Work-family conflict and worker wellbeing in China

Abstract

As the largest country in the Asia Pacific with rapid industrialization, China is undergoing dramatic economic and social transformation which has a huge impact on work and employment, and workers' experiences of wellbeing. The key psychosocial factors at work, such as time pressure, workload, and job insecurity have been increasingly recognized for their adverse impact on levels of employee wellbeing. However, work-family conflict is a phenomenon which has received less attention in Chinese research on psychosocial factors at work. This chapter provides a historical overview of work-family conflict within the Chinese context, which has been cultured by collectivism for thousands of years. The divergence and concordance between individualistic and collectivist cultures on work-family conflict are presented; and its antecedents, consequences, and gender differences are also explored, followed by two case studies from China. It is concluded that, in contemporary China, work-family conflict is an important psychosocial factor at work. Contradicting findings from Western societies, obvious gender-based work-family conflict in China is observed, whereby the breadwinner role is central for men, and extra work which interferes with family life temporarily is accepted commonly by family members for the sake of future benefits from men's career success. Thus, although Chinese men's work-to-family conflict is high, their wellbeing is majorly determined by family-to-work conflict. For Chinese women with more than 90 % participation rate in employment, they are still expected to take primary responsibilities for housework and child-rearing. As a result, Chinese women are exposed to a double burden from work and family, and their wellbeing is affected by both work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict. In future, extended evidence by prospective investigations and intervention studies are needed to strengthen health-promoting work environments in China.