Managers used to believe that an employee being overly concerned about family issues would have a negative effect on job performance. However, today’s best managers know that valuing your family can lead to more time spent at work. Additionally, caring for one’s family concerns can help employees reduce the negative effects of conflict in the workplace. These desirable organizational outcomes might be enhanced if organizations had even more family-friendly policies. Rather than viewing family identity as a liability, organizations might want to view caring for one’s family as a way to help improve employee job performance.
Source: Bagger, J., Li, A., & Gutek, B. A. 2008. How much do you value your family and does it matter? The joint effects of family identity salience, family-interference-with-work, and gender. Human Relations, 61, 187-211.
