Department Environment and Work

Identifying factors contributing to work-to-life conflict among STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) faculty members is crucial to improving how STEM faculty manage multiple roles. This study examines how both positive (psychological safety) and negative (perceived injustice) features of the departmental environment predict work-to-life conflict among STEM faculty. We also consider whether gender moderates how each facet of the departmental environment relates to work-to-life conflict. Data are from STEM faculty at a midsized university located in the Upper Midwest (N = 114 faculty members). The findings indicated that both psychological safety and perceived injustice were significantly associated with the dependent variable. We found no evidence of gender moderating these relationships. Altogether, the results suggest that institutional efforts to reduce work-to-life conflict should consider both the positive and the negative facets of the STEM departmental environment and target men and women faculty alike