Equipping Managers to Assist Employees in Addressing Work-Family Conflict: Applying the Research Literature toward Innovative Practice

Abstract

Although there is a great deal of research documenting that work-family conflict is a problem, the literature offers much less in the way of practical managerial guidance. Equipped with the well-documented premise that support from the immediate supervisor or manager is associated with diminished work-family conflict, the authors aimed to bridge the science–practice gap by articulating (a) the effective ways in which a manager can demonstrate support and (b) what can be done to equip and encourage managers to be supportive. The authors' review draws on leader-member exchange theory and empirical research as well as the emerging work on idiosyncratic deals to derive five recommendations for managerial practice. Recommendations address managerial training, empowerment, and motivation, in addition to the type of context (i.e., supportive work-family culture) and tools (i.e., work-life job analysis) expected to be most useful to a manager's efforts to address employees' work-family conflict.

Notes

A previous version of this article was presented at the 2009 Work, Stress, and Health conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico.