Bases of involment in work and family contexts

Abstract

The paper reports on a bi-national study of involvement in work and family contexts. Using heterogeneous samples of managerial personnel in India and Canada, the explored the differential need patterns aroused in work and family contexts, the nature of relationship between work and family contexts, and the relationship between perceived need satisfaction potential of the context and involvement in that context. Results reveal that in the work context, growth needs are perceived to be most important, affiliative needs next, and subsistence needs least important. In the family context on the contrary, affiliative needs are perceived to be most important, subsistence needs next, and growth needs least important. With respect to involvement, the relationship between work and family contexts was found to be weak. This relationship was found to be influenced by the need satisfaction potential of respective contexts. The cross-national generalizability and usefulness of several sociological and psychological approaches for research on involvement in multilife-spheres are discussed.