The balancing act between work and family life can be a challenge that affects both the parents and other members of a family. This study investigates the effect of a parent’s experience of work-family conflict on the behavior of the child. Parental well-being and parenting act as mediators, as previous studies have suggested that this relationship does not run directly. Data from 969 children in the Pairfam database were analyzed using structural equation modelling. The results reveal that both directions of work-family conflict (WIF and FIW) have a negative impact on parental well-being, and only the specific negative spillover from family to work (FIW) influencing parenting performance. In addition, although good levels of well-being and adequate parenting have a positive influence on the behavior of children, the specific spillover effects from work responsibilities to the family (WIF) are apparently unrelated to parenting.

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Contrary to approaching work and family as conflictual roles, a shift towards acknowledgement of the positive interaction between work and family has been detected. This research investigated whether married/cohabiting and divorced/separated parents differ in terms of work–family enrichment, considering their gender and relationship status after separation. Data from 3993 married/cohabiting and 1455 divorced/separated parents from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) database were analysed using regression analysis. The results revealed a complex interplay of relationship status and gender. Single mothers experience more work–family enrichment after a break-up than do mothers with a partner. No differences were found for fathers.

This study considers the spillover effect of work-family enrichment in parents on the behaviour of their children. Using a mediation model with parental well-being and parenting styles, the study unravels the associations between a positive perspective on work-life balance and the outcomes in a child’s live. Using 4012 parents from the data of the Australian LSAC (Growing up in Australia), the model shows that children’s behaviour is influenced by parents’ experience of work-family enrichment through parental well-being. Also, parenting performance functions as a mediator between work-family enrichment and the behaviour of the child. Parents show more stimulating parenting behaviour when they experience enrichment between work and their family.