Influence of Marital Conflicts on Employee Performance: A case of Gasabo District, Rwanda
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31305/ijmds.v15n08.004Keywords:
marital conflict, employee performance, work–family conflict, work-life balance, RwandaAbstract
This study examined the influence of marital conflicts on employee performance in Gasabo District, Rwanda. Rapid urbanization in the district has intensified the competing demands of work and family life, yet little research has examined how marital difficulties specifically shape employee performance in Rwanda's private sector. Guided by five objectives relating to communication problems, infidelity, lack of mutual support, unbalanced gender roles, and work-life imbalance, the study adopted a descriptive and correlational design combining quantitative and qualitative approaches. Data were collected from 73 employees, selected purposively from a target population of 300, using questionnaires and semistructured interviews, and analyzed in SPSS using descriptive statistics, correlation, and regression. The results show that financial disagreements and poor spousal communication were the most frequently reported sources of marital strain, followed by domestic conflict, childcare pressures, and separationrelated difficulties. Marital conflicts were found to reduce employee concentration, increase absenteeism, lower productivity, weaken teamwork, and erode morale, with an overall mean agreement score of 4.16 (SD = 1.09) across performance-related items. Regression analysis confirmed that marital conflicts are a statistically significant predictor of organizational performance (R² = 0.724, F = 20.948, p = 0.002; β = 2.280, p < 0.05). Employees identified counseling and guidance services, welfare support programs, flexible working arrangements, stress-management training, and improved workplace communication as the interventions most likely to mitigate these effects. The study concludes that marital wellbeing is a material determinant of workforce productivity and recommends that organizations treat employee support for family-related stress as a core element of human resource strategy rather than a peripheral welfare concern.
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