Work—Family Facilitation: Expanding Theoretical Understanding Through Qualitative Exploration

The problem and the solution. Work—family scholarly research is often dominated by a conflict perspective. In this study, employees of a large multinational corporation were asked to describe the positive influences of their work life on their home life and vice versa. Participants most frequently mentioned work place flexibility, financial benefits, and the ability to keep family commitments as important components of work-to-home facilitation. Supportive family relationships, psychological benefits of home, and psychological aspects of work were most frequently identified as important components of family-to-work facilitation. Implications for human resource development professionals are discussed as well as suggestions for future work—family facilitation theory and research.

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