Supervisor Effects on Subordinates’ Work-Life Balance Satisfaction: Evidence from a Medium-Sized Japanese Company

Abstract Dissatisfaction with work-life balance represents a potentially costly issue for firms and their employees. From an organizational perspective, human resource management practices are expected to foster attitudes and behaviors among employees that facilitate better work-life balance; supervisors play a crucial role in this regard. Additionally, individual factors influence how people resolve work-family conflicts. Because employees have different perspectives on work-life balance, there are considerable individual differences in how they achieve this balance. Therefore, this study examines the impact of supervisors on subordinates’ work-life balance satisfaction, using longitudinal personnel and employee satisfaction data to control for individual-specific effects. The results demonstrate that effective communication by supervisors on both work and family/personal life topics enhances subordinates’ work-life balance satisfaction, after controlling for individual-specific effects. The findings also suggest that companies should identify the traits and/or specific competencies of supervisors that most significantly impact employees’ work-life balance satisfaction.