Conditions Governing the Effectiveness of Work-Life Balance Policies and Programs

In this chapter we describe conditions (personal, program, organizational, and environmental/cultural moderators) governing the overall effectiveness of work-life balance (WLB) practices. Specifically, personal moderators include demographic characteristics (WLB programs are more effective for women, young adults, managers and corporate professionals, parents with pre-school children, and married to an employed spouse and with children) and perceptual/attitudinal/aptitude characteristics (WLB practices are more effective for those with low work-family self-efficacy, those with a positive attitude toward WLB programs, those who are favorably disposed to integrate work and family domains, those with management and planning skills, and those who are less fearful of being stigmatized). Programs moderators include program availability, large assortment with options, program informality, and programs imbuing sense of control. Organizational moderators include supervisor support, transformational leadership, and top management support. Environmental moderators include gender equality culture, human-oriented culture, individualistic culture, and an ICTs infrastructure with life domain border control.