Purpose– This study seeks to advance our understanding of the conditions under which work enriches family life and family enriches work life.
Design/methodology/approach– We conducted a total of thirty interviews with six couples and analyzed the data using thematic analysis.
Findings– We found a new resource (agape love) obtained exclusively in the family role that creates a condition to enrich work. We identified organizational and home factors that enhanced resources generated work and family roles. Motivation, previous enrichment experience, and work-family boundary management facilitate enrichment and the transfer of resources from one role to another. We found that the transfer can be unconscious and unintentional.
Research limitations/implications– The sample consists of well-educated professionals working in Spain who are dual-income couples with high work and home demands. We cannot claim that our findings include all facilitating factors that actually exist, and they might not be extrapolated to substantially different samples (e.g., single parents).
Practical implications– Organizations should train managers so that they enable family to enrich work. They can do this by training them to provide environments in which family life might foster work performance. The more managers value the importance of subordinates' family life for work, the more they will help employees to have enriched lives.
Originality/value– This qualitative study contributes to the growing body of research on work-family enrichment by advancing our knowledge on why some individuals experience more enrichment than others. This study seeks to understand the experience of the couple as a unit of analysis and to understand work and family factors together.
Keywords: work-family, enrichment, dual-income couples, agape love, work and family resources
María José Bosch
13 de enero del 2016
