{"id":{"repo_id":"cape-town","oai_identifier":"oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/42755"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/cape-town/oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/42755","repository":{"repo_id":"cape-town","name":"University of Cape Town","base_url":"https://open.uct.ac.za/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Social support and work-family conflict amongst low-income workers in South Africa: the relationship between social support and work-family conflict amongst low-income workers in South Africa","abstract":"Although most workers are challenged by competing work and family demands, lowincome workers are under-represented in work-family research. Work-family conflict (WFC) dynamics differ for low-income workers, who generally differ in access and resources available to higher-wage workers inside and outside of the workplace. Little is known about the support resources low-income workers draw on to manage WFC. Without formal organisational support, low-income workers tend to rely on interpersonal relationships in the workplace, family and community; the latter have attracted little research attention. The prevailing understanding, rooted in resource-based stress theory, is that support has a direct ameliorative effect on WFC. This study investigates the direct and interactive predictive effect of collegial, organisational, family, and community support on the WFC of low-income workers. It also examines how organisational support for family mediates the effect of supervisor support on WFC. Data was collected using a quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional research design using self-report questionnaires. Participants were front-line, low-income workers in cleaning, catering, and security functions employed across multiple sites at a large outsourcing company (N= 339). The study aims to gain a deeper understanding of the WFC experiences of low-income workers, a group that has been underrepresented in research. By focusing on this demographic within a specific organisational context in South Africa, the study aims to uncover the unique challenges front-line, low-income employees face in balancing work and family responsibilities. The differential experiences of support among low-income workers highlights the need to understand the effect and interaction of different sources of support. Research results indicate that collegial support has a significant negative relationship with work-to-family and family-to-work conflict, while organisational support for family had a significant negative relationship with family-to-work conflict and not work-to-family conflict. However, community and family support were not seen to have a significant relationship with WFC. The results on the mediating effect of organisational support for the family were not significant. The implications for these findings are discussed.","abstract_html":"Although most workers are challenged by competing work and family demands, lowincome workers are under-represented in work-family research. Work-family conflict (WFC) dynamics differ for low-income workers, who generally differ in access and resources available to higher-wage workers inside and outside of the workplace. Little is known about the support resources low-income workers draw on to manage WFC. Without formal organisational support, low-income workers tend to rely on interpersonal relationships in the workplace, family and community; the latter have attracted little research attention. The prevailing understanding, rooted in resource-based stress theory, is that support has a direct ameliorative effect on WFC. This study investigates the direct and interactive predictive effect of collegial, organisational, family, and community support on the WFC of low-income workers. It also examines how organisational support for family mediates the effect of supervisor support on WFC. Data was collected using a quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional research design using self-report questionnaires. Participants were front-line, low-income workers in cleaning, catering, and security functions employed across multiple sites at a large outsourcing company (N= 339). The study aims to gain a deeper understanding of the WFC experiences of low-income workers, a group that has been underrepresented in research. By focusing on this demographic within a specific organisational context in South Africa, the study aims to uncover the unique challenges front-line, low-income employees face in balancing work and family responsibilities. The differential experiences of support among low-income workers highlights the need to understand the effect and interaction of different sources of support. Research results indicate that collegial support has a significant negative relationship with work-to-family and family-to-work conflict, while organisational support for family had a significant negative relationship with family-to-work conflict and not work-to-family conflict. However, community and family support were not seen to have a significant relationship with WFC. The results on the mediating effect of organisational support for the family were not significant. The implications for these findings are discussed.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Walters, Alexandra"],"institution":"Organisational Psychology","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Bagraim, Jeffrey"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025","date_published":"2025","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:23:23Z","subjects":["work-family conflict","family-to-work conflict","work-to-family conflict","social support","supervisor support","coworker support","organisational support","community support","family support","low-income worker"],"languages":["en"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42755","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Bagraim, Jeffrey"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Walters, Alexandra"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2026-01-29T13:00:28Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2026-01-29T13:00:28Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2025"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.department","label":"Dc Publisher Department","values":["Organisational Psychology"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.institution","label":"Dc Publisher Institution","values":["University of Cape Town"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis / Dissertation"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationlevel","label":"Dc Type Qualificationlevel","values":["Masters","MSc"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["work-family conflict","family-to-work conflict","work-to-family conflict","social support","supervisor support","coworker support","organisational support","community support","family support","low-income worker"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42755"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Although most workers are challenged by competing work and family demands, lowincome workers are under-represented in work-family research. Work-family conflict (WFC) dynamics differ for low-income workers, who generally differ in access and resources available to higher-wage workers inside and outside of the workplace. Little is known about the support resources low-income workers draw on to manage WFC. Without formal organisational support, low-income workers tend to rely on interpersonal relationships in the workplace, family and community; the latter have attracted little research attention. The prevailing understanding, rooted in resource-based stress theory, is that support has a direct ameliorative effect on WFC. This study investigates the direct and interactive predictive effect of collegial, organisational, family, and community support on the WFC of low-income workers. It also examines how organisational support for family mediates the effect of supervisor support on WFC. Data was collected using a quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional research design using self-report questionnaires. Participants were front-line, low-income workers in cleaning, catering, and security functions employed across multiple sites at a large outsourcing company (N= 339). The study aims to gain a deeper understanding of the WFC experiences of low-income workers, a group that has been underrepresented in research. By focusing on this demographic within a specific organisational context in South Africa, the study aims to uncover the unique challenges front-line, low-income employees face in balancing work and family responsibilities. The differential experiences of support among low-income workers highlights the need to understand the effect and interaction of different sources of support. Research results indicate that collegial support has a significant negative relationship with work-to-family and family-to-work conflict, while organisational support for family had a significant negative relationship with family-to-work conflict and not work-to-family conflict. However, community and family support were not seen to have a significant relationship with WFC. The results on the mediating effect of organisational support for the family were not significant. The implications for these findings are discussed."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Social support and work-family conflict amongst low-income workers in South Africa: the relationship between social support and work-family conflict amongst low-income workers in South Africa"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Bagraim, Jeffrey"],"dc:creator":["Walters, Alexandra"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2026-01-29T13:00:28Z"],"dc:date.available":["2026-01-29T13:00:28Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2025"],"dc:description.abstract":["Although most workers are challenged by competing work and family demands, lowincome workers are under-represented in work-family research. Work-family conflict (WFC) dynamics differ for low-income workers, who generally differ in access and resources available to higher-wage workers inside and outside of the workplace. Little is known about the support resources low-income workers draw on to manage WFC. Without formal organisational support, low-income workers tend to rely on interpersonal relationships in the workplace, family and community; the latter have attracted little research attention. The prevailing understanding, rooted in resource-based stress theory, is that support has a direct ameliorative effect on WFC. This study investigates the direct and interactive predictive effect of collegial, organisational, family, and community support on the WFC of low-income workers. It also examines how organisational support for family mediates the effect of supervisor support on WFC. Data was collected using a quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional research design using self-report questionnaires. Participants were front-line, low-income workers in cleaning, catering, and security functions employed across multiple sites at a large outsourcing company (N= 339). The study aims to gain a deeper understanding of the WFC experiences of low-income workers, a group that has been underrepresented in research. By focusing on this demographic within a specific organisational context in South Africa, the study aims to uncover the unique challenges front-line, low-income employees face in balancing work and family responsibilities. The differential experiences of support among low-income workers highlights the need to understand the effect and interaction of different sources of support. Research results indicate that collegial support has a significant negative relationship with work-to-family and family-to-work conflict, while organisational support for family had a significant negative relationship with family-to-work conflict and not work-to-family conflict. However, community and family support were not seen to have a significant relationship with WFC. The results on the mediating effect of organisational support for the family were not significant. The implications for these findings are discussed."],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42755"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:publisher.department":["Organisational Psychology"],"dc:publisher.institution":["University of Cape Town"],"dc:subject":["work-family conflict","family-to-work conflict","work-to-family conflict","social support","supervisor support","coworker support","organisational support","community support","family support","low-income worker"],"dc:title":["Social support and work-family conflict amongst low-income workers in South Africa: the relationship between social support and work-family conflict amongst low-income workers in South Africa"],"dc:type":["Thesis / Dissertation"],"dc:type.qualificationlevel":["Masters","MSc"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:23:23Z"}