Evaluating the Moderating Role of Work-Life Balance on the Effect of Job Stress on Job Satisfaction

Abstract

Work has occupied an essential place in human life, and this has caused many employees to spend a substantial amount of their time at workplaces. The purpose of this study is to assess the moderating role of work-life balance on the effect of job stress on employees’ job satisfaction. A survey method is used to collect the necessary data for this research. A total of 308 respondents from 90 manufacturing SMEs operating in Konya took part in the study. The data gathered are analyzed using SPSS 23 program and Hayes PROCESS macro v.3.4.1. The results of the analyses reveal a statistically significant negative effect of job stress and positive effect of work-life balance on job satisfaction. Moreover, work-life balance is found not to have a moderating role on the effect of job stress on job satisfaction. It is recommended that policy makers and managers of SMEs need to institute stress management techniques that have the propensity of reducing the negative consequences of job stress while maximizing its merits, as well as formulating strategies that will enable employees to have a balance between their personal and work lives.

Keywords

• Work-life balance
• Job stress
• Job satisfaction
• Moderating role
• SMEs

References

1. Ahsan, N., Abdullah, Z., & Fie, D. Y. G. (2009). A Study of Job Stress on Job Satisfaction among University Staff in Malaysia: Empirical Study. European Journal of Social Sciences, 8(1), 121-131.
2. Arasli, H., & Tumer, M. (2008). Nepotism, Favoritism and Cronyism: A Study of their Effects on Job Stress and Job Satisfaction in the Banking Industry of North Cyprus. Social Behavior and Personality, 36(9), 1237-1250.
3. Armstrong, M. (2006). A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice (10th ed.). London: Kogan Page Publishing.
4. Bell, A. S., Rajendran, D., & Theiler, S. (2012). "Job Stress, Wellbeing, Work-Life Balance and Work-Life Conflict Among Australian Academics," E-Journal of Applied Psychology, 8(1): 25-37.
5. Bemana, S., Moradi, H., Ghasemi, M., Taghavi, S. M., & Ghayoor, A. H. (2013). The relationship among job stress and job satisfaction in municipality personnel in Iran. World Applied Sciences Journal, 22(2), 233-238.
6. Bell, A. S., Rajendran, D., & Theiler, S. (2012). Job Stress, Wellbeing, Work-Life Balance and Work-Life Conflict Among Australian Academics 8(1). E-Journal of Applied Psychology, 8(1), 25-37.
7. Casper, W. J., Vaziri, H., Wayne, J. H., DeHauw, S., & Greenhaus, J. (2018). The jingle-jangle of work–nonwork balance: A comprehensive and meta-analytic review of its meaning and measurement. Journal of Applied Psychology, 103(2), 182-214.
8. Chen, P. S., Huang, C. Y., Yu, C. C., & Hung, C. C. (2017). The examination of key performance indicators of warehouse operation systems based on detailed case studies. . Journal of Information and Optimization Sciences, 38, 367-389.

9. Clark, S. C. (2000). Work/family border theory: A new theory of work/ family balance. Human Relations, 53(6), 747–770.
10. Daehlen, M. (2008). Job satisfaction and job values among beginning nurses:A questionnaire survey. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 45(12), 1789-1799.
11. Deveci, B., & Avcıkurt, C. (2017). The Effect of Work-Family Conflict and Work Stress on the Quality of Life: A Large Scaled Research on the Culinary Workers of Hotels. Journal of Academic Social Science, 5(40), 313-331.
12. Dundas, K. (2008). Work-Life Balance: There is no “one-size-fits-all” solution. In K. O'Rourke (Ed.), Managing matters. New South Wales, U.K: Southern Cross University.
13. Efeoğlu, İ. E., & Özgen, H. (2006). İş-Aile Yaşam Çatişmasinin İş Stresi, İş Doyumu Ve Örgütsel Bağlilik Üzerindeki Etkileri: İlaç Sektöründe Bir Araştirma (The Effects of Work Family Conflict on Job Stress, Job Satisfaction and Organisational Commitment: A Study in the Pharmaceutical Industry), Journal of Çukurova University Institute of Social Sciences, 16(2): 237-254.
14. Fairbrother, K., & Warn, J. (2003). Workplace dimensions, stress and job satisfaction. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 18(1), 8-21.
15. Fisher, G. G. (2001). Work/personal life balance: A construct development study. Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH.
16. Friday, S. S., & Friday, E. (2003). Racioethnic perceptions of job characteristics and job satisfaction. Journal of Management Development, 22(5), 426-442.
17. Goode, M., & Moutinho, L. (1995). The effects of free banking on overall satisfaction: The use of automated teller machines. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 13(4), 168-190.
18. Goswami, I., & Dsilva, N. R. (2019). Impact of job satisfaction and job stress on employees’ life in Mumbai’s hospitality sector. Journal of Strategy and Management. doi:10.1108/jsma-01-2019-0012
19. Greenhaus, J., Collins, K., & Shaw, J. (2003). The relation between work-family balance and quality of life Journal of Vocational Behavior, 63(3), 510-531.
20. Hancer, M., & George, R. T. (2003). Job satisfaction of restaurant employees: An empirical investigation using the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 27(1), 85-100.
21. Hayes, A. F. (2017). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Guilford Publications.
22. Hayman, J. (2005). Psychometric assessment of an instrument designed to measure work life balance. Research and practice in human resource management, 13(1), 85-91.
23. Hoffman, B. J., Blair, C. A., Maeriac, J. P., & Woehr, D. J. (2007). Expanding the Criterion Domain? A Quantitative Review of the OCB Literature. Journal of Applied Psychology, 99(2), 555–566.
24. Hoppock, R. (1937). Job satisfaction of psychologists. Journal of Applied Psychology, 21(3), 300-303.
25. House, R. J., & Rizzo, J. R. (1972). (1972). Role conflict and ambiguity as critical variables in a model of organizational behavior. Organizational behavior and human performance. 7(3), 467-505.
26. Hussain, K., Khan, A., & Bavik, A. (2003). The effects of job performance on frontline employee job satisfaction and quitting intent: The case of hotels in Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. EMU Journal of Tourism Research, 4(1), 83-94.
27. Hussein, O., Njati, I. C., & Rukangu, S. (2016). Influence of Work Life Balance on Employee Job Satisfaction: A Case of Northern Rangelands Trust in Isiolo County, Kenya. International Journal of Economics, Commerce and Management, IV(11), 443-457.
28. Jamal, M. (2005). Burnout among Canadian and Chinese employees: A cross-cultural study. European Management Review, 2, 224–230.
29. Judge, T. A., Thoresen, C. J., Bono, J. E., & Patton, G. K. (2001). The job satisfaction–job performance relationship: A qualitative and quantitative review. Psychological bulletin, 127(3), 376-407.
30. Kalliath, T., & Brough, P. (2008). Work–life balance: A review of the meaning of the balance construct. Journal of Management and Organization, 14(3), 323-327. doi:10.5172/jmo.837.14.3.323
31. Kanwar, Y. P. S., Singh, A. K., & Kodwani, A. D. (2009). Work-life balance and burnout as predictors of job satisfaction in the IT-ITES industry. Vision-The Journal of Business Perspective, 13(2), 1-12.
32. Karthik, R. (2013). A Study on Work-Life Balance in Chennai Port Trust, Chennai. Advances In Management, 6 (7), 26-31.
33. Kathirvel, N. (2009). A Study on Stress Among Employees Working in BPOS with Special Reference to Coimbatore The IUP Journal of Management Research, VIII(11), 28-44.
34. Kazmi, A. B., & Singh, A. P. (2015). Work-life balance, stress, and coping strategies as determinants of job satisfaction among police personnel. Indian Journal of Health and Wellbeing, 6(12), 1244-1247.
35. Keleş, H. N., & Fındıklı, M. A. (2016). The effect of the meaningfulness of work on job satisfaction, job stress and intention to leave. Global Journal of Business, Economics and Management: Current Issues, 6(2). doi:10.18844/gjbem.v6i2.1370
36. Kenworthy, J., Fay, C., Frame, M., & Petree, R. (2014). A meta-analytic review of the relationship between emotional dissonance and emotional exhaustion. Journal of Applied Social Psychology(2), 94-105.
37. Kofodimos, J. R. (1993). Balancing act: How managers can integrate successful careers and fulfilling personal lives. San Francisco, CA, USA: Jossey-Bass.
38. Koh, H. C., & Boo, E. H. Y. (2001). The Link Between Organizational Ethics and Job Satisfaction: A Study of Managers in Singapore. Journal of Business Ethics, 29(4), 309-324.
39. Leka, S., & Griffiths, A. (2003). Work Organisation & Stress: Systematic Problem Approaches for Employers, Managers and Trade Union Representatives. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.
40. Mamo, Y. (2014). the effect of work stress on employee job satisfaction of public organization: The case study of Nekemte city administration’ (Masters Thesis), Wollega University,
41. Mas-Machuca, M., Berbegal-Mirabent, J., & Alegre, I. (2016). Work-life balance and its relationship with organizational pride and job satisfaction. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 31(2), 586-602. doi:10.1108/jmp-09-2014-0272
42. Mengenci, C. (2015). Who knows? Organizational culture might be the source of job satisfaction or stress: Evidence from Turkey. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 5(3), 514-524.
43. Page, K. M., & Vella-Brodrick, D. (2009). The 'what', 'why' and 'how' of employee well-being: A new model. Social Indicators Research, 90(3), 441-448.
44. Parvin, M. M., & Kabir, M. M. N. (2011). Factors Affecting Employee Job Satisfaction of Pharmaceutical Sector. Australian Journal of Business and Management Research, 1(9), 113-123.
45. Riketta, M. (2008). The causal relation between job attitudes and performance: A meta- analysis of panel studies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(2), 472-481.
46. Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2016). Organizational Behavior, Global Edition (17th ed.). Harlow, England: Pearson Education Limited.
47. Saari, L., & Judge, T. A. (2004). Employee Attitudes and Job Satisfaction. Human Resource Management, 43(4), 395–407.
48. Saeed, K., & Farooqi, Y. A. (2014). Examining the relationship between work life balance, job stress, and job satisfaction among university teachers (A case of University of Gujarat). International Journal of multidisciplinary sciences and engineering, 5(6), 9-15.
49. Scroggins, W. (2008). The relationship between employee fit perceptions, job performance, and retention: Implications of perceived fit. Employee Responsibilities & Rights Journal, 20(1), 57-71.
50. Selye, H. (1973). The evolution of the stress concept. American Scientist, 61(6), 692-699.
51. Sirajunisa, K., & Panchanatham, N. (2010). Influence of occupational stress on work life balance among women professionals. The Journal of Commerce, 2(1), 44-57.
52. Super, D. E. (1939). Occupational level and job satisfaction. Journal of Applied Psychology, 23(5), 547-564.
53. Tan, P. P., & Hawkins, W. E. (2000). The factor structure of the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire and participants of vocational rehabilitation. Psychological Reports, 87(1), 34-36.
54. Travers, C. J., & Cooper, C. L. (1993). Mental health, job satisfaction and occupational stress among UK teachers. Work & Stress, 7(3), 203-219. doi:10.1080/02678379308257062
55. Ueda, Y. (2012). The Relationship between Work-life Balance Programs and Employee Satisfaction: Gender Differences in the Moderating Effect of Annual Income. Journal of Business Administration Research, 1(1). doi:10.5430/jbar.v1n1p65
56. Weiss. (2002). Deconstructing job satisfaction Separating evaluations, beliefs and affective experiences. Human Resource Management Review, 12(2), 173-194.
57. Weiss, Dawis, R. V., & England, G. W. (1967). Manual for the Minnesota satisfaction questionnaire. Minnesota studies in vocational rehabilitation.
58. Williams, E. S., Konrad, T. R., Scheckler, W. E., Pathman, D. E., Linzer, M., McMurray, J. E., . . . Schwartz, M. (2001). Understanding physicians’ intentions to withdraw from practice: the role of job satisfaction, job stress, mental and physical health. Health Care Manage Review, 26(1), 7-19.
59. Yamane, T. (1967). Statistics, An Introductory Analysis (2nd ed.) New York: Harper and Row.
60. Yan, H., & Xie, S. (2016). How does auditors’ work stress affect audit quality? Empirical evidence from the Chinese stock market. China Journal of Accounting Research, 9(4), 305-319.
61. Yildirim, D., & Aycan, Z. (2008). Nurses’ work demands and work–family conflict: A questionnaire survey. International journal of nursing studies, 45(9), 1366-1378.
62. Yiu, T. W., & Lee, H. K. (2011). How Do Personality Traits Affect Construction Dispute Negotiation: Study of Big Five Personality Model. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 137(3), 169–178.