Book Review

Title: Work-Family Research: An Annotated Bibliography

Compilers: Lilly, Teri Ann, Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes, and Bradley K. Googins

Prepared under the Auspices of The Center for Work & Family at Boston College The Wallace E. Carroll School of Management

Published by: Greenwood Press; Westport, Connecticut

Published: 1997

Bibliographies and Indexes in Sociology, Number 25

315 pages: includes bibliographic references and index

 

Reviewed by: James F. Kisela

 

 

Overview

"Work-Family Research: An Annotated Bibliography is a collection of 934 entries providing bibliographic information and annotations for selected articles, books, chapters in books, reports, and papers that present information about work and family research. Given the expansive nature of the work-family field, it was somewhat difficult to decide which literature to include. We began with the identification of the primary thematic and topical strands that have contributed to the understanding of the work-family field. The thematic strands served as an organizational framework for our literature searches which mined voluminous literature in particular areas and a dearth in others, reflective of the nature and growth of the area studied. Using an academic screen, we focused on research articles written within the last eight years, reports from independent research groups, selected papers and a sampling of classic studies that have guided work and family research."

Preface, page ix

 

Review

Bradley K. Googins has guided the assembly of this bibliographic sampling from the research material available concerning the issues work and family. The book is clearly aimed for the academic world, although the businessperson with the energy to locate the referenced materials will surely be aimed in the right direction for their particular interest.

This, however, is an uneven effort with entries ranging from quite helpful guides to what is contained in the item to virtually nothing except the bare bones bibliographic data. Books, it turns out, are not annotated. This is explained as a problem of space, but surely there could have been summary paragraphs to explain the basic thrust of each book and its conclusions, which is so helpful in many of the other entries.

As an example of the better annotations, here is item number 926 (page 298), a study authored by S.J. Lambert, K. Hopkins, G. Easton, J. Walker, H. McWilliams, and M.S. Chung entitled Added Benefits: The Link Between Family-Responsive Policies and Work Performance at Fel-Pro Incorporated, and published by the University of Chicago in 1993:

"This study investigated the success of work-family programs at Fel-Pro, an auto gasket company in the Midwest. Data were collected from two sources: an employee survey data and data from employee records. Employees who used the work-family programs had the highest job evaluations and the lowest reported intent to leave the company. The positive effect, a sense of comfort, from the policies even reached employees who rarely used them. The researchers concluded that the work-family programs positively affected work performance and openness to change."

 

Compare this to item number 933 (page 300) from the Conference Board in 1993 entitled Work-Family: Redefining the Business Case, which from the title sounds very interesting to a business manager or human resource person, but where there is no annotation at all.

Overall, this is a welcome addition to the field of work-life and we look forward to more compilations like this to guide the interested business researcher or consultant to find the latest in research in the field

 

Contents

Preface  
Introduction by Bradley K. Googins  
Part 1 Women and Work  
  Chapter 1 Wages and Benefits
  Chapter 2 Sex Segregation/Occupation Segregation/Glass Ceiling
  Chapter 3 WomenÕs Employment and Well-Being
  Chapter 4 WomenÕs Employment and Effect on Children (annotated by Irene Fassler)
Part 2 Work-Family as Structural and Developmental Concepts  
  Chapter 5 Single Parent Families
  Chapter 6 Dual-Earner Families
  Chapter 7 Life Course/Family Stage/Career Stage
Part 3 Work and Family Roles  
  Chapter 8 Work-Family Interface
  Chapter 9 Spillover and Crossover Models
  Chapter 10 Role Conflict/Strain/Stress and Well-Being
 

Chapter 11 Role Experiences and Work/Life/Marital Satisfaction
  Chapter 12 Changing Roles (Mother as Breadwinner, Father as Caregiver)
  Chapter 13 Impact of Parental Roles on Children (Annotated by Irene Fassler)
Part 4 Work-Family Experiences Among Population Groups  
  Chapter 14 Ethnic and Cultural Groups (Annotated by Irene Fassler)
  Chapter 15 Income Groups (Annotated by Irene Fassler)
Part 5 Dependent Care  
  Chapter 16 Dependent Care Experiences/Corporate Strategies/Public Policies
  Chapter17 Child Care
  Chapter 18 Elder Care
Part 6 Work-Family Within Human Resources  
  Chapter 19 Diversity Initiatives and Work-Family
  Chapter 20 Career Development and Work-Family
  Chapter 21 Strategies and Programs and Work-Family (Annotated by Rachel Kohn)
Part 7 Time and Place  
  Chapter 22 Flexible Work Arrangements
  Chapter 23 Alternative Work Arrangements
  Chapter 24 Part-Time Work
  Chapter 25 Shift Work
  Chapter 26 Time Famine
Part 8 Public and Private Practices and Policies  
  Chapter 27 International Comparisons (with Irene Fassler)
  Chapter 28 Public Policy Analyses
  Chapter 29 Leave Legislation
Part 9 Linkages to Corporate Strategies and Governance  
  Chapter 30 Downsizing/Restructuring/Reengineering and Work-Family
  Chapter 31 Workplace Culture and Values and Family Responsive Programs
  Chapter 32 Employee Involvement and Work-Family Chapter
  33 Productivity /Performance and Work-Family
Author Index  

 

Web resources for work-family research

The Center for Work & Family at Boston College

The Wallace E. Carroll School of Management