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Prevalence of work‐family conflict: Are work and family boundaries asymmetrically permeable?

  • Michael R. Frone
  • , Marcia Russell
  • , M. Lynne Cooper
  • SUNY Buffalo

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

410 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study tested Pleck's (1977) hypothesis concerning gender differences in the relative permeability of work and family boundaries. Data were obtained from a randomly drawn community sample of 631 employed adults (278 men; 353 women). Respondents reported that work interfered with family life (W→F conflict) more frequently than family life interfered with work (F→W conflict). These results suggest that work and family boundaries are indeed asymmetrically permeable with family boundaries being more permeable than work boundaries. However, there was no evidence of gender differences in the pattern of asymmetry, indicating that the dynamics of work and family boundaries may operate similarly among men and women. Implications for future research are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)723-729
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Organizational Behavior
Volume13
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1992

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