Publications

2009
Davis KD, Stamps MK. Limited, mismatched, and unequal: Work-life policies and practices in the United States. In: Work-life Policies that Make a Real Difference for Individuals, Families, and Organizations. Washington, DC: Urban Institute Press ; 2009. pp. 323 – 342.
Kossek EE, Distelberg B. Work and Family Employment Policy for a Transformed Work Force: Trends and Themes. In: Work-life Policies. Washington, DC: Urban Institute Press ; 2009. pp. 1-51.
Moen P, Kelly EL. Working Families under Stress: Socially Toxic Job Time Cages and Convoys. In: Handbook of Families and Work: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Lanham: University Press of America ; 2009. pp. 31-61.
Booth A. Work-life Policies. (Crouter AC). Washington, DC: Urban Institute Press; 2009 pp. 308.
O'Neill JW, Harrison MM, Cleveland JN, Almeida DM, Stawski R, Crouter AC. Work–family climate, organizational commitment, and turnover: Multilevel contagion effects of leaders. Journal of Vocational Behavior. 2009;74 (1) :18 - 29. Publisher's VersionAbstract

This paper presents empirical research analyzing the relationship between work–family climate (operationalized in terms of three work–family climate sub-scales), organizational leadership (i.e., senior manager) characteristics, organizational commitment and turnover intent among 526 employees from 37 different hotels across the US. Using multilevel modeling, we found significant associations between work–family climate, and both organizational commitment and turnover intent, both within and between hotels. Findings underscored the importance of managerial support for employee work–family balance, the relevance of senior managers’ own work–family circumstances in relation to employees’ work outcomes, and the existence of possible contagion effects of leaders in relation to work–family climate.

Hammer LB, Kossek EE, Yragui NL, Bodner T, Hanson GC. Development and Validation of a Multidimensional Measure of Family Supportive Supervisor Behaviors (FSSB). J Manage. 2009;35 (4) :837-856.Abstract

Due to growing work-family demands, supervisors need to effectively exhibit family supportive supervisor behaviors (FSSB). Drawing on social support theory and using data from two samples of lower wage workers, the authors develop and validate a measure of FSSB, defined as behaviors exhibited by supervisors that are supportive of families. FSSB is conceptualized as a multidimensional superordinate construct with four subordinate dimensions: emotional support, instrumental support, role modeling behaviors, and creative work-family management. Results from multilevel confirmatory factor analyses and multilevel regression analyses provide evidence of construct, criterion-related, and incremental validity. The authors found FSSB to be significantly related to work-family conflict, work-family positive spillover, job satisfaction, and turnover intentions over and above measures of general supervisor support.

2008
Moen P, Kelly EL, Magennis R. Gender Strategies: Socialization, Allocation, and Strategic Selection Processes Shaping the Gendered Adult Course. In: Handbook of Research on Adult Development and Learning. Routledge Taylor and Francis Group ; 2008. pp. 378-411. Publisher's Version
Kossek EE, Hammer LB. Work/Life training for supervisors gets big results. Harvard Business Review. 2008 :36. Publisher's VersionAbstract

Simple, inexpensive programs that teach managers to be more supportive of their direct reports' work/life issues can generate big returns in employee health and satisfaction, according to a multiyear study of hundreds of frontline workers and dozens of supervisors.

Moen P, Kelly EL, Huang R. Fit inside the work-family black box: An ecology of the life course, cycles of control reframing. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology. 2008;81 (3) :411–433. Publisher's VersionAbstract

Scholars have not fully theorized the multifaceted, interdependent dimensions within the work-family ‘black box’. Taking an ecology of the life course approach, we theorize common work-family and adequacy constructs as capturing different components of employees' cognitive appraisals of fit between their demands and resources at the interface between home and work. Employees' appraisals of their work-family linkages and of their relative resource adequacy are not made independently but, rather, co-occur as identifiable constellations of fit. The life course approach hypothesizes that shifts in objective demands/resources at work and at home over the life course result in employees experiencing cycles of control, that is, corresponding shifts in their cognitive assessments of fit. We further theorize patterned appraisals of fit are key mediators between objective work-family conditions and employees' health, well-being and strategic adaptations. As a case example, we examine whether employees' assessments on 10 dimensions cluster together as patterned fit constellations, using data from a middle-class sample of 753 employees working at Best Buy's corporate headquarters. We find no single linear construct of fit that captures the complexity within the work-family black box. Instead, respondents experience six distinctive constellations of fit: one optimal; two poor; and three moderate fit constellations.

Ertel KA, Koenen KC, Berkman LF. Incorporating home demands into models of job strain: findings from the work, family, and health network. J Occup Environ Med. 2008;50 (11) :1244-52.Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article was to integrate home demands with the demand-control-support model to test if home demands interact with job strain to increase depressive symptoms. METHODS: Data were from 431 employees in four extended care facilities. Presence of a child younger than 18 years in the household signified home demands. The outcome was depressive symptoms based on a shortened version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. RESULTS: The association between job strain and depressive symptoms was moderated by social support (SS) and presence of a child in the household (child). There was no association among participants with high SS and no child, but a positive one among participants with low SS and a child. CONCLUSIONS: Job strain may be a particularly important determinant of depressive symptoms among employees with family demands. Models of job strain should expand to incorporate family demands.
Kelly EL, Kossek EE, Hammer LB, Durham M, Bray JW, Chermack K, Murphy LA, Kaskubar D. Getting There from Here: Research on the Effects of Work-Family Initiatives on Work-Family Conflict and Business Outcomes. Acad Manag Ann. 2008;2 :305-349.Abstract
Many employing organizations have adopted work-family policies, programs, and benefits. Yet managers in employing organizations simply do not know what organizational initiatives actually reduce work-family conflict and how these changes are likely to impact employees and the organization. We examine scholarship that addresses two broad questions: first, do work-family initiatives reduce employees' work-family conflict and/or improve work-family enrichment? Second, does reduced work-family conflict improve employees' work outcomes and, especially, business outcomes at the organizational level? We review over 150 peer-reviewed studies from a number of disciplines in order to summarize this rich literature and identify promising avenues for research and conceptualization. We propose a research agenda based on four primary conclusions: the need for more multi-level research, the necessity of an interdisciplinary approach, the benefits of longitudinal studies that employ quasi-experimental or experimental designs and the challenges of translating research into practice in effective ways.
Moen P, Kelly EL, Huang Q. Work, family and life-course fit: Does control over work time matter?. J Vocat Behav. 2008;73 (3) :414-425. Publisher's VersionAbstract

This study moves from "work-family" to a multi-dimensional "life-course fit" construct (employees' cognitive assessments of resources, resource deficits, and resource demands), using a combined work-family, demands-control and ecology of the life course framing. It examined (1) impacts of job and home ecological systems on fit dimensions, and (2) whether control over work time predicted and mediated life-course fit outcomes. Using cluster analysis of survey data on a sample of 917 white-collar employees from Best Buy headquarters, we identified four job ecologies (corresponding to the job demands-job control model) and five home ecologies (theorizing an analogous home demands-home control model). Job and home ecologies predicted fit dimensions in an additive, not interactive, fashion. Employees' work-time control predicted every life-course fit dimension and partially mediated effects of job ecologies, organizational tenure, and job category.

2007
Hammer LB, Kossek EE, Zimmerman KL, Daniels R. Clarifying the Construct of Family-Supportive Supervisory Behaviors (FSSB): A Multilevel Perspective. In: Exploring the Work and Non-Work Interface. Vol. 6. Emerald Group Publishing Limited ; 2007. pp. 165-204. Publisher's VersionAbstract

The goal of this chapter is to present new ways of conceptualizing family-supportive supervisor behaviors (FSSB), and to present a multilevel model reviewing variables that are linked to this construct. We begin the chapter with an overview of the U.S. labor market's rising work–family demands, followed by our multilevel conceptual model of the pathways between FSSB and health, safety, work, and family outcomes for employees. A detailed discussion of the critical role of FSSB is then provided, followed by a discussion of the outcome relationships for employees. We then present our work on the conceptual development of FSSB, drawing from the literature and from focus group data. We end the chapter with a discussion of the practical implications related to our model and conceptual development of FSSB, as well as a discussion of implications for future research.

Kelly EL, Moen P. Rethinking the ClockWork of Work: Why Schedule Control May Pay Off at Work and at Home. Advances in Developing Human Resources. 2007;9 (4) :487-506. Publisher's VersionAbstract

The problem and the solution. Many employees face work—life conflicts and time deficits that negatively affect their health, well-being, effectiveness on the job, and organizational commitment. Many organizations have adopted flexible work arrangements but not all of them increase schedule control, that is, employees' control over when, where, and how much they work. This article describes some limitations of flexible work policies, proposes a conceptual model of how schedule control impacts work—life conflicts, and describes specific ways to increase employees' schedule control, including best practices for implementing common flexible work policies and Best Buy's innovative approach to creating a culture of schedule control.

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