2012 PROCEEDINGS - Public Relations Society of America
2012 PROCEEDINGS - Public Relations Society of America
2012 PROCEEDINGS - Public Relations Society of America
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suggesting a single dimension <strong>of</strong> immediate supervisor support (alpha = .93; M = 5.40, SD =<br />
1.47).<br />
Data Analysis<br />
MANOVAs and hierarchical regressions were used to examine how practitioners‘ worklife<br />
conflict coping preferences were associated with conflict stressors, personal attributes, job<br />
characteristics, and organizational support, as well as the combined effects <strong>of</strong> these factors.<br />
Results<br />
Respondent Characteristics<br />
Of the 565 active practitioners completing the work-life conflict coping components <strong>of</strong><br />
the survey, 21% were male and 79% were female. The majority (89%) were white, with 6% <strong>of</strong><br />
Hispanic, Latino or Spanish origin, 4% African <strong>America</strong>n, and 2% Asian, Pacific Islander, or<br />
Asian <strong>America</strong>n. The mean age <strong>of</strong> the respondents was 42. The highest education received by<br />
most <strong>of</strong> the respondents was some college or a bachelor‘s degree (51%), while 32% had a<br />
master‘s degree and about 2% had a doctorate degree in philosophy, law or medicine. About 26%<br />
<strong>of</strong> respondents were accredited in public relations (APRs).<br />
A plurality <strong>of</strong> respondents reported working for a corporation (28%), while 22% worked<br />
for a nonpr<strong>of</strong>it or association, 17% worked in a public relations consultancy or agency, and 13%<br />
were government or military workers. The distribution <strong>of</strong> respondents in public relations<br />
specializations was internal/employee (37%), community relations (21%), media relations (14%),<br />
financial/investor relations (12%), government/public affairs (8%), reputation management (6%)<br />
and crisis management (2%).<br />
In terms <strong>of</strong> work environment, the median <strong>of</strong> the number <strong>of</strong> practitioners working in the<br />
public relations function in respondents‘ organizations was three people. The average years <strong>of</strong><br />
public relations experience <strong>of</strong> those respondents was 15. The majority (89%) <strong>of</strong> the respondents<br />
reported having an immediate supervisor to whom they report at work, and 46% <strong>of</strong> those<br />
immediate supervisors were reported as being in public relations.<br />
In terms <strong>of</strong> the respondents‘ marital status, the majority (74%) reported having a live-in<br />
partner or being married, 18% were single, 8% were divorced or separated, and 1% was<br />
widowed. An average <strong>of</strong> 11 work hours in a typical workday was reported. More than half (59%)<br />
<strong>of</strong> the respondents reporting bearing primary responsibility for children, with 12% <strong>of</strong><br />
respondents bearing primary responsibility for an older adult.<br />
Work-Life Conflict Coping Strategies<br />
RQ1 asked what types <strong>of</strong> coping strategies practitioners use in dealing with work-life<br />
conflicts. Results <strong>of</strong> Principal Components Analysis with Varimax Rotation suggested six<br />
different types <strong>of</strong> work-life conflict coping strategies used by respondents: emotional coping<br />
(including both emotional support and emotional venting), rational action (including both<br />
rational thinking and action), positive thinking, denial, instrumental support, and avoidances.<br />
Among the six types <strong>of</strong> work-life coping strategies, rational action (M = 5.68, SD = .84),<br />
positive thinking (M = 5.39, SD = 1.18), and emotional expression (M=4.68, SD = 1.39) were<br />
used more <strong>of</strong>ten than were others. Further, in a work-life conflict situations, among the three<br />
more widely used coping strategies, rational action and positive thinking were utilized<br />
significantly more than emotional expression (t = 15.81, df = 553, p < .001; t = 9.92, df = 554,<br />
p < .001, respectively), while rational action was utilized significantly more than positive<br />
thinking (t = 6.96, df = 550, p < .001). Therefore, rational action, as a combination <strong>of</strong> proactive<br />
cognitive and conative coping, was reported as being the most-used coping strategy when<br />
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