How Well Do You Understand the Intersection of Work and Personal Life?

Intersection of Work and Personal Life

• Work-life interface is the intersection of work and personal life.

• This interface can be adverse in nature (e.g., work-life conflict) or can be beneficial (e.g., work-life enrichment) in nature.

• Recent research has shown that the work-life interface has become more boundary-less, especially for technology-enabled workers.

• Seven dominant theories have been utilized to explain this relationship on the boundary-border spectrum.

• Work-family conflict is defined as interrole conflict where the participation in one role interferes with the participation in another.

• Work-to-family conflict (WFC) and family-to-work conflict (FWC) are strongly correlated with each other.

• Work-family enrichment or work-family facilitation is a form of positive spillover.

• Work-family enrichment is related to positive organizational outcomes such as job satisfaction and effort.

• Research has focused especially on the role of the organization and the supervisor in the reduction of WFC.

• General support by the organization aids the employees to deal with work family issues so that organizational support is negatively connected to WFC.

• The supervisor has a social-support function for his/her subordinates and is an indicator for lower levels of WFC.

• The coworker's informal support is negatively associated with negative variables such as WFC.Research Methods in Work-Family Research: A Review of the Literature from 1980-2003

• Work-family research has grown significantly since the 1980s

• Most studies in this area use cross-sectional designs and self-report data

• The majority of studies focus on white, middle-class families

• Fathers and single parents are underrepresented in work-family research

• There is a lack of research on the experiences of low-income families and families of color

• The most commonly studied work-family issues are work-family conflict and work-family enrichment

• Researchers often fail to use a theoretical framework to guide their research

• There is a need for more research on how different cultural values impact work-family experiences

• Researchers should pay more attention to the work-family experiences of non-traditional workers, such as those in the gig economy

• There is a need for more research on the impact of technology on work-family balance

• Longitudinal and experimental research designs should be used more often

• Researchers should use more diverse samples, data sources, and levels of analysis.