A gender‐sensitive study of McClelland's needs, stress, and turnover intent with work‐family conflict

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to study gender differences in the relationship between McClelland's needs, stress, and turnover intentions with work‐family conflict. Design/methodology/approach Survey data were collected from 383 individuals representing 15 different industries. Multiple regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses. Findings Results suggest that McClelland's needs act as an antecedent of work‐family conflict, and that they have a differential impact on work‐family conflict for women and men. Research limitations/implications The subjects were college graduates, hence it was a self‐selected sample, and the results may not generalise to other populations. Practical implications Women are more affected by family obligations than men and this may impact the performance and turnover intentions of women in organisations. Originality/value This paper enhances understanding of work‐family conflict by specifically examining individual differences such as need for power, need for achievement and need for affiliation and evaluating their impact on turnover intention and job tension.