Phenomenology of the lived experience of shift workers of Ilam Gas Refining Company of work-life conflict

This study was conducted to identify the lived experiences of shift workers of Ilam Gas Refining Company regarding the conflict between work and family. One of the factors that affect the mental health of the workforce and their productivity and is emphasized in various studies is the work-family conflict. Work-family conflict has many negative consequences such as absenteeism, increased job turnover, and decreased performance. This research can help the managers of Ilam Gas Refining Company and other organizations and companies that have shift workers to design programs by knowing the antecedents and consequences of work-family conflict and reducing these antecedents and consequences as much as possible.Research Method/Approach: The method of this research is practical and of the type of qualitative studies, as it deals with the lived experiences of the shift workers of Ilam Gas Refining Company of work-family conflict. Considering that the main subject of the research is the phenomenon of work-family conflict and the participants in the research have directly experienced this phenomenon, the best method that can give an appropriate answer to the research question is the qualitative research method, which is one of the phenomenological types. In this research, the phenomenological method based on the modified model of Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen has been used. The statistical population of the research is all of the shift workers of Ilam Gas Refining Company. The method of determining the participants is based on the purposeful sampling method. To collect information, the interview tool was used and the interviews with the participants were continued with the phenomenological approach until the saturation of information was reached.

To analyze the data, the modified method of Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen was used. The required data was collected through semi-structured interviews with 22 employees who were selected as a purposive sampling. The participants' lived experiences analysis regarding the antecedents of work and family conflict were categorized into three main categories of personal, family, and occupational antecedents, and the consequences of work and family conflict were categorized into three categories of personal, family, and occupational consequences.Discussion and

The results of pieces of research in the field of work-family and family-work conflict show that the first vulnerable area of these two types of conflict is job satisfaction and marital satisfaction, and this conflict is equally important for individuals and organizations; For the organization, it is associated with a decrease in productivity, a decrease in the job satisfaction of employees, an increase in tardiness and absenteeism of employees, an increase in withdrawal from work, and a decrease in organizational commitment. A working father leads to inefficient performance of maternal, paternal, and husband duties, decreasing marital satisfaction and mental health (increasing anxiety and depression, etc.), and increasing conflict and divorce. In the interpretation of this issue, it should be said that the participants in the research (shift workers of Ilam Gas Refining Company) believed that job factors in the refinery lead to conflict between work and family, and one of the themes obtained in this research is the inconsistency of the job situation. It puts the lives of employees in an unbalanced and chaotic situation. Continuous or temporary absence of spouses puts additional pressure on the family, and on the other hand, sometimes causes the man to lose his job. In this case, the responsibility of the family will be on the woman and this responsibility will have unpleasant consequences. Some of the interviewees either remained unmarried or got married late due to the awareness of the roles of men and women in the family, as well as the fear of neglecting the upbringing of their children.In the meantime, the employees of Ilam Gas Refinery have also pointed out the positive consequences. For example, playing two roles at the same time has led to an increase in the quality of the father's role and better upbringing of children. Some have been supported and encouraged by their spouses and children and have felt proud of their job position. Another pleasant aspect of playing two roles at the same time is the independence of these people's children. Some employees were satisfied with the lack of dependence and independence of their children.