JOSE MARIA BIEDMA-FERRER

The retention of key human resources is a challenge and a necessity for any organisation. This paper analyses the impact of the existence and accessibility of work-family policies on the well-being of workers and their intention to leave the organisation. To test the proposed hypotheses, we applied a structural equation model based on the partial least squares path modelling (PLSSEM) approach to a sample of 558 service sector workers. The results show that the existence and accessibility of work-family policies directly reduce the intention to leave the organisation. Moreover, this relationship also occurs indirectly, by mediating the well-being that is generated by these work-family policies. We also analysed the moderating role that gender and hierarchy could have in the above relationships. In addition to the above theoretical implications, this study has practical implications. The findings show that employees with family and work balance problems experience lower emotional well-being, more health problems and eventually higher turnover rates. To avoid these problems, management must focus not only on the implementation of work-family policies but also on their accessibility, without subsequent retaliation or prejudice to employees. Additionally, management should pay special attention to female managers, given their greater difficulty in balancing work and family life.

Among the main causes of absenteeism are health problems, emotional problems, and inadequate work-family policies (WFP). This paper analyses the impact of the existence and accessibility of WFP on work absenteeism, by considering the mediating role of the well-being, which includes emotional as well as physical or health problems, that is generated by these policies. We differentiate between the existence of the WFP and its accessibility, as the mere existence of the WFP in an organisation is not enough. Additionally, workers must be able to access these policies easily and without retaliation of any kind. The model includes the hierarchy and the gender as moderating variables. To test the proposed hypotheses, a structural equation model based on the partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) approach is applied to a sample of employees in the service sector in Spain. On the one hand, the findings show that the existence of WFP has no direct effect on absenteeism; however, accessibility to these policies does have a direct effect on absenteeism. On the other hand, both the existence and accessibility of WFP have positive direct effects on emotional well-being. In addition, emotional well-being is positively related to physical well-being which, in turn, promotes a reduction in absenteeism. Finally, significant differences in the relationship between the existence of WFP and emotional well-being confirm the special difficulty of female managers in reconciling family life and work life.

This study analyzes the impact of work-family policies (WFP) on job performance, and the possible moderating role of gender and family responsibilities. Hypothesis testing was performed using a structural equation model based on a PLS-SEM approach applied to a sample of 1,511 employees of the Spanish banking sector. The results show that neither the existence nor the accessibility of the WFP has a direct, positive impact on performance, unlike what we expected, but both have an indirect effect via the well-being generated by these policies. We also find that neither gender nor family responsibilities have a significant moderating role on these relations, contrary to what we initially expected.