Work-family conflict from the perspective of the family: Introduction to the Special Issue

Abstract

Objective: To introduce the readers to the Journal of Family Research's Special Issue (4/2022) about "work-family conflict from the perspective of the family". Background: Research on work-family conflict rooted in family research and with an explicit focus on family issues has been comparatively rare compared to a more work-centered view. Method: Except for the review article, all contributions of this Special Issue are quantitative analyses of large-scale data from Germany, i.e., the "pairfam"-study, the "LEEP-B3"-study, and the "Growing up in Germany"-survey. Results: The seven studies are innately heterogeneous and show the range in which family research may contribute to the understanding of work-family conflict, and vice versa. Work-family conflict was studied in the context of the transition to parenthood, parenting practices, the composition of working environments, scaling back, mental health, and fertility preferences. Conclusion: Explicitly discussing family issues and their implications for work-family conflict is necessary to understand the interdependencies between family and work, and to pave the way towards a much broader understanding of the antecedents and consequences of work-family conflict in the context of family living.