Work-Family Conflict among Iranian Emergency Medical Technicians and Its Relationship with Time Management Skills: A Descriptive Study

BACKGROUND: Work-Family Conflict (WFC) is a form of interrole conflict in which an active participation in occupational activities causes strain and interferes with family roles of workers and vice versa. It is a major source of occupational stress among workers and personnel. Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) are an important part of the healthcare system that respond to emergencies. The EMTs experience high level of job stress, which may affect their ability to perform their family roles, and, on the other hand, actively performing their family responsibilities may interfere with the effective delivery of the already stressful activities at workplace. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of WFC among Emergency Medical Technicians in Iran and its relationship with time management skills. METHODS: This was a descriptive study. In this study, 271 EMTs from the western part of Iran completed the questionnaire for the assessment of WFC. The Carlson Family-Conflict Questionnaire and the “Time Management Behaviors Scale” developed by Macan were used as evaluation instruments. The data were analyzed by SPSS software version 16. Appropriate statistical analysis such as mean and standard deviation, Pearson correlation, and Spearman rank correlation was applied for analyzing the data in SPSS. RESULTS: The majority of the participants reported some degrees of WFC. Statistical analysis showed a significant inverse correlation between total WFC score and total “Time Management Behaviors scale” score (r = −0/381، p < 0/0001). In the present study, there was no significant correlation between total WFC score and demographic factors such as educational level, age, sex, marital status, number of family members, need for family member care, and work experience (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study indicate that time management behaviors and skills can reduce WFC among Emergency Medical Technicians. Therefore, it is recommended that prehospital emergency authorities and policymakers plan and implement measures such as reducing the duration of shift-work schedules, decreasing shift-change restrictions, and organizing regular time management courses. Also, employment of local inhabitants is preferred to geographically distant individuals with similar qualification as this will reduce the distance between home and workplace.