Social support and work-family conflict: Could the supportive Indian family be a myth?

This paper examines the relationship between social support and work-family conflict for working women and men in the Indian context. Based on qualitative data gathered from focus group discussions in India, the nature of social support from the family is described. Next, statistical analysis of survey results is conducted to examine whether the relationship between social support and work-family conflict gives support to the data as well as traditional theory-driven hypotheses between the two variables. Preliminary results suggest that the relationship between social support and work-family conflict is not as simple and straightforward as it is often assumed to be, thus raising questions about the popular notion of the 'supportive Indian family'. Significant gender differences in the impact of social support on work-family conflict are highlighted. Results are discussed within the context of changing work and family conditions in India.