A cross-cultural study of the work/nonwork interface among Israeli nurses

This study examined the differential effects of both work and nonwork demands and inter-role management on work/nonwork conflict, turnover intention, turnover, and absenteeism across three ethnic groups. Data from Jewish (N = 102), Muslim (N = 88), and Christian (N = 50) female nurses at three Israeli hospitals were collected by survey questionnaires. Objective data on absenteeism and turnover were collected from the hospitals' records. Several relationships among the work and nonwork variables differed across the ethnic groups. For example, full-time employment had an effect on work/nonwork conflict only for Jews and supervision had opposite effects across the two groups. More children meant more intention of turnover among Arabs and less among Jews. More personal coping meant lower actual turnover for Arabs and higher turnover for Jews. In the case of absence frequency, supervision and job tension had favorable effects for Arabs and smaller, adverse effects for Jews. Organisational support had a favorable effect for Arabs and a smaller, adverse effect for Jews. The findings serve to caution social scientists about generalising work and nonwork relationships identified in one society to other cultural settings.