A multi-level perspective on the synergies between work and family

• Published in: Journal of occupational and organizational psychology Vol. 80; no. 4; pp. 559 - 574
• Main Authors: Grzywacz, Joseph G., Carlson, Dawn S., Kacmar, K. Michele, Wayne, Julie Holliday
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.12.2007; British Psychological Society
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Everyday life; Facilitation; Families; Family policy; Family studies; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Industrial psychology; Occupational psychology; Organizational behavior; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Social psychology; Social systems; Sociology of organizations; Sociology of the family; Sociology of work; Studies; Synergy; Work; Work condition. Job performance. Stress; Work life balance; Social environment; Facilitation; Human; Occupational environment; Employee; Family work relation; Personal commitment; Family environment; Performance
• ISSN: 0963-1798; 2044-8325
• DOI: 10.1348/096317906X163081

In this paper we lay the conceptual foundation for work‐family facilitation. Work‐family facilitation is a process representing the synergies between the domains of work and family. We formally define facilitation as the extent to which an individual's engagement in one social system, such as work or family, contributes to growth in another social system. We develop the process through which facilitation occurs, provide a model and case studies of this process, and delineate additional theoretical and empirical research necessary to understand work‐family facilitation so that it can be managed and cultivated within organizations.