The Relationship Between Work-to-Family Conflict and Conspicuous Consumption: An Identity Theory Perspective

PURPOSE: The adverse effects of work-to-family conflict in occupational health fields have been widely concerned. However, we do not yet know whether and how work-to-family conflict affects people’s consumption behavior. This study used identity theory as the conceptual framework to test the hidden link between work-to-family conflict and conspicuous consumption, the possible underlying mechanism of status anxiety, and the boundary condition of work-family centrality. METHODS: We conducted two quantitative studies to test the hypotheses. Study 1 used a cross-sectional survey (N = 486) to test the relationship between work-to-family conflict and conspicuous consumption and the mechanism of the relationship. Study 2 used a 10-day daily diary survey (N(between) = 100, N(within) = 776) to duplicate the results of Study 1 and further test the moderating effect of work-family centrality. RESULTS: We found that work-to-family conflict was positively related to conspicuous consumption, and this relationship was mediated by increased status anxiety. Moreover, this mediating effect was more substantial for employees with lower work-family centrality. CONCLUSION: This research is the first to link work-to-family conflict and conspicuous consumption theoretically and empirically. The findings supported identity theory, adding new knowledge to the consequences of work-to-family conflict and contributing to organizations’ prevention and intervention programs on behavioral health issues in work-family conflict.