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Work-family conflicts and self-rated health among middle-aged municipal employees in finland

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Abstract

Work-family conflicts are common, but their effects on health are not well known. The aim of this study was to examine the associations between work-family conflicts and self-rated health among middle-aged municipal employees. In addition, the effect of social background factors on the association between work-family conflicts and self-rated health were examined. The data were based on cross-sectional postal surveys, which were carried out in 2001 and 2002, among female and male employees of the city of Helsinki, Finland. The participants were aged 40-60, and the response rate for women was 69%, and for men 60%. In the final analysis, 3,443 women and 875 men were included. For men and woman alike, work-to-family and family-to-work conflicts were associated with poor self-rated health. The association remained after adjusting for sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors. This study shows that a better balance between family life and work outside the home would probably have a health promoting effect.

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Correspondence to Torsten Winter.

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Winter, T., Roos, E., Rahkonen, O. et al. Work-family conflicts and self-rated health among middle-aged municipal employees in finland. Int. J. Behav. Med. 13, 276–285 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327558ijbm1304_2

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