Work and family: in search of the missing links

Abstract

Despite widespread agreement that work and family roles are interdependent, there is little consensus as to how work affects family functioning. Presents a framework to account for this. First, articulates two hypotheses critical to this framework. It is the quality of the employment experience, and not employment status nor the quantity of employment, that is critical to understanding the effects of work on the family. Thus, the traditional assumption that employment is uniformly beneficial for men and detrimental for women is of little explanatory value. Work exerts an indirect effect on family functioning, and the variables that link work and family are pivotal in understanding the inter‐dependence of work and family. Presents research conducted explicitly to test this framework. Identifies conceptual ramifications and implications for organizational interventions and personal counselling.

Citation

Barling, J. (1995), "Work and family: in search of the missing links", Employee Counselling Today, Vol. 7 No. 7, pp. 18-27. https://doi.org/10.1108/13665629510100627