Work–life balance: A review of the meaning of the balance construct

Abstract

Although the term work–family/life balance is widely employed, an agreed definition of this term has proved elusive. Instead, an array of definitions and measures populate the literature. The variety of work–life definitions and measures provide limited value for both the theoretical advancement of the construct and for practical human resource (HR) interventions. In this article, we review six conceptualisations of work–life balance found in the literature: (1) multiple roles; (2) equity across multiple roles; (3) satisfaction between multiple roles; (4) fulfilment of role salience between multiple roles; (5) a relationship between conflict and facilitation; and (6) perceived control between multiple roles. Based on our review of this research we identify the two primary features of the work–life balance definitions and propose a new definition of this construct.

Organizational interventions for balancing work and home demands: An overview

“…We acknowledge the recent discussions which describe the numerous definitions of work-life balance commonly employed within the literature (e.g., Kalliath & Brough, 2008) and similarly, the discussions focusing on terminology: that is, work-life or work-family (e.g., Fandre, Poposki, Sinha, & Ryan, 2009). Assessment of the interface between multiple life roles has commonly focused on levels of role conflict and enhancement (e.g., Frone, 2003), levels of satisfaction, time, and involvement (e.g., Greenhaus, Collins, & Shaw, 2003) and role salience and expectations (e.g., Carlson, Grzywacz, & Zivnuska, 2009).…”

The new public service? Empirical research on job choice motivation in the nonprofit sector

“…Many organizations seek to assist employees in balancing the demands of work and family. However, a lack of conceptual clarity of the term exists due to its many differing definitions in the existing literature (Kalliath and Brough, 2008). For the purpose of our examination, we define WLB as "the individual perception that work and non-work activities are compatible and promote growth in accordance with an individual's current life priorities" (Kalliath and Brough, 2008, p. 326).…”

Work–life fit: identification of demand and resource typologies within a systems framework*

“…WFB is described as 'the extent to which an individual is equally engaged in -and equally satisfied with -his or her work role and family role' (Greenhaus, Collins and Shaw, 2003, p. 513). However, there remains inconsistency in the way WLB and WFB are defined and applied (Lewis et al, 2007;Reiter, 2007;Kalliath and Brough, 2008). Furthermore, while some studies refer to WLB, they focus only on the work and family domains (for example, Russo et al, 2016), and exclude other domains in which the individual inhabits.…”