Work-family conflict and stress.

Abstract

Over the past twenty years, increasing attention has been given by researchers and organizations to the interface between people's work and their family lives. In 1977 Rosabeth Kanter argued that the notion that work and life off the job are separate worlds is a 'myth'. Since then there has been a growing volume of research on the interaction between job or work demands and experiences and family life. The burgeoning literature on this topic can be attributed to a variety of reasons, including: changing family structures, with a significant increase in the number of dual-earner families and single-parent families; changing family orientations, with many couples now delaying the onset of children and also reducing the overall number of children; increasing participation of women in the workforce, to the point where in many Western countries in particular, employed women now outnumber their male colleagues; and finally, a greater desire to achieve some kind of 'balance' between work and family responsibilities, to enhance both individual and family well-being.