A meta-analytic review of work-family conflict and its antecedents

This meta-analytic review combines the results of more than 60 studies to help determine the relative effects of work, nonwork, and demographic and individual factors on work interference with family (WIF) and family interference with work (FIW). As expected, work factors related more strongly to WIF, and some nonwork factors were more strongly related to FIW. Demographic factors, such as an employee’s sex and marital status, tended to relate weakly to WIF and FIW. Overall the analysis supports the notion that WIF and FIW have unique antecedents, and therefore, may require different interventions or solutions to prevent or reduce their occurrence. Lastly, the analysis suggests that demographic variables, such as sex and marital status, are alone poor predictors of work-family conflict. Researchers are advised to attend to more finely grained variables that may more fully capture employees’ likelihood of experiencing work-family conflict.