Project R-2741

Work-life policy implementation and work-to-life conflict as mediatorsof the relationship between organizational work-life policies and individual work outcomes: A mixed-method study in large Belgian firms. (Research)

The main goal of the project is to gain a more accurate understanding of the process through which organizational work-life policies affect individual work outcomes such as job satisfaction, commitment and motivation. Specifically, we propose to investigate work-life policy implementation and work-to-life conflict as two variables mediating the effect of policies on individual work outcomes. The study is based on a multiplecase, mixed-method research approach. Qualitative and quantitative data is collected in four large Belgian organizations with formal work-life policies. The study expands the current literature on work-life balance in three main ways. First, a multi-level theoretical model is developed and tested which explains the relationship between organizational work-life policies and individual work outcomes through the mediating variables work-life policy implementation and work-to-life conflict. Second, we explore contextual determinants of work-life policy implementation by drawing on insights from the employment relations literature. Specifically, we include flexibility demands at the (sub-)organizational level in our model and explore their relation to policy implementation. Third, we integrate quantitative and qualitative methodologies to enhance the explanatory potential of our study. Qualitative multiple case studies are suitable to investigate processes and generate new theory while quantitative approaches allow testing the explanatory power of such theory.

01 January 2011 - 30 April 2011