An Organizational Communication Challenge to the Discourse of Work and Family Research: From Problematics to Empowerment

Understanding Work/Life Blending: Credibility Implications for Those Who Date at Work

“…Hoffman and Cowan acknowledge that some may consider this confusion ''trivial'' (p. 231). However, based on past work (e.g., Kirby & Krone, 2002;Kirby, Golden, Medved, Jorgenson, & Buzzanell, 2003;Lewis, Rapoport, & Gambles, 2003;Lobel, Googins, & Bankert, 1999), they argue that the selection of one of these terms over the other has consequences that privilege some people's personal lives over others'. In the present study we refer to Clark's (2000) ''work=family'' border theory as ''work=life'' border theory because ''work=life'' encompasses portions of the workforce that may be single and childless (Hoffman & Cowan, 2008).…”

Be Careful What You Ask For: Structuration Theory and Work/Life Accommodation

“…Yearbook review reinforced, there is a vast array of literature in business, communication, and sociology that addresses the interaction of paid work and family life (Kirby et al, 2003;Golden, Kirby, & Jorgenson, 2006). The findings of the 2003 review suggested a broad range of questions and methods for the study of work=family issues and were critical in crystallizing disciplinary interest in the area.…”

“…First, much of the research in communication and work=life issues could be more accurately described as research on work=family issues. Rather than beginning from an assumption that work=life means work= family=life, we attempt to answer the challenge of Kirby et al (2003) to address a wider range of issues of interest to employees. To this end, we used the terminology work=life rather than work=family as we constructed our survey.…”

“…If individual employee needs are construed and perceived as ''private'' rather than as common needs being understood as ''public,'' then each time an individual employee makes a request, the employee is reinforcing the dichotomy between public and private, between paid work and the rest of life (Kirby et al, 2003;Lewis, Rapoport, & Gambles, 2003). Both of these findings provide additional support for the conclusions of work=life scholars who argue that the current system inhibits the search for alternative meanings and approaches (Lewis & Dyer, 2002;Lewis et al, 2003).…”

“…The relationship between paid work and the rest of life continues to be of interest in both corporate and academic circles (Clark, 2002;Conlin, 2003;Farrell & Geist-Martin, 2005;Gibbs, 2002;Hochschild, 1989Hochschild, , 1997Kirby, Golden, Medved, Jorgenson, & Buzzanell, 2003;Kirby & Krone, 2002;Lewis & Dyer, 2002;Medved, 2004;Moen & Sweet, 2004;Pitt-Casouphes, Swanberg, Bond, & Galinsky, 2004). As individual employees move between organizations with greater frequency, quality work=life programs can serve a recruiting function (Maxwell & McDougall, 2004).…”