A meta‐analytic investigation of the personal and work‐related antecedents of work–family balance

Summary We conducted a meta‐analysis examining antecedents of work–family balance, including personal characteristics, work demands, and work resources, as well as bidirectional conflict and enrichment. Bivariate results across 130 independent samples ( N = 223 055) revealed that personal characteristics linked to more negative affect (i.e., neuroticism) and work demands (i.e., work hours, work overload, and job insecurity) were negatively associated with balance, whereas personal characteristics linked to more positive affect (i.e., extraversion and psychological capital) and work resources (i.e., job autonomy, schedule control, and workplace support) were positively related to balance. Family‐to‐work enrichment (FWE) was more strongly related to balance than was family‐to‐work conflict (FWC), and work‐to‐family conflict (WFC) was more strongly related to balance than was FWC. Finally, integrating tenets of job demands‐resources (JD‐R) theory, we examine two pathways (i.e., strain and motivation) through which antecedents relate to balance using meta‐analytic structural equations modeling (MASEM). In the strain pathway, neuroticism and job overload were negatively related to balance indirectly through higher WFC. In the motivation pathway, extraversion and job autonomy were positively related to balance indirectly through higher WFE. Work social support related positively to balance through higher WFE as well as lower WFC. We discuss theoretical and practical implications.