Abstract:

Garment industry plays an important role in Indonesia economy. The role expands from contributing to GDP, as one of the 10 largest clothing export countries in the world in 2016, to being one of the four sectors that absorb the most labor in Indonesia. However, the garment industry holds many problems of its working condition. Poor working conditions affect the personal life of workers as they make it difficult for the workers to balance both their working and personal life. This research was conducted with qualitative methods to understand how working condition affect work-family conflict and how social support plays a role in the relationship between the two. Data from 10 focus group discussions, which involved 93 participants from five major cities in Indonesia, were gathered. The data were analyzed through a coding process assisted by Qualitative Data Analysis Software (QDAS) using NVivo 12. The results have produced three main nodes, namely Work-Family Conflict with Time-Based and Strain-Based as sub-nodes; Social Support with Work Environment and Family as sub-nodes; and Working Conditions with Working Hours and Workload as sub-nodes. The analysis found that workers in garment industry still experience poor working conditions with lengthy working hours of more than eight hours per day, and overtime works of more than three hours per day. Moreover, the workload, in the form of excessive daily targets, aggravates the condition. As a result, many conflicts occur in families especially related to children. Social supports from co-workers and spouses can reduce negative effects of poor working conditions and further can reduce work-family conflict. The workplaces may provide policies to create more sensible target workloads and overtimes, therefore encouraging their workers in balancing their personal life and work life. Workers with less work pressure will experience increased job satisfaction, decreased emotional fatigue, and lower work-family conflicts.