Work-Life Ideologies: The Contextual Basis and Consequences of Beliefs About Work and Life

Abstract

Work-life scholars have devoted considerable attention to understanding the relationship between work and life but surprisingly little attention to understanding how individuals think about the relationship between work and life. We propose that individuals hold three worklife ideologies, which we define as beliefs about how work and life are related: a fixed (versus expandable) pie ideology, a segmentation (versus integration) ideology, and a work (versus life) priority ideology. Beliefs about the world come, in large part, from the world itself. We therefore advance propositions regarding the contextual antecedents of work-life ideologies; exposure to contexts that prime scarcity, boundaries, and market forces increase the extent to which individuals hold fixed pie, segmentation, and work priority ideologies, respectively. For each prime we also provide four examples of objective contextual features-one each at the family, organizational, community, and societal level of analysis-that make the relevant prime salient and shape the associated work-life ideology. Finally, we propose that work-life ideologies are consequential because they affect individuals' work-life preferences and how they make sense of demands and resources, which, in turn, affect work-life conflict and enrichment. Our research advances understanding by expanding theory regarding the critical role of cognition in navigating work and life.

Reconceptualizing What and How Women Negotiate for Career Advancement

“…The bending accounts in Studies 3 and 4 suggested that distributive bargaining over work-family conflicts may be more stigmatizing and career limiting than integrative approaches. However, the potential for identifying integrative solutions hinges on contextual factors (Leslie, King, & Clair, 2019). There might be more potential for integrative solutions in organizations willing to approach work-life balance as a question of work design (Perlow & Kelly, 2014).…”

Is More Commitment Always Better? A Study on the Side Effects of Excessive Organizational Commitment on Work–Family Conflict

“…The focus of this study is on the effects of OC on WFC and the moderating effects of family type in the public sector. These relationships should be analyzed with consideration of organizational contexts and the nature of the public sector, because organizational contexts and the nature of the public sector can influence and shape one’s work–family ideologies (Leslie, King, & Clair 2019). Depending on the context in which individuals are exposed, their beliefs on whether work and family compete with (versus enhance) each other and whether to prioritize work over family (versus prioritize family over work) can be differently shaped (Leslie, King, & Clair, 2019, pp.…”

Unfinished Business: Advancing Workplace Gender Equity Through Complex Systems Strategies Supporting Work/Family Dynamics

“…Without these insights, management strategies for gender inclusion may instead contribute to backlash and hardening of stereotyped gender roles. These may translate into workplace "masculinity contests" (Berdahl, Cooper, Glick, Livingston, & Williams, 2018), environments encouraging gender polarized ideologies about men and women's work/life roles (Leslie, King, & Clair, 2019), and discriminatory Human Resource practices reinforcing stereotypes (Stamarski & Son Hing, 2015).…”