From Work-Family Balance to Work-Family Interaction

There are many lessons to be learned about work-family interaction. It is clear that some people have learned how to combine work and family in ways that are mutually supporting--at least much of the time--and some employers have created work environments and policies that make positive interdependence of these two spheres more likely to occur. This book discusses measures of work-family, conflict, policies designed to reduce conflict, comparisons with other industrialized nations, and reasons why family-friendly work-policies have not been adopted with enthusiasm. The purpose is to consider a broad range of topics that pertain to work and family with the goal of helping employers and working families understand the work-life options that are available so they can make choices that offer returns-on-investments to employers, families, and society at large that are consistent with personal and societal values. This book brings together a superb panel of experts from different disciplines to look at work and family issues and the way they interact. Part I is an overview--with a brief discussion by a psychologist, economist, and a political scientist--each of whom provide their own interpretation of how their discipline views this hybrid field. Part II considers the business case of the question of why employers should invest in family-friendly work policies, followed by a section on the employer response to work family interactions. Families are the focus of the Part IV, followed by a look at children--many of whom are at the heart of work and family interaction.

Diane F. Halpern, Susan Elaine Murphy

Contents: Preface. Part I: Integrating the Demands of Work and Family.D.F. Halpern, S.E. Murphy, From Balance to Synthesis: Why the Metaphor Is Important. D.F. Halpern, R. Drago, N. Boyle, How We Study Work-Family Interactions. Part II: The Business Case or "Why Should My Firm Invest in Family-Friendly Work Policies?"S.E. Murphy, D. Zagorski, Enhancing Work-Family and Work-Life Interaction: The Role of Management. W.F. Cascio, C.E. Young, Work-Family Balance: Does the Market Reward Firms That Respect It? Part III: How Employers Respond to the Challenge of Work-Family Demands.P. Orfalea, Corporate Responsibilities. B. Purkey, V.S. Molina, D. Klein, P.S. Pires, Sitting at the Corporate Table: How Work-Family Policies Are Really Made. D.B. Bell, W.R. Schumm, Balancing Work and Family Demands in the Military: What Happens When Your Employer Tells You to Go to War? C. Maslach, Understanding Burnout: Work and Family Issues. Part IV: Working Families: How Well Are They Working?G.L. Thompson, Home to School to Work--Transitions for African Americans: Eliminating Barriers to Success. M. Jackson, The Limits of Connectivity: Technology and 21st-Century Life. R.C. Barnett, Dual-Earner Couples: Good/Bad for Her and/or Him? Part V: The Children: How Are They Doing?H.R. Riggio, S. Desrochers, The Influence of Maternal Employment on the Work and Family Expectations of Offspring. A.E. Gottfried, Maternal and Dual-Earner Employment Children's Development: Redefining the Research Agenda. E. Galinsky, Children's Perspective of Employed Mothers and Fathers: Closing the Gap Between Public Debates and Research Findings. F.A. Wohl, Imagining the Future: A Dialogue on the Societal Value of Care. S.E. Murphy, D.F. Halpern, Vision for the Future of Work and Family Interaction.