Profiles of attribution of importance to life roles and their implications for the work-family conflict

Cluster analysis identified 3 groups of individuals who differed systematically on attributions of relative importance to work and to family roles. Participants were 213 married computer workers and lawyers, 126 men and 87 women. Questionnaires gathered data on attributions of importance to life roles, work-family conflict, spousal and managerial support, and flexibility of working hours. In addition to variation between members of the 3 profiles for level of work-family conflict, differences were also found for age, hours working at job and home, and spousal support. Findings also indicated meaningful differences between the profiles for 2 types of conflict: work → family and family → work. Results suggest that simultaneous analysis of relative importance attributed to life roles enables more precise understanding of work-family conflict.