Job Adequacy and Work-Family Balance: Looking at Jobs as a Whole

Abstract

Using an ecological person—process—context model and recent conceptualization of the “employment continuum,” this study examines differences in components of work—family balance among individuals in diverse types of jobs ranging from “inadequate” to “optimal.” Cross-sectional data from the 1997 National Study of the Changing Workforce ( n = 2,877) were used to test differences in work-to-family conflict and enrichment among individuals whose jobs have different constellations of favorable structural and psychosocial attributes. Results suggest jobs enriched with both structural and psychosocial attributes contribute to better work—family balance by reducing conflict and promoting enrichment. Similar patterns occurred regardless of family employment arrangement, but dual earner men reported higher levels of conflict compared with women when holding inadequate jobs. The pattern of results suggests that viewing jobs holistically is important for understanding the work—family interface.