Work–Life, Diversity and Intersectionality: A Critical Review and Research Agenda

Abstract

Work-life issues have important implications at both organizational and individual levels. This paper provides a critical review of the work-life literature from 1990 onwards through the lens of diversity, with particular focus on disparities of power induced by methodological and conceptual framings of work and life. Our review seeks to answer the following questions: What are the gaps and omissions in the work-life research? How may they be overcome? To answer these questions we scrutinize blind spots in treatment of life, diversity and power in work-life research both in positivist and critical scholarship. In order to transcend the blind spots in positivist and critical work-life research, we argue the case for an intersectional approach, which captures the changing realities of family and workforce through the lens of diversity and intersectionality. Our theoretical contribution is three fold: First, our review demonstrates that contemporary framing of life in the work-life literature should be expanded to cover aspects of life beyond domestic life. Second, our review explains why and how other strands of diversity than gender also manifest as salient causes of difference in experiences of the work-life interface. Third, our review reveals that social and historical context has more explanatory power on worklife dynamics than micro-individual level of explanations. Work-life literature should capture the dynamism in these contexts. We also provide a set of useful recommendations to capture and operationalize methodological and theoretical changes required in the work-life literature.

Work–Life Balance

“…Because of emerging trends in work-family/work-life research in the United States (Lewis et al, 2007;Ozbilgin, Beauregard, Tatli, & Bell, 2011) and the economic climate of India, this review was divided into two time periods: 1970-1990 and 1991-2015. Both work-family and work-life were used as search terms in each country during the two time periods for dual-earner couples.…”

Work–family attitudes and behaviours among newly immigrant Pakistani expatriates: the role of organizational family-friendly policies

“…The work-life interface literature is often criticized for its limited sample base, with the vast majority of research focusing on the experiences of white women living in nuclear family households in North America, Australia, or the UK (Chang, McDonald, & Burton, 2010;Karimi, 2008;Özbilgin, Beauregard, Tatli, & Bell, 2011). As work and family issues are linked to cultural norms and values (Mortazavi, Pedhiwala, Shafiro, & Hammer, 2009), the research methods employed in this field contribute very little to our understanding of work-life issues among diverse racial and ethnic groups, including immigrant populations, and non-traditional family structures.…”

Les politiques de gestion de la diversité dans les organisations : Proposition de typologie à l’usage des chercheurs et des entreprises

“…Dans ce dernier cas, les caté-gories sont interdépendantes, l'individu peut appartenir à plusieurs catégories, et la définition de la diversité peut évoluer au cours du temps (Dick et Cassell, 2002;Garcia-Prieto et al, 2003). Les politiques de diversité doivent donc prendre en compte la multiplicité des appartenances, en ayant conscience des combinaisons des différentes caractéristiques des individus (ou intersectionnalités) (Cornet, 2010;Özbilgin et al, 2011).…”