Work-Family Values, Priority Goals and Life Satisfaction: A Seven Year Follow-up of MBA Students

The present research takes a motivational approach to examine the work-family interface and well-being. We report a longitudinal study which shows that giving priority to family goals over work and leisure goals lead to higher life satisfaction after 7 years from reporting such goals. Additionally, this effect was mediated by family satisfaction. We also found that family priority goals led to higher life satisfaction in time 1 only when people also reported high levels of family values. This interaction was not significant when predicting life satisfaction at time 2. Instead, family values uniquely predicted life satisfaction at time 2. Contrary to our expectations work values did not moderate the work priority goals and life satisfaction relationship either at time 1 nor time 2. However, results showed that individuals who prioritized and valued work over family reported lower levels of life satisfaction at time 1. This effect was not found at time 2. We used self-determination theory to develop our hypothesis.