PROFESSIONAL NURSES’S WORK-FAMILY CONFLICT: BETWEEN ORGANIZATIONAL DEMANDS AND RESOURCES

Introduction: The subject of work-family conflict (w.f.c.) has become ever more central in organizational studies, and this is also due to the significant changes in the work force. With regard to nursing staff, as Grzywacz et ol. (2006) highlight, the presence of personal experiences of w.f.c. may fuel, on the one hand, an intention to quit the job, and on the other, feelings of dissatisfaction which in turn may lead to a worsening of work performance. The aim of the present study is to verify the effect of some possible determinants of w.f.c.: workload and emotional charge as work demands; support from colleagues and from management as work resources. Methods: The research was carried out by administering a questionnaire to 294 nurses working in two large hospitals in Northern Italy. The tool considered the following variables: w.f.c., workload, emotional charge, the support of management and colleagues. To test the effect of these variables on w.f.c., subsequent to some preliminary analyses (performed with Paswl 8), path analysis was used (Lisrel 8.72). Results: The model's fit indexes were satisfactory and the results highlight above all the importance of the support of management in reducing w.f.c., which seems primarily determined by emotional charge as well as by workload. Conclusions: The results suggest that nursing staff management policies could achieve the objective of reducing w.f.c. through support actions, training and implementation of family-friendly policies