Supervisor-directed anger as a link between work-family conflict and unethical pro-family behaviours: An attributional perspective

Research explores how internal-focused cognitions and emotions impact the connection between employees' work-family conflict (WFC) and subsequent behaviours. We offer a complementary view by arguing that employees also attribute WFC to external causes, notably their supervisor. First, we hypothesize that anger directed towards one's supervisor mediates the relationship between WFC and unethical pro-family behaviours (UPFB), which is supported by the results of a multi-wave survey study. Second, we expand this view by recognizing employees' experiences of WFC may be beyond the supervisor's control. We examine how the extent to which the employee's WFC is perceived as more (vs. less) controllable by their supervisor conditions this indirect effect. Results from an experimental study show that when WFC is perceived as more controllable by one's supervisor, the positive association between WFC and anger is stronger, reinforcing the indirect effect of WFC on UPFB. However, when WFC is perceived as less controllable by one's supervisor, the indirect effect disappears as anger towards the supervisor dissipates. Taken together, our work synthesizes the work-family and UPFB literatures by addressing the key roles of anger and external attributions in the experience of WFC.