Methodological Choices in Work-Life Balance Research 1987 To 2006: A Critical Review

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Methodological Choices in Work-Life Balance Research 1987 to 2006: A

Critical Review
Article in The International Journal of Human Resource Management · October 2010

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Chang, Artemis and McDonald, Paula K. and Burton, Pauline M. (2009)

Methodological choices in work-life balance research 1987 to 2006 : a critical
review. International Journal of Human Resource Management
© Copyright 2009 Taylor & Francis

RUNNING HEAD: METHODOLOGICAL CHOICES IN WORK AND LIFE BALANCE
METHODOLOGICAL CHOICES IN WORK-LIFE BALANCE RESEARCH 1987 TO 2006:
A CRITICAL REVIEW
Artemis Chang, Paula McDonald, Pauline Burton
School of Management
Queensland University of Technology
GPO Box 2434, Brisbane, Queensland 4001, Australia
Tel: (61) 7 3138 2522
Fax: (61) 7 3864 1313
e-mail: a2.chang@qut.edu.au; p.mcdonald@qut.edu.au; p.burton@qut.edu.au

Methodological Choices in work and Life Balance 1
A CRITICAL REVIEW
This study reviewed methodological choices (sampling frames, constructs investigated and
measures used) in 245 empirical work-life balance papers published in a range of discipline-
based peer-reviewed journals between 1987 and 2006. Results show that work-life balance
studies need to establish greater consistency between the conceptualization of constructs and
the operationalization of measures. There is also scope for well-designed field experiments to
establish clear causal relationships between variables. Sampling choice in previous literature
is somewhat constrained and may be enhanced by targeting single and same-sex parent
families, manual and lower-skilled service workers, and employees providing eldercare.
Researchers should also be more transparent in providing rationales for their choices of
organizations or group lists used to target respondents. The findings have significant
implications for understanding, interpreting, and utilizing the contemporary work and family
literature.
A CRITICAL REVIEW
Introduction
The way individuals balance their work and non-work lives is an area of academic enquiry
that has received increasing scrutiny over the past two decades. Theoretical orientations and
the operationalization of their related constructs in empirical research have evolved and
developed in response to, or at least in parallel with, the progressively higher profile of work-
life balance issues and concerns in the media, the rhetoric of political and business leaders,
and organizational policy and human resource priorities. These factors in turn have arisen
from significant demographic and technological shifts in industrialized societies. Fundamental
changes include an increased proportion of women (and particularly mothers) in the paid
workforce, greater numbers of dual-earner couples and single parents, demand for workplace
flexibility and public support for childcare and eldercare, and the rapid expansion of
information technology allowing work portability (Sullivan and Lewis 2001; Greenhaus and
Powell 2003; Noor 2002a; Pitt-Catsouphes and Christensen 2004). The expanding literature
base and the significant potential human impact of work-life balance as an area of enquiry
have also prompted a number of recent reviews. These reviews include meta-analyses of
findings related to a construct of interest (Kossek and Ozeki 1999; Byron 2005), monographs
that summarize a specific topic (Thornthwaite 2004; Eby, Casper, Lockwood, Bordeaux and
Brinley 2005; Greenhaus and Powell 2006) or more rarely, methodological reviews which
explore design, data sources and analytic techniques (e.g. Greenhaus and Parasuraman 1999;
Casper, Eby, Bordeaux, Lockwood and Lambert 2007). These studies reflect an increasing
emphasis on assessing how researchers investigate real world problems in a given area of
study.
This paper presents a systematic review of the empirical work-life balance literature
published between 1987 and 2006. Organizational researchers develop and conduct empirical
studies that build on the findings and insights from previous ones, accumulatively building a
robust knowledge base that human resource professionals can utilise to inform a range of
organizational policies and interventions. The methodological choices that underpin this
knowledge base are critical because any foundational understanding of a phenomenon is
bounded by these choices. We investigated questions around how variations of work-life
balance constructs were conceptualized and operationalized, the characteristics, location and
size of study samples and the disciplinary areas where work-life balance research is
published. Hence, the paper provides HR researchers and practitioners with a critical lens
through which to interpret and utilize the current work-life literature.
Despite the significant implications of methodological choices, systematic analyses of
various approaches to research methods across the work-life balance literature are scarce.
Casper et al.’s (2007) recent methodological review provided a summary of these choices for
research papers published from 1980 to 2003 in the industrial and organizational behaviour
(IO-OB) literature. However, our paper extends Casper et al.’s (2007) review in a number of
ways. First, we included additional studies published from 2003 to 2006, during which time
work and family studies increased exponentially. Indeed, 69 percent of the work and family
studies reviewed in our study were published during these years. Second, we reviewed
constructs and measures as well as sampling choices, whereas Casper et al. (2007) focused on
sampling, research design, and analyses. Importantly, we contrasted the use of ‘conflict’ as a
central construct that was dominant in earlier work, with ‘balance’ and other constructs that
highlight beneficial aspects of the work-life nexus, and which arise more frequently in recent
work. Third, we reviewed work and family studies from a wider range of disciplinary areas
(e.g. women’s studies, health, labour relations) beyond the IO-OB literature. The paper begins
with a brief summary of the work and family literature, providing a context for the study and
a description of the search strategy and coding systems utilized for data analysis. The findings
of the study are presented in two major areas, ‘constructs and measures’ and ‘sampling
characteristics’, with recommendations for future research directions.
Constructs and measures in the work-life balance literature
We adopt the term ‘work-life balance’ in this paper because it broadly encompasses the array
of different constructs that encompass the nexus between, or the day-to-day management of,
paid work and other non-work activities. Work-life balance, as an inclusive term, has also
become a commonly used descriptor amongst academic researchers in the area, being the
subject of recent international, multidisciplinary conferences and commonly appearing in the
titles of books and journal articles (e.g., Crooker, Smith and Tabak 2002; Glubczynski,
Kossek and Lambert 2003; De Bruin and Dupuis 2004; Lambert and Haley-Lock 2004; Dex
and Bond 2005).
While they may not exist at opposite ends of the same continuum, two constructs
dominate this area of academic enquiry. The first is ‘balance’, which has been defined as
harmony or equilibrium between work and life domains (Clarke, Koch and Hill 2004; Comer
and Stites-Doe 2006). The second is ‘conflict’ or ‘interference’, which is understood as
negative or unbalanced outcomes of combining paid work and non-work activities. Work-
family conflict consists of two separate, though related, concepts: work conflict or
interference with family, and family conflict or interference with work (Greenhaus and Powell
2006). Work-life conflict has been an integral part of the overall work-life balance literature
and several meta-analyses have explored the antecedents and consequences of this construct
(Kossek and Ozeki 1999; Byron 2005). However, it is unclear the extent to which balance
versus conflict is utilized as a key construct in the literature and how these terms are
operationalized as outcome or dependent variables, compared to input or independent
variables.
Other constructs have also recently emerged as potentially important. These include
‘work-family enrichment’, which is defined by Greenhaus and Powell (2006) as the extent to
which experiences in one role improve the quality of life in the other role. Work-life
enrichment attempts to re-focus the area of enquiry away from conflict and tension, which has
typically characterized the work-family literature (Pitt-Catsouphes and Christensen 2004),
towards some of the positive outcomes of work-life participation. The term ‘work-life culture’
has also recently emerged as an area of critical interest. It is defined by Thompson, Beauvais
and Lyness (1999, p. 394) as “the shared assumptions, beliefs, and values regarding the extent
to which an organization supports and values the integration of employees’ work and family
lives”. Work-life culture and its alternative terms have been used in previous research to
attempt to explain phenomena such as how organizations develop work-life policies, rates of
uptake of flexible work arrangements and the success of work-life programs (Haas and
Hwang 1995; Sherer and Coakley 1999; Kim 2001; Wise and Bond 2003). The theoretical
underpinnings and dimensions of work-life culture have also been discussed (see Thompson
et al. 1999; Allen 2001; McDonald, Brown and Bradley 2005).
Critiques of sampling issues
Casper et al. (2007) reviewed a range of socio-demographic characteristics of samples,
including sex, marital status, child characteristics, race, hours worked, education and
occupation, and reported that much relevant information regarding samples is omitted from
descriptions of work-family research. This pattern of results highlights the difficulty of
evaluating whether existing research is likely to generalize to workers who are diverse in
terms of family configuration or industry (Casper et al. 2007). Where sample characteristics
were reported, samples were homogenous and excluded several important groups including
diverse racial and ethnic groups, distinct cultures and non-traditional families (Casper et al.
2007). Other authors have also argued that much of the work-life balance literature continues
to be derived from data collected from dual-earner families while neglecting other groups
such as single parents, same-sex couples and extended families (Parker and Hall 1992;
McManus, Korabik, Rosin and Kelloway 2002; Noor 2002b; Perrone 2005). Employees in
small workplaces, at the expense of large ones (MacDermid, Williams, Marks and Heilbrun
1994), have also been relatively under-sampled. These critiques are useful in identifying
where the generalizability of findings might be limited and the types of target samples future
research could address (e.g. non-professionals, single parents, same-sex couples). However,
they are not substantive in understanding the true extent of focus on specific groups such
women, professionals or dual-earning couples because the critiques are rarely empirically
based.
The location of research which accumulates in any given area of interest has a
substantial impact on the kind of information collected over time (Scandura and Williams
2000). The majority of work-life balance research has been conducted in Anglo-Saxon
countries that are comparable in nature (e.g. the United States and Canada), with most
samples being confined to a single country (Poelmans et al. 2003). The concentration of
research conducted in Anglo-Saxon countries is problematic because findings cannot
necessarily be extended to other locales or populations of interest, particularly those which are
culturally diverse or which have lower female or dual-earner labour force participation rates
(Poelmans et al. 2003; Poster and Prasad 2005). Though some recent studies have addressed
this problem of investigating work-life balance phenomena in countries which are culturally
dissimilar to Western, industrialized ones (Rosenbaum and Cohen 1999; Noor 2002a, 2006;
Foley, Hang-Yue and Lui 2005), only a handful have used cross-cultural methods of analysis
by sampling in countries with obviously different cultures (Joplin, Shaffer, Francesco and Lau
2003; Korabik, Lero and Ayman 2003; Poelmans et al. 2003; Poster and Prasad 2005). Pitt-
Catsouphes and Christensen (2004) argue that the concentration of sampling in industrial
countries is changing for the better, with recent interest in cross-national and cross-cultural
studies challenging work-life assumptions which are both country and culture bound.
However, the extent to which cross-cultural studies have become a research focus has not
been empirically determined.
Methods
The following research questions were explored:
1. How has work-life balance research been conceptualized? What key constructs were
investigated and how are they operationalized?
2. What sampling strategies have been used in quantitative and qualitative work-life balance
research? How were participants accessed and recruited into the studies?
3. What characteristics do samples have?
a. What sample sizes were used?
b. Which occupations and industries, genders and family characteristics were targeted?
c. How do these samples correspond with populations of interest?
4. In which countries / geographic regions were studies typically situated?
Database search and criteria for inclusion
A total of 245 journal articles were analyzed. They were included in the review if they met the
following criteria:
a. The abstract was available from the databases of EbcsoHost and/or Proquest. All available
databases within Proquest were used, while in Ebscohost, the specific databases of
Academic Source Elite, Business Source Elite and Psychinfo were searched.
b. The article was an empirical study, that is, it included a sampling process, measurement
and analysis.
c. The article was published in a peer-reviewed journal, that is, journals with an editorial
review board whose academic affiliation is identified, before 31 December 2006.
d. The full-text article was published in English (some full-text articles were published in
another language with only the abstract available in English).
e. The article included at least one of the following terms: work-life balance; work-family
balance; work-life conflict; work-family conflict; work-life interference; work-family
interference; work-life culture; work-family culture.
The initial search strategy involved identifying key terms in the article’s citation, which
yielded 1,133 articles, from which book reviews, conceptual papers and commentary-type
articles were deleted. A further 26 studies identified in our initial search were published in a
language other than English, which we excluded. Of these studies, 23 were published in
European languages (nine German, one Czech, four Spanish, one Serb-Croatian, three
Finnish, three French, two Italian) and three were published in an Asian language (one
Korean, one Chinese, one Japanese). For pragmatic reasons we also confined our sample to
those which included the search terms in their key word lists (N = 245) and excluded articles
which used the terms in their titles or abstracts, but not key word lists (N = 118). In order to
confirm the representativeness of this strategy in terms of discipline area, we compared our
final sample with the second group of studies using the search terms in the title/abstract. Both
groups of articles were derived predominantly from journals associated with psychological
science (39% and 42% respectively) and management (17% and 28% respectively), with
similar, smaller numbers from other disciplines (e.g. industrial relations, health, women’s
studies). Of the 127 journals which published the final sample of 245 articles, some published
papers on work-life balance frequently, such as The Journal of Vocational Behavior (24
articles), Journal of Occupational Health Psychology (14 articles) and Journal of Family and
Economic Issues (9 articles). The majority of journals however, only contained one or two
publications. The full-text of each article was obtained either electronically (where available)
or in hard copy via our library’s access service. The analysis proceeded by systematically
coding the articles using an Excel spreadsheet using headings consistent with the research
questions.
Coding processes
Constructs and measurement
Dummy variables were created in the spreadsheet for the following codes: (a) whether the
study was conceptualized as ‘work-life’ or ‘work-family’; (b) the key constructs investigated,
for example, ‘Conflict /Interference /Spillover /Role Overload’; ‘Balance’,
‘Enhancement/Enrichment’, ‘Fit’ or ‘Other’ (with specification); (c) whether the study
conceptualized the key construct(s) as two directional (e.g., work to life and life to work); (d)
the instrument used to operationalize key concepts; and (e) whether the key construct was
operationalized as the Independent Variable, Dependant Variable, or Mediator. Multiple
entries were made when a study examined more than one construct or used more than one
instrument. Research constructs were coded according to the operational definition adopted in
the study. For example, earlier studies often operationalized ‘balance’ as a dependent variable
by using a combination of conflict and satisfaction / functioning measures. Two researchers

coded all categories of sampling and constructs / measurement and agreement was high (at
least 95% for all categories).
Sampling
Data related to sampling categories were summarized according to: (a) year of publication;
(b) discipline of journal; (c) research design (field versus experimental; cross-sectional versus
longitudinal); (d) quantitative versus qualitative methodology; (e) gender breakdown of
sample; (f) sampling procedures (e.g., stratified random, purposeful); (g) occupational
group(s); (h) country of sample; and (i) industry.
Industry was coded according to categories used by the Australian Bureau of Statistics
(ABS). These categories are similar to those used in other countries (e.g. United States
Department of Labor, United Kingdom Office for Statistics) where work-life balance research
is commonly situated. Examples of industry codes included Primary industry; Mining;
Manufacturing; and Retail trade. Where more than one industry was used to access a sample
in a single study, all industries/occupations were counted.
Occupational groups were coded as (i) higher skilled professional, technical and
managerial occupations (corresponding with the ABS categories Managers and
Administrators, Professionals and Associate Professionals); (ii) manual occupations
(Corresponding with the two ABS categories Tradespersons and Labourers) and (iii) service
type occupations such as retail, hospitality and clerical workers (corresponding with the three
ABS Clerical Sales and Service Workers categories).
Results and discussion
Overview of studies
The first study reviewed was published in 1987. The area received only minor scrutiny up to
2000, during which time 10 or fewer studies were published each year. By far the majority of
studies--172 of 245 or 69%--was published in the years 2004, 2005 and 2006. This trend was
similar for both quantitative and qualitative studies. For example, only three qualitative
studies were published prior to 2003. This indicates a sudden explosion of interest in the area
early this century1, as opposed to a steady progression of interest over time. The 245 articles
in our sample (77.6% quantitative, 22.4% qualitative) were published in 127 different journals
from a wide range of different academic disciplines, including health (medicine, psychiatry,
dentistry, nursing), law, public administration, sociology, family studies, economics and
industrial relations.
Table 1 illustrates some of the journals that published our selection of articles and
those reviewed in Casper et al’s (2007) review. In comparison to Casper’s paper, our study
included non-IO-OB journals, as well as international IO-OB journals such as Psychologia:
An International Journal of Psychology in the Orient. The differences between our list and
Casper et al.’s (2007) for publications prior to 2003 could be attributed to our use of both
Academic Source Elite and Business Source Elite databases to complement our searches of
PsychINFO. Table 1 also demonstrates the dramatic, recent increase in published work-life
balance research from a range of disciplinary perspectives.
Insert Table 1 about here
Constructs and measures
Work-Family vs. work-life
While researchers have called for a better understanding of ‘work-life’ balance, studies which
conceptualize their research designs as work-life are relatively small compared to those which
use the narrower ‘work-family’ term. Only 9% of quantitative studies and 26% of qualitative
1
Most research published from 2004 onwards would likely have been conducted several years earlier, due to the
time taken to collect data, write articles, and the peer review process of journals.
studies examined work-life issues specifically. Indeed, the first quantitative work-life study
was published as late as 2003 (Hill, Ferris and Martinson, 2003), followed by four papers
published in 2004, five in 2005, and five in 2006. The first qualitative work-life study was
published in 2004, followed by nine in 2005 and two in 2006 . The term ‘work-life’, as
distinct from ‘work-family’, is suggestive of issues that extend beyond immediate kin and
therefore reflects the concerns of workers with and without dependent children, infirm parents
or others requiring care (Lambert and Haley-Lock 2004). Furthermore, while work-family
balance encompasses work and home (Clark 2000; McFarland 2004; Lyness and Kropf 2005),
work-life (balance, conflict, fit) tends to be broader in scope, encompassing domains such as
home, financial security and leisure under the umbrella of ‘life’ (Warren, 2004). Pitt-
Catsouphes and Christensen (2004) suggest the nomenclature of the work–family area of
study has put boundaries around the issues to be studied, possibly reflecting assumptions
about the insularity of work and home life. In contrast, Gurvis and Patterson (2005) suggest
that work-life balance involves having sufficient time for all experiences: career, family,
friends, community, and leisure pursuits. Crooker et al. (2002) extend the components of
work and life further to include personal resources such as family, community, employer,
profession, geography, information, economics, personality or values. However, despite these
discussions about extending the parameters of focus in balancing paid employment and non-
work domains, to date, published research is largely conceptualized as the nexus between
work and family.
Conflict vs. balance.
Quantitative and qualitative studies differed in their research focus. Of the 189 quantitative
studies, 140 examined conflict-related constructs. One hundred and thirteen publications
measured conflict itself, 23 measured interference, 15 spillover and six role overload. Some
studies measured more than one of these constructs. Of the quantitative studies which
measured conflict, 60 conceptualized and operationalized the construct as two-directional
(work to family, family to work). Studies that measured work-family conflict and family-
work conflict first appeared as early as the late 80s (Greenhaus and Beutell 1985 for theory;
Frone, Russell and Cooper 1992 for measures). However, it was Carlson, Kacmar and
Williams’ (2000) paper that triggered a significant increase in the use of this approach
because it conceptualized and validated a multi-dimensional instrument for use in subsequent
research. Fifty of the 60 studies which measured conflict as bi-directional were published
after 2001.
Of the remaining 49 quantitative studies which did not conceptualize the research as
conflict, 31 studied balance (note that many of these studies operationalized ‘balance’ as low
conflict or high satisfaction or functioning in both work and family/life domain), three
examined satisfaction, family functioning and well-being and three studied
facilitation/enhancement/ positive spillover. The remaining quantitative studies
operationalized variables such as fit, culture, policy uptake, attitudes towards women,
emotional exhaustion, and health and job outcomes. Thus, although the majority of research
appears to situate itself in the positive realm of balance, especially in its discussions of key
concepts and use of key words, when it comes to measures, research is in fact dominated by
scales operationalizing conflict or interference. This emphasis on conflict is consistent with a
recent review of 200 work-family studies published between 1980 and 2002 by Eby et al.
(2005). These authors found that more than half (58%) predicted an unfavourable relationship
between work and family and only 18% predicted a favourable association, indicating a focus
on the negative or conflict area of the literature. The inconsistency between conceptualization
and operationalization also suggests inconsistency in the way concepts are theoretically, and
even rhetorically, discussed and the methods used to investigate them. Findings also revealed
that the three dimensional balance measure proposed by Greenhaus, Collins and Shaw (2003)
had not yet been adopted to study balance in subsequent research. It is possible that
insufficient time has elapsed to assess whether the measure has been taken up, or
alternatively, that researchers studying balance continue to favour measures of
conflict/interference, as seen historically in the area. Greenhaus and Powell’s (2006) recently
published model of work-life enrichment may go some way towards genuinely re-focusing
this area of enquiry away from conflict and tension towards some of the more positive
outcomes of work-life participation.
The majority of quantitative studies measuring conflict used it as a major outcome or
dependent variable (96), while 28 studies used conflict as an independent variable and eight
studies used the construct as a mediator. A noteworthy finding was that only two out of the
eight ‘mediation studies’ both conceptualized and tested the mediation relationships. Four did
not specifically conceptualize conflict as the mediator in the model, instead identifying both
the antecedents and consequences of work-family conflict, while two other studies
conceptualized conflict specifically as a mediator in a schematic diagram but did not test the
mediation effect in the analyses. Of the 56 qualitative studies, 24 identified balance as a goal
and nine used balance as a DV. Seventeen papers used a conflict related framework (10
conflict, four spillover, two interference, and one role strain). Conflict was studied as a DV in
seven studies, as an IV in three studies, and as a framework of inquiry in seven studies.
Qualitative papers often began by employing a conflict-type framework, which generally
identified and described a range of issues confronted by working parents, and concluded with
strategies to manage these difficulties, either as findings reported by the participants, or
recommendations for intervention made by the researchers. Thus, the majority of the
qualitative studies conceptualized their research using balance as a goal to be achieved.

Gender issues were often explored in qualitative studies (10 out of 56) in order to understand
differential experiences of men and women with regard to conflict and balance.
Instruments used
Forty-eight quantitative studies (25%) measured work-life issues using original measures
developed specifically for the research. A further 35 studies either did not provide enough
information to code measurement or did not specifically measure conflict, balance, fit or
culture. The remaining quantitative studies utilized a range of previously published
instruments. The most consistently cited measures of work-family conflict were Frone et al.
(1992) and Kopelman, Greenhaus and Connolly (1983). Frone et al. (1992) assessed both
work to family and family to work interference based on Greenhaus and Beutell’s (1985)
conceptualization of work and family conflict, which was also used to develop study specific
measures by three other publications in the study period. The measure was on average cited
every two years from 1994 to 2002, increasing to one per year from 2003 to 2004, and three
times in 2005. Kopelman et al. (1983), who conceptualized work conflict, family conflict and
interrole conflict as distinct constructs, were cited eight times between 1989 and 2004, three
times in 2005 and twice in 2006. Some studies which adopted Kopelman et al.’s (1983)
measure did so only as one of the many measures used to assess work and family issues. For
example, three studies adopted Kopelman et al. (1983) to assess work-to-family conflict
whereas they used Burley (1989) to assess family-to-work conflict (see Table 3).
More recently, Netemeyer, Boles and McMurrian (1996) developed a succinct, 10-
item measure of work-family and family-work conflict which demonstrated good reliability
and validity. Since 2004, researchers have started to adopt this measure, with 14 citations
being identified between 2004 and 2006. Also promising in its conceptualization of different
types of interference as well as its validity was Carlson et al.’s (2000) multidimensional
measure of work-family conflict. The instrument distinguished between time based, strain
based, and behavior based work-family and family-work interference and was utilized in 16
studies between 1999 and 2006. The less frequently cited measures of work-family conflict
were those by Burke, Weir,DuWors and Richard’s (1979) and Bohen and Viveros-Long’s
(1981), receiving five and six citations in the last two decades respectively. However, Burke
et al.’s (1979) work was cited only in the 1990s, whereas Bohen and Viveros-Long’s (1981)
was cited in both decades. Hill et al.’s (2003) measure of work and family fit was used in
three of Hill’s own studies. Neither Thompson et al.’s (1999) measure of work-family culture
nor Greenhaus, Parasuraman and Collins (2001) multi-dimensional measure of conflict/
balance has had very much impact in the literature thus far. This is a somewhat surprising
finding given that they offer new and promising perspectives in the study of work and life
issues.
A few instruments (e.g. Kopelman et al. 1983; Frone et al. 1992) were utilized more
often than others, but there is clearly a need for more consistency and progress in relation to
measurement in this area of literature. Netemeyer et al. (1996) and Carlson et al. (2000) offer
the two most promising measures of work-family/family-work conflict in recent literature, in
that their scales are short and multi-dimensional, yet reliable and valid. This is being reflected
in the increasing use and adaptation of these measures in publications, especially from 2004
onwards. However, the development and use of scales to measure key variables such as work-
life conflict/interference, balance or culture was rather ad hoc for a substantial number of
studies we reviewed. Further, more than 10% of studies did not provide enough information
about measurement to ascertain the validity of the corresponding findings. Establishing the
relative validity and reliability of different scales is critical in any area of research in order to
demonstrate that findings are robust, to establish the ‘best’ instruments for subsequent
research and to ensure some consistency across studies for meta-analysis. When we also
consider the previously identified lack of uniformity between descriptions of concepts,
development of models and operationalization of variables, there is clearly a need for future
research to consider more carefully the constructs and measures upon which it relies to draw
conclusions and recommend changes to management policy and practice.
Sample characteristics and selection
Sample characteristics were investigated to determine patterns in who is the focus of study
and the extent to which these are generalizable to populations of interest. Relevant
information about family characteristics was available in most studies but 19% of studies did
not indicate the gender of respondents, 41% did not indicate occupations and 17% did not
indicate industry. In the absence of consistent reporting of sample information, it is difficult to
evaluate whether existing work-life balance research is likely to generalize to workers who
are diverse in terms of these demographic characteristics (Casper et al. 2007).
Gender and family characteristics
The gender breakdown of study samples was investigated to ascertain the degree to which
women or men (or both) were the focus of the study. Men-only samples were utilized in only
eight studies, while women-only samples arose in 39 publications. This finding is in contrast
with Casper et al. (2007), who found an average 50% male participation rate in their sample
of studies. This average figure reflected the sampling choices of the ‘survey’ study research
design, which dominated Casper’s et al.’s (2007) sample (85%). The disproportionate
numbers of female-only samples in our study reflect a greater number of qualitative
publications (which were more likely to target women) and the inclusion of journals from a
range of disciplines beyond IO/OB, especially in the areas of women’s studies and nursing.
Nurses and teachers were over-represented in female-only samples. Eleven of the 39
studies using female-only samples included nurses (seven exclusively) and 10 used teachers
(five exclusively). Of the male-only samples, five targeted fathers specifically (one
quantitative, four qualitative) and of the female-only samples, 21 targeted mothers
specifically (12 quantitative, nine qualitative). Only one male-only sample targeted manual
workers, while four used groups of men in higher skilled occupations (senior managers,
psychologists, professional sportsmen). The remaining male-only samples consisted of
mixed-occupational groups. Approximately equal numbers of studies used mainly male
samples or mainly female samples (defined as greater than 60/40 percent split, 40 and 39
publications respectively), while 74 studies were approximately gender balanced. Thus,
although around half the studies reviewed were either gender-balanced or evenly split in their
use of ‘mainly male’ or ‘mainly female’ participant groups, women, particularly mothers and
those in traditionally female occupations, remain over-sampled in multi-disciplinary work-life
balance research. This may affect the generalizability of questionnaire/interview responses to
other groups, such as men or women working in non-traditional or male-dominated
employment areas. The majority of quantitative studies (70.3%) utilized diverse samples of
parent and non-parent and partnered and non-partnered individuals, whereas only one-third
(34.8%) of qualitative studies used this sample composition. Seven qualitative studies (12%)
interviewed ‘couples’ to understand how balance was achieved within family units, whereas
only 12 out of the 189 quantitative publications (6%) measured work and family issues at the
couple level. The few studies which employed direct comparisons of couple responses was in
contrast to the larger number of studies which purported to investigate work and family issues
at the couple level, again highlighting the inconsistency between conceptualization and
measurement in the literature.

Studies which specifically targeted parents or married/co-habiting couples (but in fact
gathered data from only one member of the couple) constituted a minority of quantitative
studies (16.8 and 9.9% respectively), but more than half of qualitative publications (52.2%
and 6.5% respectively). Two studies (one quantitative, one qualitative) targeted single parents
as a specific group or used them as a comparative group with partnered parents (McManus et
al. 2002; Spencer-Dawe 2005). Only one study (quantitative) targeted same-sex parents
(Tuten and August 2006). This focus on women, parents and/or married, co-habiting and dual
earning couples, may be related to the historical emphasis on family responsibilities as
opposed to broader ‘life’ concerns. It may even be appropriate given the continued gendered
division of labour in most households and the resulting difficulties women face in balancing
work and non-work responsibilities. However, if we accept that research should address the
most compelling problems in society, there is clearly a need for a greater representation of,
and in diverse samples a focus on, single and same-sex parents. That is, these sub-groups of
parents are likely to experience unique difficulties in achieving work-life balance, not least
because they often receive lesser instrumental support from a partner (in the case of single
parents) and/or lesser acceptance of their roles from the community. Single parents also
constitute a significant proportion (over one-fifth) of families with children (ABS 2001).
Samples of individuals responsible for eldercare were similarly scarce (two
quantitative studies: Gignac, Kelloway and Gottlieb 1996; Barrah, Shultz, Baltes and Stolz
2004), while five other studies (Buffardi, Smith, O'Brien and Erdwins 1999; Wang, Lawler,
Walumbwa and Shi 2004; Dilworth and Kingsbury 2005; MacDonald, Phipps and Lethbridge
2005; Heymann, Penrose and Earle 2006) investigated the effects of eldercare in addition to
other independent variables such as childcare. The impact of eldercare on employees’ ability
to balance paid employment and caring commitments is clearly an area for future research.
Around one-third of the 600,000 Australians who provide principal care for older relatives or
friends are employed, while in the United States, individuals responsible for eldercare
constitute approximately eight percent of the workforce (Buffardi et al. 1999; Greenhaus et al.
2003). To date, little work has attempted to identify whether the needs of employees who are
responsible for eldercare, or the relationships between conflict, balance and their antecedent
variables, differ from employees with other types of caring commitments (e.g. childcare,
disability care). However, factors such as difficulty accessing aged care services (home-based
and residential) and significant disruptions to the paid work patterns of carers, such as
frequent absences from the workplace, reductions in hours worked and leaving employment
altogether (ABS 2005), suggest that aged carers’ needs for work-life balance initiatives are
not well catered for or understood.
Occupations and industries
Of the 59% of studies where occupational group could be coded, professional, managerial and
other skilled jobs (e.g. registered nurses, doctors, business executives, academics)
predominated in sample selections. Around half (44.9%) collected data from these
occupations exclusively and a further 37.2% combined high-skilled professionals/managers in
addition to other occupations. In contrast, only 7.5% of publications used samples from
manual occupational groups exclusively (e.g., assembly or automotive workers), although a
further 37.2% used manual occupations in conjunction with professional/managerial or
service-type workers. Like manual occupations, lower skilled, service/clerical workers were
infrequently used in participant groups (10.4% of codable studies). Even where mixed
occupational groups were utilized, such as panel surveys, few specifically controlled for, or
compared findings for, different occupational groups. Several studies referred to distinctions
between blue and/or white collar workers in describing the study’s sample, but none defined
how these terms were understood or clarified how they impacted on the study’s findings.
Despite their increasing complexity, work-life balance studies have substantially
limited the types of samples typically generated and the organizations from which research
participants are derived. The predominance of professional/ managerial workers, particularly
occupations such as teachers, university academics and registered nurses, is problematic in
terms of drawing overall conclusions about how employees balance work and non-work
responsibilities. The finding is also consistent with Casper et al. (2007) in that 68% of
participant groups in their review were managers or professionals. Though the overall
proportion of manual workers (e.g. butcher, gardener, dressmaker, machinist) has been
decreasing in industrialized countries, they still constitute around one-fifth of the workforce
(ABS 2001). Further, elementary and intermediate clerical, sales and service workers (e.g.
accounts clerk, bar attendant, child-care worker, enrolled nurse) constitute 26.7% of all
employees (ABS 2001), yet very few studies targeted these groups as potential respondents.
The constraints associated with the timing and location of many manual occupations
and lower skilled, service-type jobs, such as fixed working hours, lack of choice in number of
hours worked, casual or fixed-term employment, the necessity for customer/client contact
(e.g., retail worker) or for the work to be conducted at a particular site (e.g., mechanic),
suggest these workers have less control over how they balance work and non-work domains.
Indeed, Pocock (2005) argues that work-life issues are not about policy initiatives on the
incidental sidelines of human resource management, but go to basic issues like hours worked.
The shortfall in rights and benefits associated with casual, low-skilled or semi-skilled work in
particular, compared with permanent employment, is particularly sharp because it lacks
tenure, offers no career path, and is associated with low present and uncertain future income
(Junor 1998; Harley and Whitehouse 2001; Pocock, Buchanan and Campbell 2004). This
lesser personal control over the timing and location of work may lead to a reduced emphasis
on these occupations as sources of data because there is less scope to recommend changes to
HRM policies and practice which would improve opportunities for work-life balance. A
similarity bias may also be operating, whereby the terrain of these jobs is unfamiliar to
academic researchers who are usually high skilled, professional workers themselves, and who
may therefore tend to conduct research on occupational groups similar to their own. Indeed,
tertiary education sector employees (mainly academic/faculty staff, not including students or
alumni samples) were used as respondents in around 10% of reviewed studies.
Even in random, population samples which (presumably) did include groups of more
vulnerable employees, few studies compared work-life balance outcomes specifically for
different occupational or industry groups. Rather, analyses were more likely to focus on
differences in parental status, caring commitments or employment attitudes. Clarke et al.
(2004) argue that perceptions of work-family balance are more influenced by psychological
factors such as job satisfaction which may be more relevant to employees in professional jobs,
whereas structural factors such as working hours and the household division of labour tend to
influence other constructs such as work-family fit, which may be more relevant to the low
skilled labour force. Thus, although the potential for furthering understanding of salient work-
life balance issues for professional/managerial groups is unlikely to be exhausted, future
research should be more even-handed in its examination of precarious and vulnerable
employees who often find it more difficult to achieve balance than those in more privileged
jobs.
In a similar way to the use of high-skilled occupations in participant groups, studies
that selected specific organizations for enquiry (i.e. not population-based surveys), tended to
include those in sectors where office workers and professionals predominate. The most
frequent industry category identified was Education, which was targeted for sample selection
in one-fifth of all studies using organization-based samples. Samples in the category
Government, administration and defence were also frequently accessed (one-sixth of all
studies), while the industries Health and Community, Finance and Insurance, Communication,
Manufacturing, and Property and Business were moderately targeted. Samples derived from
the remaining industry categories were much less frequent (see Table 4). In sum, samples of
organizations employing relatively larger proportions of professional employees were over-
represented in study samples at the expense of organizations employing a low-skilled or semi-
skilled workforce. This suggests that the organizations sampled in much work-life balance
research are not representative of the population of organizations to which they purport to
generalize.
Geographic regions
Data for the majority of studies (N = 227) were collected in one of 36 different countries.
More than half of these studies (58.3%) were carried out in North America (mainly the United
States and to a lesser extent, Canada). The next most represented regions were Australia and
the South Pacific, the United Kingdom and Ireland, Western Europe and the Nordic countries.
Less than 5% of studies were conducted in Asia and no samples were drawn from South
America or Africa (See Table 4). Hence, work-life balance continues to be studied
predominately in industrialized countries and that there is ample scope for broadening work-
life balance research to politically and culturally diverse areas, particularly Africa, South and
Latin America and the Middle East. The paucity of research arising from these regions, even
in non-English publications, reflects a significant bias, and more importantly, findings which
only apply to workers in those countries. This Western-centrism has also been identified in
reviews of other disciplines and areas of interest (e.g. Suzuki 2004).
In contrast to single-country studies, fifteen publications (6%) collected data from
multiple countries, 12 of which compared and contrasted variables across culturally diverse
regions such as India, Indonesia, Mexico and Taiwan. The remaining three cross-national
studies compared data from two or more similar countries (e.g. England and Scotland). The
few cross-cultural studies provide exemplars for future research. For example, Poster and
Prasad (2005) explored trans-cultural work-family relations between the United States and
India, to address what they argued were several shortcomings in the literature, including
socio-historical located trends and institutions, and systems of power and inequality that
shape their enactment and implementation. Barnett, Del Campo, Del Campo and Steiner
(2003) also critiqued the focus on middle-class Anglo-American samples and explored the
ability of working class Mexican-Americans to balance work and family. Cross-cultural
comparisons of work-life balance issues address not only the problems faced in diverse
regions themselves, but may also better illuminate the types of structures that differentially
impact on work-life balance in industrialized nations. That is, the greater contrast in political,
economic, cultural and employment variables than those in single-country studies may
provide important insights into hypothesized relationships between the phenomena
investigated.
Sampling strategies
Equally as important as the characteristics of the samples was how they were chosen.
Sampling for quantitative studies consisted mainly of probability techniques (random
sampling, stratified random sampling) from sources including (i) sub-samples of larger,
national data sets (e.g. the US ‘National Study of the Changing Workforce (NSCW)’, the
‘Finnish 10 Town Study’); (ii) one selected organization (e.g., non-academic university staff);
(iii) a group of organizations in the same industry (e.g., nurses working in different hospitals);
or (iv) a comparison of different organizations (e.g., information technology, finance). Other
quantitative papers generated samples from groups gathered together for a specific purpose, or
from membership lists of people who shared a common qualification or interest. These
samples included tertiary student classes (e.g. part-time MBA students), professional
development groups (e.g., plenary session attendees), parent lists (e.g. from schools or care
facilities), professional memberships or university alumni lists (see Table 4).
Non-probability sampling strategies were more common in qualitative publications,
with the exception of snowball sampling, which was used in nine quantitative studies and
three qualitative studies. Four qualitative papers stated that they used a convenience sampling
technique whereby at least one of the authors approached known contacts to participate in the
research. No quantitative studies referred to the use of convenience sampling, even for student
samples; however, few described how organizations or group lists were identified or chosen
to be the sample of interest. Twenty-five qualitative studies utilised purposeful (or theoretical)
sampling, where potential respondents were individually chosen from a larger group and
contacted to be part of the sample because they were thought to be theoretically relevant to
the phenomenon in question. The other sampling strategy utilized in qualitative studies was a
self-selection process whereby the researchers advertised the study at certain venues such as
shopping centres and in newspapers, requesting potential respondents to volunteer to
participate in the research (N = 8). Three additional qualitative studies contacted potential
respondents via a pre-existing list such as members of a professional organization (N = 3).
Qualitative research has attracted substantial criticism for its use of non-probability
sampling techniques which limits the generalizability of findings (Cavana, Delahaye and
Sekaran 2000; Mason 2002). More fundamentally, a misunderstanding prevails that
qualitative research methods are at best preliminary to real science (Frommer and Rennie
2006). However, while the vast majority of quantitative studies reviewed for this paper
referred to the use of probability sampling (e.g., random, stratified-random) in their methods
sections, few described how organizations or group lists were identified or chosen to be the
location of interest. This choice of organization and location constitutes a first stage of
sampling, before the selection of potential respondents within the organization itself, yet most
studies are silent on this process. By necessity, many organizations targeted for work-life
balance research, indeed, most work-related research, are chosen because the researchers have
known contacts within the organization or because they are conveniently located. We argue
that this convenience aspect to the selection of organizations for employment research should
be more transparent, giving the reader a more honest account of all stages in the sampling
process.
Limitations of the study
The limitations of this review are related firstly to the parameters applied to the selection of
material used for analysis and secondly, to the components of the studies investigated. In
relation to the parameters used, we only reviewed journal articles and not published books,
conference papers or other refereed or non-refereed sources. Our findings and conclusions,
therefore, are confined to published journal articles and it is possible that the same sampling
strengths and limitations are not applicable to other scholarly material. The search strategy
was also limited to certain terms (work-life balance, work/family interference and so on)
employed as key words and within two widely-used, electronic academic databases.
Inevitably, any search strategy will exclude a range of articles which could potentially
encompass the broader work and family/life literature. Indeed, the overlap in articles included
in two recent reviews in the area and published in the same journal (Ford, Heinen and
Langkamer 2007; Casper et al. 2007) was less than 28%. However, our search strategy was
meticulous within the parameters defined and similar trends were found in this and previous
studies, suggesting a substantial degree of generalizability across the literature as a whole.

We also excluded articles not written in English, which resulted in the majority of
publications being derived from English-speaking countries. This practice of excluding
publications that are not published in English is referred to by Gregoire, Derderian and Le
Lorier (1995) as the ‘Tower of Babel Bias’. The term is derived from a biblical narrative in
Genesis and refers to the differential outcomes of meta-analyses that use English-only articles
compared to those that include all articles in the area of interest. Although we did refer to
additional articles published in other languages and found relatively few additional papers,
and even fewer non-European language studies, it is acknowledged that other non-English
articles are likely to be published in journals which may be peer-reviewed but are more
localized in their readership, and were therefore not available on the databases used for this
study. Thus, our conclusions about the Anglo-centric nature of work-life balance research are
limited to publications having an international readership.
The research questions were limited to sampling and measurement issues at the
expense of other potentially important aspects of the work-life balance literature, such as the
theoretical orientations used as a framework for each publication, analytic techniques utilized
and the findings of the research. This strategy of limiting the scope of the study was necessary
to comprehensively address strengths and weaknesses of the selected categories while
meeting the length requirements of a single publication. However, it would be useful in future
work to compare any differential impacts of choices in methods, such as sample
characteristics and selection and/or the types of constructs operationalized, on work-life
balance outcomes across the literature.
Conclusions
This study reviewed methodological choices in empirical work-life balance papers published
in a range of discipline-based peer-reviewed journals between 1987 and 2006, extending the
current understanding of methodological choices beyond those reported elsewhere (Casper et
al. 2007; Eby et al. 2005). For example, the results of our study demonstrated the dramatic
increase in research interest since 2003, as well as the wider knowledge base of work-
family/life research across multi-disciplinary areas beyond the North American IO-OB
literature. International journals and disciplinary areas outside IO-OB have favoured
qualitative approaches with a stronger emphasis on the perspectives of women. Despite these
distinctions in focus, work-life balance research has the potential to be further expanded and
developed, particularly in non-industrialized countries with a greater emphasis placed on
cross-cultural comparisons of phenomena. Further, even with the recent increase in studies
across more diverse disciplinary areas, we know relatively little about work and family issues
for single and same-sex parent families, for manual and lower-skilled service workers, and for
employees providing eldercare. Targeting these under-researched samples, applying research
to cross-cultural contexts and undertaking more specific comparative analysis in large, diverse
samples would better identify the conditions under which work-life balance theories operate,
and would address the over-generalization which exists in the majority of research to date.
Finally, researchers should be more transparent in providing rationales for their choices of
organizations or group lists used to target respondents.
The results of our study showed that the literature is dominated by studies employing a
‘conflict’ approach, with few employing a ‘balance’ perspective, even if this was the
overarching aim, thereby demonstrating that establishing consistency between the
conceptualization of constructs and the operationalization of measures requires greater
attention. ‘Work-family’ in contrast to ‘work-life’ interactions remained strong in the review
studies, despite the use of ‘work-life’ in key words. These foci should be considered distinct
research areas as they imply different emphases and measures. Results also showed that
research employing positive frameworks such as balance and enrichment have so far been
studied mainly using qualitative methods, possibly because of a lack of strong theoretical
frameworks and validated instruments. Recent publications in the area (Greenhaus et al.
2003; Greenhaus and Powell 2006) should mark the beginning of more quantitative studies of
work-life/family balance in the future. For quantitative research on work-family conflict,
Netemeyer et al. (1996) offer a short and valid measure of work-family/family-work conflict,
and Carlson et al. (2000) offer a sound multidimensional instrument. Finally, the scarcity of
well-designed experimental or quasi-experimental research suggests ample scope for well-
designed field experiments to establish more clearly causal relationships between variables.
Addressing these limitations in the application of research methodology in the future will
strengthen the empirical evidence base of work-life balance research from which policy and
practice are developed.

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Australia: Evidence, Past Treatment and Future Policy’, Australian Bulletin of Labour,
30(1), 16-32.
Poelmans, S., Spector, P.E., Cooper, C.L., Allen, T.D., O'Driscoll, M., and Sanchez, J.I.
(2003), ‘A Cross-National Comparative Study of Work/family Demands and
Resources’, International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 3(3), 275-288.
Poster, W.R., and Prasad, S. (2005), ‘Work-Family Relations in Transnational Perspective: A
View from High-Tech Firms in India and the United States’, Social Problems, 52(1),
122-146.
Rosenbaum, M., and Cohen, E. (1999), ‘Equalitarian Marriages, Spousal Support,
Resourcefulness, and Psychological Distress Among Israeli Working Women’,
Scandura, T.A., and Williams, E.A. (2000), ‘Research Methodology in Management: Current
Practices, Trends, and Implications for Future Research’, Academy of Management
Journal, 43(6), 1248-1264.
Sherer, P.D., and Coakley, L.A. (1999), ‘Questioning and Developing Your Part-time
Employee Practices’, Workforce, 4-7.
Spencer-Dawe, E. (2005), ‘Lone Mothers in Employment: Seeking Rational Solutions to Role
Strain’, Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 27(3-4), 251–264.

Sullivan, C., and Lewis, S. (2001), ‘Home-based Telework, Gender, and the Synchronization
of Work and Family: Perspectives of Teleworkers and Their Co-Residents’, Gender,
Work and Organization, 8(2), 123-145.
Suzuki, A. (2004, ‘Review of the Gender Research in Cross-Cultural Psychology Since 1990:
Conceptual Definitions and Methodology’, Japanese Journal of Psychology, 75(2),
160-172.
Thompson, C.A., Beauvais, L.L., and Lyness, K.S. (1999), ‘When Work-Family Benefits Are
Not Enough: The Influence of Work-Family Culture on Benefit Utilization,
Organizational Attachment, and Work-Ffamily Conflict’, Journal of Vocational
Behavior, 54(3), 392-415.
Thornthwaite, L. (2004), ‘Working Time and Work-Family Balance: A Review of
Employees’ Preferences’, Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 42(2), 166-184.
Tuten, T., and August, R. (2006), ‘Work-Family Conflict: A Study of Lesbian Mothers’,
Women in Management Review, 21(7), 578-597.
Wang, P., Lawler, J.J., Walumbwa, F.O., and Shi, K. (2004), ‘Work-Family Conflict and Job
Withdrawal Intentions: The Moderating Effect of Cultural Differences’, International
Journal of Stress Management, 11(4), 392-412.
Warren, T. (2004). ‘Working Part-Time: Achieving a Successful “Work-life” Balance?’,
British Journal of Sociology, 55(1), 99-122.
Wise, S., and Bond, S. (2003), ‘Work-Life Policy: Does It Do Exactly What It Says on the
Tin?’, Women in Management Review, 18(1/2), 20-31.

Dramatic
Increase since
Table 1. Frequencies of articles by journals over time 2003
Year of Publication Total 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06
Journals NOT Selected by Casper et al. 2007
Career Development International 3 1 2
Construction Management and Economics 3 2 1
Human Relations 3 1 1 1
New Zealand Journal of Psychology 3 1 1 1
Community, Work and Family 4 1 2 1
International Journal of Stress Management 4 1 2 1
Journal of Marriage and Family 4 1 1 1 1
Women in Management Review 4 1 3
Equal Opportunities International 6 4 2
Journal of Family and Economic Issues 6 2 1 2 1
Journal of Family Issues 8 6 2
TOTAL 195 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 5 1 1 2 3 2 0 10 4 15 41 62 44
Journals Included in Both the Current Study and in Casper et al., 2007
Journal of Applied Psychology 5 1 1 2 1
Journal of Business and Psychology 3 1 1 1
Journal of Occupational and Organizational
Psychology 3 3
Journal of Occupational Health Psychology 14 2 5 1 2 1 3
Journal of Vocational Behavior 24 1 2 1 2 3 1 1 2 3 1 2 5
Organizational Behavior and Human
Decision Processes 1 1
Grand Total 50 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 1 0 8 1 2 2 5 3 6 8
Note: Only journals that published more than threework and family articles during 1987 and 2003 are listed in this table. Total number of articles
reflects the entire collection of articles, including those journals that published one work and family article during this period.
Table 2. Summaries of constructs over time for qualitative and quantitative Studies
QUANT QUAL
Work/Family or Work/Life 189 56
work/family 172 41
work/life (first published in 2003) 17 15
Conflict/Spillover/
140 17
Interference (Total)
Conflict 113
Interference 23
Spillover 15
Role Overload 6
Two directional conceptualization of conflict 60
as a framework 7
IV 28 3
DV 96 7
construct development 2
construct Validation 2
correlates 2
Mediator (Conceptualised not tested) 2
Mediator (Truly tested) 2
Studied of both Antecedents and Consequences, but not

4
conceptualized as a true mediator
Scale development and validation 2

Balance (including those measures as satisfaction, wellbeing and
31 33
functioning)
as a goal 24
IV 4
DV 22 9
construct development 1
DV-work and family satisfaction, well being, functioning 4
Facilitation/enrichment/positive spillover 3
Table 3. Sample characteristics and strategies
Category Codable Studies N %

(of codable studies)
Gender of sample 200 (81%)
Female-only 39 19.5
Male-only 8 4.0
Mainly female 39 19.5
Mainly male 40 20.0
Gender balanced 74 37.0
Family Characteristics 233 (95%)
Mixed family types 146 62.2
Parents (targeted specifically) 61 26.2
Partnered, with or without 23 9.9
children
Single parents 2 .9
Same-sex parents 1 .4
Targeted Occupations 145 (59%)
High skilled professional, 65 44.9
technical or managerial
Lower skilled service/ 15 10.4
clerical workers
Manual workers 11 7.5
High skilled + low skilled 11 7.5
service/clerical workers
Manual + high skilled + 43 29.7
low skilled
Industries 204 (83%)
Education 39 19.1
Gov, admin, defense 32 15.7
Health and community 24 11.8
Finance and insurance 23 11.3
Communication 19 9.3
Manufacturing 18 8.8
Property and business 15 7.3
Retail trade 9 4.4

Personal and other services 7 3.4
Construction 5 2.4
Accommodation, cafes, restaurants 5 2.4
Wholesale trade 2 1.0
Transport and storage 2 1.0
Cultural and recreational 2 1.0
Primary Industry 1 .5
Mining 1 .5
Electricity, gas and water 0 0
Geographic region 242 (98%)
Single Country
North America 141 58.3
Australia/Sth Pacific 24 9.9
UK and Ireland 19 7.9
Western Europe 16 6.6
Nordic Countries 10 4.1
Asia 11 4.6
Middle East 5 2.1
Mexico/Central America 1 0.4
Cross-cultural studies 12 4.9
Cross-national studies 3 1.2
Sampling strategy 240 (98%)a
Probability
Population 37 14.9
Organisation/industry sample 104 41.9
Non-probability
Contact list or student group 59 23.8
Snowball 12 4.8
Purposeful/theoretical 25 10.1
Convenience 4 1.6
Self-selection 8 3.2
a
Note. Ns equal greater than total as some studies used more than one sampling strategy
Table 4. Measures used
Measurement Used Total 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06

Grand Total 190 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 5 4 4 3 3 9 1 8 6 15 34 49 41
developed for paper 48 1 2 1 1 4 2 1 2 10 12 12
not specified 35 1 1 1 1 2 3 8 10 8
Carlson, Kacmar, and Williams, 2000 17 1 1 1 4 1 1 8
Netemeyer et al. 1996 14 5 7 2
Frone, Russel and Cooper (1992) 10 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 1
Greenhaus and Beutell 1985 3 1 1 1
Kopelman, Greenhaus and Connolly (1983) 10 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2
Kopelman et al. 1983 and Burley 1989 3 1 1 1
Burley 1989 1 1
Gutek et al. 1991 6 1 1 1 2 1
Bohen and Viveros-Long 1981 6 1 1 1 2 1
Burke et al. 1979 5 1 1 1 1 1
Small and Riley 1990 5 1 1 1 2
SWING (SurveyWork /home Interaction Nijmegen;
Geurts et al., 2005). 5 3 2
Hill 5 1 1 2 1
Thompson et al. (1993 and 1999) 4 1 3
Sloan Work–Family Researchers Electronic Network
(MacDermid, 2000). 3 1 2
Kelloway et al. 1992; 1999 3 1 1 1
Note. Only measures cited more than 3 times are summarized in this table.
APPENDIX A: REFERENCES FOR ARTICLES REVIEWED
Adams, G.A., and Jex, S.M. (1999), ‘Relationships Between Time Management,
Control, Work-Family Conflict, and Strain’, Journal of Occupational Health
Adams, G.A., King, L.A., and King, D.W. (1996), ‘Relationships of Job and Family
Involvement, Family Social Support, and Work-Family Conflict with Job and
Life Satisfaction’, Journal of Applied Psychology, 81(4), 411-420.
Albion, M.J. (2004), ‘A Measure of Attitudes Towards Flexible Work Options’,
Australian Journal of Management, 29(2), 275-294.
Allen, T.D., and Armstrong, J. (2006), ‘Further Examination of the Link Between
Work-Family Conflict and Physical Health The Role of Health-Related
Behaviors’, American Behavioral Scientist, 49(9), 1204-1221.
Armenti, C. (2004), ‘Women Faculty Seeking Tenure and Parenthood: Lessons from
Previous Generations’, Cambridge Journal of Education, 34(1), 65.
Aycan, Z., and Eskin, M. (2005), ‘Relative Contributions of Childcare, Spousal
Support, and Organizational Support in Reducing Work-Family Conflict for
Men and Women: The Case of Turkey’, Sex Roles, 53(7/8), 453-471.
Balmforth, K., and Gardner, D. (2006), ‘Conflict and Facilitation between Work and
Family: Realizing the Outcomes for Organizations’, New Zealand Journal of
Barnett, K.A., Del Campo, R.L., Del Campo, D.S., and Steiner, R.L. (2003), ‘Work
and Family Balance Among Dual-Earner Working-Class Mexican-Americans:
Implications for Therapists’, Contemporary Family Therapy: An International
Journal, 25(4), 353-366.

Barrah, J.L., Shultz, K.S., Baltes, B., and Stolz, H.E. (2004), ‘Men’s and Women’s
Eldercare-Based Work-Family Conflict: Antecedents and Work-Related
Outcomes’, Fathering, 2(3), 305-330.
Beeny, C., Guthrie, V.L., Rhodes, G.S., and Terrell, P.S. (2005), ‘Personal and
Professional Balance Among Senior Student Affairs Officers: Gender
Differences in Approaches and Expectations’, College Student Affairs Journal,
24(2), 137.
Berg, P., Kalleberg, A.L., and Appelbaum, E. (2003), ‘Balancing Work and Family:
The Role of High-commitment Environments’, Industrial Relations: A
Journal of Economy and Society, 42(2), 168-188.
Biggs, A., and Brough, P. (2005), ‘Investigating the Moderating Influences of Gender
upon Role Salience and Work-Family Conflict’, Equal Opportunities
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Bird, G.W., and Schnurman-Crook, A. (2005), ‘Professional Identity and Coping
Behaviors in Dual-Career Couples’, Family Relations, 54(1), 145.
Blair-Loy, M., and Wharton, A.S. (2004), ‘Organizational Commitment and
Constraints on Work-Family Policy Use: Corporate Flexibility Policies in a
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Boles, J.S., Johnston, M.W., and Hair, J.F.J. (1997), ‘Role Stress, Work-Family
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Bolino, M.C., and Turnley, W.H. (2005), ‘The Personal Costs of Citizenship
Behavior: The Relationship Between Individual Initiative and Role Overload,

Job Stress, and Work-Family Conflict’, Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(4),
740-748.
Bolton, C. (2005), ‘The Role of Mentors in Our Personal and Professional Lives’
College Student Affairs Journal, 24(2), 180.
Bond, S. (2004), ‘Organizational Culture and Work-Life Conflict in the UK’, The
International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 24(12), 1.
Boyar, S.L., Maertz, J., Carl P., and Pearson, A.W. (2005), ‘The Effects of Work-
Family Conflict and Family-Work Conflict on Nonattendance Behaviors’,
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Bragger, J., Rodriguez-Srednicki, O., Kutcher, E., Indovino, L., and Rosner, E.
(2005), ‘Work-Family Conflict, Work-family Culture, and Organizational
Citizenship Behavior Among Teachers’, Journal of Business and Psychology,
20(2), 303-324.
Brennan, E.M., and Poertner, J. (1997), ‘Balancing the Responsibilities of Work and
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Britt, T.W., and Dawson, C.R. (2005), ‘Predicting Work-Family Conflict from
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Study’, Military Psychology, 17(3), 203.
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General Well-Being: A Replication and Extension, International Journal of
Stress Management, 12(3), 203-221.
Brough, P. (2005), ‘A Comparative Investigation of the Predictors of Work-Related
Psychological Well-Being within Police, Fire and Ambulance Workers’, New
Zealand Journal of Psychology, 34(2), 127-134.

Brough, P., O'Driscoll, M.P., and Kalliath, T.J. (2005), ‘The Ability of “Family
Friendly” Organizational Resources to Predict Work-Family Conflict and Job
and Family Satisfaction’, Stress and Health: Journal of the International
Society for the Investigation of Stress, 21(4), 223-234.
Bruck, C.S., and Allen, T.D. (2003), ‘The Relationship Between Big Five Personality
Traits, Negative Affectivity, Type A Behavior, and Work-Family Conflict’,
Bruck, C.S., Allen, T.D., and Spector, P.E. (2002), ‘The Relation Between Work-
Family Conflict and Job Satisfaction: A Finer-Grained Analysis’, Journal of
Buffardi, L.C., Smith, J.L., O'Brien, A.S., and Erdwins, C.J. (1999), ‘The Impact of
Dependent-Care Responsibility and Gender on Work Attitudes’, Journal of
Bullock, H.E., and Waugh, I.M. (2004), ‘Caregiving Around the Clock: How Women
in Nursing Manage Career and Family Demands’, The Journal of Social
Issues, 60(4), 767.
Burke, R.J. (1988), ‘Some Antecedents and Consequences of Work-Family Conflict’,
Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 3(4), 287-302.
Burke, R.J. (1998), ‘Work and Non-Work Stressors and Well-Being Among Police
Officers: The Role of Coping’, Anxiety, Stress and Coping: An International
Journal, 11(4), 345-362.
Burke, R.J., Burgess, Z., and Oberrlaid, F. (2004), ‘Do Male Psychologists Benefit
from Organizational Values Supporting Work-Personal Life Balance?’, Equal
Opportunities International, 23(1/2), 97.

Burke, R.J., and Greenglass, E.R. (1999), ‘Work-Family Conflict, Spouse Support,
and Nursing Staff Well-Being During Organizational Restructuring’, Journal
of Occupational Health Psychology, 4(4), 327-336.
Burke, R.J., and Greenglass, E.R. (2001), ‘Hospital Restructuring Stressors, Work-
Family Concerns and Psychological Well-Being Among Nursing Staff’,
Burke, R.J., Oberklaid, F., and Burgess, Z. (2003), ‘Organizational Values, Work
Experiences, and Satisfactions Among Australian Psychologists’,
International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 11(2), 123.
Buzzanell, P.M., Meisenbach, R., Remke, R., Liu, M., Bowers, V., and Conn, C.
(2005), ‘The Good Working Mother: Managerial Women's Sensemaking and
Feelings About Work-Family Issues’, Communication Studies, 56(3), 261.
Byron, K. (2005), ‘A Meta-Analytic Review of Work-family Conflict and Its
Antecedents’, Journal of Vocational Behavior, 67(2), 169-198.
Cannon, D.F. (1998), ‘Better Understanding the Impact of Work Interferences on
Organizational Commitment’, Marriage and Family Review, 28(1), 153-166.
Carlson, D.S. (1999), ‘Personality and Role Variables as Predictors of Three Forms of
Work-Family Conflict’, Journal of Vocational Behavior, 55(2), 236-253.
Carlson, D.S., Derr, C.B., and Wadsworth, L.L. (2003), ‘The Effects of Internal
Career Orientation on Multiple Dimensions of Work-Family Conflict’,
Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 24(1), 99-116.
Carlson, D.S., and Frone, M.R. (2003), ‘Relation of Behavioral and Psychological
Involvement to a New Four-Factor Conceptualization of Work-Family
Interference’, Journal of Business and Psychology, 17(4), 515-535.

Carlson, D.S., Kacmar, K.M., Wayne, J.H., and Grzywacz, J.G. (2006), ‘Measuring
the Positive Side of the Work-Family Interface: Development and Validation
of a Work-Family Enrichment Scale’, Journal of Vocational Behavior, 68(1),
131.
Carlson, D.S., Kacmar, K.M., and Williams, L.J. (2000), ‘Construction and Initial
Validation of a Multidemensional Measure of Work-Family Conflict’, Journal
of Vocational Behavior, 56(2), 249-276.
Cinamon, R.G. (2006), ‘Preparing Minority Adolescents to Blend Work and Family
Roles: Increasing Work-Family Conflict Management Self Efficacy’,
International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, 28(1), 79-94.
Cinamon, R.G., and Rich, Y. (2005), ‘Work-Family Conflict Among Female
Teachers’, Teaching and Teacher Education, 21(4), 365-378.
Clark, S.C. (2002), ‘Employees’ Sense of Community, Sense of Control, and
Work/Family Conflict in Native American Organizations’, Journal of
Clarke, M.C., Koch, L.C., and Hill, E.J. (2004), ‘The Work-Family Interface:
Differentiating Balance and Fit’, Family and Consumer Sciences Research
Journal, 33(2), 121-140.
Connell, R.W. (2005), ‘A Really Good Husband: Work/Life Balance, Gender Equity
and Social Change’, Australian Journal of Social Issues, 40(3), 369.
Cousins, C.R., and Tang, N. (2004), ‘Working Time and Work and Family Conflict in
the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK’, Work, Employment and Society, 18(3),
531.
D'Abate, C.P. (2005), ‘Working Hard or Hardly Working: A Study of Individuals
Engaging in Personal Business on the Job’, Human Relations, 58(8), 1009.

Dallimore, E., and Mickel, A. (2006), ‘Quality of Life: Obstacles, Advice, and
Employer Assistance’, Human Relations, 59(1), 61.
Damiano-Teixeira, K.M. (2006), ‘Managing Conflicting Roles: A Qualitative Study
with Female Faculty Members’, Journal of Family and Economic Issues,
27(2), 310.
Day, A.L., and Chamberlain, T.C. (2006), ‘Committing to Your Work, Spouse, and
Children: Implications for Work-Family Conflict’, Journal of Vocational
Behavior, 68(1), 116-130.
De Bruin, A., and Dupuis, A. (2004), ‘Work-Life Balance?: Insights from Non-
Standard Work’, New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 29(1), 21.
De Cieri, H., Holmes, B., Abbott, J., and Pettit, T. (2005), ‘Achievements and
Challenges for Work/Life Balance Strategies in Australian Organizations’,
International Journal of Human Resource Management, 16(1), 90-103.
de Luis Carnicer, M.P., Sanchez, A.M., Perez, M.P., and Jimenez, M.J.V. (2004),
‘Work-Family Conflict in a Southern European Country: The Influence of
Job-Related and Non-Related factors’, Journal of Managerial Psychology,
19(5), 466.
Delgado, E.A., and Canabal, M.E. (2006), ‘Factors Associated with Negative
Spillover from Job to Home Among Latinos in the United States’, Journal of
Family and Economic Issues, 27(1), 92.
Delgado, E.A., Canabal, M.E., and Serrano, E. (2004), ‘Work and Family Balance
Among Latinos in the U.S.: Barriers and Facilitators’, Journal of Family and
Consumer Sciences, 96(3), 26.

Demerouti, E., Bakker, A.B., and Bulters, A.J. (2004), ‘The Loss Spiral of Work
Pressure, Work-Home Interference and Exhaustion: Reciprocal Relations in a
Three-Wave Study’, Journal of Vocational Behavior, 64(1), 131.
Demerouti, E., Geurts, S.A.E., Bakker, A.B., and Euwema, M. (2004), ‘The Impact of
Shiftwork on Work-Home Conflict, Job Attitudes and Health’, Ergonomics,
47(9), 987.
Demerouti, E., Geurts, S.A.E., and Kompier, M. (2004), ‘Positive and Negative
Work-Home Interaction: Prevalence and Correlates’, Equal Opportunities
International, 23(1/2), 6.
Dex, S., and Bond, S. (2005), ‘Measuring Work-Life Balance and Its Covariates’,
Work, Employment and Society, 19(3), 627-637.
Dilworth, J.E.L., and Kingsbury, N. (2005), ‘Home-to-Job Spillover for Generation
X, Boomers, and Matures: A Comparison’, Journal of Family and Economic
Issues, 26(2), 267.
Dixon, M.A., Bruening, J.E., Mazerolle, S.M., Davis, A., Crowder, J., and Lorsbach,
M. (2006), ‘Career, Family, or Both? A Case Study of Young Professional
Baseball Players’, Nine, 14(2), 80.
Drew, E., and Murtagh, E.M. (2005), ‘Work/Life Balance: Senior Management
Champions or Laggards?’, Women in Management Review, 20(3/4), 262.
Duxbury, L., and Higgins, C. (1994), ‘Interference Between Work and Family: A
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Employee Assistance Quarterly, 9(3), 55-80.
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Dual-Career Couples: An Australian Study’, Cross Cultural Management,
11(4), 17-27.
Elloy, D.F., and Smith, C.R. (2003), ‘Patterns of Stress, Work-Family Conflict, Role
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Friendly? Employer Accommodations, Parenting, and Children's
Socioemotional Well-Being’, Sociological Quarterly, 45(4), 637.
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of the 35-hour Laws in France’, Work, Employment and Society, 18(3), 551-
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Foley, S., Hang-Yue, N., and Lui, S. (2005), ‘The Effects of Work Stressors,
Perceived Organizational Support, and Gender on Work-Family Conflict in
Hong Kong’, Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 22(3), 237-256.
Forret, M., and de Janasz, S. (2005), ‘Perceptions of an Organization’s Culture for
Work and Family: Do Mentors Make a Difference?’, Career Development
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Fox, G., Schwartz, A., and Hart, K.M. (2006), ‘Work-Family Balance and Academic
Advancement in Medical Schools’, Academic Psychiatry, 30(3), 227-234.
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Frame, M.W., and Shehan, C.L. (2005), ‘The Relationship Between Work and Well-
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‘Sources of Work-Family Conflict Among Two-career Couples’, Journal of
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Guendouzi, J. (2006), ‘“The Guilt Thing”: Balancing Domestic and Professional
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Guthrie, V.L., Woods, E., Cusker, C., and Gregory, M. (2005), ‘A Portrait of Balance:
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Methodological Choices in Work-Life Balance Research 1987 to 2006: A

Article in The International Journal of Human Resource Management · October 2010

Artemis Chang Paula Mcdonald

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Chang, Artemis and McDonald, Paula K. and Burton, Pauline M. (2009)

© Copyright 2009 Taylor & Francis

METHODOLOGICAL CHOICES IN WORK-LIFE BALANCE RESEARCH 1987 TO 2006:

Artemis Chang, Paula McDonald, Pauline Burton

Queensland University of Technology

GPO Box 2434, Brisbane, Queensland 4001, Australia

Tel: (61) 7 3138 2522

Fax: (61) 7 3864 1313

e-mail: a2.chang@qut.edu.au; p.mcdonald@qut.edu.au; p.burton@qut.edu.au

METHODOLOGICAL CHOICES IN WORK-LIFE BALANCE RESEARCH 1987 TO 2006:

METHODOLOGICAL CHOICES IN WORK-LIFE BALANCE RESEARCH 1987 TO 2006:

from significant demographic and technological shifts in industrialized societies. Fundamental

knowledge base are critical because any foundational understanding of a phenomenon is

bounded by these choices. We investigated questions around how variations of work-life

through which to interpret and utilize the current work-life literature.

Despite the significant implications of methodological choices, systematic analyses of

characteristics’, with recommendations for future research directions.

Constructs and measures in the work-life balance literature

subject of recent international, multidisciplinary conferences and commonly appearing in the

and Bond 2005).

and Stites-Doe 2006). The second is ‘conflict’ or ‘interference’, which is understood as

operationalized as outcome or dependent variables, compared to input or independent

typically characterized the work-family literature (Pitt-Catsouphes and Christensen 2004),

et al. 1999; Allen 2001; McDonald, Brown and Bradley 2005).

Critiques of sampling issues

Casper et al. (2007) reviewed a range of socio-demographic characteristics of samples,

descriptions of work-family research. This pattern of results highlights the difficulty of

research conducted in Anglo-Saxon countries is problematic because findings cannot

been empirically determined.

The following research questions were explored:

investigated and how are they operationalized?

3. What characteristics do samples have?

a. What sample sizes were used?

c. How do these samples correspond with populations of interest?

4. In which countries / geographic regions were studies typically situated?

Database search and criteria for inclusion

review board whose academic affiliation is identified, before 31 December 2006.

another language with only the abstract available in English).

balance; work-life conflict; work-family conflict; work-life interference; work-family

interference; work-life culture; work-family culture.

Constructs and measurement

for example, ‘Conflict /Interference /Spillover /Role Overload’; ‘Balance’,

‘Enhancement/Enrichment’, ‘Fit’ or ‘Other’ (with specification); (c) whether the study

operationalized as the Independent Variable, Dependant Variable, or Mediator. Multiple

by using a combination of conflict and satisfaction / functioning measures. Two researchers

least 95% for all categories).

longitudinal); (d) quantitative versus qualitative methodology; (e) gender breakdown of

group(s); (h) country of sample; and (i) industry.

is commonly situated. Examples of industry codes included Primary industry; Mining;

in a single study, all industries/occupations were counted.

managerial occupations (corresponding with the ABS categories Managers and

Administrators, Professionals and Associate Professionals); (ii) manual occupations

ABS Clerical Sales and Service Workers categories).

Results and discussion

included non-IO-OB journals, as well as international IO-OB journals such as Psychologia: