Work-family balance.

Abstract

Social roles play important functions in the lives of all individuals (e.g., Ashforth, Kreiner, & Fugate, 2000; Clark, 2000). They help to define who we are-imposing self-definitional boundaries. They influence what we do-imposing behavioral boundaries. They influence how and with whom we interact-imposing relational boundaries. They influence what we think about-imposing cognitive boundaries. They influence how we feel about things-imposing affective boundaries. They structure our use of timeimposing temporal boundaries. Finally, they structure our physical location-imposing spatial boundaries. The primary social roles that make up the lives of most adults are depicted in Figure 7.1. As shown in this figure, one can make a broad distinction between work and nonwork domains of life (e.g., Rice, McFarlin, Hunt, & Near, 1985). Within the nonwork domain, several subdomains of social roles exist-family, religious, community, leisure, and student. Because social roles provide meaning and structure in people’s lives, researchers from many disciplines are interested in the notion of balance between social roles. This interest partly derives from the understanding that despite the various types of boundaries fostered by social roles, these boundaries differ in permeability and flexibility, and transitions across boundaries occur often (e.g., Ashforth et al., 2000; Clark, 2000). It also derives from the expectation that imbalance between social roles may be an important stressor that can influence outcomes in the affected life domains and can influence the overall health and well-being of individuals exposed to the imbalance. The overall goal of this chapter, therefore, is to provide an overview of the literature on work-family balance. Toward this end, I will (a) define work-family balance, (b) review early and contemporary models of workfamily balance, (c) review the major causes and outcomes of work-family balance, and (d) explore strategies for promoting work-family balance. Because of the extensive work-family literature that has developed, I cannot provide an exhaustive review of each of these issues in a short chapter. Nonetheless, while being selective, I will try to provide a broad overview. The focus of this review is on the relationship between work and family roles for three reasons. First, in contrast to other nonwork roles, conceptual interest in the relationship between work and family has been much stronger, with a research history that dates back to at least the 1930s