The role of age, job experience, educational attainment, and length of marriage in work-family conflict of married nurses

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the role of age, job experience, educational attainment and length of marriage in work-family conflict. We employed a cross-sectional survey design in the study. The participants were 181 (173 female and 8 male) nurses selected through the purposive sampling technique among married nursing staff at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital. The mean age was 35.39 years (SD = 8.65, range = 21-59 years). Work-family conflict was assessed using the 9 items measuring the interference between work and family of the Multidimensional Work-Family Conflict Scale. Five hypotheses were tested in the study. Percentages, means, independent sample t-test, and one-way ANOVA were used for analyses. Results indicated nurses with BSc degree and above manifested significantly lower strain-based conflict than those with Registered Nurses Certificate and Midwife Certificate holders. Furthermore, nurses with BSc degree and above reported significantly lower behaviour-based conflict than those with Registered Nurses Certificate and Midwife Certificate holders. In terms of overall score, nurses with BSc degree and above reported significantly lower work-family conflict than those with Registered Nurses Certificate and Midwife Certificate holders. In conclusion, educational attainment and length of marriage are important determinants of work-family conflict among nurses and, therefore, should be considered by employers of labour, clinicians, and family life educators in identifying interventions aimed at overcoming the problem of work-family conflict.

Keywords: Gender, age, job experience, educational attainment, length of marriage, work-family conflict, nurses