Relationship between supervisors' family supportive behaviors, sexism, and subordinates' work-family conflict: Moderating roles of organizational sexism, and subordinates' gender

This study examined the role of supervisors' sexist attitudes and family- supportive supervisor behaviors (FSSB) in shaping employees' experiences of work– family conflict (WFC), with a focus on the moderating effects of organizational sexism and employee gender. Before the main study, the FSSB scale developed by Hammer (2009) was adapted to Turkish with a pilot study (N = 501). The Turkish version of the FSSB scale was predominantly perceived as a single-factor construct, with items showing cross-loadings across the original four dimensions, reflecting a more holistic understanding of supervisor support in the Turkish context. Higher FSSB scores were associated with reduced WFC, lower negative work-family and negative family-work spillover, and increased leader–member exchange and job satisfaction, supporting the scale's criterion-related validity. In the main study, it was proposed that hostile and benevolent sexism would differentially predict subordinates' WFC, both directly and indirectly through FSSB. Data were collected from a Turkish sample including working adults (N = 479) across diverse sectors. Results of the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis showed that SHS was positively related to subordinates' WFC both directly and indirectly by reduced FSSB, which highlights the universal adverse impact of its on employees' work-family balance regardless of gender. On the other hand, supervisors' benevolent sexism did not show a significant direct relationship with WFC; however, SEM analysis showed that benevolent sexism was positively associated with FSSB, which predicts lower WFC. Moderation analysis indicated that organizational hostile sexism (OHS) weakened the positive association between SHS and FSSB, whereas organizational benevolent sexism (OBS) amplified the expression of FSSB among benevolent sexist supervisors. Furthermore, gender moderated the relationship between supervisors' benevolent sexism and subordinates' WFC, with male employees reporting higher levels of conflict when supervisors uphold benevolent sexism. These findings extend cross-cultural work-family research by validating the Turkish adaptation of the FSSB scale and highlighting the complex nature of individual attitudes and organizational climates. This study indicates the importance of both hostile and benevolent sexism to promote equitable and legitimately supportive work environments that encourage employees' well-being and sustainable work-life balance. Keywords: work–family conflict, family-supportive supervisor behaviors, hostile sexism, benevolent sexism, organizational sexism, gender