Promoting Work-Family Balance Through Positive Psychology: A Practical Review of the Literature

Abstract

Balancing work and personal life roles has become a major focus of research and is a practical concern for individuals and organizations. This article draws from positive psychology, work–family, and leadership literatures to provide guidelines for managers to promote work–family balance. Recent research documents the value of positive psychology in work–family literature with novel constructs such as enrichment. Informal leadership practices including positive communication, role-modeling, and relationship building offer promising directions for work–family intervention. In particular, work–family balance is considered from an authentic leadership perspective, emphasizing self-care as an ethical concern. Training (i.e., cognitive and PsyCap) and appreciative inquiry are offered as formal intervention strategies for promoting work–family balance at individual, group, and organizational levels.