Work-family facilitation : a positive psychological perspective on rol combination

Abstract

This dissertation provides a balanced picture of the experiences that individuals can have in the combination of their work and family roles. Extending the common focus in previous literature on experiences of role conflict (and their detrimental consequences), the present research also addresses the positive side of role combination and reveals the different ways in which work and family roles can facilitate each other (energy-based, time-based, behavioral, and psychological facilitation). This research shows that experiencing work-family facilitation has beneficial consequences for employees__ well-being at work and at home (e.g., higher work satisfaction, higher life satisfaction), contributes to employees__ mental and physical health (e.g., lower depressive complaints, lower cholesterol level, healthier body weight), and results in concrete gains for the organization as well (e.g., enhanced objective job performance, lower absenteeism). Furthermore, this research indicates that facilitation can be stimulated by means of informational (appraisal) support and by providing support for family issues in the work environment (a family supportive work environment) as well as support for work issues at home (a work supportive home environment). Thus, this dissertation provides a positive perspective on the combination of work and family roles, which hopefully also find its way to a non-academic audience.