CCM International Journal of
Cross Cultural
Article Management
International Journal of
Cross Cultural Management
A cross-national comparative study 2018, Vol. 18(1) 53–72ª The Author(s) 2017
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family conflict and job outcomes: DOI: 10.1177/1470595817746195journals.sagepub.com/home/ccm
Ghana versus the United Kingdom
Francis Annor and Brendan Burchell
University of Cambridge, UK
Abstract
This study compared relations between work demands and support, work-to-family conflict
(WFC) and job outcomes in Ghana and the United Kingdom. Data were obtained from 217
Ghanaian employees and 198 British employees using structured questionnaires. Results from
multigroup structural equation modelling analyses showed that job pressure was positively related
to WFC in Ghana and the United Kingdom, whereas supervisor support was negatively related to
WFC in Ghana only. WFC was negatively related to job satisfaction and positively related to
turnover intentions in both countries. More importantly, the relationship between job pressure
and WFC was stronger for British employees than for Ghanaian employees. Finally, job pressure
was indirectly related to job satisfaction and turnover intentions via WFC in both countries,
whereas supervisor support was indirectly related to job satisfaction and turnover intentions in
Ghana only. The implications of these findings for cross-cultural research on the work–family
interface and managerial practice are discussed.
Keywords
Culture, Ghana, job satisfaction, turnover intentions, work demands, work–family conflict, work
support
Introduction
Changes in the demographic make-up of the workforce and family structures have created a situ-
ation where a significant number of employees have difficulties in juggling work and family
responsibilities. Work–family conflict occurs when role pressures in the work and family domains
are incompatible such that participation in one role makes it difficult to meet demands in the other
Corresponding author:
Francis Annor, Department of Psychology, University of Ghana, P. O. Box LG84, Legon, Accra, Ghana.
Email: fannor@ug.edu.gh
54 International Journal of Cross Cultural Management 18(1)
(Greenhaus and Beutell, 1985). Work–family conflict constitutes a major source of stress with
adverse effects on employee well-being and attitudes (e.g. Matthews et al., 2014; Nohe and Sonntag,
2014) as well as on families and organizations in terms of diminished family and organizational
performance (e.g. Nohe and Sonntag, 2014; van Steenbergen and Ellemers, 2009).
In spite of the vast literature on the work–family interface, much of the extant research on
antecedents and outcomes of work–family conflict is based predominantly on Western countries.
Most of the studies on work–family conflict from non-Western contexts have been done in Asian
countries (e.g. Aryee et al., 1999; Karimi and Nouri, 2009; Lu and Kao, 2013). While these studies
suggest considerable similarities in the sources of work–family conflict across cultures, there is
recognition of the contextual forces that shape individuals’ experiences of the work–family interface
(e.g. Annor, 2016a; Ollier-Malaterre et al., 2013; Powell et al., 2009). To date, however, relatively
few studies have compared work–family conflict in different cultural contexts.
The purpose of the present study is to examine correlates of work–family conflict in Ghana and
the United Kingdom. Drawing on the conservation of resources (COR) theory (Hobfoll, 1989,
2002) and Hofstede’s cultural framework (Hofstede, 2001; Hofstede et al., 2010), the study
investigates cross-national differences and similarities in the extent to which work demands and
support are related to work–family conflict. The study also examines cross-national differences and
similarities in the extent to which work–family conflict is related to job satisfaction and turnover
intentions. Although work–family conflict is conceptualized as a bidirectional construct (Michel
et al., 2011), the present study focuses on only work-to-family conflict (WFC), as this direction of
conflict is more prevalent than family-to-work conflict (FWC). Moreover, the antecedents and
outcomes of WFC are not necessarily the same as those of FWC (Michel et al., 2011).
This study contributes to the work and family literature in two significant ways. First, by comparing
work–family conflict in Ghana and the United Kingdom, the study enhances our understanding of the
extent to which work–family experiences in Western and industrialized societies can be generalized to
sub-Saharan African contexts. Previous cross-national studies on work–family conflict involved
comparisons ofWestern countries with Asian and Latin American countries (e.g. Lu et al., 2009, 2010;
Spector et al., 2007). The African context is conspicuously absent in cross-national research on work–
family conflict. While work and family issues are beginning to gain attention in these contexts (e.g.,
Annor, 2014, 2016b; Gamor et al., 2014; Mokomane, 2014), no empirical study has directly compared
correlates of work–family conflict in a sub-Saharan African country to aWestern industrialized nation.
The study thus has practical implications for organizations in the African context in terms of helping
employees integrate work and family life. Second, the study explores possible indirect influences of
work demands and support on job outcomes (job satisfaction and turnover intentions) through work–
family conflict. Although work–family conflict has been examined as a linking mechanism between
work demands/resources and job outcomes in prior research (e.g. Dixon and Sagas, 2007; Judge and
Colquitt, 2004), no attempt has been made to examine the possible mediating role of work–family
conflict from a cross-cultural perspective.
Study context
The cultural, institutional and economic contexts within which the work and family role systems are
embedded have significant influences on individuals’ ability to juggle demands in these life
domains (Annor, 2016a). The two countries in this study not only differ in terms of economic
development but also represent different labour market, family and cultural contexts. While Ghana’s
economy has recorded steady and significant growth over the past two decades, there has been a lack
Annor and Burchell 55
of corresponding structural transformation and improvement in labour market outcomes in the
country (Aryeetey and Kanbur, 2017). A significant feature of Ghana’s labour market has been the
decline in the share of the formal sector in paid employment, alongside increasing unemployment and
low levels of wages (Otoo et al., 2011). Consequently, a significant proportion of the working class is
trapped in income poverty. While it is difficult to compare income levels in two different countries
because of differences in other economic circumstances, available economic indicators suggest that
standards of living are significantly better in the United Kingdom than in Ghana.1
The household contexts in both countries may appear similar in terms of division of labour, which
remains gendered, with women bearing a larger proportion of domestic work despite their increased
participation in paid employment. However, a nuanced analysis suggests considerable differences
between the two countries. In particular, the household context in Ghana largely reflects the dual-
earner model where both couples are engaged in income generating activities, although women’s
participation tend to be restricted to the informal sector (Annor and Amponsah-Tawiah, 2017). In
contrast, women’s increased involvement in paid employment in the United Kingdom has been
predominantly part-time (Burchell et al., 2007; Crompton and Lyonette, 2006); thus, the family
context in the United Kingdom largely reflects the one-and-half-earner model (Lewis, 2009).
Moreover, the average family size in Ghana is comparably larger than in the United Kingdom due to
the high cultural premium on procreation coupled with the high incidence of fosterage and informal
adoption in Ghana2 (Ardayfio-Schandorf, 2006). In relation to the work–family interface, large family
sizes may have an impact on meeting family demands in terms of time and attention.
Statutory interventions to facilitate the integration of work and family responsibilities are limited
in Ghana, while existing provisions largely perpetuate gender inequalities in division of labour.3
Similarly, reconciliation of work and family demands was historically considered a private
responsibility in the United Kingdom (Crompton and Lyonette, 2006), resulting in minimal state
intervention and low level of public childcare provisions (Beham et al., 2014). However, recent
policy packages aimed at furthering child development and employment of mothers in the United
Kingdom (Lewis, 2009) suggest that state interventions in work–family balance may be better in the
United Kingdom than in Ghana. State interventions in work and family integration have been found
to enhance individuals’ sense of entitlement for support (Lewis and Smithson, 2001), which may in
turn increase institutional pressure on employers to be more family supportive (Lewis and Haas,
2005).
Finally, with regard to cultural differences, Ghana is largely collectivistic, whereas the United
Kingdom is considered individualistic. The collectivistic nature of the Ghanaian society is reflected
in the strong emphasis on identification with one’s extended family, with familial relationships
characterized by a high sense of reciprocity (Ardayfio-Schandorf, 2006). This form of social
relationship also finds expression in the organizational context in what Aryee (2005) termed as
organizational familism, in which employees consider the organization as an extension of the
family. Consequently, there is ‘the expectation on the part of employees that the organization will
take care of their socioemotional and material needs in exchange for promoting the interests of the
organization’ (Aryee, 2005: 271). In contrast, Hofstede’s (2001) study on cultural differences
identified the United Kingdom as among the countries with the highest levels of individualism.
Theoretical foundations and hypotheses
As stated earlier, the COR theory (Hobfoll, 1989, 2002) provides the theoretical underpinnings for
this study. The COR theory postulates that individuals strive to acquire, maintain and protect
56 International Journal of Cross Cultural Management 18(1)
resources and that stress occurs when there is a threat of resource loss or an actual loss of resources
(Hobfoll, 1989). Resources refer to objects, conditions, energies or personal characteristics ‘that
either are centrally valued in their own right or act as a means to acquire centrally valued resources’
(Hobfoll, 2002: 307). The COR theory posits that chronic exposure to resource loss may result in a
loss spiral in which an initial loss of resources increases the likelihood of further resource loss,
thereby leaving fewer resources to deal with stressors (ten Brummelhuis and Bakker, 2012).
Conversely, acquisition of resources may facilitate the accumulation of additional resources, a
concept described as a gain spiral. Drawing on the tenets of COR theory, we suggest that work
demands and support may be associated with WFC, which may in turn influence job outcomes.
In addition, we draw on Hofstede’s cultural framework in analysing cultural differences in pro-
posed conceptual relationships in the study. Cultural values and beliefs have provided an important
perspective through which researchers examine macro-level influences on the work–family interface
(Annor, 2016a; Powell et al., 2009), and Hofstede’s model remains the most influential framework in
organizational behaviour and cross-cultural management literature (Ayentimi et al., 2016). A key
cultural dimension that is considered relevant in explaining variations in work–family experiences
across countries is individualism–collectivism (Powell et al., 2009). Individualism–collectivism
describes the extent to which individuals in a society are socially connected and the level of priority
they assign to individual goals relative to group goals (Hofstede et al., 2010). According to Hofstede
(2001), individualists tend to be less interconnected and are expected to be self-reliant and emphasize
personal goals, achievements and preferences over that of the larger group. In contrast, collectivists
tend to be more interconnected and emphasize group goals and achievements over personal ones.
Collectivists also tend to define themselves in terms of their in-group, which usually includes the
extended family (Hofstede et al., 2010). Although an analysis based on cultural dimensions risks
oversimplifying cultural diversity within different countries, as each country may have distinct sub-
cultures (Triandis and Gelfand, 1998), Ghana and the United Kingdom could largely be considered as
prototypes of collectivistic and individualistic societies, respectively.
Work demands and WFC across contexts
Stressors associated with the work role are considered important precursors to WFC. From the
perspective of COR theory, physical and psychological exertions associated with the job may cause
stress, as more personal resources are expended in coping with those stressors (ten Brummelhuis
and Bakker, 2012). Consequently, fewer resources are left for performing family-related tasks.
Accordingly, work demands in the form of job pressure are expected to be associated with higher
levels of WFC. Prior research has indeed shown a positive link between job pressure and WFC (e.g.
Annor, 2016b; Lu and Kao, 2013; Matthews et al., 2014).
From a cross-cultural perspective, however, there is evidence that the strength of the relationship
between job demands andWFC varies across contexts. In particular, individualism–collectivism can
influence how employees appraise work and respond to work demands. In individualistic cultures,
greater value is placed on spending quality time with one’s family and work is seen as a means to
personal achievement (Hofstede, 2001). Consequently, increased commitment to work may be
perceived in individualistic societies as neglect of the family in pursuit of personal achievements
(Spector et al., 2007). In contrast, in collectivistic cultures, work is regarded as a means to support
the family and less value is placed on personal and family time; hence, excessive efforts in work
pursuits may be considered a short-term cost for the long-term benefit of the family (Yang et al.
2012). Thus, employees in collectivistic societies appraise job demands less negatively than
Annor and Burchell 57
employees in individualistic societies. Consistent with these arguments, Spector and his colleagues
(Spector et al., 2004, 2007) found that work demands (work hours and perceived workload) had
stronger positive relationship with WFC among individualists than collectivists. Therefore, it is
hypothesized that:
H1: The positive relationship between job pressure and WFC will be stronger in the United
Kingdom than in Ghana.
Work support and WFC across contexts
Social support describes ‘social interactions or relationships that provide individuals with actual
assistance or with a feeling of attachment to a person or group that is perceived as caring or loving’
(Hobfoll and Stokes, 1988: 499). In the work context, supervisors constitute an important source of
informal social support (Kossek et al., 2011). Supervisor support represents employees’ perception
that their supervisors are accommodating of their work and family needs or empathic towards their
desire to integrate work and family responsibilities (Thomas and Ganster, 1995). From the perspective
of COR theory, family-supportive supervisor behaviours can enhance employees’ ability to deal with
work-related problems, making it possible to invest more resources in other life domains. Accordingly,
a number of studies have associated supervisor support with lower levels of WFC (e.g. Karimi and
Nouri, 2009; Kossek et al., 2011; Paustian-Underdahl and Halbesleben, 2014).
From a cross-cultural perspective, however, it is argued that individuals appraise support
resources in the work domain differently in different national contexts. Lu et al. (2009) suggested
that informal support resources such as supervisory support may be more useful for employees in
collectivistic societies because of the acceptance of employees’ family responsibilities outside
work. This assertion is consistent with the view that the relationship between employers and
employees in collectivistic cultures is often conceived in moral terms ‘with mutual obligations for
protection in exchange for loyalty’ (Hofstede et al., 2010: 120). This contrasts with individualistic
cultures, where the relationship between employers and employees is typically conceived in
transactional terms (Hofstede et al., 2010). Thus, access to and use of informal support resources
may be influenced by how individuals construe the employer–employee relationship. In a study
comparing Taiwanese and British employees, Lu et al. (2009) reported a stronger negative rela-
tionship between supervisor support and WFC for Taiwanese employees than for British
employees. Therefore, it is hypothesized that:
H2: The negative relationship between supervisor support and WFC will be stronger in
Ghana than in the United Kingdom.
WFC, job satisfaction and turnover intentions across contexts
The COR theory suggests that the experience of resource loss associated with work–family conflict
may result in consequences such as decreased performance and distress in major life domains
(Grandey and Cropanzano, 1999). Since WFC occurs when demands in the work domain result in
insufficient resources for participation in the family domain, the experience of WFC is likely to
affect satisfaction in the work domain as individuals attribute blame to the source of the conflict
(Shockley and Singla, 2011). The COR theory also suggests that when faced with resource loss, the
need to protect resources instigates processes that might help prevent further resource loss (Hobfoll,
58 International Journal of Cross Cultural Management 18(1)
1989). It follows that employees who experience WFC would attempt to reduce the stress by
withdrawing from their job. Empirically, WFC has been associated with lower levels of job satis-
faction (e.g. Cho and Tay, 2016; Shockley and Singla, 2011) and higher levels of turnover intentions
(e.g. Nohe and Sonntag, 2014; Steinmetz et al., 2008).
However, prior research has shown that outcomes of work–family conflict are more pronounced
for employees in some cultural contexts than in others (Lu et al., 2010; Spector et al., 2004, 2007;
Wang et al., 2004). In terms of individualism–collectivism, it has been argued that because indi-
vidualists tend to prioritize their personal needs, they would be more likely to respond negatively
when work responsibilities interfere with personal needs (Spector et al., 2007; Wang et al., 2004).
Conversely, collectivists tend to focus on social connections with their employer and would more
likely self-sacrifice when work interferes with personal needs. Consistent with this argument,
Spector et al. (2007) found that the relationship between WFC and job satisfaction was stronger in
individualistic cultures (Anglo) than collectivistic cultures (Asia, Latin America and East Europe).
Lu et al. (2010) also reported stronger negative relationship between WFC and job satisfaction
among employees in Britain than those in Taiwan. Similarly, Wang et al. (2004) found that WFC had
a positive relationship with turnover intentions among American employees but was not related to
turnover intentions among the Chinese. Therefore, it is hypothesized that:
H3: The negative relationship betweenWFC and job satisfaction and the positive relationship
between WFC and turnover intentions will be stronger in the United Kingdom than in Ghana.
The mediating role of work–family conflict across contexts
Although previous cross-cultural studies on correlates of work–family conflict mainly examined
direct relationships, there are reasons to expect cultural differences in indirect relationships between
antecedents and outcomes. The notion that work–family conflict serves as a mechanism through
which work stressors and resources are linked to job outcomes is well established in existing
monocultural studies (e.g. Dixon and Sagas, 2007; Judge and Colquitt, 2004). These studies
demonstrate that work stressors are negatively associated with job satisfaction and positively related
to turnover intentions; that work support is positively related to job satisfaction and negatively
related to turnover intentions; and that these relationships are mediated by WFC.
Based on the preceding discussions on how work demands and resources are construed across
cultures, we anticipate that job pressure and supervisor support would have differential relationships
with job satisfaction and turnover intentions across cultures. The extant literature reports significant
differences in the relationships of work stressors and support with job outcomes. For example, Stock
et al. (2016) reported in a recent cross-cultural study that supportive work–family culture had
stronger positive relationship with job satisfaction for employees in India and China than in the
United States. Similarly, Yang et al. (2012) reported that perceived workload and organizational
constraints had stronger influences on job satisfaction and turnover intentions in individualistic
countries than in collectivistic countries. The present study extends this line of research by
examining cultural differences in the indirect relationships of job pressure and supervisor support
with job satisfaction and turnover intentions through WFC. Therefore, it is hypothesized that:
H4: Job pressure and supervisor support will be indirectly related to job satisfaction and
turnover intentions through WFC and that these indirect relationships will be different for
Ghana and the United Kingdom.
Annor and Burchell 59
Methods
Participants
Participants were non-teaching university employees in Ghana and the United Kingdom. The
Ghanaian sample was composed of 217 employees of whom 54%were females and were aged 20 to
64 with an average age of 38.6 (SD ¼ 10.0). In terms of job functions, 59.3% worked in admin-
istrative and clerical positions, 29.9% in professional jobs, 9.8% in technical positions and 1% in
management positions. About 80% of the participants were married or lived with a partner, and over
70% had children. The British sample consisted of 198 participants of whom 67.6% were females
and were aged 25 to 73 with an average age of 45.1 (SD ¼ 10.7). More than a third of the parti-
cipants (41.9%) were in administrative and clerical jobs, 22.2% were in managerial jobs, 16.2%
were in each of professional and technical jobs and 3.5% were in ‘other’ jobs. About 94% of the
British sample were married or lived with a partner, and 52.5% had children.
Data collection procedure
In both countries, data were collected using self-administered questionnaires. For cross-national
studies, it has been recommended that researchers maintain consistency in data gathering procedures
(Schaffer and Riordan, 2003). However, maintaining the same mode of data collection is not often
feasible in cross-cultural research, as a mode that is optimal for one country may be considered a
poor option for another (de Leeuw, 2005). In the present study, different modes of survey admin-
istration were employed in both countries. Paper-based surveys were used in Ghana, while online
surveys were used in the United Kingdom. On the one hand, the paper-based surveys were con-
sidered a more viable option in Ghana, given the relatively low levels of computer usage and
Internet access within the target population, which makes online surveys unpopular. On the other
hand, online surveys were considered a more viable option in the United Kingdom, given the
relatively higher level of Internet usage in the target population. The practice of combining different
modes of data collection for different samples in the same study is not new, and there is evidence
that this approach does not significantly affect response quality (Revilla, 2010).
In Ghana, data were collected from employees in three public universities. Questionnaire
packages were distributed to employees across various departments in the selected universities.
Attached to each questionnaire package was a covering letter that explained the objectives of the
study, assured participants of confidentiality of their responses and informed them of the voluntary
nature of participation in the study. All the questionnaires were administered in English. In all, 341
questionnaires were distributed, of which 246 were returned, representing a response rate of 72.1%.
Of the 246 respondents, 234 (95%) met the study’s inclusion criteria, which required that partici-
pants be either married or living with a dependant at home. Data from 17 respondents were deleted
due to extremely high missing values, leaving the final sample of 217 reported earlier.
Participants in the United Kingdom were recruited from online departmental staff lists of five
universities. Personalized emails containing a link to the survey website were sent to 840 non-
teaching employees in these universities requesting their participation in the Web-based survey. The
emails explained the purpose of the survey and gave assurance about confidentiality and anonymity
in the study. The online survey was designed and administered using the Qualtrics survey software
with the same question formats, ordering and response categories as the paper-based survey. Per-
sonalized email follow-up reminders were sent to all participants a week after the initial requests. A
total of 293 individuals responded to the request of which 10 declined participation. Of the 283
60 International Journal of Cross Cultural Management 18(1)
participants who started the survey, 232 completed it, representing a completion rate of 82% and
response rate of 27.6%. Of the 232 respondents, 198 met the study’s inclusion criteria.
Measures
WFC was measured with five items adapted from Carlson et al.’s (2000) work–family conflict
scale. The items reflect the time-based and strain-based dimensions of work–family conflict.
Each item was followed by response categories that showed how often instances depicting
work–family conflict had been experienced in the past 3 months – ‘never’, ‘almost never’,
‘sometimes’, ‘often’ and ‘always’. A sample item is ‘I have come home from work too tired to
do the chores that need to be done’. Scores on each item ranged from 1 to 5, with high scores
reflecting higher levels of WFC. The a coefficients for the measure were 0.73 and 0.85 for
Ghana and the United Kingdom, respectively.
Job satisfaction was measured with four items adapted from Pond and Geyer’s (1991) job
satisfaction scale, which assesses employees’ overall reactions to the job without reference to any
specific aspect of the job (e.g. pay, promotion, supervisors). A sample item on the scale is ‘If you
had to decide all over again whether to take the job you have at present with your current employer,
what would you decide?’ (1 ¼ definitely not take the job; 5 ¼ definitely take the job). As shown in
the sample item, each item was followed by two extreme responses separated by five response
ratings. Scores on this scale consisted of the mean for all the items with values ranging from 1 to 5;
high scores reflect greater satisfaction with the job. The a coefficients for this measure were 0.83 and
0.88 for Ghana and the United Kingdom, respectively.
Job pressure was measured with three items that asked respondents to rate how often they
experienced specific job conditions related to pace and emotional demands of the job (see Aryee
et al., 1999). A sample item is ‘In your current job, how often do you work to tight deadlines’. Each
item was rated on a seven-point Likert-type scale ranging from ‘never’ to ‘all of the time’. The a
coefficients for the instrument were 0.72 and 0.85 for Ghana and the United Kingdom, respectively.
Supervisor support was measured with six items that asked respondents how accommodating
and understanding their supervisors were in dealing with work and family issues (Behson, 2005). A
sample item is ‘My supervisor/boss understands me when I need to take time off work to take care of
family issues’. The items were rated on a five-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5
(strongly agree); high scores indicate high levels of supervisor support. The a coefficients for this
scale in the present study were 0.86 and 0.89 for Ghana and the United Kingdom, respectively.
Turnover intentions: Employees’ intentions to quit their present job was measured with two
items: ‘I often think of quitting my job’ and ‘I will actively look for a job by the next year’.
Responses to the items were made on a five-point scale (1¼ strongly disagree; 5¼ strongly agree).
The a coefficients for the scale were 0.82 and 0.84 for Ghana and the United Kingdom, respectively.
Control variables: Age and gender were included as control variables in the study. Age was
measured as a continuous variable, while gender was coded as 0 (male) and 1 (female).
Measurement equivalence
To allow for cross-national comparisons, it was important to establish that the measurement
instruments were invariant across the two samples (Schaffer and Riordan, 2003). Following pro-
cedures suggested by Byrne (2010), we tested for configural and metric invariance. Configural
invariance entails whether a measurement instrument has the same configuration of factor loadings
across subsamples (Byrne, 2010). To establish configural invariance, we first estimated a five-factor
Annor and Burchell 61
Table 1. Results of confirmatory factor analyses showing measurement invariance.
Model w2 df CFI SRMR RMSEA
1 M1. Ghana (within-group, n ¼ 217) 274.64*** 159 0.923 0.056 0.058
2 M2. United Kingdom (within-group, n ¼ 198) 319.33*** 159 0.931 0.071 0.072
3 M3. Unconstrained measurement model 593.99*** 318 0.928 0.057 0.046
4 M4. Model with factor structures and factor loadings constrained 603.29*** 333 0.929 0.057 0.044
equal.
5 w2 difference (M3 vs. M4) 9.31 15
Note: CFI: comparative fit index; SRMR: standardized root mean square residual; RMSEA: root mean square error of
approximation.
***p < 0.001.
measurement model for each country separately. Next, we performed multigroup confirmatory
factor analysis with factor loadings in the five-factor model freely estimated across the two groups.
As shown in Table 1, the resulting configural model (M3) showed a good fit to the data, (w2 (318)¼
593.99, p < 0.01; CFI ¼ 0.928; SRMR ¼ 0.057; RMSEA ¼ 0.046), confirming the assumption of
configural invariance.
Metric invariance entails whether participants respond to the ‘items in the same way, in the sense
that obtained ratings can be meaningfully compared across countries’ (Steenkamp and Baumgartner,
1998: 80). We tested for metric invariance by imposing equality on all factor loadings across the two
groups (M4). The w2 difference showed that the model with equality constraints on factor loadings
did not differ significantly from the configural model (Dw2 (15) ¼ 9.31, p > 0.05). These results
indicate that the factor loadings were invariant across the two subsamples, and that the assumption
of metric invariance was tenable.
Results
Descriptive statistics and correlations
Means, standard deviations, reliability estimates and correlations among the study variables for each
country are presented in Table 2. For both samples, supervisor support was negatively correlated
with WFC and turnover intentions and positively correlated with job satisfaction; job pressure was
positively correlated with WFC and turnover intentions and negatively correlated with job satis-
faction; and WFC was positively correlated with turnover intentions and negatively correlated with
job satisfaction.
Tests of hypotheses
The study’s hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling (SEM) with AMOS 21.0.
We first tested the structural relationships among the latent variables for each country separately to
ascertain whether the model was a good fit to the data for the respective countries. The control
variables of age and gender were also included. The results, as shown in Table 3, revealed that the
hypothesized model fitted the data well for Ghana, w2(189)¼ 304.76, p < 0.01; CFI¼ 0.926; SRMR
¼ 0.054; RMSEA ¼ 0.053, and the United Kingdom, w2(189) ¼ 373.19, p < 0.01; CFI ¼ 0.922;
SRMR ¼ 0.068; RMSEA ¼ 0.072.
62 International Journal of Cross Cultural Management 18(1)
Table 2. Bivariate correlations, descriptive statistics and reliability estimates of study variables for Ghana and
the United Kingdom.
Variable 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1 Age – 0.01 0.11 0.00 0.01 0.05 0.06
2 Gender 0.19*** – 0.16* 0.18** 0.01 0.03 0.11
3 Supervisor support 0.24*** 0.16* – 0.20** 0.23*** 0.48*** 0.52***
4 Job pressure 0.21*** 0.18** 0.09 – 0.59*** 0.44*** 0.24***
5 WFC 0.29*** 0.12* 0.34*** 0.15* – 0.44*** 0.37***
6 Turnover intentions 0.26*** 0.28*** 0.16** 0.01 0.35*** – 0.82***
7 Job satisfaction 0.21** 0.07 0.48*** 0.16* 0.42*** 0.45*** –
Mean/SD (Ghana) 38.55 0.55 2.64 3.92 1.02 1.64 2.82
10.01 0.49 0.64 0.99 0.33 0.89 0.81
Mean/SD (UK) 45.07 0.68 3.13 3.27 1.22 1.20 3.25
10.69 0.49 0.65 0.99 0.42 0.98 0.97
Cronbach’s a (Ghana) / / 0.86 0.72 0.73 0.82 0.83
Cronbach’s a (UK) / / 0.89 0.85 0.85 0.84 0.88
Note: Correlation coefficients above the diagonal are for the United Kingdom and those below the diagonal are for Ghana.
WFC: work-to-family conflict.
*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001.
Table 3. Fit indices for multigroup SEM.
Model w2 df CFI SRMR RMSEA
1 Ghana (within-group, n ¼ 217) 304.76*** 189 0.926 0.054 0.053
2 United Kingdom (within-group, n ¼ 198) 373.19*** 189 0.922 0.068 0.072
3 Unconstrained between-group model 677.97*** 378 0.923 0.054 0.044
4 Constrained between-group model 686.51*** 393 0.925 0.055 0.043
5 w2 difference (model 3 vs. model 4) 56.19** 29
Note: CFI: comparative fit index; SRMR: standardized root mean square residual; RMSEA: root mean square error of
approximation; SEM: structural equation modelling.
**p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001.
Next, to ascertain whether the structural relationships among the latent variables were invariant
across countries, we conducted multigroup SEM in which two between-group models were spec-
ified. In one between-group model, all the parameters were freely estimated within each country. In
the second model, the hypothesized parameters were constrained to be equal across countries. As
shown in Table 3, the unconstrained model fitted the data significantly better than the constrained
model, Dw2 (29), p < 0.05. This indicates significant between-country difference in path coeffi-
cients. To determine specific between-country differences in the hypothesized paths, we examined
the critical ratio for the difference between the respective parameters estimates.
Standardized coefficients for the hypothesized paths are shown in Figure 1 for both countries.
The results showed that job pressure was positively related to WFC in both countries (bGH ¼ 0.19,
p < 0.05; bUK ¼ 0.53, p < 0.001) but the relationship was stronger in the United Kingdom than in
Ghana (z ¼ 3.39, p < 0.001). Thus, hypothesis 1, which suggested that the negative relationship
between job pressure and WFC would be stronger in the United Kingdom than in Ghana, was
Annor and Burchell 63
Figure 1. Standardized path estimates for Ghana and the United Kingdom (in parenthesis). Paths showing
significant between-country difference are in bold face. Estimates for the control variables (age and gender)
are not shown. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001
supported. Job pressure was also positively related to turnover intentions in the United Kingdom
(bUK ¼ 0.22, p < 0.01) but was not significantly related to turnover intentions in Ghana. Supervisor
support had a significant negative relationship with WFC in Ghana (bGH¼0.25, p < 0.01) but was
not significantly related toWFC in the United Kingdom (bUK¼0.11, n.s.); however, the between-
country difference in the magnitude of the relationship was not significant. Thus, hypothesis 2,
which suggested that the relationship between supervisor support and WFC would be stronger in
Ghana than in the United Kingdom, was not supported. In addition, WFC was negatively related to
job satisfaction in both countries (bGH ¼ 0.27, p < 0.01; bUK ¼ 0.23, p < 0.01), but no sig-
nificant between-country difference was found in the strength of the relationship. Likewise, WFC
was positively related to turnover intentions in Ghana (bGH ¼ 0.23, p < 0.01) and in the United
Kingdom (bUK ¼ 0.19, p < 0.05), but the between-country difference in the strength of the rela-
tionship was not significant. Supervisor support had a positive relationship with job satisfaction in
both countries (bGH ¼ 0.34, p < 0.001; bUK ¼ 0.43, p < 0.001), but its relationship with turnover
intentions was significant in the United Kingdom only (bUK ¼ 0.38, p < 0.001).
To test hypothesis 4, we first examined the significance of the indirect effects of job pressure and
supervisor support on job satisfaction and turnover intentions in the multigroup SEM analysis.
Following procedures suggested by Shrout and Bolger (2002), we created 2000 bootstrap samples
to examine the confidence intervals of the indirect effects for each country with the bias-corrected
percentile method. Indirect effects are considered to be significant when the corresponding
64 International Journal of Cross Cultural Management 18(1)
Table 4. Estimates of indirect effects and bootstrap CIs.
Ghana 95% CI United Kingdom 95% CI
Outcome Estimate Lower Upper Estimate Lower Upper
Job satisfaction
Job pressure 0.05* 0.17 0.01 0.12* 0.27 0.03
Supervisor support 0.07* 0.01 0.17 0.03 0.01 0.09
Turnover intentions
Job pressure 0.05* 0.01 0.14 0.10* 0.01 0.21
Supervisor support 0.06* 0.16 0.01 0.02 0.09 0.01
Note: CI: confidence interval.
*p < 0.05.
confidence intervals do not include zero. As presented in Table 4, results of the bootstrapped
samples showed that the indirect effects of job pressure on job satisfaction and turnover intentions
via WFC for the Ghanaian sample were0.05 and 0.05 with bootstrapped 95% confidence intervals
ranging from 0.17 to 0.01 and 0.01 to 0.14, respectively. Likewise, the indirect effects of job
pressure on job satisfaction and turnover intentions via WFC for the British sample were0.12 and
0.10 with bootstrapped 95% confidence intervals ranging from 0.27 to 0.03 and 0.01 to 0.21,
respectively. These results showed that WFC significantly mediated the relationships of job pressure
with job satisfaction and turnover intentions in both countries. Following the same procedures, the
indirect effects of supervisor support on job satisfaction and turnover intentions via WFC for the
Ghanaian sample were found to be 0.07 and 0.06 with 95% confidence intervals ranging from
0.01 to 0.17 and0.16 to0.01, respectively. Conversely, the indirect effects of supervisor support
on job satisfaction and turnover intentions via WFC for the British sample were found to be 0.03 and
0.02 with 95% confidence intervals ranging from0.01 to 0.09 and0.09 to0.01, respectively.
Thus, WFC significantly mediated the relationships of supervisor support with job satisfaction and
turnover intentions in Ghana but not in the United Kingdom. Taken together, the results partially
support hypothesis 4, which suggested cross-national differences in the indirect effects of job
pressure and supervisor support on job satisfaction and turnover intentions via WFC.
Discussion
The present study examined cross-national differences in relationships among work demands and
support, WFC and job outcomes in Ghana and the United Kingdom. The study revealed that job
pressure had stronger positive relationships with WFC and turnover intentions in the United
Kingdom than in Ghana. Thus, excessive job-related demands were associated with more conflict
from the work domain and greater intentions to quit the job for employees in the United Kingdom
compared to their counterparts in Ghana. These findings are consistent with the notion that
employees in individualistic cultures interpret job demands more negatively than employees in
collectivistic cultures (Yang et al., 2012). Hofstede (2001) noted that individualists tend to attach
greater importance to having adequate time for personal and family life compared to collectivists.
As shown in previous research (e.g. Matthews et al., 2014), job pressure may be associated with
increased time commitment to work and feelings of fatigue, making it more difficult to spend quality
time with the family. Consequently, employees who experience job pressure in individualistic
Annor and Burchell 65
contexts would be more likely to perceive their work as interfering with their family role and react
more negatively to the source of the interference. In contrast, employees in collectivistic countries
appraise job pressure less negatively, as increased involvement in work is viewed as sacrificing
personal resources for the benefit of the family (Yang et al., 2012).
These findings from the present study, thus, corroborate those of Lu et al. (2010) who found that
work demands had stronger positive relationship with WFC for British employees than for Tai-
wanese employees. The results also corroborate Spector et al.’s (2007) findings that workload
exacerbated time-based and strain-based WFC for individualists more than for collectivists. From a
theoretical perspective, the study suggests that contextual factors such as employees’ cultural
background (e.g. individualism–collectivism) influence their interpretations of work-related
demands, resulting in differential loss of resources associated with these demands (Hobfoll,
1989; Hofstede, 2001). Thus, resource loss associated with excessive work demands appears to be
stronger in individualistic contexts than in collectivistic contexts due to the relative importance
attached to spending time with the family. Perhaps, within the context of the work–family interface,
the thresholds at which individuals respond to resource loss or at which loss spirals occur following
exposure to work stressors differ for individualists and collectivists.
The finding that job pressure had stronger influences on WFC and job outcomes in the United
Kingdom than in Ghana may also be explained by dissimilar economic conditions and working time
regulations prevailing in the two countries. For example, higher average household income in the
United Kingdom suggests that British employees may have less need to take heavy workload and
overtime work for family survival (Lyness et al., 2012). In contrast, in developing countries such as
Ghana with relatively high unemployment rates, employees would be more likely to tolerate adverse
working conditions such as heavy workload and overtime work due to excess supply of labour over
demand (McGinnity and Russell, 2013). An alternative explanation may be derived from human
resource practices such as performance appraisal in the Ghanaian work system. Performance
appraisals in Ghana, particularly in the public sector, are often poorly carried out and in most cases
not applied for employee promotion and wages/salary determination (Debra, 2001). Consequently,
employees in Ghanaian public service may be less likely to interpret inability to meet excessive job
demands as having adverse impact on their job outcomes. These conditions could limit the influence
of excessive job demands on employees’ family life in the Ghanaian context.
Contrary to expectation, the present study did not find cross-national differences in magnitude of
the relationship between supervisor support and WFC. This finding seems to corroborate a previous
study (Lu et al., 2009), which found consistent relationship between work resources (supervisory
support and organizational family values) and WFC among Taiwanese and British employees. To
the extent that supervisor support is considered integral to a friendly work–family culture (Kossek
et al., 2011), this finding suggests that employees across cultures may be similar in their needs for
family-friendly work environment. It is important to note, however, that in the present study,
supervisor support was associated with less WFC in Ghana but was not significantly related to WFC
in the United Kingdom. Perhaps, the relatively stronger emphasis on interpersonal relationships in
collectivistic societies (Hofstede et al., 2010), coupled with the relative lack of formal family-
friendly initiatives in Ghana makes informal resources such as family-supportive supervision
more important in this context than in the United Kingdom.
Furthermore, we found that WFC was negatively related to job satisfaction and positively related
to turnover intentions in both countries. These findings corroborate previous studies suggesting that
higher levels of work–family conflict are associated with negative job attitudes, and extend past
cross-cultural research that linked WFC to job satisfaction across contexts (e.g. Lu et al., 2009;
66 International Journal of Cross Cultural Management 18(1)
Spector et al., 2007). Drawing on the cultural dimension of individualism–collectivism, we pro-
posed that the influence of WFC on job satisfaction and turnover intentions would be stronger in the
United Kingdom. Contrary to our prediction, however, we found no cross-national differences in the
relationships of WFC with job outcomes. The absence of cross-national differences in outcomes of
work–family conflict suggests that employees respond in similar ways to stress associated with
work–family conflict across different cultural contexts. Thus, work–family conflict has consistent
deleterious influences on employee outcomes across cultures. In this regard, our results fail to
support previous studies (Lu et al., 2010; Spector et al., 2007; Wang et al., 2004), which suggest that
the relationship between work–family conflict and employees’ well-being are different across
cultures.
Our findings also suggest that the notion of work–family conflict serving as a linking mechanism
in the relationships of work stressors and resources with job outcomes may not be entirely appli-
cable across national contexts. We noted that, across countries, job pressure was indirectly related to
job satisfaction and turnover intentions via WFC. This finding extends previous monocultural
studies that found a mediating role of work–family conflict between stressors and employee out-
comes (e.g. Dixon and Sagas, 2007; Judge and Colquitt, 2004). Thus, across contexts, excessive job
demands may negatively impact on employee well-being through their influences on work–family
conflict. However, supervisor support was found to be indirectly related to job satisfaction and
turnover intentions via WFC only in the Ghanaian sample. This finding, together with the finding on
the direct relationship between supervisor support and WFC, underscore the view that supervisor
support may be more beneficial among collectivists than individualists. Thus, among collectivists,
supervisor support may enhance employee well-being by minimizing the experience of work–
family conflict. To our knowledge, there has been no previous cross-cultural study examining the
indirect effects of work demands and support on employee outcomes in the context of the work–
family interface; hence, further research is needed to examine the extent to which our findings can
be replicated.
Limitations
Our study is not without limitations. First, despite its emphasis on individualism–collectivism, the
study included no measures of this cultural dimension. It is recognized that cultural values differ
among individuals in the same country (Triandis and Gelfand, 1998), and thus countries do not
necessarily proxy such cultural dimensions. Therefore, the inclusion of direct measures of such
cultural constructs in future research could enhance our understanding of how specific cultural
dimensions relate to experiences of work–family conflict. A useful approach in this regard would be
to move beyond the two-country comparison adopted in the present study. While the between-
country comparisons helped to ascertain similarities and differences in the operations of the work–
family interface in the two cultural contexts, it was difficult to isolate the effects of culture from
other contextual effects (e.g. institutional and economic). In this regard, studies conducted across
multiple countries could make it possible to better ascertain which effects are attributable to dif-
ferences in cultural orientations or differences in institutional and economic circumstances.
In addition, although the use of university employees enhanced comparability of the samples,
they may not be representative of workers in the respective countries. Consequently, results
obtained from these samples may not necessarily generalize to other groups of workers in both
countries. It is suggested that future cross-national studies examine whether the dynamics of the
work–family interface vary across different industries or occupational settings. Such studies in the
Annor and Burchell 67
Ghanaian context should also consider workers in the informal sector. As revealed in a study by
Annor (2014), Ghanaian employees in formal employment sometimes engage in income generating
activities in the informal sector. Thus, it would be interesting to understand whether and how the
nature of work in the informal sector impinges on or facilitates employees’ ability to combine work
and family life.
Practical implications
This study’s findings have potential practical implications especially for both multinational and
local firms in sub-Saharan Africa that rely on employees as a source of competitive advantage. The
study suggests that the impact of WFC on job outcomes of employees cuts across national contexts,
underscoring the importance of addressing employees’ work–family issues regardless of national
context. However, the cross-national differences found in the study points to the need to consider
contextual factors when transferring human resources management (HRM) practices across national
contexts. In the case of multinational organizations in particular, Ayentimi et al. (2016: 1) have
pointed out that institutional dissimilarities between host and home countries ‘may create oppor-
tunities or constraints in HRM practice transfers’. Policies such as flexible working arrangements,
job sharing and compressed workweek have been popularized in Western and developed countries
as a means to helping employees integrate work and family responsibilities (Allen et al., 2013). The
present study suggests that caution should be exercised in decisions regarding application of such
policies in non-Western contexts. In particular, the finding that job pressure had less influence on
WFC in Ghana compared to the United Kingdom suggests that policies targeted primarily at
reducing work demands may be less effective in non-Western contexts.
The present study has also underscored the important role of supervisors in facilitating
employees’ ability to integrate work and family life. The study has shown that the positive influ-
ences of family-supportive supervisors on employees’ ability to integrate work and family roles and
on job outcomes may be less culturally dependent. To the extent supervisor support constitutes an
integral component of informal work–family culture (Thompson et al., 1999), the study suggests the
need for supervisors to be more sensitive to employees’ family needs. Thus, providing training to
supervisors on how to handle employees’work–family issues would be a worthwhile investment for
organizations in any country, as supervisors not only influence the implementation of formal work–
family policies but also serve as role models for other employees. Beyond providing emotional and
instrumental support, supervisors may be trained to be more proactive by initiating actions that
‘simultaneously balances sensitivity to employees’ work-family responsibilities with company,
customer, and co-worker needs’ (Hammer et al., 2009: 842). Training of supervisors to exhibit
family-supportive behaviours would be a particularly useful strategy for organizations in the
Ghanaian context, where formal work–family programmes are limited or maybe less effective.
Conclusion
Although the interconnection between work and family roles remains an important area of research
and policy, research on work–family conflict is largely Western-focused with only few studies
examining correlates of work–family conflict across different cultural contexts while the African
context remains missing from this line of research. To the best of our knowledge, the present study
constitutes the first attempt at empirically examining the differences and similarities in antecedents
and outcomes of work–family conflict between a Western industrialized nation and a developing
country in sub-Saharan Africa. The study’s findings underscore the relevance of addressing
68 International Journal of Cross Cultural Management 18(1)
contextual issues in antecedents and outcomes of work–family conflict. The results of the study
suggest that some aspects of the relationships of stressors and resources with work–family conflict
and job outcomes can be generalized across contexts, while others may be context-dependent.
Specifically, the study suggests that the impact of work–family conflict on employees’ attitudes
and withdrawal intentions may be similar across contexts; however, the experience of work–family
conflict may be underpinned by factors that appear to be context-dependent. In general, the findings
underscore the need for organizations to be mindful of contextual peculiarities when transporting
established work–family policies and practices across different countries.
Acknowledgement
The authors wish to acknowledge the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust and St John’s College at the University
of Cambridge, for providing funding for this research.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or
publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) disclosed the receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or
publication of this article: received from the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust and St John’s College at the
University of Cambridge.
Notes
1. This point can be made clearer when it is realized that the per capita gross domestic product for Ghana as of
2012 was $1,550 whereas that of the United Kingdom was $38,500 (The World Bank, 2014); that is about
24 times that of Ghana.
2. As of 2008, the total fertility rate in Ghana was 4.0 children per woman (Ghana Statistical Service, Ghana
Health Service and ICF Macro, 2009). The comparable figure for the United Kingdom as at 2012 was 1.94
children per woman (Office of National Statistics, 2013), which is considered one of the highest in Europe.
3. The Ghana Labour Act (Act 651) makes provision for 12 weeks of statutory maternity leave for women
(which may be extended by 2 additional weeks), but makes no provision for paternity leave. In contrast,
women in the United Kingdom are entitled to 52 weeks of maternity leave (paid up to 39 weeks); this is
about four times that of Ghana. Though longer maternity leave durations may have the unintended con-
sequence of hindering women’s career progression (Mandel and Semyonov, 2006), the recent introduction
of paternity leave entitlement in the United Kingdom suggest that men in this context would have greater
opportunities for contributing to childcare than their counterparts in Ghana.
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