The impact of job and organizational demands on marital or relationship satisfaction and conflict among Australian civil engineers

The results of a survey of professional civil engineers working in the Australian construction industry are reported (n = 182). The survey examined the effect of a range of job and organizational demands on the marital or relationship satisfaction of respondents. The effect of demographic characteristics was also examined. The results of correlation and regression analyses provide support for linkages between demographic characteristics, job or organizational sources of work-related stress and marital/relationship satisfaction and conflict. Different variable were significantly correlated with three dimensions of relationship quality. The results suggest that the single most important factor in determining civil engineers' experiences of relationship quality is the number of hours they work each week. It is argued that the implementation of work-life balance initiatives by engineering organizations may benefit employees. However, for such initiatives to be successful, engineering organizations and their employees must deviate from the socially constructed norm of rigid, long work hours that prevails in the Australian construction industry.