Entitlement: friend or foe of work-family conflict?

Abstract

PurposeGuided by Hobfoll’s (1989) conservation of resources theory, we examined how psychological entitlement moderates the negative relationship between work-family conflict (WFC) and job satisfaction.Design/methodology/approachUsing a sample of 119 accountants from the Midwestern United States, we tested our hypotheses with hierarchical regression analysis.FindingsResults indicate a strong, negative relationship between WFC and job satisfaction for employees low in psychological entitlement, but an insignificant relationship for entitled employees.Practical implicationsThe results suggest that some entitlement may be beneficial to employees when coping with WFC. However, organizations should limit WFC in order to foster their least entitled employees’ job satisfaction.Originality/valueThis is the first study that investigates how psychological entitlement affects employees' reactions to WFC. Not only does it contribute to the growing body of research that examines how this individual difference affects workplace functioning, but it suggests there may be some benefits to entitlement, which largely has been disparaged.