title: Getting There from Here: Research on the Effects of Work-Family Initiatives on Work-Family Conflict and Business Outcomes.
abstract: Many employing organizations have adopted work-family policies, programs, and benefits. Yet managers in employing organizations simply do not know what organizational initiatives actually reduce work-family conflict and how these changes are likely to impact employees and the organization. We examine scholarship that addresses two broad questions: first, do work-family initiatives reduce employees' work-family conflict and/or improve work-family enrichment? Second, does reduced work-family conflict improve employees' work outcomes and, especially, business outcomes at the organizational level? We review over 150 peer-reviewed studies from a number of disciplines in order to summarize this rich literature and identify promising avenues for research and conceptualization. We propose a research agenda based on four primary conclusions: the need for more multi-level research, the necessity of an interdisciplinary approach, the benefits of longitudinal studies that employ quasi-experimental or experimental designs and the challenges of translating research into practice in effective ways.
authors.affiliation: University of Minnesota.
authors.forename: Erin L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.forename: Ellen Ernst
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Kossek
authors.forename: Leslie B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Hammer
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Durham
authors.forename: Jeremy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bray
authors.forename: Kelly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chermack
authors.forename: Lauren A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kaskubar