Work–Family Research Has a Public Relations Problem: Moving From Organizational Nicety to Necessity

Abstract

Kossek, Baltes and Matthews (2011) aptly highlight the disconnect between the significance of work-family research and the lack of impact it has had on employee wellbeing and stress the need for ''better and different research'' to remedy the disparity. We agree with this contention, yet we posit that the problem will not be resolved through the means the authors suggest (e.g., increasing academic-practitioner collaboration, focusing on technology, changing existing methodology), as these changes are relatively quick fixes that will only further mask the core of the issue. Instead, we suggest that the seeming disconnect between work-family research and practice runs deeper within the values of industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology, organizations, and society. Accordingly, we suggest that in order to truly meet the goal of making a significant impact, I-O researchers and practitioners must first believe and promote this topic

Innovative Ideas on How Work–Family Research Can Have More Impact

“…Huffman, Sanders, and Culbertson (2011) aptly noted in their commentary that work–family research does indeed have a public relations problem. They contend that framing work–life initiatives as needing to mainly align with and meet business interests as the primary stakeholder is problematic.…”