Clarifying the Concept of Work-Life Balance

摘要

Work-life (WL) balance has continued to be a popular research topic in occupational health psychology (Casper, et al., 2017). Despite the continued interest in WL balance, researchers and practitioners have yet to come to an agreement on ways to conceptualize, operationalize, and measure WL balance. Therefore, the current study sought to explain WL balance using a new theoretical approach, clarify the definition of WL balance, and validate a new measure of WL balance: Work & Life Balance Scale--All Roles (WLBS-AR).;Organizational role theory and cognitive role theory were used to explain WL balance as an overall evaluation of all roles made up of expectations and preferences (Biddle, 1979). Each role exists within a social structure that defines expectations based on individual preferences and priorities. That is, unlike conflict and facilitation theories that have been previously used to explain balance in regards to resources, the current study explains balance as an overall evaluation of roles that is impacted by conflict and facilitation. Accordingly, WL balance should be defined as the effectiveness and satisfaction experienced across all roles (Greenhaus & Allen, 2011). To capture this definition of WL balance and assess roles beyond work and family, the new measure was designed to assess a person's perceived satisfaction and effectiveness across the domains of work, family, self, and social roles.;A total of 179 full-time employees completed four surveys over the course of one week. The general survey contained demographic items, Monday and Friday surveys contained measures of attitudes and both WL and work-family balance, and the Thursday survey contained measures of demands, support, work-family conflict and work-family facilitation. Results provide support for the construct and criterion validity of the WLBS-AR. Overall, job demands, life demands, and work-family conflict were all found to be negative predictors of WL balance. Social support and work-family facilitation positively predicted WL balance. The new measure accounted for additional variance in affective commitment, turnover intention, and physical symptoms above and beyond established measures of work-family balance, conflict, and facilitation.;Domain level (work, family, self, social) relationships are discussed to provide insight into the nomological network of WL balance. Implications, future directions, and conclusions of the current study are also discussed. Overall, results of the current study provide validity evidence for the new measure and suggest researchers and practitioners adopt the new approach to understanding WL balance and increase generalizability.