In this review, the authors differentiate work—family (WF) research that conceptualizes and measures conflict as a consolidated level versus as a conflict event or episode. They critique the “levels” literature in the areas of conflict, enrichment, and balance. They next review the WF “episodes” literature for the first time. They then introduce a framework that clarifies definitional inconsistencies and integrates the key constructs in the WF literature in a new way. This framework proposes that an employee’s mental conceptualizations relevant to WF roles can be discrepant with actual role enactment or with another mental conceptualization. These discrepancies form one’s level of WF balance or imbalance. The authors recommend that researchers adopt WF balance as the central levels construct, which changes primarily through the occurrence of WF conflict episodes and WF enrichment episodes. They finally discuss research and practical implications of this framework.

Research has explored the role of work—family conflict (WFC), including the antecedents and consequences of this construct. However, few studies have examined the specific role that work—family centrality plays in moderating the relationship between WFC and organizationally related outcomes. Using a sample of 129 employees from a manufacturing plant, we test the moderating influence of work—family centrality on the relationship between WFC and job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and retention. Results indicate that when individuals view work as being more central to their lives, the negative relationships between WFC and organizational attitudes and organizational retention is suppressed.

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