Work-family conflict and enrichment: An exploration of dyadic typologies of work-family balance

Research on the simultaneous and interactive effects of both conflictual and enriching dimensions on work-family balance is scarce, and still scarcer are studies using a typological (person-oriented) approach to establish links between couple-level profiles of work-family balance experiences and individual's work- and family-related satisfaction. To address these gaps, the present study explored whether groups of dual-earner couples could be distinguished with respect to their specific combinations of work-to-family and family-to-work conflict and enrichment dynamics. Using cluster analysis procedures within a sample of 525 dual-earner couples, we identified four couple-level profiles in the work-to-family balance direction (WFB) and four in the family-to-work balance direction (FWB): Harmful WFB and FWB groups (i.e., high conflict, low enrichment), Beneficial WFB and FWB groups (i.e., low conflict, high enrichment), Active WFB group (i.e., high conflict, high enrichment), Passive FWB group (i.e., low conflict, low enrichment) and two other groups, one with men reporting a Harmful WFB and women a Beneficial WFB, and another with men reporting a Beneficial FWB and women a Harmful FWB. A subsequent mixed model ANOVA also found Harmful types were associated with lower individual satisfactions with work, family, and partner participation. Moreover, belonging to profiles where husband and wife have dissimilar WFB experiences seems to imply detrimental effects to both partners. •Dual-earner couples as the unit of analysis•Work-family balance (WFB) typologies in both work-to-family and family-to-work directions•WFB typologies based on both positive (enrichment) and negative (conflict) WF experiences•Associations between WFB dyadic typologies and particular work and family outcomes•Study's person-oriented approach complements the variable-oriented approach that dominates research.