Increasingly it has become clear that work should not be studied in isolation from family and personal concerns. Accordingly, the present research examines the construct validity of three scales that purport to measure work conflict, family conflict, and interrole conflict. Conceptual definitions are provided, a nomological network identified, and empirical results examined from two studies. Distinct unidimensional factors emerged; adequate levels of reliability were found; and correlational and path analytic associations offered some support for the theorized model.
It is frequently recognized that a person
's work life needs to be viewed in the context of family and personal concerns (Bailyn & Schein, 1976; Korman & Korman, 1980; Schein, 1978). Yet organizational behavior research to date has tended to "treat the problem of work in isolation from the total life space of the individual" (Schein, 1976, p. 24). Indeed, as Near, Rice, and Hunt (1980, p. 415) have observed, "Despite extensive study and debate, the relationship between work and the rest of life is still not well understood." Accordingly, the present research focuses on three aspects of an individual's life. Specifically, linkages are examined (a) among three types of
The authors thank Martin Markowitz, Dorothy Lang, and Izhar Barlev for their assistance with the data collection and analysis; thanks also go to two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments.