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ShareApr. 8, 2010 — The more materialistic individuals are, the more likely they are to view their family as an obstacle to work. This is the finding of a study published in the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology.
Mark Promislo from Temple University, Philadelphia, USA and colleagues John Deckop, Robert Giacalone and Carole Jurkiewicz, carried out the study to investigate to what extent a person's materialistic values were linked to their experience of work-family conflict. Mark Promislo said: "Needs associated with materialistic values are far more likely to be attained through work, so it is possible that people who place a high value on income and material possessions feel that the family demands get in the way of their work time."
A total of 274 people replied to a questionnaire which asked to what extent their work demands interfered with their family responsibilities, and to what extent their family demands interfered with their work. They were also asked to complete a questionnaire that assessed how materialistic they were.
Materialism was significantly associated with the measures of family interference with work, and also their experience of work-overload -- the perception of having too many things to do and not enough time to do them.
Mark Promislo continued: "Highly materialistic people pour their efforts into work as this produces tangible materialistic rewards -- money and possessions. They therefore see any obstacle to work -including their family, as disruptive. This finding adds 'work-family conflict' to the already long list of the negative effects of materialistic values on personal well-being."
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by British Psychological Society (BPS).
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Journal Reference:
- Mark D. Promislo, John R. Deckop, Robert A. Giacalone and Carole L. Jurkiewicz. Valuing money more than people: The effects of materialism on work-family conflict. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 2010; DOI: 10.1348/096317909X480167
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
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