Work-Family Conflict Study

Statement of Informed Consent

Key Information: 

1. We seek your consent to participate in research. Participation is voluntary. You may refuse to participate or withdraw from participation at any time without consequence.

2. The purpose of this study is to explore how much work-family conflict people are experiencing during the pandemic. The survey takes 5 to 10 minutes to complete. All responses are anonymous.

3. The only foreseeable risks or discomforts that this research might bring would be to have to contemplate and reflect on the current year (2020), which has been stressful for many, and to report on conflict at work or home.

4. The benefits to this study would be to provide researchers with insight into who has experienced the most work-family conflict during the current pandemic.

Detailed Study Description:

If you choose to participate, you will be asked to provide background information about yourself and live-in your family. You will then be asked a about work-family conflict which exists when the demands of one's family role interferes with one's work performance or when the demands of one's work role interferes with one's family life.

Risks and Benefits of Participation:

This study involves minimal risk that would be encountered in daily life when thinking about work-family conflict, it may be upsetting to reflect on that. There may also be other risks that we cannot predict.

The main benefit from participation in this study is allow researchers to better understand how covid-19 and people living in close quarters has affected work-family conflict. This may help employers identify who is most likely to experience work-family conflict so that they can implement more family friendly policies. We cannot guarantee that you personally will experience benefits from your participation. Others may benefit in the future from the information we gather in this study. 

Confidentiality:

Your data will be kept completely anonymous. Your name will not be connected with any of your responses, so no one (including the researchers) will be able to know how you responded. Your responses will be collected via SurveyMonkey, which is an online survey database. Your responses will be destroyed after three years, once the data have been analyzed and conclusions from your responses have been made. All data will be reported in the aggregate, meaning no individual responses will be highlighted. Any information that risks participant identification will be excluded. While the information from this study is intended for publication, your individual response is protected from identification. 

Withdrawal from the Study

Your participation is completely voluntary. If you decide to participate, you can cease participating at any time. You will not be penalized in any way. 

Contact Information 

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Dr. George Yancey, the Principal Investigator, at gyancey@semo.edu or Jennifer Bengtson, IRB chair, at irb@semo.edu. 

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* 1. IF 
(1) you have read and understood this Informed Consent Form,
(2) questions about your participation in this study have been answered satisfactorily, 
(3) you are taking part in this research study voluntarily (without coercion),
(4) you are 18 years old or older,
(5) you are currently working or a full-time student, and
(6) you are living with family members or their significant other at least part of the week
THEN please indicate whether you agree to participate in this study or not.

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* 2. Gender

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* 3. Age

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* 4. Race/Ethnicity (check all that apply)

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* 5. Highest Level of Education Achieved

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* 6. In What State Do You Reside?

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* 7. Occupational Status (check all that apply) 

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* 8. Estimated Annual Combined Household Income

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* 9. Since the Start of the Pandemic, Have You Been Working the Same Amount of Hours

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* 10. Average Number of Hours You Work per Week

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* 11. Since the Start of the Pandemic, Has Your Pay Changed

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* 12. Since the Start of the Pandemic, Have You Been Working Remotely

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* 13. In Which Industry Do You Work

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* 14. How Much Do You Worry about the Following Possibilities

  It does not worry me I worry a little I worry some  I worry a lot
Contracting Covid-19
A Family Member Contracting Covid-19 
Losing My Job Because of the Economic Downturn
A Family Member Losing a Job Because of the Economic Downturn

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* 15. Did You Have to Move to a New Residence during the Pandemic?

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* 16. Did Anybody Move in or Move Back into Your Home during the Pandemic?

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* 17. Current Family Living Arrangement (check all that apply) 

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* 18. Number of People in the Household

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* 19. Number of Children in the Household under 18 Years Old

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* 20. Since the Start of the Pandemic, Have You Had to ... (check all that apply)

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* 21. Are You the Primary “Breadwinner” for the Household (main income provider)

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* 22. Are You the Primary Caretaker for the Household

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* 23. Indicate How Frequently You Experience Concerns with Each of the Following

  Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
My job keeps me away from my family too much.
I feel I have more to do than I can handle comfortably.
I have a good balance between my job and my family time.
I wish I had more time to do things with my family.
I feel physically drained when I get home from work.
I feel emotionally drained when I get home from work.
I feel I have to rush to get everything done each day.
My time off from work does not match other family members' schedules well.
I feel I don't have enough time for myself.
I worry that other people at work think my family interferes with my job.
I worry whether I should work less and spend more time with my family.
I find enough time for my family members.
I worry about how my family is doing when I'm working.
I am comfortable with the arrangements made for my family members while I am working.
Making arrangements for my family members while I work involves a lot of effort.
I worry that other people feel I should spend more time with my family.

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* 24. When the demands of your work and family roles become incompatible or overloaded, then the successful performance of both roles becomes more difficult. This is called work-family conflict. 

Since the Start of the Pandemic, Has the Amount of Weekly Work-Family Conflict You Experience Changed?

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* 25. How Much Agreement or Disagreement Is There Among the Members of Your Family Regarding the Following Issues

  Family members strongly disagree  Family members disagree Family members slightly disagree Family members slightly agree Family members agree Family members strongly agree
Safety precautions (wearing masks, social distancing, visiting friends and other family, traveling, etc.) needed, or not needed, to avoid Covid-19
Concern for the economy and how soon businesses need to open to jump start economic growth
The seriousness of the Black Lives Matter movement and whether to get involved or not 

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* 26. Debriefing Form

The purpose of this study was to gain insight into how much work-family conflict people are experiencing during the pandemic. We wanted to know who was experiencing more work-family conflict and how much. We hope our finding may be used to help influence organizations to adopt more family friendly policies. Thank you so much for participating in our study! We truly appreciate you taking time to help inform us of your experiences during these difficult times. We are very interested in the results of this study and hope to have data analyzed shortly.

Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns or for the results of our survey (when it has finished running). You can contact Dr. George Yancey at gyancey@semo.edu. If you have any unanswered questions or concerns about your rights as a research participant, contact the Institutional Review Board at irb@semo.edu or call Jennifer Bengtson, IRB chair, at (573) 651-2146.

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