Job characteristics and work-home interaction: Does race moderate the relationship for South African police members?

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is too investigate whether race moderates the relationship between job characteristics (job demands and job resources) and negative and positive WHI (work-home interaction) in a sample of white and African South African police members. Design/methodology/approach: Questionnaires were distributed to African (n=197) and white (n=222) ranked police members in the North West Province of South Africa. Hierarchical multiple regression and moderated multiple regression analyses were used to analyse the data. Findings: The results showed that race had moderating effects on the relationship between the positive spill-over of mood and overload, as well as the relationship between the positive spill-over of skills and overload. No interaction terms were found significant for the relationships between job characteristics and negative time-based WHI, or for the relationships between job characteristics and negative strain-based WHI. It is therefore concluded that race does not moderate the relationship between job characteristics and negative WHI. Practical implications: The paper will raising awareness among police members and police management about the effect of job characteristics on WHI. This can provide a platform from which to start addressing issues that could decrease police stress. Originality/value: This paper shows that although South Africa is working towards uniting all South Africans as a nation, differences between race groups should still be acknowledged and addressed appropriately.