This article examines the relationship among work-family conflict and enhancement, organizational work-family culture, and four work outcomes for 489 working women over the age of 50. Survey results from two U.S. health care organizations and one U.S. financial services organization indicate that older working women experience differing amounts of work-to-family conflict, family-to-work conflict, work-to-family enhancement, and family-to-work enhancement. Hypotheses relating organizational work-family culture to work-family conflict and enhancement were partially supported, and hypotheses relating conflict and enhancement to four work outcomes were partially supported. Work-to-family conflict and work-to-family enhancement partially mediate the relationship between organizational work-family culture and selected work outcomes. Implications for theory and practice, limitations of this study, and directions for future research are also presented.

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Purpose -This paper seeks to examine the relationship of a network of social support for midlife women with their attitudes toward work-family balance and work outcomes, including job satisfaction, organisational commitment, and career accomplishment. Design/methodology/approach -A total of 1,089 women between the ages of 35 and 50 across three organizations were surveyed and then 72 of them interviewed. Findings -Results indicate that the women generally received more personal social support than work-based social support and more instrumental than expressive support from all sources. Work-based social support was positively associated with job satisfaction, organisational commitment, and career accomplishment; personal social support was also associated with job satisfaction and organisational commitment. Work-family balance may partially mediate the relationship between social support and work outcomes. Originality/value -Much of what is known about work-life issues centers on the work-family conflicts of younger women with children. Perceptions are explored of work-life balance among women at midlife, an understudied population with significant work and personal responsibilities. This study contributes to research by examining the relationships among the full network of social support, work-family balance, and work-related outcomes, as well as the nature of this support for working women. The combination of quantitative and qualitative methods provides substantive insights into the complexity of these relationships for women at midlife.

Women on average still have more responsibility for home, family life, and child care than men. Extensive research has focused on the needs of, and support required by, these working women, most often exploring related organizational programs and benefits. This paper attempts to remedy this deficiency by examining the roles women perceive their spouses or partners play in these families in sharing home and family responsibilities and supporting the careers of these women. It explores the differences in the roles that women in early, middle, and late life perceive their spouses or partners play. Differences exist in women's perceptions of how spouses or partners manage family finances, support the women's careers, contribute to household management, and provide interpersonal support. Specific roles and the resulting support are related to the life satisfaction, job satisfaction, and work-life balance of some but not all cohorts of the women surveyed.

Purpose -The purpose of this research is to focus on understanding the work-life conflict of never-married women without children. Design/methodology/approach -This study uses survey data from two full-service health care organizations and a financial services organization. Quantitative methodologies were used to address the study's research questions and hypotheses. Findings -The findings show that never-married women without children do experience conflict, specifically work-to-life conflict, and often at similar levels to that experienced by other groups of working women. The findings also suggest that work-life benefits typically provided by organizations are frequently regarded as less important and used less often by never-married women without children than by other working women. Research limitations/implications -Future research should increase the sample of never-married women without children, explore the sources of support these women use in juggling life roles, and incorporate comparative analysis across age and occupation groups as well as with never-married childless men. Practical implications -The research finds that not all employees value or utilize the benefits frequently offered by organizations. Human resource departments cannot assume a "one size fits all" approach to benefit administration but must recognize the unique sources of work-life conflict for an array of employees and develop appropriate strategies to mitigate such conflict. Originality/value -This study contributes to the work-life literature by focusing on a vastly understudied group of employees whose growing presence in the workforce necessitates further exploration. This research advocates expanding the definition of work-life as traditionally defined in the organizational behavior literature, allowing scholars to think more broadly about life roles other than spouse and parent that may have implications for conflict.