WORK-NONWORK GOAL CONFLICT: A SELF-REGULATORY EXPANSION OF WORK LIFE CONFLICT

by McKee, John Michael

Current conceptualizations of work-life conflict (WLC) fail to account for additional life domains beyond that already measured for by traditional work-family conflict (WFC) measures. When conceptualized from a self-regulatory perspective, WFC can be thought of as a person’s work goals conflicting with his or her family goals. This goal-based conceptualization of WLC was used within the current study in order to explore the relationship between work-nonwork goal conflict and worker well-being. Participants were guided through an on-line personal project analysis, in which they elicited goals within work and nonwork domains and then provided ratings of conflict between all work and nonwork goals. Results of this research support the utility of examining life domains, such as social life, academics, and self-care when attempting to understand the relationship between intergoal conflict and employee well-being.