Finding an Extra Day a Week: The Positive Influence of Perceived Job Flexibility on Work and Family Life Balance*

This study examines the influence of perceived flexibility in the timing and location of work on work-family balance. Data are from a 1996 International Business Machines (IBM) work and life issues survey in the United States (n = 6,451). Results indicate that perceived job flexibility is related to improved work-family balance after controlling for paid work hours, unpaid domestic labor hours, gender, marital status, and occupational level. Perceived job flexibility appears to be beneficial both to individuals and to businesses. Given the same workload, individuals with perceived job flexibility have more favorable work-family balance. Likewise, employees with perceived job flexibility are able to work longer hours before workload negatively impacts their work-family balance. Implications of these findings are presented. T he demographic composition of the United States workforce has changed dramatically in recent years. This work force now includes more dual-earner couples who have responsibility for the care of children or elderly dependents, as well as more dual-professional couples where both have careers, not just jobs (Bond, Galinsky, & Swanberg, 1998). In addition, extensive downsizing by large corporations has lengthened the average workweek for many employees. The average American worker now spends additional time equivalent to six extra 40hour weeks per year on the job, when compared with the late 1960s (Schor, 1992), and three extra 40-hour weeks compared with just five years ago (Bond et al.). This means that for many, especially for dual-career parents and those with elder-care responsibilities, juggling the demands of the workplace and the home has become a more difficult balancing act. Work-family advocates have long championed the adoption of a variety of family-friendly benefits to positively influence work-family balance (Galinsky, 1992). Flexibility in the timing

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