Impacts of family status and gender on the relationships between job demands, job control, and distress: Gender comparison among Korean employees
European Journal of Training and Development
ISSN: 2046-9012
Article publication date: 7 May 2019
Issue publication date: 7 May 2019
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate gender differences in the relationships between job demands, job control and distress with the moderation effects of family status (i.e. marriage and parenthood) in the patriarchal cultural context of Korea.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors formulated hypotheses on the grounds of stress and role theories and tested them using a hierarchical regression analysis. A sample of 403 Korean employees (230 males; 173 females) was used for the analysis.
Findings
Family status moderated the relationship between job demands and distress for both males and females, whereas family status significantly moderated the effect of job control on distress for only males. Regardless of gender, marriage and parenthood were associated with distress affected by job demands, while only males exhibited significant distress in interactions between family status and job control.
Originality/value
This exploratory study is one of few that explicitly addresses the concepts of the job demands-control model dealing with the unique characteristics of demographic groups. By incorporating data from the single, the married and parents, this study identified applications of the conservation of resources and role theory for various family statuses in a non-Western culture. Particularly, this study is meaningful in that it highlighted the impacts of family roles on distress that can be observed in any culture, but is salient in a highly hierarchal, patriarchal and work-centered culture, like Korea.
Keywords
Citation
Kim, S., Kang, H. and Ju, B. (2019), "Impacts of family status and gender on the relationships between job demands, job control, and distress: Gender comparison among Korean employees", European Journal of Training and Development, Vol. 43 No. 3/4, pp. 322-338. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJTD-08-2018-0079
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited