johnson
Johnson’s Childcare Learning Center.
Source: http://scjohnson.com
Are Working-mothers the
Biggest Winner?
 Not true !!
• X-generation working dads spend 3.5 hours a
•
•
day with their kids
70% of working men would take pay cut to
spend more time with family
Almost 50% would turn down a promotion if
family time will be less.
(Families & Work Institute, 2002)
Work-Family Conflict:
- A Business Issue
 The concept of both work and family have different
significance and importance in different
countries/cultures
 Presence of family-supportive governmental policies
moderate relationships between:
•
Demands, Resources, and Work-Family Conflicts
 Companies have been developing family-friendly
policies and practices
•
To alleviate tensions between these central life domains.
What Leads to Differences in
Approaching Work-Family Conflict?
 “Work-Family Conflict is based on a fairly
simple theoretical perspective of role theory
•
Where conflicting demands coming from the two central
roles in our life lead to strain.”
 Job dissatisfaction is associated with WFC
 Work resources: organizational & supervisor
support relate to less WFC
Approaching Work-Family Conflict
Differently
 Looking cross-nationally there are large
discrepancies in the usefulness of specific
practices of policies.
 Childcare centers appeal to a large amount of
people in the US
 Whereas, in Mexico childcare centers are less
relevant and critical
Explaining the Variance Between
Different Cultures
China:
U.S. & Mexico:
 Life satisfaction of
Chinese employees is
influenced primarily by
Work-Family conflict
 American and Mexican
employees are
influenced primarily by
Family-Work Conflict
 Chinese people assign
priority to work over
family
 Americans and
Mexicans prioritize
family over work
Explaining the Variance Between
Different Cultures (cont.)
 Employees and families in China and Mexico
view working long hours differently than
American employees and families.
 Differences are due to:
• The existence of more family ties in China and
Mexico, which allow people in the two countries
to focus more on work.
Legal Issues
Workweek
U.S.
China
Mexico
40 hours
44 hours
48 hours
•150%
normally
•200% on
day off
•300% on
holidays
•Double
normal rate
•4 festivals
•7 days,
•2 weeks paid
Christmas
bonus
•Normally
150% of
Overtime regular paid
•Varies
Holidays
•Not
required,
•Agreement
Concerns Risen From Differences
Among Countries
 Childcare support
U.S.
China
Mexico
Babysitters,
parents
Grandparents
Mothers
Preschools
Formal
preschool
system
Fewer childcare
centers available
Concerns Risen From Differences
Among Countries
 Overtime work pattern:
U.S.
China & Mexico
Bring work home
Stay at office
Reasons:
 Technological constraint
 Show effort of bringing propriety to family
Conclusion
 Work-Family Conflict:
• Affect expatriate decision
• Related to cultural perception
• Benefit from organizational and social
support
Questions?