Toward reducing some critical gaps in work–family research

Abstract

Social science researchers have devoted considerable attention to examining the interrelationships between work and family. The growing diversity of family structures represented in the workforce—including dual-earner couples, single parents, blended families, and employees with responsibility for elder care—has heightened the relevance of balancing work and family roles for a substantial segment of employed men and women (Googins, 1997; Greenhaus & Parasuraman, 1986, 1994; Parasuraman & Greenhaus, 1997). These developments have greatly increased the complexities of the interface between work and family. Against the backdrop of these changes and the projected growth in the diversity of the work force in the new millennium (Johnston & Packer, 1987), it is appropriate to assess the gaps in our knowledge of work–family relationships. Greenhaus and Parasuraman (1999) recently observed that although the literature provides abundant evidence that work and family are interconnected in many ways, the links between the two arenas are more complex than was envisaged initially. In her presentation to the Conference Board on the status of work–family research, MacDermid (1998) concluded that there are many more unanswered questions than those for which we have ‘‘firm footholds.’’ According to Barling & Sorensen (1997), changes in the nature of jobs and organizations, as well as social changes in family structure, have rendered much of the research-based knowledge of the interdependence of work and family outdated. In our view, the empirical research to date has been useful in explaining many of the relationships between work and family domains. The different perspectives from which