Stability and changes in work–family conflict frequency clusters: a longitudinal person-centered study

Aim This study aimed to identify employee risk groups and transitions between work–family conflict clusters over time by investigating possible clusters of work–family conflict frequency. Subject and methods Latent class and transition analyses were conducted on 767 white-collar employees using two repeated questionnaire assessments. Results Four clusters depicting infrequent or nonexistent, seldom, sometimes, and frequent work–family conflict were identified. The clusters differed in demographic, work-related, and dispositional characteristics, as well as well-being outcomes. Employees who frequently experience work–family conflict were observed to be a stable cluster, where transitions toward less frequent conflict occurred rarely compared to other clusters. Employees who sometimes experience work–family conflict were observed to be transitional and susceptible to shifts toward both less and more frequent work–family conflict. Both clusters were overrepresented by part-time workers and characterized by more job demands and less job autonomy. Although not experiencing the poorest outcomes, employees in the sometimes conflict cluster still exhibited negative outcomes, including higher performance-based self-esteem, exhaustion, and long-term sick leave risk. Conclusion Overall, the findings highlighted employees at risk of frequent work–family conflict and demonstrated the value of person-centered approaches like latent transition analysis in understanding how work–family conflict develops and changes over time.