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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
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 outs...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English English |
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Organisational Psychology
2026
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| _version_ | 1867613320970764288 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Walters, Alexandra |
| author2 | Bagraim, Jeffrey |
| author_browse | Bagraim, Jeffrey Walters, Alexandra |
| author_facet | Bagraim, Jeffrey Walters, Alexandra |
| author_sort | Walters, Alexandra |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | 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. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/42755 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | English eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:34:14.045Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | Organisational Psychology |
| publisherStr | Organisational Psychology |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/42755 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 Walters, Alexandra Bagraim, Jeffrey 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 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. 2026-01-29T13:00:28Z 2026-01-29T13:00:28Z 2025 2026-01-29T12:59:07Z Thesis / Dissertation Masters MSc http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42755 en eng application/pdf Organisational Psychology Faculty of Commerce University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | 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 Walters, Alexandra 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 |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| 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 |
| title_full | 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 |
| title_fullStr | 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 |
| title_full_unstemmed | 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 |
| title_short | 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 |
| title_sort | 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 |
| topic | 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 |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42755 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT waltersalexandra socialsupportandworkfamilyconflictamongstlowincomeworkersinsouthafricatherelationshipbetweensocialsupportandworkfamilyconflictamongstlowincomeworkersinsouthafrica |