Department nf Work and Organizaiiunal Psycholo'i:y and Tcs! Development, .... may be answered by noting that men and women differ ... answer sheets. ..... litespace, and still feel stress from not having enough time to accomplish one's goals.
Journal of Occupational Psychology (1990). 6 3 . ^51-243
Printed in Great Britain
23 1
© 1990 The British Psychologka! Sc
Gender differences in job attribute preferences; Work—home role conflict and job level as mediating variables Uco J. Wiersma Department nf Work and Organizaiiunal Psycholo'i:y and Tcs! Development, t-ree University Am.uerdai/1. De Bwlelaan lOHl. lOHl HV Amsterdam. The Netherlands
Role theory is used to test the notion that inter-roJe conflict between work and non-work spheres of life explains why men and won:ien have been known to prefer different job Attributes. Four job attribute factors were tested: intrinsic, career orientation, work conditions and parental support. Together with job leveE, ail variables and theit causal linkages were modelled in a path diagram. Multiple regression and path analysis were used to [L-st the model Questionnaires wt-re distributed in northeast USA ro married. L-rnploycil parents, and usable responses were received from 155 males and 161 females, Resulrs sliow thar males and ftmaks differ iin three ill che four job artribiitc Late^ories: career iirieiirarion ir -= -. l-i, /-• , ferrules are coded I and miile.s 0.
Measure
(7)
Role conflict Parental .support Ititrinsic (-areer orientation Working conditions Jt)b level Gender'
Role confiict and job attribute preference
237
attributes show that males and females differ significantly on three of the four general categories: working conditions (K310) ^ .31, P = 31.1, /^ < -01); parental support (^(310) zz , 5 | ^ f = 99.6,/j < .01);andcareerorientation(r(3IO)= -.\A,F -'^.9,p < .01). There is no difference on the intrinsic factor (r(310) = .04, f = 0.2, p < .26). The third hypothesis was evaluated by tegressing each job attribute dimension (e.g. work conditions) on gender and the mediators of tole conflict and job level simultaneously. If, for example, the bivariate correlation between gender and a job dimension is significant, but the partial correlatioti between these two variables controlling for tole conflict IS not, then support is given to the idea that conflict acts as a mediator variable. Talile 4 lists the relevant zero-order and partialled regression weights for hypothesis three. The bivariate correlation of r(310) = .51, between gender and parental support attributes, decreases to .39 when role conflict is partialled. Although the value of .39 remains significant, it falls outside the lower limit of the 95 per cent confidence interval forr(MO) —.•)!. Because the bivariate correlation decreases sharply, role conflict may be considered to be a partial mediator between gender and parental support. With the working conditions variable the bivariate value of r(3 10) ^ .31 does not decrease at all (the partial remains at .31). Hete, role conflict does not act as a mediator and therefore does not explain the gender difference in this factor. Similarly for career orientation, the bivariatf value, r(310) = - . 1 4 , does not change significantly when tole conflict is partialied (beta = —. 12). Table 3. Mean responses to parental support attributes Variable
Male
Female
Four-day work week
2.04
2.
Shift between parr-time and full-time work
1..60
3. 00
2.,6^ Flex-time around an eight-hour core 2,
3. 35
Five days of"f" for sick children
2 ,62
4.01
Child-care education money
2 .12
2,.89
Chi Id-rearing leave of absence
1.79
3,,17
Company day-care centre
2 .00
3..10
Company day-tare lunch room
1,77
2..70
N'lte. Mdlc.s dinl temal
