Coping with Work-Life Conflict: Antecedents to Seeking Policy-Based and Individually Negotiated Accommodations

Research concerning coping with work-life conflict has been limited (Eby et al., 2005). This thesis suggests that employees can cope by seeking a work-life accommodation. Contextual and individual antecedents of seeking policy-based and individually negotiated accommodations are explored. Hypothetical accommodations and actual accommodations sought were assessed as outcomes. A sample of 148 working adults from a variety of organizations was surveyed online. As hypothesized, for the hypothetical outcome, family supportive organizational perceptions, family supportive supervisor perceptions, and human capital significantly predicted seeking individually negotiated accommodations. Furthermore, as hypothesized, both family supportive organizational perceptions and family supportive supervisor perceptions had significantly stronger relationships with individually negotiated accommodations than with policy-based accommodations. None of the study variables significantly predicted seeking policy-based accommodations.