Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Work-Life Balance: A Quality-of-Life Model

  • Published:
Applied Research in Quality of Life Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Based on a thorough review of the literature we identified four research streams identifying four corresponding factors that play an important in role work-life balance: (1) balanced role commitment, (2) positive spillover, (3) role conflict, and (4) social alienation. Based on these four factors, we classified individuals into four work-life balance groups with differing levels of life satisfaction. We then explained the psychological dynamics of the model by articulating three principles: satisfaction spillover across life domains, need satisfaction quota, and satisfaction from basic plus growth needs. Research and policy implications are also discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alderfer, C. P. (1972). Existence, relatedness, and growth: Human needs in organizational settings. New York: The Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Allen, T. D., Herst, D. E., Bruck, C. S., & Sutton, M. (2000). Consequences associated with work-to-family conflict: A review and agenda for future research. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 5, 278–308.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andrews, F. M., & Withey, S. B. (1976). Social indicators of well-being: America’s perception of life quality. New York: Plenum Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Ashforth, B. E., Kreiner, G. E., & Fugate, M. (2000). All in a day’s work: Boundaries and micro role transitions. Academy of Management Review, 25, 472–491.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barnett, R. C., & Baruch, G. K. (1985). Women’s involvement in multiple roles and psychological distress. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49, 135–145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bedeian, A. G., Mossholder, K. W., & Touliatos, J. (1986). Individual propensities for emotional supportiveness within a dual-career context: Work and non-work reactions. International Journal of Manpower, 7, 7–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burke, R. J. (2003). Organizational values, work experiences, and satisfactions among Australian psychologists. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 11, 123–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, A., Converse, P. E., & Rodgers, W. L. (1976). The quality of American life: Perceptions, evaluations, and satisfactions. New York: Russell Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carlson, D. S., Kacmar, K. M., & Williams, L. J. (2000). Construction and initial validation of a multidimensional measure of work-family conflict. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 56, 249–276.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carlson, D. S., Kacmar, K. M., Wayne, J. H., & Grzywacz, J. G. (2006). Measuring the positive side of the work-family work/family interface: Development and validation of a work-family enrichment scale. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 68, 131–164.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crosby, F. J. (1991). Juggling: The unexpected advantages of balancing career and home for women and their families. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Danna, K., & Griffin, R. W. (1999). Health and well-being in the workplace: A review and synthesis of the literature. Journal of Management, 25, 357–384.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E. (1984). Subjective well-being. Psychological Bulletin, 75, 542–575.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., Ng, W., & Tov, W. (2008). Balance in life and declining marginal utility of diverse resources. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 3, 277–291.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, J. R., & Rothbard, N. P. (2000). Mechanisms linking work and family: Clarifying the relationship between work and family constructs. Academy of Management Review, 25, 178–199.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fredrickson, B. L., & Losada, M. F. (2005). Positive affect and the complex dynamics of human flourishing. American Psychologist, 60, 678–686.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Friedman, S. D., & Greenhaus, J. H. (2000). Work and family—alies or enemies? What happens when business professionals confront life choices. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frisch, M. B. (2006). Quality of life therapy: Applying a life satisfaction approach to positive psychology and cognitive therapy. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frone, M. R. (2003). Work-family balance. In J. C. Quick & L. E. Tetrick (Eds.), Handbook of occupational health psychology (pp. 143–162). Washington: American Psychological Association.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Fu, C. K., & Shaffer, M. A. (2001). The tug of work and family: Direct and indirect domain-specific determinants of work-family conflict. Personnel Review, 30, 502–522.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenhaus, J.H., & Allen, T.D. (2006). Work–family balance: Exploration of a concept. Paper presented at the Families and Work Conference, Provo, UT.

  • Greenhaus, J. H., & Allen, T. D. (2011). Work-family balance: A review and extension of the literature. In J. C. Quick & L. E. Tetrick (Eds.), Handbook of Occupational Health Psychology (2nd ed., pp. 165–183). Washington: American Psychological Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenhaus, J. H., & Beutell, N. J. (1985). Sources of conflict between work and family roles. Academy of Management Review, 10, 76–88.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenhaus, J. H., & Powell, G. N. (2006). When work and family are allies: A theory of work-family enrichment. Academy of Management Review, 31, 72–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenhaus, J. H., Collins, K. M., & Shaw, J. D. (2003). The relation between work-family balance and quality of life. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 63, 510–531.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grzywacz, J. G., & Carlson, D. S. (2007). Conceptualizing work–family balance: Implications for practice and research. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 9, 455–471.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Headey, B., & Wearing, A. (1992). Understanding happiness: A theory of subjective well being. Melbourne: Longman Cheshire.

    Google Scholar 

  • Herzberg, F. (1966). Work and the nature of man. Cleveland: World.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holahan, C. K., & Gilbert, L. A. (1979). Conflict between major life roles: Women and men in dual career couples. Human Relations, 32, 451–467.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Judge, T. A., & Watanabe, S. (1993). Another look at the job satisfaction-life satisfaction relationship. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78, 939–948.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kalliath, T., & Brough, P. (2008). Work-life balance: A review of the meaning of the balance construct. Journal of Management and Organization, 14, 323–327.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kandel, D. B., Davies, M., & Raveis, V. H. (1985). The stressfulness of daily social roles for women: Marital, occupational, and household roles. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 26, 64–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keyes, C. L. (2002). The mental health continuum: From languishing to flourishing in life. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 43, 207–222.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kitayama, S., & Markus, H. R. (2000). The pursuit of happiness and the realization of sympathy: Cultural patterns of self, social relations, and well-being. In E. Diener & E. M. Suh (Eds.), Culture and subjective well-being (pp. 113–161). Cambridge: The MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Korabik, K., Lero, D. S., & Whitehead, D. L. (Eds.). (2008). Handbook of work-family integration: Research, theory, and best practices. New York: Academic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kossek, E. E., Lautsch, B. A., & Eaton, S. C. (2006). Telecommuting, control, and boundary management: Correlates of policy use and practice, job control, and work-family effectiveness. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 68, 347–367.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kossek, E. E., Lewis, S., & Hammer, L. B. (2010). Work-life initiatives and organizational change: Overcoming mixed messages to move from the margin to the mainstream. Human Relations, 63, 3–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewin, K. (1951). Field theory in social science. New York: Harper & Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Madsen, S. R. (2003). The effects of home-based teleworking on work-family conflict. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 14, 35–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marks, S. R., & MacDermid, S. M. (1996). Multiple roles and the self: A theory of role balance. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 58, 417–432.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marks, S. R., Huston, T. L., Johnson, E. M., & MacDermid, S. M. (2001). Role balance among white married couples. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 63, 1083–1098.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maslow, A. H. (1954). Motivation and personality. New York: Harper.

    Google Scholar 

  • McClelland, D. C. (1961). The achieving society. New York: The Free Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Michaels, R. E., Cron, W. L., Dubinsky, A. J., & Joachimsthaler, E. A. (1988). Influence of formalization on the organizational commitment and work alienation of sales people and industrial buyers. Journal of Marketing Research, 25, 376–383.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Netemeyre, R. G., Boles, J. S., & McMurrian, R. (1996). Development and validation of work-family conflict and family-work conflict scales. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81, 400–410.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oishi, S., Diener, E., Lucas, R. E., & Suh, E. M. (1999). Cross-cultural variations in predictors of life satisfaction: Perspectives from needs and values. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 25, 980–990.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olson-Buchanan, J., & Boswell, W. R. (2006). Blurring boundaries: Correlates of integration and segmentation between work and nonwork. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 68, 432–445.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parasuraman, S., Greenhaus, J. H., & Ganrose, C. S. (1992). Role stressors, social support, and well-being among two-career couples. Journal of Occupational Behavior, 13, 339–356.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poelmans, S., Stepanova, O., & Masuda, A. (2008). Positive spillover between personal and professional life: Definitions, antecedents, consequences, and strategies. In K. Korabik, D. S. Lero, & D. L. Whitehead (Eds.), Handbook of work-family integration: Research, theory, and best practices (pp. 141–156). New York: Academic.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Rau, B. L., & Hyland, M. M. (2002). Role conflict and flexible work arrangements: the effects on applicant attraction. Personnel Psychology, 55, 111–136.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rice, R. W., McFarlin, D. B., Hunt, R. G., & Near, J. P. (1985). Organizational work and the perceived quality of life: Toward a conceptual model. Academy of Management Review, 10, 296–310.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seeman, M. (1967). On the personal consequences of alienation at work. American Sociological Review, 32, 273–285.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sieber, S. D. (1974). Toward a theory of role accumulation. American Sociological Review, 39, 567–578.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sirgy, M. J. (2002). The psychology of quality of life. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Sirgy, M. J. (2012). The psychology of quality of life: Hedonic well-being, life satisfaction, and eudaimonia. Dordrecht: Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Sirgy, M. J., & Wu, J. (2009). The pleasant life, the engaged life, and the meaningful life: What about the balanced life? Journal of Happiness Studies, 10, 183–196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sturges, J., & Guest, D. (2004). Working to live or living to work? Work/life balance early in the career. Human Resource Management Journal, 14, 5–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thoits, P. A. (1983). Multiple identities and psychological well-being: A reformulation and test of the social isolation hypothesis. American Sociological Review, 48, 174–187.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Valliant, G. (1977). Adaptations to life (p. 373). Boston: Little Brown.

    Google Scholar 

  • Veenhoven, R. (1995). The cross-national pattern of happiness: Test of predictions implied in three theories of happiness. Social Indicators Research, 34, 33–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Voydanoff, P. (2005). Toward a conceptualization of perceived work‐family fit and balance: A demands and resources approach. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67, 822–836.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wethington, E., & Kessler, R. C. (1989). Employment, parental responsibility, and psychological distress: A longitudinal study of married women. Journal of Family Issues, 10, 527–546.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Marketing, Pamplin College of Business, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, 24061-0236, USA

    M. Joseph Sirgy

  2. Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea

    Dong-Jin Lee

Authors
  1. M. Joseph Sirgy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Dong-Jin Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. Joseph Sirgy.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Sirgy, M.J., Lee, DJ. Work-Life Balance: A Quality-of-Life Model. Applied Research Quality Life 11, 1059–1082 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-015-9419-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-015-9419-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation