title: Work-Family Conflict and Facilitation among Employees in Hong Kong

authors: Wong, Chi Kin

subjects: Work-Family Balance

abstract: Work-family imbalance can induce negative consequences, such as poor physical and psychological well-being for individuals.  Hong Kong employees commonly agree that work-family balance is important for them, but it is difficult to balance work and family lives (Mahtani, 2006).  Very few studies have comprehensively explored how to eliminate the conflict, and to enhance the integration between work and family domains.  This may hinder researchers and practitioners from exploring effective strategies for promoting work-family balance.  The present study explored work-family conflict and enrichment among Hong Kong employees.  
    This study examined the relationships between demands and resources in work and family lives, work-family conflict and enrichment, personal and work outcomes, and optimism and Confucian work values as moderator variables.  The longitudinal mediating effects of work-family conflict and enrichment were examined, and potential cross-sectional and longitudinal moderating effects on the relationships between predictor variables and work-family conflict and enrichment were also explored.  
    A two-wave panel design was adopted with data collection separated by a ten-month interval.  Questionnaires were designed for the participants and their supervisors.  509 participants at Time 1 and 208 participants at Time 2 from three universities in Hong Kong completed self-report questionnaires, and 208 supervisors of the participants completed another questionnaire at Time 2.   
    Predictor variables at work were significantly associated with work-family conflict and enrichment perceived in the work domain, and predictor variables in the family domain were significantly related to work-family conflict and enrichment perceived in the family domain.  Work-family conflict and enrichment were significantly associated with personal and work outcomes.
    Mediation analyses showed that there were very few longitudinal mediating effects of work-family conflict and enrichment between predictor and criterion variables.  These findings suggest that work-family conflict and enrichment might not consistently contribute mediating effects in the relationships between these predictor and criterion variables over time. 
    Potential effects of optimism and Confucian work values have been rarely explored in previous Chinese work-family studies, and therefore this study examined the moderating effects of these two variables in relation to work-family conflict and enrichment.  However, moderating analyses indicated that there were very few cross-sectional and longitudinal moderating effects of optimism and Confucian work values confirmed in this study.  
    Overall, the findings of this research illustrate that work-family conflict and enrichment could be separately affected by demands and resources in work and family lives.  Work-family conflict and enrichment could also contribute significant effects on individuals’ well-being and work productivity.  The results also imply that the significance of mediation and moderation effects for work-family conflict and enrichment might be determined by personal factors (e.g. coping strategies of individuals) or organisational factors (e.g. organisational culture).  
    The present study separately examined two directions of work-family conflict and enrichment, which extends the understanding of these topics in the Chinese context.  The findings support related Western literature that perceived work-family conflict and enrichment in one domain were determined by the source in the same domain, and each direction of conflict or enrichment was associated with outcomes in the domain receiving the conflict or enrichment.  These findings may extend the discussion of the relationships between potential factors and consequences of work-family conflict and enrichment for Hong Kong employees.  The present study also provided additional information to understand the relationships between cultural values and work-family conflict and enrichment. The results may aid practitioners to formulate appropriate interventions, such as family-friendly employment policies and practices in enhancing work-family balance in Hong Kong.

text: Work-Family Conflict and Facilitation among Employees in Hong Kong Work-family imbalance can induce negative consequences, such as poor physical and psychological well-being for individuals.  Hong Kong employees commonly agree that work-family balance is important for them, but it is difficult to balance work and family lives (Mahtani, 2006).  Very few studies have comprehensively explored how to eliminate the conflict, and to enhance the integration between work and family domains.  This may hinder researchers and practitioners from exploring effective strategies for promoting work-family balance.  The present study explored work-family conflict and enrichment among Hong Kong employees.  
    This study examined the relationships between demands and resources in work and family lives, work-family conflict and enrichment, personal and work outcomes, and optimism and Confucian work values as moderator variables.  The longitudinal mediating effects of work-family conflict and enrichment were examined, and potential cross-sectional and longitudinal moderating effects on the relationships between predictor variables and work-family conflict and enrichment were also explored.  
    A two-wave panel design was adopted with data collection separated by a ten-month interval.  Questionnaires were designed for the participants and their supervisors.  509 participants at Time 1 and 208 participants at Time 2 from three universities in Hong Kong completed self-report questionnaires, and 208 supervisors of the participants completed another questionnaire at Time 2.   
    Predictor variables at work were significantly associated with work-family conflict and enrichment perceived in the work domain, and predictor variables in the family domain were significantly related to work-family conflict and enrichment perceived in the family domain.  Work-family conflict and enrichment were significantly associated with personal and work outcomes.
    Mediation analyses showed that there were very few longitudinal mediating effects of work-family conflict and enrichment between predictor and criterion variables.  These findings suggest that work-family conflict and enrichment might not consistently contribute mediating effects in the relationships between these predictor and criterion variables over time. 
    Potential effects of optimism and Confucian work values have been rarely explored in previous Chinese work-family studies, and therefore this study examined the moderating effects of these two variables in relation to work-family conflict and enrichment.  However, moderating analyses indicated that there were very few cross-sectional and longitudinal moderating effects of optimism and Confucian work values confirmed in this study.  
    Overall, the findings of this research illustrate that work-family conflict and enrichment could be separately affected by demands and resources in work and family lives.  Work-family conflict and enrichment could also contribute significant effects on individuals’ well-being and work productivity.  The results also imply that the significance of mediation and moderation effects for work-family conflict and enrichment might be determined by personal factors (e.g. coping strategies of individuals) or organisational factors (e.g. organisational culture).  
    The present study separately examined two directions of work-family conflict and enrichment, which extends the understanding of these topics in the Chinese context.  The findings support related Western literature that perceived work-family conflict and enrichment in one domain were determined by the source in the same domain, and each direction of conflict or enrichment was associated with outcomes in the domain receiving the conflict or enrichment.  These findings may extend the discussion of the relationships between potential factors and consequences of work-family conflict and enrichment for Hong Kong employees.  The present study also provided additional information to understand the relationships between cultural values and work-family conflict and enrichment. The results may aid practitioners to formulate appropriate interventions, such as family-friendly employment policies and practices in enhancing work-family balance in Hong Kong.

year: 2014

title: Time in written spaces

authors: Hannah, Robert

abstract: Time in written form pervades our social existence. From the daily news, whether on the web or in print, to wall calendars in our homes or offices, which tell us what day it is; from personal watches or cellphones to public clocks, which tell us what hour it is; from small change in our purses or pockets to use-by dates on our groceries, which remind us when things were made; and from personal or recreational diaries to bus and train timetables, which tell us when we did or should do things, we are constantly made aware of time and its passing in the modern world. And because of the means by which we tell the time in these contexts, it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that the ancient world did not have such persistent reminders as well. Yet archaeology and literature combine to tell us differently. In this chapter I wish to discuss aspects of this combination, focusing on time in written forms, on the collocation of the mechanisms of time and writing, and on the spatial setting in which these are found, all of which demonstrate a politicization of time in the late Republic and early Empire.

text: Time in written spaces Time in written form pervades our social existence. From the daily news, whether on the web or in print, to wall calendars in our homes or offices, which tell us what day it is; from personal watches or cellphones to public clocks, which tell us what hour it is; from small change in our purses or pockets to use-by dates on our groceries, which remind us when things were made; and from personal or recreational diaries to bus and train timetables, which tell us when we did or should do things, we are constantly made aware of time and its passing in the modern world. And because of the means by which we tell the time in these contexts, it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that the ancient world did not have such persistent reminders as well. Yet archaeology and literature combine to tell us differently. In this chapter I wish to discuss aspects of this combination, focusing on time in written forms, on the collocation of the mechanisms of time and writing, and on the spatial setting in which these are found, all of which demonstrate a politicization of time in the late Republic and early Empire.

year: 2013

title: Ngā niho tēte o Pekehāua: An indigenous articulation of governance

authors: Mahuika, Rangimarie

subjects: Indigenous Governance

abstract: This thesis originally set out to examine the structures and models available within New Zealand for a post-settlement tribal governance framework that would meet the Office of Treaty Settlements requirements while empowering the needs and aspirations of Ngāti Rangiwewehi. During the course of the study, as a result of the fast-tracking of our tribal settlement this emphasis changed. With Ngāti Rangiwewehi electing to utilise the government recommended templates for the post-settlement entity, the research shifted to consider the evolution of governance within the tribe, looking at the ways tribal governance had developed from traditional practices to our current governance frameworks. It was anticipated that gaining a deeper understanding of the factors that have shaped and influenced our governance would also give us the necessary insights to adapt the Crown model the tribe had adopted to ensure it was able to meet Ngāti Rangiwewehi’s future aspirations. This belief was grounded in an understanding that prior to the arrival of Pākehā to Aotearoa/New Zealand Ngāti Rangiwewehi, along with all other iwi Māori, had their own systems of Governance. Our governance frameworks, encapsulated within our tikanga and kawa, operated to produce a strong, vibrant, and self-determining society. Through colonisation, and its imposed Western frameworks for governance within Aotearoa New Zealand, traditional Māori frameworks for law and governance were undermined, deconstructed, or marginalised to make way for the civilizing discourses and structures of the Settler, as enforced by the British Crown. Although the dominant system of law and frameworks for governance may have changed, Ngāti Rangiwewehi and Māori desires for self-determination have not.
Against this background the central question of this study has itself evolved, initially contemplating to what extent Ngāti Rangiwewehi might be able to remain self-determining in and through their post-settlement governance arrangements. The overwhelming conclusion the study could not avoid was that any governance approach drawn from the settler-colonial Eurocentric system currently dominant in New Zealand would be incapable of supporting tribal aspirations for self-determination. What was equally evident was the continued determination that the tribe, collectively and individually, maintained to mediate the imposed governance frameworks that interfere in our ability to fully exercise our tino rangatiratanga, or in our iwi-specific context, our tino Rangiwewehitanga. This observation led to the final iteration of the thesis question which asks what frameworks for governance would best empower Ngāti Rangiwewehi to be self-determining in and beyond this post-settlement governance era? Throughout the research what became apparent was the potential to utilise our traditional frameworks for governance, described and encapsulated within this study as Rangiwewehitanga, a decolonial paradigm for tribal governance. Viewed in this way, Rangiwewehitanga expands our understanding of governance beyond the limited perspectives imposed through colonization and requires our people to recognise and return to the wisdom of our ancestral teachings to craft the most appropriate pathways forward.

text: Ngā niho tēte o Pekehāua: An indigenous articulation of governance This thesis originally set out to examine the structures and models available within New Zealand for a post-settlement tribal governance framework that would meet the Office of Treaty Settlements requirements while empowering the needs and aspirations of Ngāti Rangiwewehi. During the course of the study, as a result of the fast-tracking of our tribal settlement this emphasis changed. With Ngāti Rangiwewehi electing to utilise the government recommended templates for the post-settlement entity, the research shifted to consider the evolution of governance within the tribe, looking at the ways tribal governance had developed from traditional practices to our current governance frameworks. It was anticipated that gaining a deeper understanding of the factors that have shaped and influenced our governance would also give us the necessary insights to adapt the Crown model the tribe had adopted to ensure it was able to meet Ngāti Rangiwewehi’s future aspirations. This belief was grounded in an understanding that prior to the arrival of Pākehā to Aotearoa/New Zealand Ngāti Rangiwewehi, along with all other iwi Māori, had their own systems of Governance. Our governance frameworks, encapsulated within our tikanga and kawa, operated to produce a strong, vibrant, and self-determining society. Through colonisation, and its imposed Western frameworks for governance within Aotearoa New Zealand, traditional Māori frameworks for law and governance were undermined, deconstructed, or marginalised to make way for the civilizing discourses and structures of the Settler, as enforced by the British Crown. Although the dominant system of law and frameworks for governance may have changed, Ngāti Rangiwewehi and Māori desires for self-determination have not.
Against this background the central question of this study has itself evolved, initially contemplating to what extent Ngāti Rangiwewehi might be able to remain self-determining in and through their post-settlement governance arrangements. The overwhelming conclusion the study could not avoid was that any governance approach drawn from the settler-colonial Eurocentric system currently dominant in New Zealand would be incapable of supporting tribal aspirations for self-determination. What was equally evident was the continued determination that the tribe, collectively and individually, maintained to mediate the imposed governance frameworks that interfere in our ability to fully exercise our tino rangatiratanga, or in our iwi-specific context, our tino Rangiwewehitanga. This observation led to the final iteration of the thesis question which asks what frameworks for governance would best empower Ngāti Rangiwewehi to be self-determining in and beyond this post-settlement governance era? Throughout the research what became apparent was the potential to utilise our traditional frameworks for governance, described and encapsulated within this study as Rangiwewehitanga, a decolonial paradigm for tribal governance. Viewed in this way, Rangiwewehitanga expands our understanding of governance beyond the limited perspectives imposed through colonization and requires our people to recognise and return to the wisdom of our ancestral teachings to craft the most appropriate pathways forward.

year: 2019