Strategies for Maintaining Work–Life Balance and Their Consequences for Quality of Life and Job Satisfaction

Abstract

Interest in issues surrounding work–life balance has increased in recent years. Some studies stress the consequences of work–life balance, while others put emphasis on the ways in which people manage to keep the balance. We decided to combine both points of view. The presented study focuses on personal strategies for combining family and work roles and their consequences for maintaining the work–family balance and satisfaction with work and quality of life. There were 289 participants in the study. The instruments used were Work–Family Linkage Questionnaire, Work–Family Fit Questionnaire, Satisfaction of Life Scale and Job Satisfaction Scale. The procedure of adapting the Work–Family Linkage Questionnaire (WFLQ) into Polish was conducted to enable the use of the tool in Poland for the first time. Good psychometric properties of WFLQ were confirmed. The results showed that the individual strategy for combining family and work roles determines the work–home balance, as well as satisfaction with life and career. For example, the amount of negative spillover from home and from work was correlated positively with role conflict and negatively with satisfaction with life, while the amount of positive spillover correlated positively with facilitation and experienced satisfaction with life.