Job Autonomy Buffers the Impact of Work–Life Conflict on Organizational Outcomes

The objectives of this study were, first, to examine domain-specific antecedents of work-life conflict (i.e., job demands and home demands), second, to investigate, turnover intention, job satisfaction and organizational commitment as outcomes of work-life conflict relevant to organizations, and, finally, to study the role of job autonomy as a buffer between work-life conflict and these organizational outcomes. Data were collected from four large organizations with a total sample of 6,091 employees. The results indicated that high time-related job demands seem to be a major antecedent of work-to-life conflict (WLC), while home demands predicted life-to-work conflict (LWC). Moreover, analyses showed that WLC rather than LWC predicts turnover intention, job satisfaction and organizational commitment. In addition, results suggest that job autonomy is a buffer associated with WLC and organizational outcomes, since all two-way interactions were significant, but not with LWC, since respective interactions were not significant.