Work–family conflict and happiness: the moderating role of national culture

Purpose This study aims to demonstrate how national culture, as measured using the Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, moderates the relationship between work–family conflict (WFC) and individual-level subjective well-being (SWB). Design/methodology/approach Using a two-level hierarchical linear model, this study analysed data from the “Family and Changing Gender Roles IV” survey from the International Social Survey Programme’s (ISSP). A total of 33,044 participants across 41 countries in 2012 were interviewed, but this investigation was limited to 23,277 individuals across 37 countries when all the necessary variables used in this analysis were accounted for. National cultural indicators (the moderators) were measured using Hofstede's cultural dimensions, which are individualism–collectivism, masculinity–femininity, uncertainty avoidance and indulgence–restraint. Findings This study presented two main results. Firstly, although family-to-work conflict has an overall negative impact on SWB, this negativity is stronger among participants from individualistic cultures. Secondly, just like family-to-work conflict, work-to-family interference has an adverse impact on workers’ well-being as well, though this effect is more prominent in indulgent cultures. Originality/value This paper is novel on two accounts. Firstly, it is one of the few articles that investigates the impact of WFC on SWB using a large multi-country dataset, which allows us to generalize results across multiple cultures. This is unlike many papers in the literature that presented findings from single-country sources, which contextualizes outcomes to a single nation. Secondly, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the article is the first in examining the role played by the Hofstede’s indulgence–restraint dimension in moderating the effect of WFC on SWB.