Call for papers: International Perspectives on Work and Family, a Special Issue in "Applied psychology: An International Review"

International Perspectives on Work and Family

Background and Rationale for the Special Issue

 

As hours worked and women’s workforce participation increase globally,

employees around the world are faced with the challenge of combining work

and family roles. The growth in dual professional couples working for multinational

firms has also led to work-home conflict in many parts of the world

(Hill, Yang, Hawkins & Ferris, 2004). Despite the global importance of

work-family issues and calls to study this topic in different cultural contexts

(Poelmans, 2003; 2005), work-family research has predominantly been conducted

in Anglo societies. In fact, a recent review found that 75% of workfamily

studies were based on data entirely from US workers (Casper, Eby,

Bordeaux, Lockwood, & Lambert, 2007). Recently, Powell, Francesco, and

Ling (2009) discussed the need to explore the role that culture plays in

work-family relationships. The lack of studies on work-family interface from

countries outside the U.S. is problematic given the legal context in which

individuals and organizations manage work-family concerns varies substantially.

Cultural differences may also have an important influence on workfamily

issues as they impact both family and work values, interactions among

family members, expectations associated with gender roles, and which relatives

are defined as in-group family members.

In this special issue, we seek to disseminate knowledge about how the

work-family interface is both different and the same across distinct national

contexts. We welcome both theoretical and empirical papers that shed new

light on work-family issues from a cross-national perspective. Paper topics

might include, but are not limited to:

 

— Cross-cultural/national/regional comparisons of models of workfamily

conflict, work-family enrichment, or work-family balance

— Investigations of the role of organizational support for work and

family across national contexts

— An exploration of dual-earner couple issues in various cultural contexts

— Studies exploring how distinct cultural dimensions should influence

work-family relationships

— Research exploring work-family relationships in developing nations

— Studies examining the influence of government interventions in workfamily

concerns on organizational needs to offer work-family support

— Multi-level studies that investigate individual, organizational, and

national context as they relate to work-family concerns

— Research that explores the emotional content of work-family issues

cross-culturally

— Work-family intervention studies with cross-cultural relevance

— Studies of coping with work-family conflict or creating work-family

enrichment in work environments characterized by a diverse, crossnational

workforce

— Studies looking at the design and impact of diversity (broadly defined)

policies in facilitating workplace flexibility and work-life balance in

employees with different (cultural) values

Additional Considerations

• With regard to quantitative papers, preference will be given to multicountry

studies. We also welcome in-depth qualitative studies that

provide unique insights into work-family experiences within a specific

cultural group.

The deadline for submitting papers is December 15, 2011.