| Popis: |
The impact of a singles-friendly work culture (SFWC) on organizational commitment and well-being may be explained by levels of work-life balance of single individuals, that implies a combination of work and life in a pursuable manner (Akanji et al., 2015). Employees with higher levels of work- life balance were shown to have better health indicators and higher levels of well-being (Zheng et al., 2015). Another intervening factor of the impact of SFWC on well-being may be recovery experiences (psychological detachment from work, relaxation, control, and mastery in free time), which have been linked to higher well-being and job performance (Sonnentag et al., 2017). The (in)voluntariness of singlehood needs to also be considered, since stereotypes may be founded according to more positive evaluations of marital status choices that reflect the ideology of marriage and family (Morris & ; Osburn, 2016). The aim of this research was to investigate perceptions of a SFWC as a predictor of recovery experiences, work-life balance, well-being, job performance, and affective organizational commitment. Job performance and organizational commitment were assumed to be correlated. A SFWC was expected to be associated with higher recovery experiences, which would determine perceptions of higher work-life balance and well-being, and subsequently higher job performance and affective organizational commitment. Thus, recovery experience, work-life balance, and well-being are viewed as mediators in the relationship between SFWC and organizational outcomes. As for the relationships between the mediators, it was assumed that recovery experiences would predict the perceived level of work-life balance, and that both variables would predict one’s well-being. The model of these relationships was tested both for a group of 513 involuntary and of 209 voluntary single individuals, expecting lower relationships between variables in voluntary singles. The study was conducted during the EFPSA 2020 Research programme by a team of researchers from Italy, Denmark, Portugal, and Croatia, during the COVID- 19 pandemic. Thus, an online questionnaire was conducted on employed childless singles from these four countries. Structural equation modelling was conducted, and the results showed a better fit of a partial mediation model in comparison to excluding direct links between a SFWC and the dependent variables. The model explained 47% of well-being in involuntary and 35% in voluntary singles, 15% of affective organizational commitment in both groups, and 47% of job performance in involuntary and 54% in voluntary singles. When considering predictors of well- being, in both groups it was directly positively predicted by recovery experiences and work-life balance and indirectly predicted by a SFWC through greater recovery experiences and work-life balance. In involuntary singles it was also predicted indirectly by a SFWC solely through greater recovery experiences and directly by a SFWC. Affective organizational commitment was directly positively predicted by a SFWC in both groups. In involuntary singles, it was positively indirectly predicted by a SFWC through all the examined mediators, that is, well- being, both recovery experiences and well-being, recovery experiences and work-life balance, and recovery experiences, work-life balance, and well- being. In voluntary singles, the same positive indirect prediction of affective organizational commitment including all examined mediators and recovery experiences (probably due to relaxation) and work- life balance was obtained. Well-being did not show a significant mediating role when its prediction by work-life balance was not included, and the indirect relationship of affective organizational commitment and a SFWC was negative when mediated only by recovery experiences (likely due to psychological detachment and mastery experiences). Namely, perceptions of a SFWC were related to greater recovery experiences, recovery experiences were negatively related to affective organizational commitment in voluntary singles. Job performance was positively directly predicted by work-life balance and a SFWC in both groups, and by well-being and recovery experiences in involuntary singles. All the specified indirect relationships of job performance and a SFWC through recovery experiences, work-life balance, and well-being were significant. In voluntary singles, the only significant indirect prediction of job performance by a SFWC was through greater recovery experiences and work-life balance. The limitations of the study are related to the subjectivity of self-assessments and impossibility of drawing conclusions about cause-and-effect relationships. The research results imply that the practices of promoting a SFWC and work-life balance in organizations (and the society) may increase workforce morale and well-being, which in turn, minimizes negative job-related outcomes such as turnover intentions and absenteeism. Considering the changing demographics of the future workforce and the increasing presence of single employees in the world of work, the results bring awareness to different reasons of singlehood and imply more sensitivity and respect towards employees’ private life and activities in the workplace. |
