Work, Life and Personality:The Relationship Between the Big Five Personality Traits and Work-life Conflict

In the recent past, work-life issues have become an important topic in the field of work and organizational psychology, as balancing work and other life demands has become a major challenge for employees. Even though it is frequently referred to as “work-life balance”, many of the studies in this area have not given any focus to non-work areas beyond family life. The current study goes beyond the traditional domain of “work-family conflict” through investigating the potential impact of personality traits on “work-life conflict”. Data was collected from 206 working individuals from European and Asian countries about their personality and how their work demands conflict with the demands of eight non-work life domains (community involvements, education family, friends, health, household management, leisure activities and romantic relationships). Correlation and regression analysis showed that neuroticism was the most predictive personality factor of work-life conflict. Additionally, conscientiousness showed a significant bivariate relationship with all forms of work-life conflict. The results of this study also suggest the relationship between personality and work-life conflict differs in different geographic regions. Practical implications of these findings for work-life policies are discussed with suggestions for future research.