The Long Arm of the Organization: Work-Family Policies, Employee Preferences for Segmentation, and Satisfaction and Commitment

Organizations often reach beyond the boundary of the firm into the non-work lives of their employees in efforts to integrate them into the organization and increase their satisfaction and commitment. Our study challenges the assumption that integrating employees into the organization necessarily increases their job satisfaction and commitment to the organization. Rather, we draw on person-organization fit research to suggest that people's preferences for segmentation and integration of work and family and the type of work-family policy available to them matters in determining these outcomes. Using a sample of 633 employees, we find that preferences for integration or segmentation moderate the relationship between work-family policies and job satisfaction and commitment. Specifically, we find that people who prefer segmentation, but have greater access to onsite childcare (an integrating policy) are less satisfied and committed, because there is an incongruence between their preferences and the organizational environment. Conversely, we find that people who prefer segmentation and have greater access to flextime (a segmenting policy) are more satisfied and committed, because their preferences are congruent with the organizational environment. Note that gender moderates the interaction between preferences for segmentation and access to flextime for job satisfaction. Our research has implications for the implementation of work-family policies and managing a diverse workforce. As a result of these findings, we suggest that organizations should offer a diverse range of policies in order to enhance satisfaction and commitment among a broader set of employees.